NGD - Dirt Cheap Hog 0/00 (sound clip added)

[Robin, Wales]

I have just received a Vintage Statesboro 'Paul Brett' Parlour guitar. Although called 'parlour' (Vintage are an English brand) it is a 00 width lower bout with a narrower waist. It has a mahogany laminate back and side but, on doing a little inspection, it seems to have a solid mahogany top. Scale length is 25.5" and nut with is 1 11/16". The neck is mahogany and in a soft V - it's very comfortable.

The neck set angle is OK - I should be able to get 2.5mm bass and 2mm treble @ 12th fret OK after a set-up. The fretwork is good - all seated well, and just a couple of spots that may need a fret level. The truss rod seems to work OK. The fretboard flies across the body in a straight line - no lump after the 14th (as on the Martin I received last week and sent back!). The top bracing and top curves look perfect (unlike the saggy tops on the last two Martins I received - both went back!!!!).

It has a plastic nut with that pretty standard cheap guitar narrow string spacing. I'll replace the nut with bone and also I should easily get a 1/8" more out of the string spacing when I cut a new one. The plastic bridge is going too. The tuners seem OK but I have a set of Gotoh minis that I'll probably install at some stage. All in all - it seems like an OK guitar that should do the job I want it to do.

What does it sound like? - Well, it sounds exactly like you'd expect a hog 0/00 size guitar to sound. My wife likes it, and I think that with a good set-up and the right strings so will I. It was her idea for me to just buy something dirt cheap via the internet and fix it up and then wait until I can spend some time visiting guitar shops to find something I really want. I have been very disappointed trying to buy something in the mid-range price bracket over the internet,

And the price: 99.00 GBP (that's $125 at today's exchange rate). I don't think that these guitars are available in US? It makes a change for us to be on the plus side of the guitar scales over here in the UK!!!!!!!

[jbpoolsfla]

Congratulations

[Robin, Wales]

Full fret level and dress done and new bone nut with wider string spacing made and fitted. Saddle lowered a little but not yet replaced with a bone one (later job). Gotoh Mini tuners fitted and a set of Martin Reto strings. Hopefully I'll get a year out of those retro strings!!!

It plays nicely now, so I'll just see how it settles over the next few weeks.

[Goat Mick]

That's a cool little guitar. I've been looking at the Vintage brand since I saw a video with Colter Wall playing one. Not many outlets for them in the US.

[lar]

Yikes, you made a new nut, added tuners, etc... in no time at all. Someone isn't getting any sleep they are so excited! Stay hydrated (you, not the guitar), eat and rest. And remember to sleep.

Congrats. Have fun with it. And if it's too loud after it 'opens up', you could always stuff some socks inside.

Interesting about your Martin experiences. You're very picky about your guitars - I like that. If you weren't half a planet away I'd pay you to be my personal guitar inspector.

[Silurian]

Vintage are great for the money. I used to have a V300 folk. I've still got a V100 Les Paul a like electric.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by lar

Yikes, you made a new nut, added tuners, etc... in no time at all. Someone isn't getting any sleep they are so excited! Stay hydrated (you, not the guitar), eat and rest. And remember to sleep.

Congrats. Have fun with it. And if it's too loud after it 'opens up', you could always stuff some socks inside.

Interesting about your Martin experiences. You're very picky about your guitars - I like that. If you weren't half a planet away I'd pay you to be my personal guitar inspector.

LOL!!! I wouldn't say excited - more like short of time with all the house jobs I have going on! I used to do around 100 set-ups a year so I can pretty much knock up a nut from a rectangle of bone in my sleep

Vintage are great for the money. I used to have a V300 folk. I've still got a V100 Les Paul a like electric.

Yes - they do make some nice guitars. However, the Statesboro range are the bottom of the barrel in terms of price. The one I have has just enough neck angle to be able to work with but you can guarantee that its brother or sister will be better or worse. I know how the Chinese workshops operate for these budget builds. It may surprise people but at this price point these are usually hand built guitars from small, family owned, sub-contracted workshops. The neck on mine certainly looks/feels hand shaped rather than CNC cut. This shot is pretty typical of the process:



Hand building like this means is you get variance - and I quite like the fact that you can get really bottom end budget guitars that actually have character. It is always worth picking up something from the bargain bucket when you are in a guitar shop and playing it. It just may have come from a small OEM batch that was placed with a minor workshop that was owned by a family of particularly skilled craftsmen and women. The difference between the guitar I have and a more expensive guitar will be partly the fixtures but mainly the time allowed for the build. My Vintage Statesboro guitar would have been turned out fast!

[Robin, Wales]

I have finally had a chance this evening to record a sound clip of my Vintage Statesboro Parlour guitar. I recorded it on a Zoom H5 using the internal mics and topped and tailed it in Audacity. No e/q adjustments just a little reverb added as my sitting room is as dead as a dodo. I have played a few tunes moving the capo up the guitar. I think it has that classic all mahogany guitar sound and, overall, the tone is not too bad for a very, very cheap guitar. Excuse the playing - I really need to record myself on guitar more often when practicing to get rid the the tension of red light syndrome!!!

[lar]

Hard to believe that is a $125 guitar.

It doesn't sound 'quiet' at all.

[lar]

I don't even see your OO on their website:

https://vintageguitarsus.com/acoustic-historic-series/

[Cool555]

Great sounding Hog guitar! Nice playing too! Congrats on getting that Hog!

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by lar

Hard to believe that is a $125 guitar.

It doesn't sound 'quiet' at all.

Relative to my dread it is way easier to sing across!

Originally Posted by lar

I don't even see your OO on their website:

https://vintageguitarsus.com/acoustic-historic-series/

It is under the Paul Brett Signature Series and is the V880WK - this is from the UK website:

https://vintageguitarsrus.com/collec...ar-whisky-sour

[rokdog49]

Excellent little guitar and I enjoyed your playing very much.

[rokdog49]

Excellent little guitar and I enjoyed your playing very much.

[Robin, Wales]

At last we had some sun this afternoon