Blueridge guitars... Any good?

[Stisse]

So I've read some interesting and positive things about these Cheapo-Chinese-Wannabe-Martin guitars. Anyone here who has one or have tried them? Even better, anyone compared them to the 'good ones'? I'm thinking about picking up a BR-160 or BR-180 (the same guitar with different ornaments).

http://www.sagamusic.com/catalog/pro...ID=2&BrandID=5

Take care,
Stefan

PS. And as far as I know, I can't try one out before purchase since they're not represented in Sweden...

[84K]

I don't know about those at all, but a company called Breadlove makes a 1930s Martin Replica line that is amazing. I think the guitars are $1500-2k USD, but that is not bad for the sound, quality and look you get. They really nailed every aspect of those classics.

[Stisse]

84K,
I've heard good things about the Breedloves too, but unfortunately it's way out of my budget for this guitar. Though for my future purchases I'll look into them.

Thanks,
Stefan

[Beauarts]

They're an amazing deal. A very well made guitar for dirt cheap. I have the BR43 which is an OOO sized guitar. Sounds great and I'm not afraid to leave it in the car. I paid $300 for it and I'd have to spend over $1000 to do approach it from a traditional guitar company. Excellent wood.

I should also mention any guitarist that hears or plays it always comments how good it sounds.

All you chinese mic naysayers take note. That's what'll happen in a couple years with LD chinese mics.

[Lek]

I have the BR 60. I tried out about eight Blue Ridge acoustics and found a gem (though they all sounded better than their price). At first I thought the price was $2000, and I didn't think twice. When I found out it was $395 I jumped on it.

I played it next to new santa cruz's, larrivees, martins, and it held its own (not saying you might not find a boutique one that will be significantly better - I tried a $6000 collings that was unbelievable). I still want a 50's J-50 or J-45 though!

[squeegybug]

Yes, Blueridge can be the real deal. I've played many of them, and know several people who have bought them. The only thing I can't get around is the very narrow neck width, I prefer 1.75". And the inlays are a little gaudy for my tastes.

Does it have the same "feel" as my Lowden or SJ-200? No. The Blueridge are very lightly braced and the sound is resonant and often loud, but they don't have the same kind of substance as the better quality instruments. I don't really know about durability, but for the price they can be nice to have around.

Steve

[Jose Mrochek]

I didn´t know ¨blueridge¨was even some sort of known brand. 15 or so years ago my friend bought one for 150$ bucks. He had it in the closet for many years afterwards, until recently I told him.. what´s up with that old guitar of yours and we put some new strings on it, and voila it´s the official studio guitar!! Beats the 1.5k takamine counterparts like the one i´m holding on my avatar : )

I don´t think it beats a martin, but it´s a hell of a great sounding studio guitar and it plays real easily. It´s like the damm thing loves to be played. Awesome guitar!!

[Jonk]

Just look for a 70's Yamaha. About half of them out there sound and record incredibly. A blueridge was my first guitar about 12 years ago. I can't say that it was very good at all. I don't know what model it was, but it was a Dreadnaught.

Maybe their recent ones are better or something but I had to buy a cheaper new guitar, I'd get a Seagull.

[Benjy King]

Don't want to be one of those, "Well....this guy said." But----a few years ago a client was looking for a new acoustic. After exhausting previewing he decided on the Blue Ridge BR-160.

[max cooper]

I went to a guitar store to check out some acoustic guitars; they had Blueridge guitars and I checked 'em out, but I was unimpressed. They all sounded cereal-boxy.

Even those weird black plastic Martins are better.

Just my opinion, tho.

[Stisse]

Everyone, thanks for your input! I'll see if I can find some more comments on the net. For $800 I don't expect to find a world class instrument, but since I'm not paying for a 'high-profile' brand I figured I could probably get a decent workhorse.

Max Cooper and Squeekybug...your comments makes me a bit nervous. Especially the resonance-part.... Any particular models that were more bad-sounding?

Stefan

[squeegybug]

Originally Posted by Stisse

Max Cooper and Squeekybug...your comments makes me a bit nervous. Especially the resonance-part.... Any particular models that were more bad-sounding?

Well, please don't take my comments as negative. I think the Blueridge can be an excellent instrument, especially for the price (they can be much cheaper than $800 in USA). My point was, the sound is typically a rather "big" and open ringing sound, rather than the focused and "woody" sound of some more specially constructed instruments.

That big sound can be very useful, and is often just the thing for recording, although in my experience it can be a little more challenging to capture. For playing out live and just jamming, the Blueridges I've played have a very pleasant appeal. They are often quite loud and very responsive. So if that is what you are looking for don't be nervous, they have been around for a while and these kinds of impressions are fairly repeatable across their product line as near as I know.

Read here if you want more opinions.


