Incoming Recording King RO-318 Mahogany 000

[eljay]

I'm in "need" of a mahog guitar . . . I've had a Yairi FYM60HD (mahog OM) on order since last November with the delivery date continuing to fall down. To serve as a stopgap and a travel guitar, I pulled the trigger on the RK.

The guitar looks great on paper. Like the 24.75" scale. Considered Blueridge, also but the RK appeals to me more.

If it doesn't measure up, Elderly has a good return policy.

If you're a RK fan and/or owner, please share a thought.

Thank you, eljay

[Jim Comeaux]

I have the dread version and I love it. I was especially impressed with the quality of the Mahogany in it. It’s German Mahogany, also known as Viet Namese Mahogany. It isn’t a “true” or “genuine” mahogany, wrong genus, but it is in the right family on the botanical tree (Mahogany) of classification. My example has quite prominent stripes and even the neck has some good figure in the grain, I am particularly impressed with the top. It is naturally aged Adirondack top that is clear of those little dark lines between the growth lines and look sort of like pencil lines. The grain is pretty tight and the fit is just perfect. I have described what the sound is to me in several posts on this forum. It is generally very good. It is NOT a D-18 though. As much as it tries to be, it just doesn’t measure up to the D-18 in sustain, volume or balance. It doesn’t have the bass that a D-18 has, but then again it is 1/4 the cost of a D-18. It will need a set-up, but after it is properly set up, even at pretty low action heights, you can really thump on it without a lot of buzz and fret noise. String choices? You’ll need to ask someone else. I have been trying different strings out for 18 months and they all sound good on my RD-318. Maybe it’s my tin ear, I don’t know.

[schoolie]

My RO-318 has become my most played acoustic..It's loud and and balanced across strings. The frets were pretty good on mine, but the neck angle was a little under. It also needed some setup work. I think 80/20 strings sound best (but I generally hate the sound of phosphor bronze . I took off the pickguard because The finish is tough, so I'm not worries about scratches. Enjoy it!

[rollypolly]

I have a couple RK 000s , solid tops but lam B&S. But I think they’re fairly close to the RO-318. I think they’re like any guitar in that it comes down to individual sample. My RO-06 which is a lower end RK has a very musical Sitka top. It just sings and rings, probably more than my 00-18. My RO-t16 is adi and can be pretty tight and bright sounding. Could just be my ears preference for Sitka.

[docwatsonfan]

I bought the RO 328, rosewood version

It is a really nice playing , and sounding guitar, I actually like it better than the few Eastman E20 OM's that I've owned

It is a bit punchier, which I like....

I felt the huge pickguard was just plain wrong, and bought one of these...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18435696561...YAAOxypNtSkPaG

I hope you like yours.....
scale length is 24.9 btw

[jricc]

Originally Posted by eljay

I'm in "need" of a mahog guitar . . . I've had a Yairi FYM60HD (mahog OM) on order since last November with the delivery date continuing to fall down. To serve as a stopgap and a travel guitar, I pulled the trigger on the RK.

The guitar looks great on paper. Like the 24.75" scale. Considered Blueridge, also but the RK appeals to me more.

If it doesn't measure up, Elderly has a good return policy.

If you're a RK fan and/or owner, please share a thought.

Thank you, eljay

Very cool eljay! I saw these on the Eldrly site. I love the satin finish, understated and classy. Let us know your thoughts.

[CASD57]

I'm auditioning the RO-328
I like the way it sounds...the way it plays and the harder I strum the louder it gets... very dynamic
What I find weird is that one day it sounds like poo and the next day I can't put it down and it's inspiring..
This of course is probably me and because I'm auditioning other guitars looking for the "One" that fits in an empty spectrum the MD60BG doesn't fill
So my ears are probably get overloaded
Anyway, it's not a Recording King your grandpa had(dirty 30)....these are several notches above that..
Fit and finish is nice

[Southern Cross]

I have had a number of both the RO-318’s andRO-328’s and other Recording Kings. They are an unbelievable value for the guitar you get. I believe you will not be sending it back. If you don’t have a case I would consider the Silver Creek 000 vintage hardshell case. They are really solid cases, and sometimes you can get an open box and get one for around $105-110 on MF. Good luck.
Clifford

[Malcolm Kindnes]

I have a 000 all mahogany ROS 616 which I use for travel and gigging and it does the job very well.

[geelinus]

I bought an RO-318 about two weeks ago. It's not a Martin, but it's a pretty darned nice guitar with Martinesque tone.

I think you'll decide it's a keeper.

Congrats!

[therbulus]

I have an ROS-10 I got in 2014--all solid hog, spruce top, 1-3/4 nut. Pretty good sound. I've never been totally sold on the action: had it lowered once, not that much saddle height left, but still... Maybe it's that the neck is a bit chubbier than my Martin's. At any rate, overall I think the RK brand is definitely in the running with others!

