Contents
Pros
- Impressive loud bass tones
- Cheap, inexpensive guitar
- Suitable for beginners
- Magohany design is impressive
Cons
- Might be too big for some, given the size
- Sharp fret ends(9th to 12th)
I always consider myself as a beginner guitarist, and I’m constantly looking for the best beginner acoustic guitars out there to share with you guys here at Guitar Junky.
Today, we’re going to look into a guitar that perfectly fits any beginner who are looking for a decent budget acoustic guitar to get started. It offers great sound and aesthetics without breaking your bank(and I mean it).
It offers a lot of value for the money features that I’ve decided to include it in our best acoustic guitars for beginners list. You don’t have to take my word for it, but it also is included on Wirecutter’s list.
In this review, let’s find out if affordability and quality meets in the middle. After all, what’s reasonably priced acoustic guitar if it doesn’t play well and produce a good sound. Anyhow, let’s get into it, shall we?
Editors Note: The guitar that I have right now for the review came with a Rosewood Fretboard. The new ones that Orangewood Guitars will be shipping out as of this writing will come with a Rosewood/Laurel Fretboard.
Design & Construction
It has a natural satin finish and bone saddle/nut add to the lovely aesthetics of a guitar at an incredibly low price. The body has an overall length of 41 inches, body height 4 11/16 inches and body length 19 5/8 inches.
A cutaway style acoustic guitar, the Rey Mahogany is with a layered mahogany top, back and sides.
Mahogany is a cornerstone is tone wood for many fretted instruments. While it might lack on the aesthetic side of things versus other woods have, it’s suitability is unmatched for guitar instruments. It shines in the back and sides of this acoustic guitar.
Mahogany is distinct for its open grain for producing punch and warmth, accentuating the middle range, and de-emphasizing the bass.
All these characteristics make for a tonal spectrum. Personally, I’ve always been interested and attracted to the open and woody sound of a layered-mahogany made guitar.
And if you also like a crunchy, dry and punchy sound, this Rey Mahogany is for you as well. It simply has my respect versus rosewood’s metallic and rum-jug bass overtones. We’ve all long-enjoyed acoustic guitars produced by mahogany wood, by the way.
Its neck is of mahogany, too, which provides a feel of stability, and its scale length is 25-1/2 inches.
This right-handed acoustic guitar has a laurel/rosewood fretboard material that produces sweet and warm tonewood. I believe it does the same even for acoustic guitars with a maple neck.
I appreciate that the Rey Mahogany is with a pickguard for installation and a couple of adjustment tools. That’s a good thing. Not to forget, it also comes with a chrome tuner.
Overall, the construction was solid, on both its layered back and sides along with the fret board. It’s a solid guitar for the money because the nice wood looks great although not booming. The sound that it produces was overall on the warmer side with more control.
Playability & Performance
The neck isn’t too thin or too thick and the string actions are quite hard the first time. It might not be easy to move from lower to higher frets especially for a newbie. But nonetheless, the tone is balanced with some dark highs, which can cut through for a perfect combination.
I enjoyed the rich sound it delivered. This instrument is perfect for beginners who’ve started showing interest in playing the acoustic.
The frets weren’t sharply sounding unlike other acoustic guitars in the same category do. I must say though, it needs a bit of re-tuning after a few hours of playing, but that’s acceptable.
Sound
OK, here goes. I am absolutely impressed by this little thing. I’ve been with it just for a couple of hours for this review, but I just cannot take my hands off it.
Even newbie players would agree and fall in love with this baby out of the box, although its sound came out untuned. That’s not a problem, though. A little tuning work does the trick.
Its compelling in terms of tone quality and balance of notes. I found that it’s not just easy to play but also great at middle range, bass and higher end notes.
Given that it has a Grand Auditorium body shape, it still is surprisingly loud. But the loudness didn’t come with clarity, unfortunately. Yes, it’s loud, which is good, however, I can clearly hear some overlaps in tone between each strings.
I also noticed its superb sustain despite being all-laminated which is impressive.
Verdict
It’s almost the perfect tune when it arrived and sounded fantastic out of the box. I must say, it did well than other entry-level guitars did.
So if you’re just starting to learn, I suggest getting the Rey Mahogany. It’s not just getting a cheaper guitar but a good quality one at that. They won’t hurt your fingers, too. While it needs re-tuning from time to time, you don’t have to fret because it can be done in a cinch. And you also need to do that in other guitars, so that’s somehow given.
I recommend the Rey Mahogany for those who want a rich and warm tone while not compromising the overall playability in a nicely constructed acoustic guitar. Its natural satin finish and solid mahogany top, back and sides make for a great sounding acoustic guitar that you should not miss. All of these features, for a price that’s not going to break you bank.
Get it from OrangewoodGuitars.com(Free Shipping).
Also Read: Honest Orangewood Guitars Review (Top Picks)