Quote:
Originally Posted by Tele1111
Doug and Hoink-other than (I assume) a set up, the overall quality of build is acceptable? Perhaps you would be willing to go into a little more detail?
And if you would provide a little more detail on the tone of these instruments (subjective as it may be) it would be appreciated.
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I think the build quality is fine, no complaints at all. If you've seen some of the other chinese-built guitars, like Recording King, etc, you're in the ballpark. These are fairly basic, but they're modeled after the Dyer's which are also bare-boned instruments. Mine is a "black" one, satin finish, stained dark chocolate brown, so it has a very utilitarian look. Action is medium, and feels good to me. I won't do a setup on mine, it's fine as-is. Intonation is good. Fairly beefy, rounded profile neck. I probably should have taken them up on the improved tuners, the harp strings seem to slip a bit, but I have nothing to compare it to - maybe the banjo-style tuners on extra heavy strings are just like that. They stay in tune once I get them there. The string spacing on the 6-string part is a bit odd, 1.8' nut width, paired with a 2 1/8 saddle spacing, which to me, produces the feel of a narrow neck. I assume this is copied from the Dyer.
Tone is hard to report on. As a six-string, I personally go for a somewhat richer sound, but it's not fair to compare a Ryan to this guitar. The tone is dry, and direct, tho the harp strings tend to resonate with the 6-strings, giving it a bit of a reverby sound in a unique way. The bass strings are amazing, like hitting the low notes on a piano.
Listen to Stephen Bennett play one on You Tube, this seems like very natural recording that captures the tone I hear well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0BNUgM0Vtc
I'll post some recordings someday, after I learn to play something on it :-)