Post by mattmilton on Feb 5, 2019 13:45:30 GMT
Prompted to start this thread as I scored the Recording King RNJ-26-NA secondhand off eBay last week for £240.
It's a lovely acoustic guitar.
www.recording-king.co.uk/product/recording-king-rnj-26-na-acoustic-guitar-century-jubilee-series-p40
All solid: spruce top, mahogany back and sides. It's like a parlour guitar (maybe a tiny bit bigger than the average parlour?) but is extra deep. I think it's that extra depth and the spruce/mahogany combination that makes it so clear. It doesn't have that 'boxiness' that a parlour has (a 'boxiness' that I like, generally) and sounds much more like an orchestra or Grand Auditorium model. Unusually, it is 13 frets to the body. Very very pleased with it. In fact I would be very happy with it even if it paid full new price (about £520 new I think; it's one of the few solid-wood guitars RK still make). A bright, zingy guitar with a touch of Gypsy Jazz to it. There's several YouTube videos of guitarists playing pre-war acoustic blues and ragtime on this one, and I can see why.
It the third Recording King acoustic that I own. I also have an ROS616, which is an all-solid-mahogany 12-fret to body orchestra model. This is what started my love affair with Recording Kings about 5 years ago. It is my favourite guitar in the world ever. I've played luthier-made guitars 10 times its cost and preferred this one. The only drawback is that it has a very light coat, which means it is super sensitive to scratches and knocks. Now that they've discontinued making the model I tend to keep it in the house.
For that reason bought a cheap laminate Recording King, the ROS06, which is part of the same series, with the same body shape and dimensions a year or so ago, to take to open mics and sessions and gigs. Cost me £130 secondhand off Gumtree. It's still a nice guitar, has a solid, beefy, straightforward sound. Bit lacking in harmonics and overtones but put the right strings on it (anything bright and brassy) and it holds its own. Like all RKs it is very good for blues and folk. The price I paid for it means I can sling it in a soft case on my back and cycle to gigs. You see it crop up on Gumtree from time to time, often for as little as £100.
Disappointingly Recording King seem to now be sticking to the bargain-basement end of things these days. They still have a lot of cool-looking guitars, but there was a time when they were making mid-range solid wood instruments using classic pre-war guitar designs for a bargain price.
It's a lovely acoustic guitar.
www.recording-king.co.uk/product/recording-king-rnj-26-na-acoustic-guitar-century-jubilee-series-p40
All solid: spruce top, mahogany back and sides. It's like a parlour guitar (maybe a tiny bit bigger than the average parlour?) but is extra deep. I think it's that extra depth and the spruce/mahogany combination that makes it so clear. It doesn't have that 'boxiness' that a parlour has (a 'boxiness' that I like, generally) and sounds much more like an orchestra or Grand Auditorium model. Unusually, it is 13 frets to the body. Very very pleased with it. In fact I would be very happy with it even if it paid full new price (about £520 new I think; it's one of the few solid-wood guitars RK still make). A bright, zingy guitar with a touch of Gypsy Jazz to it. There's several YouTube videos of guitarists playing pre-war acoustic blues and ragtime on this one, and I can see why.
It the third Recording King acoustic that I own. I also have an ROS616, which is an all-solid-mahogany 12-fret to body orchestra model. This is what started my love affair with Recording Kings about 5 years ago. It is my favourite guitar in the world ever. I've played luthier-made guitars 10 times its cost and preferred this one. The only drawback is that it has a very light coat, which means it is super sensitive to scratches and knocks. Now that they've discontinued making the model I tend to keep it in the house.
For that reason bought a cheap laminate Recording King, the ROS06, which is part of the same series, with the same body shape and dimensions a year or so ago, to take to open mics and sessions and gigs. Cost me £130 secondhand off Gumtree. It's still a nice guitar, has a solid, beefy, straightforward sound. Bit lacking in harmonics and overtones but put the right strings on it (anything bright and brassy) and it holds its own. Like all RKs it is very good for blues and folk. The price I paid for it means I can sling it in a soft case on my back and cycle to gigs. You see it crop up on Gumtree from time to time, often for as little as £100.
Disappointingly Recording King seem to now be sticking to the bargain-basement end of things these days. They still have a lot of cool-looking guitars, but there was a time when they were making mid-range solid wood instruments using classic pre-war guitar designs for a bargain price.
