<$1000 Guitar Review: Blueridge vs Eastman vs Recording King vs Alvarez

[benbmw]

Hello All,

I am looking for suggestions/requests in planning my comparison video of four budget bluegrass guitars, here is the background info:

I have recently been searching for a budget-minded, solid wood dreadnought guitar for playing bluegrass style music. While I like the sound of the classic Martin D-18 and D-28, I could not justify spending well over $1000 on a guitar at the moment. After doing some research I discovered that I preferred the sound of mahogany back and sides and further narrowed my options to the following four guitars:

Blueridge BR-140
Eastman E10D
Recording King RD-318
Alvarez MD60BG

The Recording King and Alvarez are well under the $1000 budget; both can be found new for $600, whereas the Blueridge is $800-$900 new and the Eastman is $1100-$1200 new.

Unfortunately I was not able to find either of these guitars locally to play and have only identified them as options based on YouTube reviews (J.P. Cormier has good things to say about both the Alvarez and Recording King) and other forum recommendations (often Eastman and Blueridge are highly recommended). The ideal situation of course would be to have all four of these in my hands and do a direct comparison. So... I was able to find them all online with a free return option except for the Alvarez, but I figured I could buy it used and be able to re-sell it locally for minimal loss (less than the $100-$150 return shipping). The Eastman I found used as well on Guitar Center for $799 which brings it below the $1000 budget (and I can return it for free to my local guitar center).

I imagine there are plenty of people who are looking in a similar price range for similar style guitars and will likely consider at least one of these in their search, so I bought a Zoom H1n recorder to do a guitar comparison review and post it on YouTube. The guitars should all arrive sometime next week, so in the mean-time I would like to plan out the comparison video. Are there any licks/tunes that would do well at showcasing the differences in tonal qualities between these guitars? Any general recommendations are welcome as well!

Thanks,
Ben

[Birchtop]

Of those choices, I’d go with the Eastman.

Eastman E6D sitka/mahogany is $893 brand new with free shipping.

[L20A]

Check out this review and watch his other videos on Alvarez and Recording King guitars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJV_z7HTkKU&t=1730s

[benbmw]

Originally Posted by Birchtop

Of those choices, I’d go with the Eastman.

Eastman E6D sitka/mahogany is $893 brand new with free shipping.

Thanks for the suggestion, the E6D might have been the best apples to apples comparison price range wise, but I had my sights set on an E10D after being able to play an E20D, loving it, and wanting a Mahogany version!

Originally Posted by L20A

Check out this review and watch his other videos on Alvarez and Recording King guitars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJV_z7HTkKU&t=1730s

Thanks for linking the video! I have watched several of his videos and they are the main reason the Alvarez and Recording King are on my list.

At this point I am really just looking for pointers in doing my comparison/review. Anything from comparison licks/songs to mic placement tips to overall review format as this will be my first time doing a comparison video and my first time recording my playing.

[UncleJesse]

I’ve owned or had in my possession for an extended time:

Eastman E10D-TC
Eastman E8D
Recording King RD328
Alvarez MD60BG

Of those I’d pick the Alvarez by a large margin. The Eastman E8D would be second. The Alvarez is an incredible sounding guitar for $600. It completely floored me when I got it. The Eastmans look the nicest and the Alvarez is the ugliest but I don’t listen with my eyes.


Edit -- Shows how much I read. You're going to do a comparison. Oh well, I'll be interested to see the video. I think the Alvarez will win

[JBCROTTY]

Just to clarify, you are not looking for input on which guitar to buy, correct? In fact, you bought all four of them and you are looking for suggestions on how best to film a review comparing the four guitars?

[ajerjo]

Very cool idea; thanks for doing this! I'm always interested in comparison videos.

Some suggestions:

• Play a variety of styles, e.g. strumming, flat picking, fingerstyle
• Keep all variables as similar as possible between guitars (e.g. distance from mic)
• If uploading to YouTube, add timestamp links and labels for each separate piece you play on each guitar, so it's easy to jump from one to the other for comparison. This handy if someone wants to quickly compare strumming on all of the guitars back-to-back. These are really helpful.

