Thank you for your review. Here's mine: I am a retired guitar repairman in the eastern United States. I was authorized by C. F. Martin and other respected brands to do warranty service on their guitars. I had never heard of Orangewood until I watched Mary Spender's TH-cam video a few months ago in which she compares her Martin guitar to her Orangewood guitar. I decided to give Orangewood a try. I bought a factory-second, non-electrified, mahogany-topped Ava. The only "secondness" I can find about it is that it came without the high E string, and the nut grooves could stand to be a hair lower, two easily-solved problems. Skipping all the nuances of a full-fledged review, I'll skip directly to my conclusion: My Orangewood Ava guitar is the most bang-for-the-buck acoustic guitar I have ever seen. Period.
I have that same guitar (I think-my Ava is solid mahogany top, sides and bottom) and, while it seems well made, I greatly dislike its sound. It's dull and blah. While some of the strings reverberate, the bass E string doesn't at all. The best thing I can say about it is that it didn't set me back but $700 and that it comes in a nice hard case.
The stick is a tool to use for adjusting the Baggs Anthem which normally comes with the SL model, not the full Anthem. I really like the tone of the Ava. Looks nice I like that it’s not covered in thick gloss. I also like that it has an actual name and not a bunch of letters and numbers that make it hard to remember. Beautiful playing on the Ava!
The “stick” actually IS for adjustment on the full anthem. Theres a small place to adjust by the battery check button on the sound hole preamp. This is direct from the user manual. Hope it helps someone. “E. MIC LEVEL CONTROL (Adjusts the level of the Tru • Mic relative to the level of the Element) IMPORTANT: Setting this control correctly is vital to the sound of the Anthem system. First, you must roll the mix control completely toward the neck. Play through a P.A. or acoustic amplifier while you are making adjustments. A small flat-head jeweler's screwdriver will be needed. Your amplified tone should be well balanced and true to the acoustic sound and feel of the guitar. If it lacks clarity and top-end, increase the mic's level by turning the control clockwise. Back it off slightly If you experience excessive handling noise and/or brightness.” This works in place of the small flat head screwdriver. Cheers.
I keep hearing that the internal piezos tend to be very quacky and annoying in many good quality acoustic electrics, even Takamine, although I have one of those from about 15 years ago, and it sounds quite good via the internal preamp, and NOT quacky at all. (a basic 6 string)
To my old ears the internal pickup sounded kind of muddy compared to the mics. Having said that, I love the sound of this fine guitar! This channel is going to force me to invest in an Orangewood, Santa, I've been a good boy, mostly.
Internal mics are ONLY for performing live. And even then, ONLY in situations where it's too difficult to properly mic the guitar. If you don't find yourself doing that regularly, don't waste your money on an internal mic.
That's because he did not go through the setup process using that long tweaker stick to adjust the gain on the mic properly. It would sound much better after being adjusted properly.
I got a good chuckle out of "the stick" that you found in the case. I agree 100%, this is one of the most well balanced across the frequency spectrum, exactly was most folks should probably want. Thanks for bringing this to us!
Agreed. He's quickly climbing to the top of my review channels. His content is always wholesome and entertaining to boot. Not much unneeded fluff. Straight to the point most of the time. It's rather refreshing.
I bought the Sage Torrified Spruce Live which is a slightly larger cutaway body, but otherwise exactly the same specs. I love it. I run it through a LR Baggs Voice Print DI and it brings the internal pickup sound extremely close to the sound of the live guitar.
Great review, thank you. I've had my AVA Mahogany for a couple of years now and she has aged very well. I didn't buy the live version and instead had my local shop install a K&K, which works perfectly. I use mine a lot for open tunings, especially open G. Definitely worth the price and then some.
Andy, if I may call you by your first name. I am new to “The Guitar Geek” TH-cam channel and would like to compliment you on your Expertise pertaining to all things musical. I also admire your honesty when it comes to us, your audience. Believe me when I say, it is very refreshing. I just love Ava. What a beauty. I will research their website for more information regarding her. By the way, my name is Lee from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. I classify myself as a seasoned beginner, and a hobbyist collector. Looking forward to many more of your videos. Keep up the great work. Thank you.
great video! Funny thing about the stick...I once had the very inexpensive Manhattan model and couldn't figure out why it had a somewhat dull sound. Lo and behold upon putting my hand in the sound hole during a string change, I pulled out 4" x 4" square sponge that was wedged inside the lower bout area!
