Is Recording King The "New" Eastman?

[campacj]

I have owned several Eastman guitars over the last decade or so and I have found that they are an excellent alternative for those of us who can't afford a Martin or a Taylor. However, they seem to be going up in price and are not such great values lately.

I have also purchased a Recording King RD-328 and an RD-342 in the last couple of years. Both have been VERY good in every way. They each have Excellent build quality, beautiful cuts of wood, great low action, and wonderful, rich sound. I would say that I have come to consider these two Recording King guitars the best value in acoustic guitars on the market, beating out Eastman. If you have had some experience with these guitars, I would like to get your opinion.

Thanks,
Clint

[StrayMan]

I have NO experience with Recording King guitars and have owned 8-9 Eastman guitars (Currently 5) over the last few years. What I have heard through other Guitar sites, is that the Quality control of R.K. is nowhere near as good as Eastman's. You can find a real nice R.K. and then many after that are "Duds" with poor build quality.  Again, this is what I've read/heard not personal experience..... Sounds like you got very lucky. . Thumbs Up!!

[noah]

As you might know from previous posts, I bought two recording kings this year, both all solids -- an RO328 (adirondack and rosewood), and a Series 11-000 (sitka and mahog), both of which I've reviewed elsewhere on this site (see " Eastman Acoustic Guitars / Recording King vs Eastman" and
"Around the Campfire/Other Guitar brands/ Recording King Series 11 000")


In some ways both were "compromise" purchases; other things being equal I would have preferred Eastmans (comparably spec'ed models, E20 OM, and E1-OM, though the 11's much lighter than the E-1.

Two factors informed my decision: cost and hands-on availability.  

Cost: (my situation makes me price-conscious)
The R0328 --demo with a very small cosmetic blemish, 1/4" round-- put me back me about $ 650.00 CAD / $490.00 USD (no case or bag), less than 1/2 of a comparable (demo blem) Eastman?

The series 11* was $540.00 CAD (sale price, no case or bag) but came with a fishman sonitone; best price i could find on an Eastman E1 OM was $ 815. CAD ( padded bag , but no electronics).

*Notes

--on RK QC: I returned the first series 11 after i discovered in the quiet of my home a slight but noticeable "rattle/buzz" that neither i nor the tech (later back at the store) could isolate.  They had another 11 in stock that i really pored over carefully and took home. very happy with it, lots of lap time.

--after i'd bought the 328,i saw a used Eastman E20 OM, advertised locally, and spent some time with it. good price and liked it lots! very tempted, but it i already had the 328, and it was very darn close to the Eastman (also a slightly wider nut and strung spacing which i like). Nearly bought the E anyways, figuring i'd sell one of the addy/rosewood om's later.. but just stuck with the RK. Timing and access/opportunity: Had i come across the E first, i definitely would have bought it, and wouldn't have looked further.

Hands-on Availability
This was a big factor. Not that i hadn't owned and loved an AC-OM1 (nut width ultimately too tight) and played several other Eastmans but that

there are only two dealers in the greater Toronto area (Canada) that carry Eastmans, and their stock tend to move out the door very quickly; it's hard to try them out. (one dealer's 80 miles away).

And trying out the RK's, getting them in my hands and listening,i said to myself: hey that's pretty darn good, nah that's really good!  Had there been eastmans in the store, i'd have a/b-ed and might have walked away with eastmans, higher cost and all. Availability and in-the-moment pleasure.

So short version, imo: Eastmans have a well deserved reputation for excellence --tone, aesthetics, craftsmanship-- and their pricing more recently reflects that. Rk's are factory assembled (I'm pretty sure) and are hit and miss in terms of QC. Both of the RK's i have are very very
good guitars ( the RO328 especially often still blows me away..)

All that said, when i'm feeding my gas curiosity/preoccupation on line, fantasizing about dream guitars, my go-to first-choice search term is Eastman.

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pics, rk

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I have NO experience with Recording King guitars and have owned 8-9 Eastman guitars (Currently 5) over the last few years. What I have heard through other Guitar sites, is that the Quality control of R.K. is nowhere near as good as Eastman's. You can find a real nice R.K. and then many after that are "Duds" with poor build quality.  Again, this is what I've read/heard not personal experience..... Sounds like you got very lucky. . Thumbs Up!!

 

pics, rk

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I have NO experience with Recording King guitars and have owned 8-9 Eastman guitars (Currently 5) over the last few years. What I have heard through other Guitar sites, is that the Quality control of R.K. is nowhere near as good as Eastman's. You can find a real nice R.K. and then many after that are "Duds" with poor build quality.  Again, this is what I've read/heard not personal experience..... Sounds like you got very lucky. . Thumbs Up!!

hi strayman:

noticing an "S&P showcase" in your signature.
impressions?  

(the guitar i most regret parting with? a S&P showcase folk (englemann  top, rw b&s): great tone and playability/neck!   (nut at  1.72" the only downside for me
---ans the sale did fund a taylor 322 fret that's also a real joy. so many guitars...       

[StrayMan]

"hi strayman:

noticing an "S&P showcase" in your signature.
impressions?  

(the guitar i most regret parting with? a S&P showcase folk (englemann  top, rw b&s): great tone and playability/neck!   (nut at  1.72" the only downside for me
---ans the sale did fund a taylor 322 fret that's also a real joy. so many guitars...  "

Noah,
Funny you should ask. I literally decided to possibly Sell/Trade the guitar yesterday. It's a nice guitar and almost impossible to find an all solid Flame Maple B&S guitar for under $1500. I found for my ear ,  I've had to put light mediums on to pull out a little more bass (12-56) I've played the guitar with numerous players who swear by Martins/Taylors/Gibson's and all thought the guitar sounded nice. I own 8 acoustic's ,all Dreadnaughts except 1 , and as this guitar is pretty much last on the list to grab because I love my Eastman's so much , I'm ready to part with it for a smaller body and possibly Rosewood B&S just for something different.
Here's a link IF interested in seeing it. 

Here's a link:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/ite...2311394674

[sleigh]

hi strayman:

noticing an "S&P showcase" in your signature.
impressions?  

(the guitar i most regret parting with? a S&P showcase folk (englemann  top, rw b&s): great tone and playability/neck!   (nut at  1.72" the only downside for me
---ans the sale did fund a taylor 322 fret that's also a real joy. so many guitars...      

Go back nearly a decade to 2014, and the acoustic guitars I owned were (pardon the pun) a flock of Seagulls, as I felt Seagulls were the best "bang for the buck" guitar out there at the time.  I had an S6, a Seagull Performer CW QI, and finally an Artist Studio with the Q2 pickup, the one Seagull I still regret selling. I mention this only to illustrate how things can shift over time.

I now return you to your originally scheduled forum topic...

[AlanSam]

We don't seem to hear so much about Blueridge guitars lately. Anybody got any views of Recording King vs Blueridge?

[noah]

"hi strayman:

noticing an "S&P showcase" in your signature.
impressions?  

(the guitar i most regret parting with? a S&P showcase folk (englemann  top, rw b&s): great tone and playability/neck!   (nut at  1.72" the only downside for me
---ans the sale did fund a taylor 322 fret that's also a real joy. so many guitars...  "

Noah,
Funny you should ask. I literally decided to possibly Sell/Trade the guitar yesterday. It's a nice guitar and almost impossible to find an all solid Flame Maple B&S guitar for under $1500. I found for my ear ,  I've had to put light mediums on to pull out a little more bass (12-56) I've played the guitar with numerous players who swear by Martins/Taylors/Gibson's and all thought the guitar sounded nice. I own 8 acoustic's ,all Dreadnaughts except 1 , and as this guitar is pretty much last on the list to grab because I love my Eastman's so much , I'm ready to part with it for a smaller body and possibly Rosewood B&S just for something different.
Here's a link IF interested in seeing it. 

Here's a link:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/ite...2311394674

thanks for the reply.

--+

looks nice! i've never owned-- or even played-- a maple b&s guitar, but sense that the wood would be too "punchy" for my playing style and circumstance (i rarely need to "cut through a mix"). And am preferring these days the shoulder and arm comfort of smaller bodies.

S & P: i almost ventured out to try the "woodland pro folk" (i think the showcase line has discontinued). It's well-spec'ed , canadian-made, reasonably priced and has been very favourably reviewed.  ( Plugging that maple leaf, those godin products..    : )   )

https://acousticguitar.com/simon-and-pat...lk-review/


several listings --some with electronics--on reverb.

cheers
n

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hi strayman:

noticing an "S&P showcase" in your signature.
impressions?  

(the guitar i most regret parting with? a S&P showcase folk (englemann  top, rw b&s): great tone and playability/neck!   (nut at  1.72" the only downside for me
---ans the sale did fund a taylor 322 fret that's also a real joy. so many guitars...      

Go back nearly a decade to 2014, and the acoustic guitars I owned were (pardon the pun) a flock of Seagulls, as I felt Seagulls were the best "bang for the buck" guitar out there at the time.  I had an S6, a Seagull Performer CW QI, and finally an Artist Studio with the Q2 pickup, the one Seagull I still regret selling. I mention this only to illustrate how things can shift over time.

I now return you to your originally scheduled forum topic...


----
"originally scheduled forum topic"

yeah, best guitar-bang for the buck: an ongoing conversation and ever-evolving field of candidates!

best,
n 

---

We don't seem to hear so much about Blueridge guitars lately. Anybody got any views of Recording King vs Blueridge?

i played several blueridge 341's (parlour) and was impressed: strong vintage tone, good projection, chunky neck and wide nut, very playable;i nearly (twice) pulled the trigger.

I've also noticed that, like many other things,  they've gotten more pricey (some over-pricey?) these past few years --maybe too because their reputation has grown as word's spread.

I'd put blueridge, and upper-end alvarez and RK's in roughly the same category: decent- to escellent chinese-made guitars; i've read of folks raving about "outstanding", examples of them...
As noted, RK has gone through some QC growing pains, might still be doing that.


course, there's a raft of divergent opinions, and confirmation biases, on-line.

(j.p. cormier's blind test between a martin D-28 and RK RD-328 has made the rounds, 48k views,  and generally quite a strong case for "lesser" (thirds and fourth tier) brands.

[pszy22]

I owned two R.K.'s about 8 years ago.  One a dred, one a 000.  BOth were good guitars, not great.  Neither had the build quality of my EP20.  Both had the bridge start to separate from the body.  This seemed to be a fairly frequent occurrence.  I had bought both guitars new, R.K. declined to make any effort to repair, basically said sorry to hear about your problem, good luck.

I think R.K. may have upped their quality since then, but I haven't owned one since to know for sure.

I do agree that the Eastmans have seemed to get a bit pricier over the past few years, of course that's true of just about everything.

[campacj]

I have NO experience with Recording King guitars and have owned 8-9 Eastman guitars (Currently 5) over the last few years. What I have heard through other Guitar sites, is that the Quality control of R.K. is nowhere near as good as Eastman's. You can find a real nice R.K. and then many after that are "Duds" with poor build quality.  Again, this is what I've read/heard not personal experience..... Sounds like you got very lucky. . Thumbs Up!!

Recording King has apparently gotten much better with their quality inspection over the last 2 or 3 years. I forget his name but the guy who helped Blueridge elevate their quality moved to RK about that time. Most online reviews of the RK RD-328 and RD-342 have been VERY positive. I have been happy with mine (they are both dreadnoughts) and some retailers have said that they can't keep the RD-328 in stock. They say it sells out very quickly.

[Charlieb]

I looked at their Parlors, 1 11/16" nut WTH no thank you!