I'm looking forward to the result! I've been interested in hearing more of that Alvarez in a variety of styles.

[Winfielder]

I'd suggest putting the same strings on all 4 guitars, waiting a couple of days for the strings to settle in, and playing the same songs (or song parts) on each guitar.

It would be cool if you had a decibel meter and could show a live view of it in your video stream as you play. I've never seen anybody do that.

Don't talk much if at all. I can look up guitar specs on my own, and dislike it when a reviewer spends most of the video talking.

When you switch from guitar to guitar, give the viewer some way to easily know at any time what guitar you're playing. Embed the name of the guitar on the screen the whole time, or maybe just write it on something and prop it up so that it's visible in the video. That way people can instantly know which guitar you're playing at any given point.

BTW, I have an E10D and an MD60ebg. I really like the Alvarez, and absolutely love the Eastman. Both are pretty spectacular for their price point, and the Alvarez has an especially impressive amount of guitar booty (low end thump). Their topwoods make a notable difference, especially if you really dig in: the sitka top is like a 5.7L gas engine and the adirondack is like a 6.6L turbo diesel imo, or maybe the sitka is like a V8 and the adirondack is like a V10. Or some such analogy.

Good luck with your videos!

[benbmw]

Originally Posted by JBCROTTY

Just to clarify, you are not looking for input on which guitar to buy, correct? In fact, you bought all four of them and you are looking for suggestions on how best to film a review comparing the four guitars?

Correct! I will let my ears decide once I am able to play them all together. At this point I just want to make sure I make the most of having them all for a time.

ajerjo,
Good tip about the time stamps! The way I am thinking of structuring it is to play the same chord progression/lick on all four guitars back to back rather than playing all of the pieces on one guitar at a time. That way the tune is still fresh in ones mind as the next guitar is played. I will try to play a variety of styles (as my skill permits).

Winfielder,
Great idea to have a persistent label in the corner of the screen identifying each guitar as it’s played! I bought 4 sets of D’Addario phosphor bronze mediums. I’ll be sure to string them up a few days before recording. I should be able to obtain decibel information from the recording itself (given that the mic is equidistant for each recording). It will be my first time audio and video editing so no promises on being able to display that live! I’ll consider just typing up all of the guitar specs and info in the video description and not talking during the review at all.

I’m intrigued by you and UncleJesse’s takes on the Eastman and Alvarez, can’t wait to play them!

[llew]

I'll just add that if you decide on an Eastman (and I'm a big fan) stretching to the TC (thermo-cured) top in either the E6D or E10D (depending on whether you want a Sitka or Adirondack) would be a big improvement overall. Particularly for BG. As others have said...the Alvarez MD60BG is a monster guitar particularly when you consider it's $600 price point!

[ruger9]

Farida should be on this list.

[davidbeinct]

I think it would be really interesting to put one or two used US made players condition guitars into your mix. Two that often get mentioned when people are looking for a good used bargain are the Martin D15 and the Guild D25.

[ohiopicker]

While not on your list, a used Martin SWDGT can be had for $1k or less, and works very well for bluegrass.

[Cromwell]

Do a mix of all 4 strumming, then all 4 flat picked, then all finger style. It would be good if you could put same strings on all 4, but I know this may not be possible with having to send them back. Also if you can put time stamps on the video

[benbmw]

Originally Posted by Cromwell

Do a mix of all 4 strumming, then all 4 flat picked, then all finger style. It would be good if you could put same strings on all 4, but I know this may not be possible with having to send them back. Also if you can put time stamps on the video

Good suggestion, I plan to put D'Addario mediums on all the guitars and just replace the original strings before the return.

For everyone suggesting other guitars, I appreciate the ideas but at this point I'm pretty much set on one of the 4 coming my way already. Nonetheless, useful information for down the road!

-Ben