Not available to ship to the EU or UK. Thanks Orangewood. Fortunately I have two Taylors, one new and one used. Both with flawless build quality - better than any other guitar I own, electric or acoustic, play great, sound great and I got them each for under £1000.00
Andy, I’ve ordered a custom guitar from a Portuguese builder with all solid woods for a fraction of the price of a Taylor or Martin. Maybe you should contact them and place a custom order and then let us know what you think about guitars made in Europe.
I purchased an Orangewood Rey for my grandson to learn on. I was amazed at what a great guitar I could buy for such a low buy in price. The guitar played very good, looked much better than I thought it would. and sounded great for an all laminate guitar. I liked it so much, it seemed kind of hard to give away.
Please get someone to buy couple of Orangewood guitars on your behalf and then review that. There are those of us who have a different (bad) experience with Orangewood guitars. I suspect that your guitars are carefully selected to maximise a positive review.
"I love it when I enjoy an instrument and I feel really at home with this..." says just how I feel about my Orangewood Morgan Live. I almost returned it because 5 frets were high (so much for their advertised setup) but I got a sale price and loved how it sounded--never had a guitar with a solid mahogany top and expected it to be "warm" or even dull. But, it sounds really balanced and full, so I decided to fix the frets myself. Now, I want to play it all the time. I compared it to a used Martin selling for $2500 and also to a very expensive, beautiful Taylor with mahogany top and the Orangewood sounds better than either of them. Even if I had preferred the Martin or Taylor sound, the difference would not justify spending 10-20 times the $250 I paid. Note that Orangewood would have fixed my guitar free or given me a full refund. But to fix it, they require you to return it in the box they sent it in and I didn't trust the guitar would survive shipping twice more--it came with a big hole in the box. I did not want to return it because I love the sound and didn't want to give it up. (And now I know how to fix frets.)
Love my Orangewood Oliver Mahogany Live which has a Fishman pickup !!!! They truly make terrific guitars ! Your Ava Live model is top of their line so yeah a hard case comes with it...most others come with a nice gig bag. I really have nothing derogatory to say about Orangewood. Customer service is spot on too !
Thank you for your review. I’m a new subscriber and do enjoy your videos. I am a Martin owner, prefer the OM body style over others and over 60 years have owned over 150 acoustic guitars. ( Never more than 20 at a time). I’ve been impressed with several all solid wood guitars not named Martin. Guitars like Alvarez, Eastman, and now perhaps Orangewood , where you can get a quality instrument in the $1000 US price range.. it is great to have choices. Thank you
I bought one of these, the fret wire is very thin or short. I had to replace the bridge pins, what I received was brittle junk bridge pins that broke very easily. It was a real pain in the backside getting replacement pins that fit. wasn't comfortable using a reamer tool, so I chose to hand sand the bridge pins until they fit correctly, not the easiest method for sure. My guitar smelled like glue not wood for months. Look inside they use excessive glue, at least on mine they did. One thing to consider too is, Orangewood does not sell replacement parts if you need them. Taylor and Martin do.
@@TheGuitarGeek Good question. Maybe I was caught up in the hype, or maybe I'm just not smart enough, I tend to try to fix the minor issues and not return guitars unless they have major issues. I did return one Orangewood guitar, the trust rod was installed upside down, could not be adjusted at all, don't know how that got past their inspection. Just about all guitars have little issues of some kind, or just need a good setup. With the exception of the Taylor, that I purchased over 10 years ago, it only needed a quick setup adjustment to my liking. The Ava guitar does sound pretty good. Can't play it hard, for finger picking, gentle touch, it does sound good. I don't pick it up all that often. It does come with a very nice case. The tuning machines are very nice too. The fret wire they use is a little annoying, I thought it would grow on me, maybe I just don't play it often enough.
I've got an Orangewood. It's a decent guitar. My Taylor's are obviously significantly better but if you're looking for a decent budget guitar then I would recommend one.
I’m glad to see you show things available only here (N America) - hope it’s the other way too. I like to see what we’re missing too. Maybe I could send you one of my models if it’s interesting enough.
I have owned Martin, Guild, Taylor and this sounds legit. I agree it looks and sounds like something costing at least two to three times as much. And it's not even broken in.
I put an LR BAGGS, anthem pick up on my Martin 00016gt, with the adjusting stick. If failed after a couple of years. I now use a soundhole pickup, from the same company. I find this much better live.
