The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #16  
Old 06-16-2010, 06:16 PM
Brent Nelson Brent Nelson is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Posts: 1,273
Default Ayers

I've owned an Ayers D-08 for several months now, and I'm quite pleased in every way. My intention was simply to test-drive on their "free 21 day test drive" deal, but it was so much bang for the buck that I bought it. It's a ton of guitar for the money. Craftsmanship is equal to US factory guitars I own or have owned. As point of reference, please know I've owned or own Goodall, McIlroy, Thompson, Froggy Bottom, Fox, SCGC, Kronbauer, ... several others. I'm enjoying this guitar as much as any of the others I've owned.









BODY
- Top: Sitka Spruce 3A
-Back & Sides 5A Vietnamese Rosewood

- Neck 1 piece African Mahogany
- Neck joint Dovetail
- Tuners Gotoh 301 (Gold) with Ebony Knobs
- Headstock Overlay 5A Vietnamese Rosewood

- Fretboard Ebony
- Bridge Ebony
- Bridge pin Ebony with Abalone
- Strape button Ebony

- Electronics Optional
- Strings EXL-16

BINDING
- Body Ovangkol 6mm/Maple .5mm/Black .5mm
- Fretboard Ovangkol
- Purfling

Top
- Rosette Ebony 0.5mm/Vn. Rosewood 4mm/Abalone 4mm/Vn. Rosewood 4mm/ Ebony 0.5mm

Finish
- Top, Back, Sides Gloss
- Neck Satin
Extras
- Case Ayers Hardshell Case
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 06-17-2010, 06:23 AM
pakhan pakhan is offline
Guest
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 532
Default

Actually the Vietnamese luthiers can be rather good! I was in Hanoi last year and visited THan Can workshop and was impressed with the quality of the upper end range. I did a photo essay and a write up here:

http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/1...s-terence-tan/

http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/1...y-terence-tan/
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 06-17-2010, 07:54 AM
ormyofone ormyofone is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 22
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pakhan View Post
Actually the Vietnamese luthiers can be rather good! I was in Hanoi last year and visited THan Can workshop and was impressed with the quality of the upper end range. I did a photo essay and a write up here:

http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/1...s-terence-tan/

http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/1...y-terence-tan/
The Vietnamese rosewood looks very nice. Are these instruments sold statesides by anyone?
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 06-17-2010, 08:03 AM
Hendra Hendra is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Jakarta, Indonesia
Posts: 712
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pakhan View Post
Actually the Vietnamese luthiers can be rather good! I was in Hanoi last year and visited THan Can workshop and was impressed with the quality of the upper end range. I did a photo essay and a write up here:

http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/1...s-terence-tan/

http://www.guitarbench.com/2009/11/1...y-terence-tan/
Geez Terence, I thought I'll give them a visit until I notice they're in Hanoi. I am currently in Ho Chi Minh.

Maybe next time
__________________
Current Guitars :
1999 Washburn D12SCE
2009 Taylor 414CE Spring LTD. (Tazmanian Blackwood) "TAZ"

2010 VAOM-04
2012 Custom Secco Guitar

2013 Collings OM2H

2014 Cordoba Fusion 12 Natural

YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/hendragunawanng
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old 06-17-2010, 10:52 AM
barrangatan barrangatan is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 254
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by pakhan View Post
Actually the Vietnamese luthiers can be rather good! I was in Hanoi last year and visited THan Can workshop and was impressed with the quality of the upper end range. I did a photo essay and a write up here
Like owners of Ayers and Baden guitars that are being made out of Vietnam I will also concur that there is no shortage of excellent guitars and great workmanship coming out of Vietnam these days. While I have never owned either one of the brand above, I played a number of Baden at my local shops and have always been impressed by their workmanship and tone (and yes the understated aesthetics appeal to me too). My friend in the UK owns an Ayers slope shoulder dread and cannot be happier with it also. So it clearly shows that when dedicated luthiers who are skilled in their craft and go the extra miles to make a good guitar, it really shows no matter where they are made.

I think that the problem with Antonio Tsai's instruments is that the manufacturer simply do not care about what they are making. They are peddling guitar-shaped product to the rest of the world in hopes of making a quick buck. Unscrupulous merchants like this can be found all over the world, and it's more symptomatic of the shady end of the music business than the origin of the guitars itself.

Last edited by barrangatan; 06-17-2010 at 07:26 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old 06-17-2010, 10:54 AM
barrangatan barrangatan is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 254
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent Nelson View Post
I've owned an Ayers D-08 for several months now, and I'm quite pleased in every way. My intention was simply to test-drive on their "free 21 day test drive" deal, but it was so much bang for the buck that I bought it. It's a ton of guitar for the money.
Oh my the Vietnamese Rosewood looks spectacular. I've traded a few emails with the Ayers folks and have been tempted to give the '21 day free trial' a go. I've been thinking about the 06 or 07 series but looks like I may want to consider the 08 series with the Rosewood B&S also.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old 06-17-2010, 07:23 PM
Brent Nelson Brent Nelson is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Posts: 1,273
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by barrangatan View Post
Oh my the Vietnamese Rosewood looks spectacular. I've traded a few emails with the Ayers folks and have been tempted to give the '21 day free trial' a go. I've been thinking about the 06 or 07 series but looks like I may want to consider the 08 series with the Rosewood B&S also.
Inquire about demo models. They can be had at some pretty amazing prices. Mine was a demo from the NAMM show, and I scored it for a ridiculous deal. Fine guitar in every way. Can't much go wrong with the 21-day trial. You don't like it, send it back. You're only out shipping.

