Your opinions on the Journey OF660

[pandathumb]

Reviving an old thread to add my comments on this. I got the OF660 a couple weeks ago, so far I'm extremely happy but with a caveat; the setup on this thing was abysmal with the action so high it was almost unplayable. The truss rod needed to be adjusted (about a 180 degree total rotation) and both the bridge and the nut were way too high. I had to sand off maybe 1mm from the nut, and about half that from the bridge (the shorter bridge that is). Your average guitarist who doesn't know how to do that kind of work would probably be extremely frustrated with this thing.

One thing to add, the neck is also very wide and the strings are set in from the edge of the fretboard by quite a distance. I'm sure that a 1 7/8" nut will work so I've ordered one. For a fingerstyle player this is phenomenal news and I hope it works out once I install it. I'll also put grooves in the bridge plate so that I can space the strings out as much as possible to match the wider nut. I haven't seen anyone at all discuss this but it's a key upside (or downside if you don't like the wider spacing). Maybe I'll make a youtube video once I get the setup finished.

Last point to emphasize is how well this works as a single carry-on bag. I've got my pixelbook, charger, capo/slide/tuner, toiletries and a spare pair of paints folded on top of the body with 3 days worth of shirts, underwear and socks shoved in the sound hole. In fact the large, offset sound hole is sort of the killer app for this guitar given the way I'll travel with it. It's pricey, but having a legit guitar to play for the 3 days I'll spend visiting my parents at the holidays? That's priceless.

gary

Gary;

There's not been any discussion of changing the nut width on this particular guitar, but there has been considerable discussion regarding the importance of such width.

I hope what you're doing works and look forward to seeing/hearing your reviews.

[TRose]

Gary
I’m also interested to hear how changing to a wider spaced nut works out on the OF660. That would make me consider keeping mine!
Thanks,
Tom

[ATC-Dave]

I've had an OF660 for about 18 months now and have taken it on long trips to Europe and Mexico. Initially I thought the action was too high so I put in the second saddle that came with it and that helped a lot. I had to send it back to Sweetwater to repair the passive pickup and asked them to bring the action down even more and they did a fantastic job and now it's perfect. Lastly I experimented with a lot of different strings and finally settled on D'Addario Nickel Bronze lights. I feel they aren't as muted sounding and have a richer tone across all strings.

It's one of the most comfortable guitars I've played and as a travel guitar it's unbeatable. I can literally stuff a weeks worth of clothing inside the guitar and around it, a laptop in the front pockets along with other reading material and guitar accessories. Add a shoulder bag for other travel needs and I was able to be on the road for two months and never had to check it. Also I was at the beach in Mexico in heat and high humidity and just wiped it down with a damp cloth every few days.

If you are really going to travel this is the guitar to bring.

[futboljim]

I really enjoy mine, for what it is. A short scale (which I like) guitar that I can take anywhere I go. It lives in my car, even in the cold of winter, and I am not one bit concerned.

I like the tone, though it is a bit mellow. It doesn't like to be strummed hard, but that is generally not me, anyway. I tried the aluminum bronze on it, and liked them, but went back to elixir nano pb, and am happy.

The neck is a bit thin for my liking, but I manage with it. I have tested it a couple of times plugged in through my para di, and it seemed like I could get what I wanted out of it - but, again, not generally what I do. Compared to the Rainsong, and the Emeralds that I have seen, the finish work on the OF660 is not up to the same standard, but is passable.

LOVE the travel backpack, and the fact that it will always fit on the plane! Once I get it set up, and the strings stretched, it stays in tune for a long period of time.

I have my APLE for leaving out and playing at home, and an X20 on the way - it will bump the APLE to the cabin, and will be my at home guitar. The Journey allows me to travel (will be doing a fair amount this year) and always have a good guitar to play, and not have to worry about damage or the elements. Perfect fit for me.

[pandathumb]

I've replaced the nut with the 1 7/8" one and it fits beautifully. Strings are now right near the edge of the fret but not so close they ever slip off while playing. And it's much easier to fret the low E string with my thumb so I'm extremely happy that I decided to try this.

Next I need to design and 3D print a new piece to hold the strings in place when the neck is off since the holes in the original one obviously no longer line up. The nut is less deep than the original one too so I'll add some extra material in the print to shim it and keep it in place and laying flat. I've also spaced out the strings on the bridge to about 58mm and I'll file slots for each string to keep them in position since again they don't align perfectly to the bridge pins. I'll probably start a new thread with instructions and the stl for the part so that anyone can do the same thing. Once you adjust make this change (and of course set the neck tension and action at bridge and nut) this plays like an entirely different guitar.