[Yamaholic]

I have the RD-318. Fantastic value for money. Lovely looking loud guitar.
The heavy poly finish does let it down; when i get chance i might sand mine down a bit. Bit of a lottery whether you will need to do a setup on it.

For a cheap strummer/flatpicker, you wont get better, but it isn't suited to more complex fingerpicking; the neck hurts my hands.

That said if I had my time again, i would have gone straight to a Yamaha LL16ARE which is in my opinion the best all round guitar you will get under £$1000 and it will be perfect out of the box

[Jim Comeaux]

Originally Posted by Yamaholic

I have the RD-318. Fantastic value for money. Lovely looking loud guitar.
The heavy poly finish does let it down; when i get chance i might sand mine down a bit. Bit of a lottery whether you will need to do a setup on it.

For a cheap strummer/flatpicker, you wont get better, but it isn't suited to more complex fingerpicking; the neck hurts my hands.

That said if I had my time again, i would have gone straight to a Yamaha LL16ARE which is in my opinion the best all round guitar you will get under £$1000 and it will be perfect out of the box

Well, you are sort of comparing apples to oranges here in that the LL-16 ARE is solid Rosewood back and sides and the RK is solid Mahogany. I know for sure because I own both of them. I agree about the heavy poly finish on the RD-318, and yes you will need to do a set up on the RK, and I disagree that the LL-16 is perfect out of the box. I lowered the action on mine at the bridge and replaced the saddle with a bone saddle from Bob Colosi. I also take issue with your calling the RD-318 “cheap”. There is a definite negative connotation to that word and “inexpensive” would, IMHO, be more appropriate. I can’t comment on the finger picking because I just don’t do it. It doesn’t fit my music genre. I also agree with your assessment of the LL-16. It really is a great guitar for the money, so much so that I am considering replacing the RD-318 with an LL-16M, the Mahogany version of my Ll-16 ARE. It is pretty obvious that the LL-16 is built for finger picking, but don’t let that stop you. The five piece neck saves the day for it and you can set it to a pretty low action height (mine is @ 2 1/2 64ths at the 12th. fret) and still wail on it pretty good with a flat pick without any fret buzz.

[Daveyo]

I just bought an RD3 28 online
I’ve heard very good reviews on it
For the price I pay I don’t think I can go wrong for an all solid wood instrument
I’ll let y’all know how it sounds when it comes in
But on paper it sure looks good
I have owned a Martin D 28
It turned out to have binding problems
And it wasn’t a sweet sounding as I thought it would be
So yes Martin does put out duds as well
When I get it next week I’ll post a review
Good luck on your recording king guitar

[JoeyJoel]

I hear the myriad replies of this tone wood or that. Here is a novel concept;

'Tone is in the fingers.'

Before you toss your old wood ax, consider how you play and tones you need. How far have you ever pushed your experimenting with your personal tone and ALL variables. Consider attack, release, muting chords, partial chords, single notes, and position. Do you pick directly over the sound hole or forward toward the neck, or closer to the bridge. Do you use fingers? What part? Fleshy, or fleshy with part of a fingernail, or pure fingernail. If you use a thumb pick your wrist is in a different position to the string offering a variance noticeable. I prefer it, but these factors and more fashion your individual sound.

A warm fuller tone you will find when you play over the sound hole. play slightly forward of the sound hole. For an even fatter warmer tone play slightly forward of the hole. To get a sharper tone, more treble, pick slightly behind the sound hole. *Note, this requires you to experiment to find what are the possibilities.

Now a word about picks.

I use 1mm black nylon Dunlop picks. They have a distinctive sharp attack, and good for muting a single 'fretted' note to hit the harmonic. Then the usual way to hit harmonics, 'Ah La Rock.' A great pick for rock harmonics. The thin hard plastic pics, for me don't work for the 'bite.' The black nylon Dunlop 1 mm will flex and then like a bow and arrow, snap into the note. (the flex is tight, gives you deep bite, and when you get used to it, it is actually faster to the next note)

Hard vs soft? You think the super hard FAT plastic 'Big Stubby,' at 3MM a totally rigid hard pick would sound sharp hard to manage and trebbly? Nope, the Big stubby is polished so smooth smooth the string slides off the pic, with no friction,and offers a very warm sound even at 3mm. on a clear amp setting. Also, these fat picks have an indented face making it a breeze to hold and control. I was very surprised, but this is my real-time felt experience.

If you use thumb picks, of course Dunlap is great, but if you want to flat pick, and finger style, 'Herco' has a thumb pick with a flat pick side, it is very cool!

So think how many factors go into tone we have immediate control of, and not what we don't have. Then build from there.