This video reminded me that acoustics are a whole different ballgame when it comes to the general temperament and upkeep of an instrument than electric guitars. If it sounds this good out of the box, I imagine it'll only get better and better with time!
The torrified process speeds up and locks in the aging process. The sound won't change much over time. How it sounds now will be mostly how it sounds for ever.
@@procarpenter1788 I don't claim to be an expert but I did some research I while back and this was the conclusion I came to from the data available. What supports your conclusion?
Not sure how Andy got one in Austria unless it was PR special treatment ... @AndyGuitarGeek might have been worth mentioning the delivery restrictions.@@edwardjons8684
like dude why would you want an Orangewood? i dunno about the UK but check your local pawn shops maybe there are a few floating around.. in my opinion this Orangewood guitar sounds horrible..
All my old high end Martins needed a neck reset after half a century of wear & tear. Expensive to fix but the luthier had no problem dealing with dovetail neck joints & the glue used. Some neck joints can be problematic. While the Orangewood Ava TS is a nice sounding guitar for the price, what surprises might a future luthier find in the neck joint in half a century? As a favour to future luthiers & guitar techs, please take one apart using a chainsaw or get the information from the factory while they are still around to ask . The chainsaw would make a far more interesting video. You could also use the chainsaw on the guitar from the company that threatened to sue you if you failed to give them a favourable review.
Sounds kinda good. I might grab one, I'd get one without the pickup myself, no need when mic'ing sounds so good, better off grabbing those mics instead..
This guitar suffers the same problem as most other piezo pickups do. They are a bit subdued. The mic tone sounds fantastix. The pickup is still solid and just as good as many ive played in much higher pricepoints. So cheers 🍻
This guitar reminds me to my Yamaha LJ16 ARE. ARE is the torrifiing systhem from Yamaha. The bodyshape is a little different. The LJ 16 has a jumbo shape in 000 sice. Back an sides from The LJ are Rosewood. But the sound of this two is nearly the same. Unplugged. The Anthem is unbeatable. I use it i a Dreadnought what I never use. May be I should change it. Thak you for this refiew. I like the way you do it.
The excellent sound from the Lewitt is far less fuzzy and far cleaner than the internal mic. The internal mic is warm. Just not clear. Surprised as LLBags generally makes some of the better internal pickups. The guitar itself sounds very, very good.
Oof, that internal pickup is bow-wow city. Lewitt all the way. It sounds like a guitar made from solid woods, which is nice. I recently learned of acoustic guitars made from compressed sawdust and finished with wood veneers. Good guitar, proud to be a 10%er. 😺
Hi Andy! Thanks a lot for the good review, so enthusiastic and accuracy . I'd like to buy the AVA Vintage Sunburst Live, but I live in Italy. I've understand that the company only sell their product in USA , so how did you manage to buy this guitar considering that you live in UK?
The Ava is a "Grand Concert" body shape, or "00" size. To compare, you get Parlors, then "0" or Concert, 00 / Grand Concert, 000 / OM (Orchestra: same body shape, but OM has a slightly longer scale), 0000 or Grand Auditorium, Dreadnought, Jumbo. Those 0/00/000 have different shoulders shapes, more or less "sloppy", and more "waiste" than your bigger traditional Dreadnought. I really like, and actually prefer, those smaller OM/ 00/ 000 shapes and sound !
I have a problem with brands that don't let you try before you buy by having it in stores. I need to have a go on it, feel it, to know if it works with me.
I bought a Martin Orchestra Model 2 years ago (OM-28E) and very very happy with it, it's the one I'm playing daily and the one I record my music with. However I'm also very curious with Orangewood, have been hearing good things about it, especially if that Ava is the third of the price it sounds like a pretty good deal!
@@soofitnsexy I mean, it is not going to be able to beat a Martin/ Taylor at an entirely different price point, it's a Lot cheaper. But if I ever get an Orangewood, don't think will be fit for more serious live performances, but I'd probabably bring it to campsites, and casual outdoor gathering, without worrying too much... I think it has its place.
The mic gain was way too low on the mic (use that supplied tweaker to adjust it). The LR Baggs should should sound much better than that when properly adjusted.
Good review especially the pick up v mic comparison.... disappointed that no mention of Orangewood still only being available in North America with no option for international shipping. When you mention it was shipped to Austria clicked through to Orangewood thinking this had changed !
