Andrew White guitars?

[AndrewG]

These are new to me; all solid woods, built in Korea. Interesting designs and they sound pretty good. Keenly priced too...

http://thenorthamericanguitar.com/an...ba-back-sides/

[Michael Watts]

Yes indeed! We've been really impressed with them. The reviews have been very good too!

Here are a couple of examples

[ericcsong]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

These are new to me; all solid woods, built in Korea.

I thought Andrew was in USA?

[JeremiahB.]

Originally Posted by ericcsong

I thought Andrew was in USA?

He is but these particular guitars are ones he designed, but are built at the Artecsound factory in Korea. In Andrew's own words:

"Last June, I was contacted by a Korean-based company that makes all sorts of guitar accessories, electric amplifiers, pickups for guitars, a number of different things," White said. "The owner of the company, B. Y. Lim, wanted to do something different, and he had distributors for his other products in 50 countries. They're doing the marketing for the rest of the world, and I am doing the marketing for the United States. They're distributing all over the world the product I have designed and licensed.

It will be interesting to see the quality and price point these guitars will be once they start showing up in the US.

[JeremiahB.]

Converting pounds to dollars show they range from $880 - $1,200 for the models listed on the North American Guitar website.

[Birdo]

One of these is virtually top of my want list right now. I m after one of the Cybele models but can't decide if the more expensive model is worth the extra £249 over the jatoba one. Be interested to hear from the man who makes those great videos. Sadly I m unable to go and try before I buy.

[zplay]

More and more impressed by my Freja all solid Jatoba body. After a year or so, it's really hitting it's stride. Probably braced a bit heavier than the smaller bodies, so has needed some playing in ..... But wow!
For me, narrower nut has taken some getting used to: got to be really up on the tips of fingers to avoid muting adjacent strings, yet advantageous for reach.
Unbelievably comfortable for a large guitar - feels like a 12 fretter.

[steelvibe]

I love Andrew White designs. A LOT.

Having said that, I would not want to buy another guitar with a 1 11/16 nut again since it cramps my style, and all the Korean built models have the narrow neck. I do like the price point on these as opposed to the US mades and custom guitars though and think they should be a hit if he can get the kind of exposure some of the large producers have.

[Ancient Picker]

First post here and enjoy the wealth of info, so here's my 2 cents. Discovered these accidentally and really liked the look of the Korean imports (as well as price range). I have a custom guitar built 40 yrs ago by Monty Nivotny (by a luthier from the former 70's builders called NBN) that surpasses pretty much everything except the R Taylors, but has been retired to home use only. Had a Taylor 614 for 15 years that got traded for another guitar, so have been looking for a cheaper replacement since and found these about 6 weeks ago

AW is mainly focused on high end custom guitars starting at $7K so their Korean partnership seems aimed at getting people familiar with those by offering what I would called "starter guitars". Had a chat with the sales rep online as I was drawn to the Freja sunburst on sale. Based on his replies to my long list of questions, I pulled the trigger. Unfortunately, upon arrival, despite great looks, nice case and comfortable neck, the first strummed chord was a disappointment. Simply stated the less expensive laminated sides and back just did not resonate well enough for me. IMO they produce a very thin trebley sound...lacking a low end with a thin midrange. The sales rep did suggest a slightly more costly Freja model (approx $300 more) over the one I got which DID have full rosewood sides and back, so those may sound better.

Andrew is an honorable man and offered to exchange this guitar for another from his stock I might like better, but I declined as I already had another instrument in mind. However I was impressed with his dedication and desire toward finding the right guitar for me.

So as mentioned above these lower cost models would be great for new learners. As as with all guitars, you HAVE to play them before you buy so while this did not work out for me, I still feel AW guitars are well made for the price point...just skip the laminated versions I just saw them featured in a giveaway on the Premier Guitar website, so he is working on more visibility for his production line. Hope this helps anyone on this site.

[gill]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

I love Andrew White designs. A LOT.

Having said that, I would not want to buy another guitar with a 1 11/16 nut again since it cramps my style, and all the Korean built models have the narrow neck. I do like the price point on these as opposed to the US mades and custom guitars though and think they should be a hit if he can get the kind of exposure some of the large producers have.

I believe the imports/production models with the W designation have a 1 3/4 nut width. I haven't tried on of these, but curious as well. If you join his mailing list, you'll get alerts about sales-they just ran a $200 off (plus gig bag) special
on some models.