Gary

Gary;

That's just way cool! I would think the maker would be paying some attention to your advancements since they add to the product line.

I look forward to your subsequent posts.

[pandathumb]

Originally Posted by EvanB

Gary;

That's just way cool! I would think the maker would be paying some attention to your advancements since they add to the product line.

I look forward to your subsequent posts.

Thanks, it's not clear to me why they made the neck so wide and used a narrow nut. Really makes no sense. But then again, they ship these things without setting them up at all so I guess I shouldn't have high expectations.

Here's a picture of the way it looks, although for now I had to shim the nut with paper so it's sloppy.

[Gbsher]

I purchased my OF660 a few months ago. Sounds great for what it is. I wanted something that would fit in the overhead space of an airplane and I didn’t want to worry about humidity or temperature. Very happy with it.

[ac]

Originally Posted by pandathumb

Thanks, it's not clear to me why they made the neck so wide and used a narrow nut. Really makes no sense. But then again, they ship these things without setting them up at all so I guess I shouldn't have high expectations.

Here's a picture of the way it looks, although for now I had to shim the nut with paper so it's sloppy.

The OF660 is a great design, but there have been quality consistency issues of different sorts, something Journey has had trouble correcting. When you get one that avoids any problems, it can be a beautiful keeper.

Mine has been great in all respects, including near perfect intonation. It did have an unusual issue that was to such an extent that they offered to replace my guitar directly. I can enthusiastically tell you that the correspondence and service offered was stellar in every respect. A great experience.

But in the end, I opted to keep it as it was. The defect wasn't visible and the guitar played and sounded perfect. The intonation, having the frets cut exactly and in exactly the right places in relation to nut and saddle, is for me, what makes or breaks a guitar I will keep. If it's off beyond a small amount, I hear it easily and even a great guitar with great tone and resonance, sounds ''toyish'' to me.

Mine is perfect. Neck removed and then restored, and all the intonation aspects remain unchanged.

I can't say if this is true for all OF660s out there though. I'd personally be interested to know if others also find their OF660s have great intonation or not.
------------------
I'm curious what your original nut looked like. Maybe it was not their standard nut or not done properly?

Is your nut measurement 1.75 inches (where nut meets fretboard) or is it actually wider than that? If that is wider than that, then that's unusual and a change in the build.

Mine is exactly 1.75, and the nut that came with it is spaced fine and looks similar (not exact though) to your homemade nut spacing.

I once measured and compared with one of the several Emerald X7s I've owned in the past and this was the result:

X7 1 49/64 in fretboard nut length
Journey OF660 1 49/64 in

X7 string spacing 1 31/64 (Center of E to E strings)
Journey OF660 string spacing 1 30/64

X7 saddle 2 14/64 (rear side of saddle measured)
Journey OF660 saddle 2 16/64

Note that my OF660 is from the original design (sound hole slightly lower, mother of pearl logo, etc.)

Hope something above is useful.

That high E looks perilously close to the edge of the fret board, for my play. I had a nylon string guitar with similar dimensions and made a similar change and kept pulling the string off the edge. Things might be different with steel strings. I suppose that how one plays can make all the difference in the world.

Anyway, an instructive modification, thank you.

[ac]

Yes, both Es are closer to the edge than my nut that came with the OF660. The nut shown in the photo would not work for me and my style of play.

[pandathumb]

Originally Posted by EvanB

That high E looks perilously close to the edge of the fret board, for my play. I had a nylon string guitar with similar dimensions and made a similar change and kept pulling the string off the edge. Things might be different with steel strings. I suppose that how one plays can make all the difference in the world.

Anyway, an instructive modification, thank you.

It looks worse in the picture than in reality because it's taken at such a short distance with a tiny lens in the phone. There's almost 1mm of flat on the fret where the string is pressed down before the curvature starts to change, so no tendency whatsoever for it to come off while playing. I'll take some better pictures when I get the new string holder complete. And the nice thing about this mod is that it's completely reversible, if I want to at any time I can just put the original nut back in place.

Gary

I'd have to play it to believe that I wouldn't' pull the string off the board when I play certain songs.

The neatest thing about this option is that it gives the maker the ability to meet several preferences in nut width. Now that you are doing this, it seems like a no-brainer.

Looking forward to more................

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by EvanB

I'd have to play it to believe that I wouldn't' pull the string off the board when I play certain songs.

Looks way close to me too....

The neatest thing about this option is that it gives the maker the ability to meet several preferences in nut width.

If you don't mind the ends of your nut hanging off the sides of the fingerboard That would drive me, umm, nuts.

There's only one nut *width* that will fit any given guitar (without major surgery). What we're really talking about is string spacing at the nut, not nut width.