I hate piezos and this video proves to me that I surely prefer the mic source, above all. By the way, good sounding guitar for sure and for the price but, IMHO it lacks some projection and bass. Very good video Andy! Well made as usual.
how could you say this thing sounds great ? it doesn't; it's over priced for the price point; there are better alternatives with house hold names with better price point.. you are out of your mind if you think this is a good entry..
@@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow I have played numerous Orangewood guitars and for the money they played very well and sounded pretty good. I mean, you don’t have to like them and you can think they are complete trash. That is the thing about subjective views. They vary and it is ok.
Would like to see how these compare against current Yamaha FG3, FG5 and LL, LS series and even the FG800 series - they are perhaps a better point of comparison than a Martin or Taylor.
The FG and LL's are full dreads, though. The CSF3M would be a good one to compare, too. Its got a passive piezo in it that could use a little boost but its nice and clean.
Preferred the internal Piezo sound than the internal mic; still the combination sounded better than external microphones. But overall, Ava sung well, especially correct intonations with the capo. Lots of high-end guitars have pickup, but without the built-in tuner, it's kind of suck! Thank you for the review of Ava.
Am I the only one who doesn’t like factory installed pickups on acoustic guitars ? I’ve always felt like the company was trying to up sale lesser models by adding pickups. They never sound good unless they are blended with a live mic and then what’s the point? That’s actually a very good sounding and looking guitar though.
Andy! Top demo; the mics sounded great. Is there an issue with the piezo & internal mic system, it sounded like the tone was wound back. Even though I use mic’s myself, I do have a similar system in my acoustic and it sounds more present.
I could be interested, but on entering some details into the ‘basket’, it doesn’t seem that Orangewood wants to send any guitars to the UK … or, in fact, anywhere outside the United States. So, Guitar Geek, how did a positive influencer such as yourself manage to persuade them to send one to you in Austria?
I’d love to own an @orangewood however when I last checked they still don’t ship to the UK!!! I maybe wrong though, please tell me if they can ship to the UK as I’d definitely purchase one. In fact the “Ava” looks and sounds amazeballs ❤❤❤
Mine arrived damaged so I refused delivery. Tried to call them but they do take phone calls? E-Mail only and on top of that they are charging me a restocking fee? Even though it arrived damaged from their end. The box has no packing material what so ever. I guess they figure the case hard or soft is sufficient? I live on the east coast and they are on the west coast so you can imagine all the damage that can occur. They ship with Fed-X which is not ideal as my box arrived open and crushed with a big hole in one side. They can do better in shipping.
Hi Andy, I'm torrified and that since some years. I'm still looking Forward for the international Sales from orangewood, but they seem not to be interessted. Do you have an Idea how to buy one from Germany ? .. thanks an keep going 😉 best wishes Heiko
Sounds great but I like to try guitars before I buy them especially at this price point. It’s a shame they have nowhere to buy in person but then I know the price would then probably go up.
Nice guitar. But I'll always hate that Piezo sound! Ugh. My martin 000C Steve Miller Pegasus blends between a piezo and an internal mic (Fishman Eclipse blend system), and it does sound (much) better than the Baggs, I'm afraid to tell ya.
I skipped straight to the sound demo after seeing it was orangewood and was like wow for a cheap $200 guitar that thing does sounds really great! besides it being kinda ugly this would be great to bring out to gigs where you don't want to hurt your real guitar or worry about it getting stolen. Then I saw the price.... come on man. Just above $1000 is like the magic number for a solid utility acoustic from brands with way better mojo. So yeah it does sound good, but is really a good deal? There's all kinds of import guitars less than $1000 and above $1000 is the real stuff... I think this is even a hard sell below $500. If you're gonna drop 1k on a guitar you can get something so much better from one of the big brands or even some boutique brands. I think something from either the Godin or Cordoba factory is a better deal at maybe half the price? Used USA martins can hover around 1k or lower and a $100 k&k pure mini usually sounds better than an anthem for everything. I say bad deal. No value for money, no resell value, no cool-factor. The brand is bad juju too, its like the raid shadow legends of the guitar world.
