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(More customer reviews)This is an exceptional guitar for the money. It's design is based on the pre-war Martin guitars that are so coveted by collectors for their perfect tone and playability. It does not sound exactly like a vintage Martin or any of the current Martin Vintage or Authentic series guitars, but then again you aren't paying several thousand dollars for this guitar. If you want vintage specs in a completely playable guitar, that sounds pretty close to an expensive Martin at a fraction of the cost, then this is the guitar for you. If you absolutely want that Martin tone and playability then save your money and buy a Martin. I have a few Martins and I love them.
I won't list out the specs because you can get them directly from the Recording King website ([...]).
This is a strikingly beautiful, vintage looking guitar. The herringbone trim and high gloss polished finish are first rate. There are no flaws at all that I can see in the finish. The solid sitka spruce top is a beautiful selection of wood comparable to guitars costing more than twice as much. You can't tell from the above picture but they added a nice "aged" toner to the clear coat of the top for a very vintage look. The mahogany back and sides are very pretty. Nice tight grain, quality solid wood selection all the way around. Nice smooth solid mahogany neck. All solid tonewoods. No laminates here!
Upon opening the box, I tuned up to pitch and played for a couple of minutes. Then I replaced the strings with my normal D'Addario EJ17 medium gauge phosphor bronze strings. The action was close to perfect right out of the box but the neck had a little bit more relief than I like. I prefer an almost flat fretboard. I tightened the truss rod a quarter turn to take out some relief and this guitar was perfect.
Prior to my purchase of this guitar, I was a bit worried about the comfort of the "V" neck profile. I thought it would be too cumbersome and uncomfortable. That is not the case. I find the "V" neck profile to be very comfortable, easy and enjoyable to play for extended periods. The "V" neck almost feels like a little shelf for your thumb to rest upon as you finger the guitar. It's very similar to the "V" neck profile of the Martin D-18V. Very nice!
The tone is where this beauty really shines. There is pronounced treble and midrange without being brash. It has just enough bottom end bass response, thanks to the forward shifted scalloped bracing. The bottom end is punchy and responsive, without being muddy, boomy and overpowering. Overall, very nice tone from this beauty. Played hard, this baby can be pushed quite a bit without overdriving the top. If you drive it hard it can get loud so if you are jamming with others you won't get lost in the mix. Overall this guitar has great balanced tonal response. I expect that the tone will only get better with age and playing as the guitar opens up.
I've owned many guitars in the 45 years that I've been playing. Many of them cost much more than this one. For the money you can not beat this guitar. Some of the more expensive guitars that I've owned were nowhere near the quality of this one. Seriously!
If you are looking for a really well built, great sounding, easy playing solid mahogany dreadnought guitar at an affordable price... buy this one. There are a lot of other guitars in this price range, but none that I've played are built as well as the Recording King guitars. The choice is simple... if you want a laminated guitar with lousy tone for about the same money, then buy something else. If you want a guitar with solid tonewoods, forward shifted scalloped bracing, and fantastic tone for the money that will only get better with age, buy a Recording King RD-126 Hog (hog means mahogany by the way). I really don't think you'll be disappointed with this nice guitar. For me, this one is a keeper!
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