Product: Suzuki Three S F-150
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
12/01/2008
at
04:36pm
by
Doug Blackwood
Features
:
7
Early 70s dreadnought, and it has a non-adjustable saddle, first off. A lot of these have the inferior screw mechanism.
Solid top spruce, lam mahogany back and sides. Modeled on a D-28, but no stipe up the back.
Open back winders, multi-striped rosette and front binding, cream binding on back. Unbound neck and headstock. Slim neck, slight V=profile; Rosewood fretboard and bridge, plastic saddle and nut. Nut grooves cut pretty close together with wide margin at outsides. Should replace with better spacing one. Grooves cut into the saddle; very silly indeed. Makes the b string sound like it's hitting wax paper!
Nice glossy natural finish, dark stained headstock is shaped like a Martin "spade". Winder knobs are very thin, chromed. End-pin is cream plastic, screwed on. Typical size Pearloid dots on the fretboard, no abalone at all. Then again, abalone's not a tone wood , is it?
Feels light but very solid. No bellying or loose braces on this although probably close to 40 years old.
Sound
:
8
The sound is bright yet full, and will be richer with addling a bone saddle. It's been unplayed for decades, gathering dust in a chipboard case inside a garage. It should open up when played a lot, as solic spruce will.
Neck is unwarped and accurate, the frets have held up nicely. I think it saw little use and remained unworn and nearly un-dinged.
Good volume, nice harmonic overtones.
Good for loud or gentle strumming, and for fingerstyle.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
Action's perfect.
Bookmatching totally on the mark.
Intonation spot-on.
Finish is still shiny as the day it was made.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
Good guitar to withstand live use, gloss finish repels dings, winders intact, and yes, I'd gig with it sans backup.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Company went defunct years ago.
Overall Rating
:
9
Been playing as amateur and pro for years.
This guitar has little info online, but a weblog for Suzuki (Kiso, Nagoya Violin) has pictures of front, back and headstock.
I favor Suzukis, and so far have collected a w-300, F-200 and a KW-150.
They were all very good instruments. This is close to the F-150 in sound, but the frets are in better shape and I think it's louder, too.
Its like a Yamaha sold-top dreadnought in feel and sound. Time will tell if it gets better with age and playing, and I plan to make a bone saddle for it. The grooved plastic one is just a really bad idea.
Of course, if you can find one in this good of a shape as cheap as I did, snag it up! You can always use it as a back up or to keep the wear easy on your boutique guitars!