I’d love to see where used Martin guitars are under $1000. It’s not all about the sounds either. I urge you to pick up a $200 guitar and then one of these. You will feel a difference. I hope you play a few more guitars and learn the differences for a proper comparison. At the moment you seem price and “mojo” which is pretty juvenile
@@TheGuitarGeek I know several people who own 000-15 00-15 and 0-15 and I own TWO myself. There's probably like a dozen floating around my circle of musicians. so let me search for that one since I'm so familiar with it. That's just one martin guitar, there's more I could search for you if you want a different shape. if you search martin 000-15 on reverb the first result I got is $1087 and it's a slightly older one from 2002 back when they still used real mahogany which I think sounds better than sipo, which I have on one of my newer martin. Ive played a few of those older real mahogany 15 series and they're really really nice! There's a 2009 street master at $1050. A few other street masters around that price too. I'm not a huge fan of the looks but they're good guitars. For half that price there's road series stuff, but there's also AMI which often uses solid tops instead of that brittle and prone to irreparable fracture HPL stuff on the road series. I've owned one of those. Those are more in $500 territory but in a good way. I've also personally bought a used USA Martin from GC for $1000 even. The anthem sounds good and there's artists I know who use them but it's pretty pricey and I think the k&k is most people's preference if you have them A/B them. Plus less expensive and less intrusive to the guitar.
sorry dude, you are out of your mind if you think this sounds good...in my opinion no self respecting Musician's will take this on stage & play it along side a Taylor or a Martin or a Gibson Hell even an entry level Epiphone Acoustic / Electric within the same price range of this Orangewood is better for the buck.... Dude stop clowning on us we know ..Orange wood in my opinion is not even in the same ball park Orange wood is little league it's all just my opinion... @@TheGuitarGeek
Thank you for your review. Here's mine:
I am a retired guitar repairman in the eastern United States. I was authorized by C. F. Martin and other respected brands to do warranty service on their guitars. I had never heard of Orangewood until I watched Mary Spender's TH-cam video a few months ago in which she compares her Martin guitar to her Orangewood guitar. I decided to give Orangewood a try. I bought a factory-second, non-electrified, mahogany-topped Ava. The only "secondness" I can find about it is that it came without the high E string, and the nut grooves could stand to be a hair lower, two easily-solved problems. Skipping all the nuances of a full-fledged review, I'll skip directly to my conclusion: My Orangewood Ava guitar is the most bang-for-the-buck acoustic guitar I have ever seen. Period.
I have that same guitar (I think-my Ava is solid mahogany top, sides and bottom) and, while it seems well made, I greatly dislike its sound. It's dull and blah. While some of the strings reverberate, the bass E string doesn't at all. The best thing I can say about it is that it didn't set me back but $700 and that it comes in a nice hard case.
The stick is a tool to use for adjusting the Baggs Anthem which normally comes with the SL model, not the full Anthem. I really like the tone of the Ava. Looks nice I like that it’s not covered in thick gloss. I also like that it has an actual name and not a bunch of letters and numbers that make it hard to remember. Beautiful playing on the Ava!
The “stick” actually IS for adjustment on the full anthem. Theres a small place to adjust by the battery check button on the sound hole preamp. This is direct from the user manual. Hope it helps someone. “E. MIC LEVEL CONTROL (Adjusts the level of the Tru • Mic relative to the level of the Element)
IMPORTANT: Setting this control correctly is vital to the sound of the Anthem system.
First, you must roll the mix control completely toward the neck. Play through a P.A. or acoustic amplifier while you are making adjustments. A small flat-head jeweler's screwdriver will be needed.
Your amplified tone should be well balanced and true to the acoustic sound and feel of the guitar. If it lacks clarity and top-end, increase the mic's level by turning the control clockwise. Back it off slightly If you experience excessive handling noise and/or brightness.” This works in place of the small flat head screwdriver. Cheers.
Looks to be a nice guitar. The external mics sounded infinitely better than the internal piezo/mic which I did not like at all.
Yes! Same here, I found it killed the guitar, especially the internal mic.
I keep hearing that the internal piezos tend to be very quacky and annoying in many good quality acoustic electrics, even Takamine, although I have one of those
from about 15 years ago, and it sounds quite good via the internal preamp, and NOT quacky at all. (a basic 6 string)
To my old ears the internal pickup sounded kind of muddy compared to the mics. Having said that, I love the sound of this fine guitar! This channel is going to force me to invest in an Orangewood, Santa, I've been a good boy, mostly.
Internal mics are ONLY for performing live. And even then, ONLY in situations where it's too difficult to properly mic the guitar. If you don't find yourself doing that regularly, don't waste your money on an internal mic.