Steve

[Stisse]

Originally Posted by squeegybug

Well, please don't take my comments as negative. I think the Blueridge can be an excellent instrument, especially for the price (they can be much cheaper than $800 in USA).

I know there are some cheaper models, but the BR-160 is around $500 and BR-180 $750 when I looked around? Perhaps you know some reputable nice-price dealer with international shipping?

My point was, the sound is typically a rather "big" and open ringing sound, rather than the focused and "woody" sound of some more specially constructed instruments.

I see your point...and that's what making me a bit worried. The big sound could be a bit problematic for my purposes (recording). Maybe it'll get more 'woody' after being abused for a while? I'm looking for focused sound, with an open top end. Maybe that's difficult in this price range...

That big sound can be very useful, and is often just the thing for recording, although in my experience it can be a little more challenging to capture. For playing out live and just jamming, the Blueridges I've played have a very pleasant appeal. They are often quite loud and very responsive.

Well, it'll be used almost exclusively for recording, and that big sound might not fit in a busy mix. I also find it more difficult to record big-sounding acoustics.

Read here if you want more opinions.

That's seems to be a really good one...



Thanks again,

Stefan

[squeegybug]

Stefan, for recording purposes I agree, the ringing/chorusy type guitars do not typically capture well. I love the Lowden O32 for both studio and live sound, but that is not a $500 instrument. Others that can have a somewhat dry sound that can record very well, but also at a wide range of price levels, are Goodall, some Gibson and Guild, Larrivee, some Martins, etc.

For your needs and somewhere closer to the budget I'd highly recommend you consider the Martin all mahogany 15-series guitars like 00-15, 000-15, even D-15. They will not be $500, but maybe close to the $800-1000 range I expect. They do make cheaper laminated models, and they are often very respectable instruments as well.

Steve

[Stisse]

Originally Posted by Jonk

Just look for a 70's Yamaha. About half of them out there sound and record incredibly. A blueridge was my first guitar about 12 years ago. I can't say that it was very good at all. I don't know what model it was, but it was a Dreadnaught.

Maybe their recent ones are better or something but I had to buy a cheaper new guitar, I'd get a Seagull.

Thanks for the tip. It could be difficult chasing down a good 70's Yamaha...compared to finding a new instrument with a good track record. But I'll definetely keep it in mind when I go shopping.

Stefan

[Stisse]

Originally Posted by squeegybug

Stefan, for recording purposes I agree, the ringing/chorusy type guitars do not typically capture well. I love the Lowden O32 for both studio and live sound, but that is not a $500 instrument. Others that can have a somewhat dry sound that can record very well, but also at a wide range of price levels, are Goodall, some Gibson and Guild, Larrivee, some Martins, etc.

For your needs and somewhere closer to the budget I'd highly recommend you consider the Martin all mahogany 15-series guitars like 00-15, 000-15, even D-15. They will not be $500, but maybe close to the $800-1000 range I expect. They do make cheaper laminated models, and they are often very respectable instruments as well.

Steve

I'll give that a serious thought, though it'd be interesting to hear one of those cheap Blueridges.


Thanks again!

Stefan

[Fibes]

The OOO model sounds great for the money.

It's not a pre-war martin, Santa Cruz or Collings.

You have to be careful not to store them in your car in the heat.

But some of those cheapo guitars sound close to a guitar 3,000 times more expensive.

[manomanoman]

Originally Posted by Stisse

Everyone, thanks for your input! I'll see if I can find some more comments on the net. For $800 I don't expect to find a world class instrument, but since I'm not paying for a 'high-profile' brand I figured I could probably get a decent workhorse.


Stefan

For $800 you sure can get a world class acoustic. Blueridge guitars are by almost all accounts I've read and heard very nice guitars. Then again, these days there are tons of nice cheap acoustic guitars. In fact the phrase "nothing in this price range can touch this guitar" can be attributed to just about any review of any cheap guitar these days. I had a cheap Art & Lutherie Wild Cherry acoustic, it was like $250 or something, made in Canada and got great reviews from everything I read. The build quality was outstanding, the attention to detail was top notch, the sound imo was barely acceptable. My $500 (got it as a second for $300) solid body an10 Takamine was the second best sounding acoustic I ever heard, the best sounding? an old epiphone plywood thing, it was a friends, he left it at my house for about 10 years, lol. It sounded great, just something about it. I've never been overly impressed with any high end guitar I've played sound wise, I could never justify paying the asking price when 9 times out of 10 there are five other guitars in the store a fraction of the price that sound as good or better to my ears. That being said, an $800 acoustic IS a high end guitar in my book. Here's some food for thought on the subject ...

Tom Scholz of the band Boston,

"At one point, I received a call from (producer) Boylan telling me that he had just bought (singer) Brad a very expensive Taylor 12-string acoustic guitar on the album studio budget. Ironically, I was that very night laying down the 12-string acoustic guitar parts for "More Than a Feeling," using a $100 Yamaha acoustic"

[Mason]

I have a Blueridge BG-40. Love it. Sold a Martin D15 after I got the Bg-40 cos it never got used. Brilliant in the studio in a dense contemporary rock/pop mix...

