Saga B-46 Durango

vintage sunburst finish gibson advance jumbo length type neck bound with dot inlays on neck slope shouldered design solid top open back tuners.

Great sound no electronics very rich and full.

guitar set up great from the box. it already seems to be opening up maybe because i play it all the time!!!! has old vintage sunburst finish solid top laminated sides and back. But at this price who cares!!!! open style tuners dot inlays bound neck has a vintage AJ gibson feel to it.

Read reviews at acoustic guitar magazine heard the soundbite thats what sold me!!! It sounds great was, looking at epi masterbilt aj's and blueridge but Im glad I took a chance on durango plan to get the jumbo and the l-oo clone

Made in 2005, this Durango B-46 acoustic guitar is produced by Saga as an example of the new low-cost higher quality instruments coming out of China. The shape is reminiscent of the Gibson slope-shoulder flat-tops with a warm cherry sunburst gloss finish on the solid spruce top, scalloped bracing and a simple herringbone rosette. The back and sides are gloss shaded laminated sycamore. The 14 frets-to-body (20 frets total) rosewood fretboard with simple dot fret markers tops a deep C-shaped mahogany neck with a fairly flashy but not unattractive peghead inlay. Both the body and the fretboard are nicely bound with ivoroid, which the heel cap is also made of. The rosewood bridge is closer to the Martin design than a Gibson design. The tuners are repros of the Grover open-gear style.

I was blown away by the sound from the first strum in the music shop. The bass was full, the midrange rich and the trebles were bright, almost an all around flatpicking guitar whether playing rhythm or cutting loose on a solo break. Even though I don't fingerpick, it would probably lend itself to that as well. For a guitar of this price range, the tone and volume are excellent.

Overall, I would have to rate the construction and setup from the factory as very good (probably an 8) with one exception which I will get to shortly. I could find no fault with the finish. The action is just slightly high to be called perfect for me, but the saddle has enough height to adjust down as necessary. The neck was adjusted for correct action with no buzzing all the way up the fretboard. Now for the one problem. The bass end of both main X-braces had splits and one end had come away from the top. I first detected this after I got it home when looking across the top over the sound hole, and noticed a dip in the top between the end of the fretboard and bridge. Using a mirror and probing the braces without strings installed confirmed the problem with the braces. Amazingly, due to the apparent "looseness" of the top because of this, the bass response was phenomenal- powerful, yet clear. Only because of this defect am I downgrading the fit and finish.

It appears that this guitar is solidly built, other than the issue with the braces. Everything about it seems to be well put together. My opinion is that this will make a great guitar to take out to jams and even gigs. It's a little heavy, which you can expect from the laminated back and sides, but not terribly so. After taking the guitar back to the shop where I bought it to resolve the brace issue, the dealer promptly indicated that he would repair it or replace it. I elected to have him repair it since he didn't have another in the shop. I received it back within 4 days. The tone is almost as good as it was prior to the repair. The repair seems solid from what I can tell. Time will tell of course.

I have not dealt directly with Saga, so I can't say how their customer support is. However, dealing with the store where I bought it to resolve the issue of the split braces was a very good experience. The dealer left the warranty open-ended just in case anything goes wrong with the bracing. For such an inexpensive guitar, that's saying a lot. So my Customer Support rating is for F&J rather than Saga.

Lately, I've been looking to find a slope-shoulder dread in the style of the Gibson Adv. Jumbos or J-45's, but without the price tag. I tried the Blueridge BG-40, but wasn't terribly impressed with the sound. Then I found this Durango on the wall. I've been playing for ~35 years total, but concentrating on bluegrass/old-time for the last 10 or so. I'm by no means an expert, but I know what I like both sound-wise and in appearance. This guitar fulfills both of these extremely well, but the low price is just gravy. The only thing I wish it had (and I'll be adding one soon) is a screw-on strap button on the heel of the neck. My nicest guitar is a Santa Cruz 12-fret rosewood slot-head dread with a very powerful presence, but this Durango ain't far behind. If this one were to be stolen or lost, I would definitely seek another B-46 out to see if it plays as well. Then I'd definitely buy it.