That's because he did not go through the setup process using that long tweaker stick to adjust the gain on the mic properly. It would sound much better after being adjusted properly.
I got a good chuckle out of "the stick" that you found in the case. I agree 100%, this is one of the most well balanced across the frequency spectrum, exactly was most folks should probably want. Thanks for bringing this to us!
in the world of guitar gear reviews, this is becoming my favourite youtube channel
That’s great to read Josh!
Absolutely agree! Was just thinking it and read your post! Lol Andy is literally the best. Cheers!
Agreed. He's quickly climbing to the top of my review channels. His content is always wholesome and entertaining to boot. Not much unneeded fluff. Straight to the point most of the time. It's rather refreshing.
Some of us old timers are happy that others are discovering this. 😊
I agree!
I bought the Sage Torrified Spruce Live which is a slightly larger cutaway body, but otherwise exactly the same specs. I love it. I run it through a LR Baggs Voice Print DI and it brings the internal pickup sound extremely close to the sound of the live guitar.
Great review, thank you. I've had my AVA Mahogany for a couple of years now and she has aged very well. I didn't buy the live version and instead had my local shop install a K&K, which works perfectly. I use mine a lot for open tunings, especially open G. Definitely worth the price and then some.
Andy, if I may call you by your first name. I am new to “The Guitar Geek” TH-cam channel and would like to compliment you on your Expertise pertaining to all things musical. I also admire your honesty when it comes to us, your audience. Believe me when I say, it is very refreshing. I just love Ava. What a beauty. I will research their website for more information regarding her. By the way, my name is Lee from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. I classify myself as a seasoned beginner, and a hobbyist collector. Looking forward to many more of your videos. Keep up the great work. Thank you.
if you think this guitar sounds great you are out of your mind in my opinion
this thing sounds awful in my opinion.
great video! Funny thing about the stick...I once had the very inexpensive Manhattan model and couldn't figure out why it had a somewhat dull sound. Lo and behold upon putting my hand in the sound hole during a string change, I pulled out 4" x 4" square sponge that was wedged inside the lower bout area!
Not available to ship to the EU or UK. Thanks Orangewood. Fortunately I have two Taylors, one new and one used. Both with flawless build quality - better than any other guitar I own, electric or acoustic, play great, sound great and I got them each for under £1000.00
Andy, I’ve ordered a custom guitar from a Portuguese builder with all solid woods for a fraction of the price of a Taylor or Martin. Maybe you should contact them and place a custom order and then let us know what you think about guitars made in Europe.
Try a Furch or Stonebridge.
I purchased an Orangewood Rey for my grandson to learn on. I was amazed at what a great guitar I could buy for such a low buy in price. The guitar played very good, looked much better than I thought it would. and sounded great for an all laminate guitar. I liked it so much, it seemed kind of hard to give away.
Great review! My father in law plays in multiple bluegrass bands has been looking at these hard!
Please get someone to buy couple of Orangewood guitars on your behalf and then review that. There are those of us who have a different (bad) experience with Orangewood guitars. I suspect that your guitars are carefully selected to maximise a positive review.
"I love it when I enjoy an instrument and I feel really at home with this..." says just how I feel about my Orangewood Morgan Live. I almost returned it because 5 frets were high (so much for their advertised setup) but I got a sale price and loved how it sounded--never had a guitar with a solid mahogany top and expected it to be "warm" or even dull. But, it sounds really balanced and full, so I decided to fix the frets myself. Now, I want to play it all the time. I compared it to a used Martin selling for $2500 and also to a very expensive, beautiful Taylor with mahogany top and the Orangewood sounds better than either of them. Even if I had preferred the Martin or Taylor sound, the difference would not justify spending 10-20 times the $250 I paid.
Note that Orangewood would have fixed my guitar free or given me a full refund. But to fix it, they require you to return it in the box they sent it in and I didn't trust the guitar would survive shipping twice more--it came with a big hole in the box. I did not want to return it because I love the sound and didn't want to give it up. (And now I know how to fix frets.)
What I really like about your videos is that big grin on your face Andy.... it's your genuine enjoyment coming through the screen ☺️
Love my Orangewood Oliver Mahogany Live which has a Fishman pickup !!!! They truly make terrific guitars ! Your Ava Live model is top of their line so yeah a hard case comes with it...most others come with a nice gig bag. I really have nothing derogatory to say about Orangewood. Customer service is spot on too !
