Got A Ukulele (or is that 'Not A Ukulele') has had a bit of a break from mini reviews of small guitars, but I'm back this week with another. The Washburn Rover RO10 Travel Acoustic Guitar.
Washburn are a brand known to many in the guitar world and played by some pretty big names. This one was a review request from a reader as it seems to tick the boxes of 'smaller guitar that may suit a uke player wanting to explore the bigger guns'.. Or will it..
Saying all of that, the thing that is 'small' with this one is merely the body size as the scale length of the instrument is 23 3/4inches - that's a touch shorter than a regular dreadnought guitar, but not much!. They specifically bill it as a 'travel companion' but, much like 'travel ukes' (which tend to mean smaller or thinner body only) I have never been so sure where the travel advantage is - and the end of the day - tip to tail, this is still a guitar sized object and the fact that the body is smaller doesn't suggest a great advantage to me. Take flying for example - with UK carriers at least this is far bigger than cabin baggage maximum dimensions.. Hey ho..
This is a solid topped instrument with some nice appointments for not a lot of money. It comes in a range of colours and is on the street for about £200. But.. will that small body work on tone?
Take a look at the review below to see what I thought and below that is the full specs roundup.
GUITAR VIDEO REVIEW
GUITAR SPECS ROUNDUP
Name: Washburn Rover RO10
Scale length: 23 3/4
Body: Solid Spruce top, laminate mahogany back and sides
Bridge: Walnut pin bridge
Saddle: Plastic, compensated
Spacing at saddle: 55mm
Finish: Satin with choice of top colour
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Walnut
Frets: 19
Nut: Plastic
Nut width: 44mm, 35mm E to E
Tuners: Unbranded sealed gears
Strings: Bronze wound guitar strings (12's) - brand depends on the store
Weight: 920g
Country of origin: China
Extras: Gig bag
Price: Circa £200
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I blame the tiny body, too. Many wound strings, even when they're new, can really Thud on small instruments of any kind.
ReplyDeleteLooks great though — I'd love to see this as a ukulele style, though the top bout would be too small and the bridge would kill the sound, but if they could fix that and keep something of the looks, well…
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying I'd buy it, but I would definitely read your review.
I had one of these a while back as a part of my search for the perfect travel guitar. I found it to be better than a Martin Backpacker, but like you point out -- it still takes up lots of room, and the sound of that small body isn't going to approach a larger bodied instrument. At this point, if I want to take a guitar along, I take along a CF guitar that plays/sounds good (for which I have no environmental worries), or a Traveler Guitar Mk3 if I need something "silent" to play in a hotel room. Similarly for ukes, I'll take something playable but durable if I have space for a tenor, or my standby Martin OXK, who's gig bag clips right onto the side of my carry-on backpack. I have other oddities around, but any of these give me something to enjoy playing on the road.
ReplyDeleteI bought this guitar specifically to keep in practice when I'm traveling and it's perfect for that! Fits in the boot of my mini cooper. I didn't care how it sounded, I just wanted a fingerboard feel that is close to my other guitars (martin, LAG, fender), but I sorta like the sound, too! It's unplayable without a strap, don't even try...
ReplyDeleteI agree about it being unplayable without a strap, even when sitting down the strap helps! It does sound a bit more bright and tinny than a full sized guitar, but it really is light weight and easy to sling over your shoulder. I'm happy to have it in situations when I might not have felt like lugging a full sized guitar around.
DeleteI've got one of these, but I hardly play it. The tone is thin and unpleasant and even with a strap, the neck and head are so unbalanced they want to hang down which makes it really difficult to get a good fretting position. Your left hand is doing too much supporting the neck to move position easily.
ReplyDelete