RavenWestGuitar Co. RG2180

This is a single cut away thin body nylon string. Mahogany body with a nicely flamed top (said to be solid), bound. Body is finished in a high gloss. Neck is finished in a very nice satin finish. Dark rosewood fretboard. Rosewood bridge with compensated sadle and a peizo under sadle pickup. On-board pre-amp with volume and three band EQ, has a nice push-in-push-out 9V battery compartment. Open tuners with "Ivoroid" heads. The lower strap button doubles as the output jack. Gold accented hardware. Made in Korea...but who cares. For what it's intended for it's nicely endowed. Check out the pics at their web site.....looks just like it. A balanced output would be nice for direct recording but for the money you can't complain.

Acoustic volume is pretty decent considering the thin body. You won't fill an audutorium un-amped but you can hear it easily in a room over the TV. I generally play/record this guitar straight into my DAW rig which is a MOTU 2408mkII coupled with a Tascam TM-D1000.
Occasionaly I will play it through my normal electric rig which is a Roland GP-100 into a Mesa Boogie 20/20 into a 4x12 cab. Not the greatest for this instrument but it works just fine and I have never had a problem with feedback.
The onboard pre-amp and EQ has a suprising amount of flexability. With large sweeps you can get anything from banjo type tones to sweet, warm classical tones. I find this guitar works especially well for latin/flamenco styles (not that I'm very good at them).
The only nag I would have is that the on board pre-amp and pickup don't sound very good with flat settings (everything at zero). At flat settings the bass is very pronounced and it seem to lack mids. With a little tweaking of the EQ this can be rectified. I should note that my EQ panel is not the same as what is pictured on the web site. It may have been changed or RWG may have changed their specs since the pics were taken.

I bought this guitar used so I have no idea how it was set up when it was delivered. When I pulled it off the rack though I was immediately taken by the outstanding fit and finish and actually asked the salesman if the price tag was a mis-print. His afermation that the price was indeed correct (and reinforcing that it was a used instrument) lead to a very scrutinous review of every detail. The frets are very well polished, one of the best jobs I've ever seen. No sharp fret ends. Neck feels extraordinary.
Flame maple top is beautifully figured, if not perfectly book matched (but then few are) and the finish is very high gloss and oozes quality. I have found absolutely no flaws anywhere.

Hard to say. I'm pretty easy on my guitars (though I play the crap out of them). That said, this guitar seems very well built. I see no reason why it should not last. If any thing fails I would expect it to be the electronics. Easier to replace electronics than wood though.

On this guitar I can't say. Eric at Raven West however seems to have a very good reputation for customer service. As I am now in the midst of a new purchase of an RG777 from him I can now say that his reputation is well earned. His replies to e-mail have been very fast and curteous, he has gone the extra mile to arrange shipping with my prefered method.
Raven West Guitars offers a very simple Limited Lifetime Warranty. You can check it out on their site. It basically says if it breaks, let us know and we'll take care of it. Electronics are only covered for 2 years. Any alterations to the guitar will void the warranty however so if you drop a new pre-amp or pickup in it I'm not sure whether the rest of the guitar would be covered. This is understandable, they can't control everything. Eric seems like a decent guy though and I wouldn't hesitate to contact him in that unlikley event.

I have been playing for almost 30 years. Seriously for about 23. I have gigged and recorded commercially but these days generally do my own thing in the comfort of my home. I have several instruments ranging from Fenders, Ibanez, Kramer, ESP, Taylor, Cort, Mann, La'Patrie.
I have electrics, acoustics, classicals, as well as basses. This guitar, being one of my latest aquisitions has found a special place in my collection. It sits right out front where everyone can see it. It's a beautiful guitar. Compared to the $1500 used Godin that was hanging beside it I would have expected as high a price. The Godin had nothing on this RWG.
I'd like to have a balanced output on this guitar and the pre-amp/pickup could be better without coloration but who can argue with the price.
I was so impressed with this instrument it's prompted me to purchase another from RWG and I have no doubts that if that purchase works out as well as this one has I will be buying a third. What more can I say?