[jmanjet]

You can't touch anything REALLY good for $800. That being said, I own a Blueridge BR-160, and it is awsome. I bought it for about $500, and it is the best guitar I've ever heard for that price. I recommend them to everyone looking for a nice, cheap guitar. I have a Seagull, which is ok, but soundwise not even comparable to the BR-160. I also own a Collings D2H, and have played many Santa Cruz, Bourgeois, Martins, and a few other top names, so I know a little something about tone. I have had my Blueridge for at least 2 years now, and it has been my brother-in-laws only road guitar. It has held up fine so far to some heavy use (he picks pretty hard). Bottom line, I think the Blueridge guitars are the best buy these days for good inexpensive guitars.

[Jimbo]

The new Blueridge line has nothing in common with the old line.

I have the 140 (mahogany back). I replaced the plastic bridge pins with ebony and put a decent set of medium strings on it, and it sounds like it cost a lot more than the $475 I spent on it.

I see the 140/160 models all the time at bluegrass festivals -- people bring them to the campgrounds instead of their vintage Martins.

[Jim Williams]

I spent an afternoon at Buffalo Bros. guitars here in Carlsbad, probably the best store for acoustics in the USA. They have all the botique brands, Martins, etc. I was looking for a guitar that has a lot of snap on the top end attack, not a thick woody tone. None of them except maybe a couple of $8000 jobs even got my attention.

I have a Olympia 000 sized I use a lot to record with. It was made by Takoma in Indonesia. I paid $179 for it at a local Costco store. I feel like I saved around $7800 on that deal. 99% of the high enders don't have the top end zing this model has. For recording, it's wonderful.

Anyone try out the Guild Masterbuilt models? They seem to have the right stuff but I havn't heard one yet. They are priced around $600.

My buddy Lawrence Juber's 1935 Martin 000 is just incredible, but's a bit pricy for me. He has his own Martin Artist model out now and he say's it's very good for a fingerpicking detailed sound as I'm not a folkie strummer. He's offered to get me one at cost, about $1800.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[Mark Cattano]

FWIW, my friend, the late, great, Robert Quine, purchased FIVE Blueridge acoustics about a year or two before he commited suicide. If Bob liked them, and, believe me, he had about three hundred guitars when he died, I'm sure they'll pass muster. For what they cost, they're a great value. Are they a vintage Martin or Gibson? No. But they're a fraction of the price...

Mark Cattano
Magneto Studios
www.myspace.com/markcattano

[bluegrasser]

I love Blueridge guitars, but just like Martins they vary wildly guitar to guitar.

Incidentally, if you want a "cheap" Brazilian Rosewood guitar check out the Blueridge 260. That's what i have (as well as a BR-160 that sounds very, very good). I also have a vintage Martin D-18, and a ten year old D-15. I used to have a Brazilian Rosewood D28, but I sold it to buy pro audio gear. WAH!!!

The Brazilian Rosewood thing is not hype. All things being equal a brazilian rosewood guitar will beat an indian rosewood guitar every time. IMHO.

[tidepool]

My Blueridge played just like a Kentucky... lump of coal! It looked the part, but was very dead acoustically. You gets what you pays for...

[Reverend Abraham]

My favorite guitars were the Squire I bought on tour in the UK for 70 pounds and the 60's Ramirez knock off with terribly high action. my least favorite guitar is the pre-war, $1000 parlor guitar. go figure

[CTTE]

I've played 5 or 6 Blueridge guitars at a local shop. I was not impressed with the sound or with the fretwork. The edges of the frets were so sharp and if you slid your hand up the neck, you could slit your hand open.

But they look a lot like a guitar.

I'd stretch a little and go with a cheapie Martin. I have a friend who has one that is maybe $200 more than a Blueridge. It lacks the shellfish of the Blueridge, but the quality of construction was much, much better.

[Joeytpg]

I have a Blueridge 160 and it kills! it's my fav. I have a Larrivee OM03 too which I really dig too, but I prefer the blueridge. The neck is narrow which I love and the body is a little bit smaller than the larrivee.

To me the sound is amazing, not as powerfull as the Larrivee but very clear. I plays like butter.

Here's a video of me using mine:

[Musiclab]

I have a BR78 it's a 000 28 size guitar, it records great. 000 size is what you want for recording, dreadnoughts are often too boomy and unfocused.

[Go Nigel Go]

I've played a few Blue Ridge guitars in the music stores, I'd say not bad for the money, and a pretty decent starter guitar. Some of them were actually pretty decent sounding. I've actually thought about getting one for a "campfire" guitar (to play not burn! lol).