Recording King RD-328 Aged Adirondack

I've decided to review this guitar after using as my main guitar for several months now, so this is a review based on long term experience with the instrument.

The main question I will try to answer in this review is, should you buy this guitar, and the short answer to this question is, maybe, if you meet the following criteria.

1. You are looking for a full solid dreadnought with a spruce and rosewood combo, and this is your budget.
If rosewood isn't a requirement for you, you should look into mahogany guitars first, as you get more for your money at this price point.

2. It has to have a traditional design.
This is the only guitar with these specs even remotely in this price bracket that has a traditional design. If you can stomach other designs you may wish to look at Guild's D-150CE, which has a cutaway, or at the Yamaha LL-16 or the transacoustic LL-TA. The Yamahas are technically jumbos, but it is unlikely you will feel much difference. Traditional design, however, it is not. Now, those guitars go for slightly more than this one, but are better guitars, the Yamahas especially, and after the money you will need to spend on this one, it comes out about the same.

So okay, let's say you made it through the criteria for if you should buy it, what are the good and the bad points about these guitars.

The good:
- They have amazing specs for this price point. The guitar also looks good, albeit without any bells or whistles. The build is solid, and nothing was obviously wrong on my guitar in terms of visuals.

The bad:
Now, there are many bad things about these guitars, and it all comes down to very bad QC. Yes, you could get lucky, but you probably won't based on my experience and other reviews I've seen on Youtube. My guitar came in and needed about two hours of pro work to be remotely playable. We're not talking the guitar needing basic setup here, that's most guitars. My guitar needed a full fret level and dress, the nut was cut horribly, and the holes for the pegs were so tight I had to use pliers to pull them out. I had to pay my pro to make the holes larger so I could even use 13s on the guitar. But let's be clear, the holes were too small even for the strings the guitar came with. My guitar came with a neck that was fairly well aligned, but it is clear from the information I have that many come in with bad neck angles. If you buy one of these, have this checked and be ready to return it on advice of your luthier.

Moreover, this is the stiffest guitar I've ever played. It sounded horrible when I got it. I was so depressed with the sound. I can report that after several months of playing the sound is opening, but you should be aware of this.

Bottom line, yeah, this might be the guitar for you and your budget. But be aware, your guitar will need pro work and it will need a case. This will put it into the price bracket of some really nice Yamahas, that in my experience are better guitars.

Amazing wood selection, great looks, unbelievable tone and projection, rings like a bell. Almost a Martin for a fraction of the price. However, the Quality Control is unacceptable in my opinion. Mine came with a huge strings-fretboard misalignment, most likely a consequence of a poorly installed bridge. I've seen another one in in person with the same issue (not as bad as mine), and different reviews on YouTube where it was so obvious you could easily spot it through a screen. I mean, a lot of people will say that at this price range is not something you should be demanding about, but it would be really easy to do it well, and while it's not an expensive guitar If you compare it to medium-high end guitars it competes with in terms of sound and materials, it's still a 700€ guitar. Brands like Epiphone are making Masterbilts and Inspired by Gibson Series in Indonesia and they take good care of these details. This Recording King is made in China, which is pretty similar. In conclusion, in terms of value it's just unbelievable, an absolute bang for the buck, but it would be perfect if they just took care of such simple and easy details. For me it was either keep it and take it to a professional Luthier or send it back. I have decided to send it back and now I'm going for an Epiphone Inspired by Gibson instead.

I've been thinking about getting a Martin Acoustic for some time but sadly my budget just won't support my aspirations at this time. The Recording King has been mentioned in a number of forums as a credible alternative for a third of the price of a Martin. I can truly say I've not been disappointed! The built quality becomes apparent from the moment you lief the Recording King 328 out of the box. The sound is big with spine tingling bass notes and clear mids. I have a number of other guitars but this one has moved to the front of the line. Can't put it down!!!

Pros:
Fantastic bass and clear mids.
Craftsman ship you can actually feel
Louder than I had expected

Cons:
A bit shiny looking for my taste - but the sound makes me forget that.