J
Outstanding tone and value - only minor issues at this price point.
I bought this after sending back to Thomann a Regal RD40vs. A really badly made guitar. I reviewed the Regal too so you can check out that to see what its faults were on it's product page.
This Recording King, although costing a lot less money is a far better made and better sounding instrument, IMO. It is not faultless, so I'll deal with what's wrong first. The instrument I received has noticeable laquer bloom in the clear-coat, indicative that it was most likely sprayed on a cold, damp day, so I suspect they don't exactly have modern factory conditions. I have kept the guitar because it does not detract from the sound at all, but I'm highlighting the issue as it might be a concern for another buyer.
It needed setup work on arrival... but that could be due to clumsy handling by the carriers.
Once stripped down, I could see this guitar has a level rebate for the cone to rest on and that matters a lot in terms of tone and volume. Alignment was good too. It has a very decent sounding cone, a well-fitting spider, nice ebony-tipped saddles and very good Grover tuners. The nut was properly cut and made of decent quality bone. The tailpiece is heavy gauge and properly fitted. The fitted d'Addario strings were in poor condition though... the G string was not even from the same set. I prefer GHS Cryo 17-56 on squareneck dobros and, turns out they really got the cone working well on this guitar.
The neck angle is correct and enables a nice action with fine tone and playability once the saddles were adjusted and the tension screw set.
Tonally, this Recording King is really nice - plenty of power and rather an 'old school' tonality with loads of richness, and the sound is consistent all over the neck - it doesn't 'thin out'. One reviewer said they didn't like the cone... I can't agree with that, I did a direct comparison with a QD-1 Quarterman and the Recording King cone compared very well for tone and power.
Bottom line... Once properly set up, it is a way better guitar than it should be at this price. Highly Recommended.
This Recording King, although costing a lot less money is a far better made and better sounding instrument, IMO. It is not faultless, so I'll deal with what's wrong first. The instrument I received has noticeable laquer bloom in the clear-coat, indicative that it was most likely sprayed on a cold, damp day, so I suspect they don't exactly have modern factory conditions. I have kept the guitar because it does not detract from the sound at all, but I'm highlighting the issue as it might be a concern for another buyer.
It needed setup work on arrival... but that could be due to clumsy handling by the carriers.
Once stripped down, I could see this guitar has a level rebate for the cone to rest on and that matters a lot in terms of tone and volume. Alignment was good too. It has a very decent sounding cone, a well-fitting spider, nice ebony-tipped saddles and very good Grover tuners. The nut was properly cut and made of decent quality bone. The tailpiece is heavy gauge and properly fitted. The fitted d'Addario strings were in poor condition though... the G string was not even from the same set. I prefer GHS Cryo 17-56 on squareneck dobros and, turns out they really got the cone working well on this guitar.
The neck angle is correct and enables a nice action with fine tone and playability once the saddles were adjusted and the tension screw set.
Tonally, this Recording King is really nice - plenty of power and rather an 'old school' tonality with loads of richness, and the sound is consistent all over the neck - it doesn't 'thin out'. One reviewer said they didn't like the cone... I can't agree with that, I did a direct comparison with a QD-1 Quarterman and the Recording King cone compared very well for tone and power.
Bottom line... Once properly set up, it is a way better guitar than it should be at this price. Highly Recommended.
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BG
Searched for a capable Dobro Style Squareneck Guitar
Yes, I find it!
I knew well that the brand Recording King manufactures excellent banjos and guitars, so that´s why I chose this product. I was truly surprised by the hight quality and the rigid construction of this "Dobro" square-neck guitar. It´s made of mahogany with an ebony fingerboard. The metal parts are well made and great!
I feel that the sound is as good as many of the higher rated brands such as the Beard Guitars - that specializes in high quality resonator instruments. They are good of course, but the RK RR-60VS Squareneck is not bad at all!
A LOT of instruments for the money!!!
Love the sound of the Continental Resonator Cone and the Spider Bridge a lot!
Also, the Grover tuning machines are precise and it´s easy to tune the instrument.
Greg Rich* knows well what he is doing. Thanks and thanks Thomann!
*He once worked at Gibson making the banjos great back then. Also had the firm
Rich & Tailor - who made banjos and Dobro style guitars. He got the knowledge and experience, to say the least!
I knew well that the brand Recording King manufactures excellent banjos and guitars, so that´s why I chose this product. I was truly surprised by the hight quality and the rigid construction of this "Dobro" square-neck guitar. It´s made of mahogany with an ebony fingerboard. The metal parts are well made and great!
I feel that the sound is as good as many of the higher rated brands such as the Beard Guitars - that specializes in high quality resonator instruments. They are good of course, but the RK RR-60VS Squareneck is not bad at all!
A LOT of instruments for the money!!!
Love the sound of the Continental Resonator Cone and the Spider Bridge a lot!
Also, the Grover tuning machines are precise and it´s easy to tune the instrument.
Greg Rich* knows well what he is doing. Thanks and thanks Thomann!
*He once worked at Gibson making the banjos great back then. Also had the firm
Rich & Tailor - who made banjos and Dobro style guitars. He got the knowledge and experience, to say the least!
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JE
Fantastic sound and value
10 out of 10 for build quality, sound and value. A perfect instrument to learn the basics of old time and blue grass dobro. Build is really good and the tone is much better than you would expect at the price point.
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