I think my Farida OT-22 is a mislabeled (solid wood) OT-25

[beatcomber]

FWIW, I just brought the Farida to my guitar tech (Steve Morrill in Boxborough, MA) for some fret work and a set-up, and while I was there I asked him if he could tell if it was all solid or not.

He has some mirror and lighting contraptions that enable him to see deep into the body, and after comparing the grain ribbons on the inside and outside, he confirmed that it's all-solid.

[BadLiver]

I think the Farida OT line is the absolute best bargain in cheap guitars. Most Asian instruments have that slightly plasticky tone. These don't at all. They have a very dry, crispy tone from the word go.

I have played an OT-22, 25 and 26. The 26 is a _little_ warmer but other than that the tone seems identical. I'm not sure what the benefit/detriment of a laminated body is but in this case it seems insignificant. I couldn't discern any different between the 22 and 25.

These are a far cry from Recording Kings, which although I love the designs have repeatedly proven to be junkers in need of serious quality control. My luthier gave up on the last one and said, with a warped neck there's really nothing to be done.

Anyhow the Faridas are something really unique and special. I was told that the earlier ones are better than the later ones but this is probably an old cork-sniffer's wives' tale.

Originally Posted by beatcomber

I purchased a Farida OT-22 from Elderly and after evaluating it for a few days, I returned it because it had an issue, and had them send me a replacement.

I immediately noticed a few cosmetic differences with the replacement guitar, and after comparing the top edge binding and rosettes on the OT-22 and OT-25, it looks to me like I received a mislabeled OT-25.

This is an OT-22 on Elderly's site:



This is an OT-25 - the binding and rosette are identical on the OT-22 I received:



Some other clues...

When playing the guitar, I smell a sweet mahogany aroma. I've never smelled that aroma from laminate-back guitars, only solid-backs. (Does this match your experiences?) The first OT-22 I had did not produce that sweet aroma.

I also looked for tell-tale wood grain patterns on the inside, and think I see corresponding patterns on the back, but I'm not 100% certain.

The guitar also sounds a richer and warmer than the first OT-22, with more of a pronounced bloom and longer sustain.

I tried to pull out the endpin to see the edge of the wood, but it's wedged in pretty tightly, so I guess I'll won't know for sure... but I do believe this is an all-solid guitar.