Recording King RO-10 acoustic steel-string guitar

I bought this guitar after reading a number of very positive online reviews. The guitar arrived well packaged on the agreed day which is always a good start. Until 4 months ago i had owned a Martin 000-28EC costing over £3000 inc a pickup so I had high expectations before i opened the box. Seeing the guitar for the first time was something of a reality check, you just dont get £3k quality for £230. The cross silking of the soundboard that one online review spoke of for this model was definitely absent. In fact in certain lights there are distinctive white streaks through the grain which i've never seen in a guitar before. That said the grain is nice and tight, very straight, just some funny colouring, purely cosmetic though. The other funny that caught my eye is the black matt paint on the top of the bridge! When i took it home i removed this with fine steel wool, it came off really easy to reveal a lovely piece of rosewood underneath. I don't get the logic of painting it however it was easily fixed and looks great now. The last negative was the tuning machines. They're not great but not awful. My main gripe with them is the screw fixing is at a 45o angle making it difficult to replace them without leaving a mark. That said if you're happy with them, no problem.

OK that's the bad. On the good side it's all solid wood and the back and sides, binding, fretboard etc all look great. The biggest surprise for me was how loud this thing is. Volume wise it's comparable to a dreadnought which is surprising for a smaller body short scale guitar. Now does it sound like it's Martin 000-18 cousin upon which its design is based... No. But it sounds good in its own right. It's loud, clear, articulate and easy to play. Little to gripe about here. If you're coming from an electric guitar or an acoustic with a 43mm nut (standard) you'll find the neck quite wide and it may take you some time to get used to it. The neck is not thick, just wide which is perfect for finger style; something to be aware of. The set up wasn't great out of the box however a few twists of the truss rod with the supplied allan key to add a little curve to the neck soon sorted things out. Having played this for a few days now and added a pickup i have to say i'm really impressed. I have no hesitation recommending this guitar. Just spend a little time to get it set up properly or take it to a guitar tech and you'll have a great little player for all types of music.

This is an outstanding instrument sold by a World-class online retailer at an unbeatable price.



Upon inspection, this instrument has been maintained at the highest standards. The bridge is in full contact with the soundboard, passing the paper test, and the bridge plate, underneath, is in perfect condition. The inside bracing, curfing, and other crictical glue joints are solid, as is the feel on the strudy-fitted machine heads.



In addition, the saddle height, neck relief, and nut height have been setup optimally for comfortable and dynamic playing.



The materials that have been used for this guitar are of the most favourable calibra, making it, in my opinion, on par with instruments that cost ten times as much; this guitar has a truly balanced projection of tones.



I cannot recommend both Recording King and Bax-Shop to every one of my private guitar students, parents of my music pupils, fellow musicians, and ethusiasts.



To summarise, I am very happy with my purchase, and found the telephony staff, who provided up-to-date information on my item, to be very helpful and friendly; top marks all round.