|
|
#1
09-10-2016, 04:19 AM
|
||||
|
||||
NGD -Journey OF660
Last month, I have been back and forth with my local dealer (Sonic Frog) in Australia to source a Journey OF660. They ran out of stock on all carbon fibre Journey models so unfortunately have to wait a new batch to arrive. I wanted one in blue and dealer checked with Journey and was informed a blue one was set aside and was included in the batch that was coming. After a couple of weeks of wait, the shipment arrived with the dealer but no blue!! The dealer contacted Journey (with the time zone difference had to wait for response the following day) and apparently, the blue was out of stock and Journey sent a black one instead. I didn't mind the black but my heart was already set for the blue one as they said the blue was available. Anyhow, I expressed my disappointment with the dealer because not only do I have to wait for the next batch to come in with the blue one but by the time it arrives with the dealer, it will take another few days before the guitar gets to my door from the dealer.
Here is what the dealer proposed, he sent me the black one by express post so it will get to me the next day so I can have fun with it over the weekend at no extra charge. Then when the blue one arrives he will ship it to me so i can compare the black and the blue to see which one i preferred. Then sent back the one I least like back to the dealer. All this fuss at the dealers expense. Since I got the black one while waiting for the blue one to arrive, now on to the review of the OF660. I have owned a Brunner travel guitar before so the detachable neck system is not new to me. The back pack is a brilliant set up, good foam protection but not overly thick as to make it too bulky. Although bag case can pack in a lot of stuff with countless pockets, but personally, I don't need them and would prefer a more compact bag like what the Brunner had. I find the guitar quite heavy for its size. I have owned a Rainsong WS before and I'm pretty sure that still weights at least the same or probably lighter than the Journey and the WS has 16 inch lower bout which is a big guitar. The assembly and disassembly is very easy, I like the screw at the back which secures the neck even more tightly as I remembered the Brunner's neck is not as tightly secured as the Brunner only relied on one hinge and at times I can feel the neck of the Brunner can still move slightly which may affect the energy transfer losing some sustain. The Journey is dead set secure tight as. The neck profile, love it, very very comfortable. The scale length 24.5" is longer than other smaller ones like Emerald, GS Mini, Cargo, Martin Junior, KM Tour so makes it a more comfortable to play. I like the logo inlay on the headstock, very nice touch, but not a fan of the style of the headstock tough.The tuners work great, I usually don't play a lot of attention to tuners but because you disassemble and assemble this guitar all the time, you use the tuner quite a bit and am glad Journey didn't cut corners on this and the tuners are great, smooth and precise. I am also very pleased with Journey providing 2 bone saddles, one high and one low. I put the high one if I want to strum hard and the low one for fingerpicking. But I mainly fingerpick. The bridge pins sometimes can come off when disassembling it so be careful but not a big deal. The design of the bridge is really great. The pin holes are set so much lower so you can have very low action with only exposing 1mm-2mm of saddle but still retaining lots of break angle on the strings. As for the tone, very impressed, sounds very full and warm, lots of bass and can rival some OMs out there. I will add however a guitar support like the ones classical guitar player use and the one like in Blackbird Rider to lift the guitar higher for more comfortable play, I previously used a Gitano guitar support when I had the Brunner, and intend to use one for it. Overall very happy with the guitar, packed with lots of features for the price. Don't care if it is made in China, it sounds, plays and travel great to me. Here's the pics.        
|
|
#2
09-10-2016, 05:17 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Congrats on your interim OF660! I really do like mine and think Journey has hit a home run with this model.
Cheers... Todd in Chicago Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk
|
|
#3
09-10-2016, 06:52 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Nice Pandaroo
 Been eyeing this guitar for quite some time, and like you, I like blue (well, also like the orange one because it's kind of outrageous- but then again, the whole guitar is outrageous).
__________________
Don't chase tone. Make tone.
|
|
#4
09-10-2016, 10:18 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Congrats on the new guitar! Seems that "Made in China" gets a bad rep... it all depends on the manufacturing specs required, and someone to oversee the production. If one is looking to make cheap crap, they can certainly do that in China... but then can also make quality stuff. The specs have to be set and maintained.
I sure do like my iPhone.  The OF660 looks like a great guitar for those who frequently fly. Kudos to your dealer for making the absolute best of the situation. 
|
|
#5
09-10-2016, 10:54 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
From the bits and pieces gleaned from the two CF forums, AFAIK, the founder is from N. America. I seem to recall posts about getting production issues worked out in person in China long ago.
It would be lovely to hear the whole story and history of how Journey came about as we have heard from Emerald in the past. I think it helps put everything in perspective, at least for me.
|
|
#6
09-11-2016, 01:23 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
"Been eyeing this guitar for quite some time, and like you, I like blue (well, also like the orange one because it's kind of outrageous- but then again, the whole guitar is outrageous)."
For what it's worth, my OF660 is the black version, but in actuality the guitar's body is a very, very dark navy blue. Not the bright blue of the blue version, but not jet black either. I kind of like it! No one's going to say "Hey your guitar is blue", but I see blue in it, and it makes me smile.
|
|
#7
09-11-2016, 01:35 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
__________________
Don't chase tone. Make tone.
|