[Jambi]

Andrew is great. He's been personally covering the chat window on his website and when you email him he gets right back to you. Down to Earth guy with really interesting concepts regarding contemporary acoustic guitar design.

[hotroad]

Originally Posted by Michael Watts

Yes indeed! We've been really impressed with them. The reviews have been very good too!

Here are a couple of examples

I have the Freja and have played it a lot. It's no Martin or Gibson but plays easily and though it has a small body, the tone is OK, not great, but good enough. Sounds more like a small Gibson versus a Martin or Taylor. Good note separation.
I would say it's a good beginners guitar or couch guitar. Of course it just depends on what one wants. The workmanship is top notch and it came with a nice hard shell case made for it. It was set up very well when I received it.

[Tamaguit]

Hi
I recently bought a Freja 512 from Andrew White's guitars to try the production series. That was the first time i tried to buy via Internet... But Honestly, i've been disapointed. For sure when a guitar arrive i bad weather conditions. You have to be patient. Watch the % of humidity and let the wood accomodate a after traveling not always in best conditions. So my first impression when i saw the guitar. The general aspect is good. There is a little bit of varnish excess on the neck on both side of the neck arround the 12 th fret. For the rest seems good. First note... Oh.. The first time i played with the guitar i was a bit horrified. I asked Andrew if Freja guitar could handle fingertsyle and picking... And he told me that it was a nice choice. Soo i decided to balance the humidity for 10 days and then try it back. After 10 i re opened the case then humidity was perfect. So i started to play. The results:
If i play really gently, the guitar sound nice but as soon i try a thumb pick the guitar buzz from every were. I play every note and i found a couple of frets that needed to be lowered. The guitar arrive with EXP Daddario string light tension. I don't like Daddario strings so i talked to Andrew and he confirmed me the gaude and told me i could go up to medium gauge. So i put elixir string on the guitar with the ''light gauge that is similar to Daddario''. The sounds is better but some note are barely playable pass the Octave. I tried to get info from Andrew but he did not answered me. I even sended pictures of the neck (because adjust the rod would not solve the broblem i had). Really sad to got no answer. So if you buy, don't wait 10 days before try them and return them after the 7 days politics. Results is that i paid $2,000.00 cnd for a guitar,hard case and shipping. But i think that you can find better guitar for less. Honestly i never bought a guitar for the price but for the tone and sound. So go to local store and try many guitars and choose with the real feelings. I'm sure that you can find Godin ''luthier signatures'' series, Taylor in 100-300 series or Mexican Martin that will be better in my opinion. I even bought a 500$ guitar that is better than many of 1000'S $$$ guitar i tried. I've left a feedback on Andrew Guitar forum...But the comments are ''flitrated'' so i don't even know if they will post it. Cause the only feedback i got was to check humidity and the gauge of strings. The help stopped there... I suspect that there is some glue is missing Under the bridge that cause the guitar to buzz like hell. Then now 2 month after i received it, an ''electrical wire'' retainer for my pick up, felt apart Inside the body...But still have no news from Andrew Guitar. I really thing that those guitar could have a great potential. But without customers support, i can be positive... Sure if i pay another 500- 1000$ the guitar will probably be ok..But it's more a $3000 Guitar that i will have paid for. So, i hardly not suggest to buy via internet because there is no Customer service after you buy! So could i get better guitar for $3,000.00 cnd.. Probably...

[Tamaguit]

Well after tons of emails...Try to join Andrew Guitar... Tried to leave an evaluation on a 512 (negative a bit)..But they don't publish the opinion of people when it's not positive... If you can't try those guitar before to buy..i suggest you not to buy... NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ALL AFTER A SALE IS DONE...Didn't expected that... You will have better service with a cheap 400$ epiphone than a 1,7k guitar from Andrew White....

[EZpicker]

Hi Tamiguit, I just purchased a freya 132 on Ebay. When i played my first open chord it sounded off and the action needs some adjustment. I recieved an instruction booklet with my guitar and it says if the guitar sound is off in open chords adjust the truss rod. I decided to go one one better and dropped it off at a music store that does repairs. For $50 my guitar sounds great. I think you just need a truss rod adjustment and a once over by a tech. It sucks that that's what you have to do after spending over a grand but your guitar will sound it's best. I hope this helps you out also Andrew is on tour in new Zealand and Australia that's why you are probably not hearing from him.