Has Anyone Tried Out an Orangewood Guitar?

[Jim Comeaux]

I am seeing a few reviews and some talk about Orangewood guitars. They are advertised as being made in Indonesia and imported and “set up” in California. No, there are no details about what is involved in this “set up”. I haven’t had an opportunity to play one or even fondle one. I usually take specifications with a bit of scepticism, and the specs on these appear to me to be heavily loaded with “marketingspeak”. About the only impressive specs that I can see are the prices. They are pretty low, and you know what they say about “too good to be true.....” Have any of you had any hands on experience with these guitars?

[R. Wayne]

I bought an Orangewood Dana, specifically for taking to an annual vintage motorcycle event that lasts for several days. In 2019 the temperatures, in October, were over 100F in the shade. I cooked my Martin D-Jr in 2019, so for 2020 I bought the Dana. The Dana is their smallest, cheapest guitar..... $125, delivered. Even less if you have a discount code.

I have been thoroughly impressed with this little guitar. It is super light and resonant....... workmanship is very good. And in my case the "set-up hype" was true..... it came out of the case ready to play and EASY to play. For $100 it cannot be beat..... I can't vouch for other Orangewood models, but there should be reviews on YouTube for the model you are interested in.

They have free shipping, if you want to return it, you pay the return shipping.

[vintage40s]

Originally Posted by Jim Comeaux

I am seeing a few reviews and some talk about Orangewood guitars... Have any of you had any hands on experience with these guitars?

Yes, I bought a little Dana two years ago. I think $125 for guitar with bag, shipped. It was perfect. But I wanted more better. I returned it and bought a few more parlors up the scale, ending up with a used Eastman E20-P, the best of all, for well over $1000. But it was the same size as my Eastman E20-OM and did not sound as good. So it went the way of the Dana.

The point -- The Orangewood Dana was incredibly good. An incredible value.
I think all their guitars must be. And if you don't like, just return.

[Pdubs76]

I have the Hugo live and it’s a nice playing baritone for the price.

[Mezner]

I have an Oliver M which I think I paid $150 for during black friday. Not a bad guitar for the price at all, solid mahogany top with a bone nut and saddle and a nice padded gigbag. I had to lower the action a bit more, but other than that I think for $150 it can't be beat.

[captain_jack]

I bought a Dana mini on Black Friday that I ended up returning because I thought it sounded a bit boxy. But the fit and finish was really nice, way more than I would have expected for $100 (and way better than the $100 dreadnought I got from guitar center). The padded gig bag is also pretty nice. Customer service was smooth on the return, I would definetly give them another shot for a larger model based on my initial experience.

[darylcrisp]

Mary Spender has one........seems to like it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FFg3L5IPxw


and just saw this from Jeremy Shepperd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKd0pnrC8NU

[Ralph124C41]

I bought an Oliver Jr., mainly because it was one of the few OW guitars with a 1 11/6-inch nut width. However the body was just too small for me and it sounded boxy. That's not the fault of OW but it was my fault for just ordering a smaller-bodied guitar.

OW charges a flat $15 return fee for buyer's remorse so I sent it back and didn't bat an eye at that charge.

One thing to remember: OW sends the pickguard unattached. If you attach it, then you can't send the guitar back as I did because OW considers that you have made a structural or related change to it.

In my case, however, that was easy. OW forget to even send me the pickguard.

I would also say the OW customer service was a pleasure to work with.

[jasbo49]

I got an Oliver Jr. a few months ago. There was a lot to like. It was really sharp looking for a $195 guitar.

But I couldn’t get past the two downers. The action was high at the nut, slots not cut deep enough. And I had intonation problems all over the fretboard.

I returned it, but would still consider another. I replaced it with a Taylor GS Mini, which plays much better. But I have to say the Oliver Jr. was much better looking.

Jim

[Ralph124C41]

BTW, if you look around the internet you can (or could) get a discount code for 10 percent off. I used that to get my Oliver Jr. down to about $176 or so.

[Fatfinger McGee]

Tomo Fujita liked his: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RRNFSvnoRD

[CarlE]

I also ordered the Oliver Jr. and ended up returning it. As many have said, it was good "for the money" but I guess I was used to playing higher end guitars and I wasn't really happy with it. It was decently made and looked good, and it actually was set up pretty well. My main complaint was that the A string seemed to overwhelm the other strings and in particular sounded deeper and fuller than the low E, so it had a bit of an unbalanced sound. If it were not for that issue, I probably would have kept it. They were great about taking it back, supplied the return label, promptly refunded my payment.

I ended up paying over twice as much for a Taylor GS Mini which I am much happier with sound-wise.

[jcpharm]

i don't own one but i ordered one for a friend of mine and had it for ~1 week before restringing it and giving it to them. it was the Morgan Spruce Live (solid sitka top with layered mahogany B&S, GA body with cutaway and fishman pickup) - it was on sale in Dec for $230. during the one week i had it, i would say it is worth more than the sale price - probably sounds as good as most $400-500 guitars with that solid top/layered B&S configuration. neck was playable and build quality was quite good as well as the setup (they are manufactured in indonesia(?) but setup in California). they give you a padded gigbag as well. the one thing that is meh are the Ernie Ball strings that come with it - not my cup of tea. i restrung it with DAddario EXP16s and it sounded much better. here is a vid of a guy probably playing to its potential:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeAB-Pv8AnE

i would recommend an Orangewood solid top to someone who is starting out and wants a beginner-to-intermediate level guitar. i don't think their all-solid models are as good value considering what else is out there.

[Michaelbrady71]

I've got an Oliver Jr mahogany acoustic/electric. What a quirky little guitar? Great coach guitar. Great blues guitar. The short scale length makes it very easy to play and plugged in it sounds very interesting. Like something Jack White would play. Just squeals. If you can afford the relatively cheap price, it's worth it. Set up was good and once I found the strings I like on it (Martin Retros), I play it often. I own much more expensive and 'nicer' guitars, but I'm not sure I have any more fun than when I play this one. Understand that the unique size on this specific model probably has a lot to do with that.

[bfm612]

Here's a demo by a set of expert hands: