NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Thu Sep 27, 2018 12:21 am

That's gorgeous Sookwinder!! I'm almost tempted to look for a classical or a parlor-sized lefty acoustic from those guys :ph34r:
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by sookwinder » Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:01 am

Yesterday I had my spasmodically weekly recording day and I got my guitarist to have a play of the OOO.
His comments were:
Great big sound with a fabulous bass and treble response
great sustain
not boomy, but with a well defined bass
colourful sound
would be very fast guitar to play if a lighter gauge strings used (Note: he uses quite light gauge strings on his acoustics because he bends strings a lot when he does solos)
bigger sound than equivalent sized gibson
Maybe the last comment is due to the fact it is a 12th fretter.

Something else I can add is that it certainly has a sound that is more reminiscent of a Martin (which it is based upon obviously) rather than a Gibson. The notes are more "fundamental" than "harmonic" (again as per martin sound) but still does have a colourful overall sound.
The notes seem "rounded" rather than the crispness that I am used to with my Gibsons (but in a good way). Maybe this is the cedar, maybe this is the rosewood, maybe this is the OOO shape. I am not experienced enough to be able to determine the overarching influence of each factor.

Damn fine instrument.

very comfortable to play on the couch.
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Thu Sep 27, 2018 9:09 am

Fuck it. I got my credit card out for the Recording King, I'm getting it out for one of these. That's what tax rebates are for.

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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Maggieo » Thu Sep 27, 2018 10:27 am

Man, that is a beauty, David. :-*
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Jaguar018 » Thu Sep 27, 2018 12:08 pm

Seriously tempting guitars that are inexpensive enough to take a flyer on. Their other models are also pretty crazy.

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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:15 am

sookwinder wrote:
Thu Sep 27, 2018 1:01 am
bigger sound than equivalent sized gibson
Maybe the last comment is due to the fact it is a 12th fretter.
I'm not the biggest aficionado of acoustics, but is that really a thing? Would a 12-fret acoustic sound the same as one with more frets, if they were the same scale and used the same strings?


Does it feel like a smaller scale to play, like a Jag compared to a JM?
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by sookwinder » Fri Sep 28, 2018 12:51 am

The youtube link I gave at the start describes a lot about 12 fretter acoustics and he is playing larger bodied 12 fretters.
IIRC Willie Nelson's Trigger is a 12 fretter.

To answer your questions.
A 12 fretter does not have less frets but rather the point at which the neck is joined to the body is at the 12th fret rather than the 14th. All this means is that the same size/style neck has moved relative to the body, closer to the centre of the body. This in turn means that the sound hole is now closer to the centre of the body than on a 14 fretter. The scale length has not changed.

when playing the 12 fretter guitar there is a sense of the neck being shorter, because the headstock is closer. But the actual distance between frets is the same. The first couple of minutes my guitarist played this acoustic he made a few mistakes on the various tunes or licks he was playing until he realised he was using the neck/body join location as reference to where he thought all the "positions" were.

Once he realised this and mentally changed (to that of the join being at the 12th fret) everything was OK.

I am not recommending everyone go out and buy a 12 fretter or buy this 12 fretter from this Chinese seller.
My recommendations are:
1. The quality of this guitar is superb, it is certainly value for money and I can highly recommend this parlour sized OOO 12 fretter if that is what you are looking for. The fact it is a 12 fretter is not an issue unless you like doing blooze licks past the12th fret.
2. There are other "normal" size/type acoustics also available on that aliexpress site. I would do a cross reference with them against what is available on that other link I provided (the manufacturers site) and if there is another size/type that you like and appears on both sites (i.e. from the same manufacturer who made this one) then it too will probably be awesome.
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Sun Sep 30, 2018 11:55 pm

Very interesting. I didn't know any of that. I dig that it's the same scale, but just a little closer together, so-to-speak. I may look into one. Thanks Sookwinder!
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Embenny » Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:31 am

Geez that's a lot of abalone! Glad you're so happy with how it plays and sounds!

The one thing I'd keep a careful eye on is humidity. I'm not sure where you're located and whether you're heading into heating season like we are in Canada, but the nameless Chinese manufacturers (used to*) have a reputation for using slightly "green" (improperly dried) wood. As it dries out, you get splitting tops and backs, shifting action, twisting necks, etc.

I say "used to" because I haven't kept up on how these guitars have improved over the last 5-10 years. If they've stepped up their game as much as they have with their electrics, this may be an issue of the past.

But do monitor and control humidity! When I read your post, I didn't see whether it has a solid or laminate top, back and sides. Solid wood needs much more careful humidifcation than our electric guitars do...I had a Taylor split right down the centre seam of the soundboard to teach me that lesson many years ago.
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by sookwinder » Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:55 am

humidity where I live below:

The top is solid cedar.
I am uncertain as to whether the sides and back are solid or laminated rosewood.

Yes there a lot of abalone... I would have liked less (say only dots on the neck) but the decision I made was to choose an "off the production line" model without any customisation or changed features. And as it turned out the abalone actually is quite subtle. not flashy at all in real life.

I too recall the Chinese guitars (electric and acoustic) from 10 - 15 years back
This is nothing like those examples from history.
The wood has been aired/dried.
There is attention to detail not even seen on the well known brands.
I would put this up against anything out of Martin or Gibson from a fit and finish, from a quality, from a build perspective, not to mention the sound perspective. AND it only costs US$350

Now I am a Gibson/Epiphone guy when it comes to acoustics... any day of the week I will choose their sound over a Martin or a Taylor etc.
In fact I generally dislike the Martin sound.
My go to construction is the traditional Spruce/Mahogany... with the occasional spruce/maple build.
I have no problem spending considerable amounts of real folding money on Gibsons/Epiphone acoustics ... and I have.
But this small OOO bodied, but with a big heart, rosewood backed, cedar topped Martin style finger picker 12 fretter .... is exactly what I wanted.

Image
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Invader Zim » Sun Aug 04, 2019 2:47 am

sookwinder wrote:
Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:55 am

But this small OOO bodied, but with a big heart, rosewood backed, cedar topped Martin style finger picker 12 fretter .... is exactly what I wanted.
How is this guitar holding up and does it still meet your expectations?

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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by sookwinder » Sun Aug 04, 2019 5:15 am

Awesome guitar... cannot fault it in any way … other than saying while the original tuners were functional, they were not up to the standard of the rest of the guitar so I replaced them with a good set of GOTOH tuners.

This guitar is my bedroom guitar... being a 12 fretter and OOO it is easy to play when you wake up with a riff that beats Satisfaction.
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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by danoh » Thu Oct 06, 2022 9:43 am

I bought a similar "off the rack" ooo from the Chinese custom shop. It joins my 2-year-old custom solid top, sides and back D45 style that has my name on the headstock and a couple of other customizations, making it a one-off.

Loving the look and sound on this one. The bling is toned down some, from my D45 style and the tone is amazing. Definitely has a more mellow tone than the D, but still has plenty of fullness. If I like this as much as I do so far, I will have another custom-made solid wood.

Thanks for your initial review.

I have two questions, if you can assist: Have you looked for, or located a suitable hard case that fits? And, do you know the specific info on the side tuners you replaced?

Like you, the tuners are one of the few weak points I find with the guitar (other than the cheap strings, which I immediately replaced lol).

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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by UlricvonCatalyst » Fri Oct 07, 2022 12:04 am

For what it's worth for anyone new to this necro-thread - I had the opposite of the OP's experience: everything that could go wrong with the transaction did go wrong, and getting anything other than a derisory partial refund out of Aliexpress proved impossible, to the point that I had to get my credit card company involved.

Ended up selling the broken (not what I ordered) guitar for about what I had to pay to get it through customs.

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Re: NGD: Chinese OOO size cedar / rosewood ... yes you did read that correctly

Post by Maggieo » Fri Oct 07, 2022 10:35 am

The images aren't loading for me. :'(
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