Olympia OD-10S-12

Made in 2005 in China. 20 frets - 14 clear of the body. Solid top. No electronics. Spruce top mahogany laminate sides and back. Dreadnought body. Tacoma style bridge. Gloss urethane finish. Nice black and white binding along body and binding on neck as well. Nice design around sound hole. Gold finish grover tuners. Thin wide neck, easy to chord. Allen hex wrench included, truss rod adjustment through the sound hole. (The sound hole adjustment provides for cleaner look found on many much more expensive guitars. Also, it makes for easier time when adjusting the rod.)

Play rock, blues, jazz, country, bluegrass. I haven't had it long enough to state how well is does them.

The overall finish was above average with no unstained or thinned areas. My only sense of flaw was that the buffer had left mirror haze scratches. I have encountered these before on other instruments and they buff out with a hand towel and some automotive paste wax. There were not obvious poor workmanship issues such as separations unglued areas or overglued areas with sloppy messy glue beneath the finish etc. Also there were no bubbles in the finish which can make the guitar look awful. The plastic covering the pickguard had no words on it and at first I thought the pickguard was filmed or hazy. I have not pealed it off and won't until my return option runs out. The same is true for the protective film on the backs of the tuners. On a final note about the solid top: Yes the top is solid and is mated very well and without defects fillers or nick/repair spots.

The neck angle seemed to check out very well and conforms to the description on the link at www.fretnot.com. A straight edge lands about .010 above the wood of the bridge: see the hyper-link for info about neck angle.

The action height at the 12th fret was 3/32. The low e-string #11 measured .054 and the #12 e-string measures .037 The high e-strings measured .012. The big a-string #9 measured .025. I was shocked because I thought that most 12-string models recommend light and super light strings: like 10-47

The belly or flatness of the guitar is of some concern to me. I expect to see some small rise at the bridge area. My point of reference is other brand new 6-string guitars which seem fairly flat with very small crowning. The Olympia seemed to have a little more rise than the 6-strings I have examined. I will need to examine several brand new 12 string guitars to get an idea of what is "normal".

Excluding the question about the strings and rise at the bridge, I will rate the guitar an 8 in this. However, it could be a 9/10

I cannot rate this area yet.

Limited lifetime warranty from Tacoma. The company was bought by fender, and so the warranty should never be an issue.

Been playing 30+years. Own and play a 1982 Vintage Ibanez 300. I also own and play a 2003 Gretsch Synchromatic. I also own and play a 2004 cedar top mandolin. I own and play a 1965 Regal Sovereign 5-string Banjo.

I wish I had confirmed the sticker would not say made in China. I was under the impression that the guitar was Korean made. However, quality speaks for itself and the materials and workmanship seem to indicate this is a well made instrument. I love the sound, looks, price, and warranty in that order. I hate that being made in China is somehow seen as inferior by other guitarists. My favorite feature is the neck.

I want to add the sales description found on the Ebay auction:

Master Grade South American Mahogany Dreadnought Body

South American Mahogany Headstock Overlay

Rosewood Fingerboard and Bridge

Stunning Abalone Inlaid Rosette

Beautiful Pearl White Inlaid Dot Markers

Gold Grover Tuners

Rich White Body, and Neck Binding

Tortoise Shell Colored Pick Guard

Gold Hardware

Beautiful Solid Spruce Top For Super Sound

Multiply Top Purfling

Full Gloss Finish on Body and Neck

I believe the guitar matches the sales description to a tee. Although the rarity of Brazillian woods seems to suggest this would be an incredibly expensive guitar is all this were true, and yet it appears so and does not appear to be a cheaply made guitar at all in any way.

The guitar was made in 2004 and it has a solid spruce top. The neck is solid mahogany and the back and sides are mahogany also. The wood is very clear and clean with super nice grain. The tuners are gold plated grovers that tune easily and hold a tune really well. The rosewood fingerboard was well dressed and bound in white.

I play a lot of folk and rock and some bluegrass. The guitar seems well suited for anything from Peter Paul and Mary and John Denver to Hotel California. The sound is clean and well defined and I really like fullness of the sound. It is one of the few 12 strings I have found that has a well balanced sound.

When I got the guitar the action was low and easy to play and it is just a little higher a year later, but it really is still easy to play and this makes it sound even better since it is a little higher. The guitar is made of really nice wood and the bookmatching is well done. The finish is full gloss and finished as well as any guitar in this price range. The nut and saddle are well fitted and smooth.

I have used this guitar live on stage both indoors and outdoors for a year and it is a workhorse. It stays in tune well even with a rock band with me driving it toward a mic to compete for decibels. With this one I can always hold my own. I wish I had ordered it with a strap button on the neck heel. It had one on the end pin but I had to put one on the strap heel like you do with most guitars but I'm not sure I got it in the best spot. This is the most dependable 12 string I have ever had. I had a Yamaha and a Lower end Martin previously and I broke lots of strings on both of them but not with this Tacoma Olympia. I'm not sure why but the strings are not as apt to break on it, eventhough I still use the same Martin Darco Strings.

I have not had to have any warranty work done on the guitar but I did have a good experience with the place I bought it. Oklahoma Vintage Guitar in Oklahoma City put the strap button on it for me and I have called and asked a couple of questions over the months and have always gotten fast answers and good service from them. I have heard that Tacoma has been bought by Fender now and that they are even a better company now to deal with as far as warranty but I do not have first hand experience.

I have been playing for 13 years and I have a Martin D28 6 string and a Fender 57 Reissue Stratocaster and this Tacoma Olympia 12 String. If it were stolen I would definitely buy this same model again. I compared it to several Alvarez and Epiphone twelve strings and none of them could touch it for the price. I chose this one because it just sounded so much better and was easier to play and had a super price. I do wish I had bought the case with the guitar. I was trying to save all the money I could and got a better deal because I didn't take the case but twelve strings don't fit all guitar cases because of the longer tuner area and I still don't have a good case but I have to use a gig bag with is not the best protection.