Anyone familiar with Maestro guitars out of Singapore?

Rosewood99 · #1 07-22-2016, 01:17 PM

Saw some beautiful guitars on Reverb custom made by Maestro guitars. Anyone have any experience with these? It looks like they use some exotic woods like Mango and Purple heart.

PeteD · #2 07-22-2016, 03:26 PM

Here's a review from a guy based in Singapore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYM5-YDsBI

Seem to be pretty guitars....but sound is tough to tell from this youtube, but probably not my cup of tea based on this review.

muscmp · #3 07-22-2016, 03:45 PM

possibly better than an estaban. maestro is an old gibson brand and gibson has sold some of these guitars. here is one from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Maestro-Gibso.../dp/B0016BS8J2

play music!

Rosewood99 · #4 07-22-2016, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

possibly better than an estaban. maestro is an old gibson brand and gibson has sold some of these guitars. here is one from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Maestro-Gibso.../dp/B0016BS8J2

play music!

Not the same brand. I was talking about Maestro guitars from Singapore. These are high end boutique guitars.

Rosewood99 · #5 07-22-2016, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeteD

Here's a review from a guy based in Singapore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdYM5-YDsBI

Seem to be pretty guitars....but sound is tough to tell from this youtube, but probably not my cup of tea based on this review.

Yeah, your right, the sound quality wasn't so great. But that led me to a better video. Not bad:

Ralph124C41 · #6 07-22-2016, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muscmp

possibly better than an estaban. maestro is an old gibson brand and gibson has sold some of these guitars. here is one from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Maestro-Gibso.../dp/B0016BS8J2

play music!

Sorry to go off the subject but whenever I see that "Maestro" listing I think of just about my favorite stupid Craigslist story: A guy was selling a Gibson electric for $500. That's a very good price. Turned out it was a "Maestro by Gibson". The same guitar I could buy on sale for under $100 at my local Best Buy. I emailed the sender (it was nice) and the ad disappeared. Either he (or she) yanked it or ... gulp ... sold it to some unknowing person who thought it was just a Gibson Maestro, like a Gibson Les Paul or SG.

Sorry, back to the discussion.

Rosewood99 · #7 07-22-2016, 05:22 PM

Wish I could find someone on the forum who has owned or played one of these.

pandaroo · #8 07-23-2016, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Wish I could find someone on the forum who has owned or played one of these.

Next weekend, I am going to kuala lumpur to visit Guitalair who carries asian high end boutique guitars but not well known overseas yet, such as Maestro Guitar (Singapore), Lindsay Marcus Guitars (Malaysia), Gwood Guitars (South Korea) Dehradun Guitars (India) among many others. I will report back with my thoughts on the Meastro for you.

rmyers · #9 07-23-2016, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Wish I could find someone on the forum who has owned or played one of these.

I played a couple Maestros about a year ago at the Fretted Frog in Pasadena, Ca. I think that some are still for sale on their website. Nice guitars. Roland at the Fretted Frog could answer some of your questions. I just checked the website. They are now listed as "HoZen Luthier" on the Fretted Frog's website. Has something to do with conflict with Gibson Maestro name/trademark possibly.

Rosewood99 · #10 07-23-2016, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pandaroo

Next weekend, I am going to kuala lumpur to visit Guitalair who carries asian high end boutique guitars but not well known overseas yet, such as Maestro Guitar (Singapore), Lindsay Marcus Guitars (Malaysia), Gwood Guitars (South Korea) Dehradun Guitars (India) among many others. I will report back with my thoughts on the Meastro for you.

That would be awesome. Thanks!

papawil · #11 07-23-2016, 11:01 AM

I was able to play one recently, a Maestro Custom Series Raffles-IR.

I must say, it sounded really good. Individual strings rung clearly and when you strum a chord, you can hear them blend together very well. However, the soundport which is the hole on the top part of the side of the guitar, directed towards the player and is claimed to reproduce the true sound coming out of the soundhole, kinda strikes me as a gimmick. I didn't hear any sound coming out of it (at least when I tried it). Also, the neck profile is quite uncomfortable for me.

Overall, it sounded awesome. Build quality is good. BUT, for its price (the particular model I tried costs around $1700-2000), I think I'd rather get a Taylor or a Martin.

Rosewood99 · #12 07-23-2016, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by papawil

I was able to play one recently, a Maestro Custom Series Raffles-IR.

I must say, it sounded really good. Individual strings rung clearly and when you strum a chord, you can hear them blend together very well. However, the soundport which is the hole on the top part of the side of the guitar, directed towards the player and is claimed to reproduce the true sound coming out of the soundhole, kinda strikes me as a gimmick. I didn't hear any sound coming out of it (at least when I tried it). Also, the neck profile is quite uncomfortable for me.

Overall, it sounded awesome. Build quality is good. BUT, for its price (the particular model I tried costs around $1700-2000), I think I'd rather get a Taylor or a Martin.

Where did you find one at that price? All the ones I see on Reverb.com go for $3,000-$4,000.

How was the neck profile? thick or thin?

muscmp · #13 07-23-2016, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Not the same brand. I was talking about Maestro guitars from Singapore. These are high end boutique guitars.

yes, you are correct. they get to use whatever names they wish and call it their brand. hope you do find a good one.

play music!

SiliconValleySJ · #14 07-23-2016, 11:14 AM

I also played some of them at FF when I was visiting family in Pasadena. My thoughts were that they had awesome features for the money and were a tad overbuilt/heavy. Woods looked great.

I thought some sounded good, but I definitely preferred some of the Lowdens in the shop over them. The Maestros sounded nice, but didnt have the same sustain/overtone content. Still, they stacked up well against the Larrivees and H&Ds that were there.

If you find the one that's perfect for your ears, it's a bargain and a great find.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmyers

I played a couple Maestros about a year ago at the Fretted Frog in Pasadena, Ca. I think that some are still for sale on their website. Nice guitars. Roland at the Fretted Frog could answer some of your questions. I just checked the website. They are now listed as "HoZen Luthier" on the Fretted Frog's website. Has something to do with conflict with Gibson Maestro name/trademark possibly.

papawil · #15 07-24-2016, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

Where did you find one at that price? All the ones I see on Reverb.com go for $3,000-$4,000.

How was the neck profile? thick or thin?

I'm not 100% sure about that price, but it's here in the Philippines.

Neck profile is thick, so guys used to Taylors might have a little bit difficulty adjusting.