Quote:
Originally Posted by SalFromChatham
The 2nd OT22 I bought had a ton of issues... it went back. Make sure if you buy the OT22 that Elderly checks it out well before you buy it. By the way Elderly was awesome with how they took care of me on the one that didnt work out.
|
I had a similar experience, and Elderly went above and beyond to make sure I was satisfied in the end. A real class act, Elderly.
My first experience a year ago with the line was an OT-22W, which as noted had some issues, but I was able to form an impression of the guitar. I didn't spend much time with it, but I don't remember being overly impressed with it.
The replacement I received turned out to be an OT-25 that had been mislabeled as an OT-22 at the factory (and incorrectly invoiced to Elderly at the lower rate, I might add) - this was confirmed by Elderly after I alerted them. So I lucked out and got an OT-25 at a substantial discount.
For the first 6 or 7 months I owned the guitar, I was not especially impressed with it, it was just OK. It was kind of stiff, boxy and unyielding, and it had no bloom or any of that certain
je ne sais quoi that makes one love an instrument. I considered selling it for a while, but decided to hang on to it, as a sort of 'deluxe beater' for playing outside, etc.
Then, suddenly, about six months ago something happened... it opened up! I became aware of the sweetening of the tone. A delicacy and subtlety was now revealing itself. Instead of dryness, there was now
bloom and
complexity.
It became a joy to play. Now, when I move from playing my Martin over to the Farida, it doesn't feel, you know,
cheap.
My point is, those who've evaluated the OT-22 and OT-25 at Elderly might not have gotten a complete picture. If you compare both models while
brand new, the relative difference might not be substantial, leading one to conclude that the up-charge for the all-solid model might not be worthwhile. My suspicion is, if one were to compare mature, broken-in examples of the two models, the difference in relative depth and subtlety may well end up being significant. This is something to keep in mind when choosing between the two models, how they will mature relative to each other.