I'm considering another actually in a small body size...
Brent
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old 08-22-2010, 09:56 PM
mkreuzer mkreuzer is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 12
Default

Hey Guys,
FYI on the test drive thing. We're doing it for free now. We've had so few come back that we just don't worry about the risk of incurring shipping cost or damaged guitars.
Hope it's OK to engage you guys on the forum. We're pretty open about our guitars and what we think about their quality. I would rather be open and honest then try to hide behind a veil as a shill.
-- Mark

Last edited by rlouie; 10-19-2010 at 05:09 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old 08-23-2010, 05:34 AM
PaulCypert PaulCypert is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Bangkok
Posts: 137
Default

Having lived overseas in Southeast Asia for a long time now I'd caution anyone who thinks of great deals from a Southeast Asian anything. Of course they do exist and can be found... but the single biggest problem over here in all lines of work is consistency. While they're very good at getting 80% there quickly and cheaply... that last 20% or so is hit or miss based on the day. This goes for food, shirts, DVD's, and particularly musical instruments.

I need to figure out who my friend's retired father is buying. He's amassed 10+ acoustics from a particular luthier. The way people talks it sounds like you can pick your tree to be chopped down and built for you I doubt that's the case, but he's happy with his.

To me they're just not worth the risk unless you can play one in person. And if you're **** sure about it... I mean that's a lot of shipping to get it back and have warranty work done on it should a need arise. Suddenly your 1200 dollar dream can be a nightmare...
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old 10-19-2010, 01:29 AM
Rodd Rodd is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: South Cooking Lake, Alberta
Posts: 77
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hambone View Post
Buy American whenever possible.
That's what I do........and Canadian Eh?
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old 10-19-2010, 09:48 AM
backliner backliner is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: California
Posts: 455
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mkreuzer View Post
Hey Guys,
FYI on the test drive thing. We're doing it for free now. We've had so few come back that we just don't worry about the risk of incurring shipping cost or damaged guitars.
Hope it's OK to engage you guys on the forum. We're pretty open about our guitars and what we think about their quality. I would rather be open and honest then try to hide behind a veil as a shill.
-- Mark
Ayers Guitar USA
Wow!
How cool is this?

As a Vet, I'd love to get a Vietnamese guitar and support their economy -mostly as an amends (we trashed the place while I was there)!

I'm definitely interested and have bookmarked the Ayers site (and the Than Can article too).

I sure don't see any problem posting here, Mark. Others do as well. I think talking price is out, but that holds at some other guitar sites on the web too. You could certainly link off site in your signature line.

Last edited by backliner; 10-19-2010 at 09:58 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old 10-19-2010, 11:53 AM
swiftz07 swiftz07 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,330
Default

+1 on Ayers and Badens...they are made in the same factory and hold good workmanship and decent tone for the money. full solid woods, wood bindings, thin braces, clear interior workmanship. I used to own a Timothy Guitar, which is basically a singapore dealer's house brand OEM guitar from Ayers. having played more than a couple badens and ayers i would say they definitely are worth considering.

there have been alot of decent quality guitars coming out of Asia these days..think Eastman, Blueridge or perhaps the Japanese Takamines and Alvarezes that have been around for a while. Personally, the Badens/Ayers would be my choice over these.

no doubt the American guitars are wonderful instruments! but i wouldn't dismiss these Asian makes just because they are Asian.
__________________

Collings OM2H Adi / Braz
Doerr Legacy Swiss / Braz
Franklin OM German / Braz
Franklin OM Carpathian / Braz
Goodall GC Italian / Honduran
Goodall GC Italian / Braz
Goodall CJC Italian / Braz
Goodall CJC Italian / Afr. Blackwood
McPherson 5.0 Full Koa
McPherson 5.0XP Adi / Braz
Martin D-28GE Adi / Braz
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old 10-19-2010, 12:16 PM
Rick Jones Rick Jones is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,008
Default

I have been eyeballing some of the Philipines built guitars with similar curiosity for some months, at the prices they are sold at it's hard to imagine that they could even look as good as they do.

I had an Ayers DSCM, one of the first brought into the uk, the review on Harmony central is mine. It wasn't a bad guitar at all, but one of the braces broke and fell out about 2 years into ownership, I can't blame the build though, because that was the guitar I first started using to learn percussive techniques.
I whomped the daylights out of that poor thing, and it sounded great!

Tried a Baden, the strange (cool) looking offset cutaway model, and that was nice, but too much money, I could get an Irish handmade Jumbo (cough) for the same money that would make it feel and sound inferior.
Ayers though, for the price in the UK is some of the best value around.
__________________
Rick

Yamaha MIJ CJX32
Avalon L32
Avalon A32 Legacy
Lowden 022
Gibson J-185
Takamine TNV360sc
Cole Clark Fat Lady 3
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old 10-19-2010, 04:59 PM
mkreuzer mkreuzer is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 12
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by backliner View Post
Wow!
How cool is this?

As a Vet, I'd love to get a Vietnamese guitar and support their economy -mostly as an amends (we trashed the place while I was there)!

I'm definitely interested and have bookmarked the Ayers site (and the Than Can article too).

I sure don't see any problem posting here, Mark. Others do as well. I think talking price is out, but that holds at some other guitar sites on the web too. You could certainly link off site in your signature line.
Thanks for feedback on posting. I'll be around to support you guys and any questions you may have.

-- mark
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old 10-19-2010, 05:37 PM
backliner backliner is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: California
Posts: 455
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mkreuzer View Post
... I'll be around to support you guys and any questions you may have.

-- mark
Cool.
I'll be lookin' fwd.

Y'know, now that I've got an itch I didn't know I had before...
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:45 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=