Thank you for your review. I’m a new subscriber and do enjoy your videos. I am a Martin owner, prefer the OM body style over others and over 60 years have owned over 150 acoustic guitars. ( Never more than 20 at a time).
I’ve been impressed with several all solid wood guitars not named Martin. Guitars like Alvarez, Eastman, and now perhaps Orangewood , where you can get a quality instrument in the $1000 US price range.. it is great to have choices.
Thank you
I bought one of these, the fret wire is very thin or short. I had to replace the bridge pins, what I received was brittle junk bridge pins that broke very easily. It was a real pain in the backside getting replacement pins that fit. wasn't comfortable using a reamer tool, so I chose to hand sand the bridge pins until they fit correctly, not the easiest method for sure. My guitar smelled like glue not wood for months. Look inside they use excessive glue, at least on mine they did. One thing to consider too is, Orangewood does not sell replacement parts if you need them. Taylor and Martin do.
Why didn’t you just return it?
@@TheGuitarGeek Good question. Maybe I was caught up in the hype, or maybe I'm just not smart enough, I tend to try to fix the minor issues and not return guitars unless they have major issues. I did return one Orangewood guitar, the trust rod was installed upside down, could not be adjusted at all, don't know how that got past their inspection. Just about all guitars have little issues of some kind, or just need a good setup. With the exception of the Taylor, that I purchased over 10 years ago, it only needed a quick setup adjustment to my liking. The Ava guitar does sound pretty good. Can't play it hard, for finger picking, gentle touch, it does sound good. I don't pick it up all that often. It does come with a very nice case. The tuning machines are very nice too. The fret wire they use is a little annoying, I thought it would grow on me, maybe I just don't play it often enough.
I've had three Orangewoods so far and they are all bang on! Better than my Alvarez and my Yamahas.
I came for the guitar geekery and stayed for the honest smile.
You really mean it, man. Shines though.
Keep up the good works.
Great sound out of the box. Give that 6 months of playing and it is going to be a seriously good bit of kit for 1000 bucks.
I've got an Orangewood. It's a decent guitar. My Taylor's are obviously significantly better but if you're looking for a decent budget guitar then I would recommend one.
Had the ' stick ' with my Godin Fairmount. I use it to check battery level on the lr bags anthem pick system. Cocktail stick does the same.
Are they shipping to Europe yet?
It's kind of a wind-up seeing good reviews for something that isn't available here...
No. Just checked their site - North America only at the shipping options.
@@robinr22Trogly
I’m glad to see you show things available only here (N America) - hope it’s the other way too. I like to see what we’re missing too. Maybe I could send you one of my models if it’s interesting enough.
This is an international channel although most of my viewers are from the US. Feel free to email me details. The email is on my about me page
I have owned Martin, Guild, Taylor and this sounds legit.
I agree it looks and sounds like something costing at least two to three times as much. And it's not even broken in.
It sounds better from the mics than from the internal pickup/ mic. The piezo oddly sounds better than the internal mic.
Another cool review. Really enjoy your channel, keep up the great work.
I put an LR BAGGS, anthem pick up on my Martin 00016gt, with the adjusting stick. If failed after a couple of years. I now use a soundhole pickup, from the same company. I find this much better live.
I have two Orangwood guitars and I love them!!! I have a 6 string and the 12 string!! A lot a bang for the buck!! That Ava sounded beautiful!!!!!
I love grand concert guitars. Dreadnoughts just sound boomy to me. This guitar sounds fantastic! I love the review!
This video reminded me that acoustics are a whole different ballgame when it comes to the general temperament and upkeep of an instrument than electric guitars. If it sounds this good out of the box, I imagine it'll only get better and better with time!
The torrified process speeds up and locks in the aging process. The sound won't change much over time. How it sounds now will be mostly how it sounds for ever.
@@mptachenko lol, that’s not true at all.
@@procarpenter1788 I don't claim to be an expert but I did some research I while back and this was the conclusion I came to from the data available. What supports your conclusion?
@@mptachenkoYour mama
Well said, thanks👍
Awesome guitar makes me want to get one 😊
before you ever decide to buy one see if you can get this used in a pawn shop.. other wise you will be disappointed in my opinion
Looks lovely, unfortunately Orangewood don't seem to ship to the UK.
or anywhere outside North America.
Not sure how Andy got one in Austria unless it was PR special treatment ... @AndyGuitarGeek might have been worth mentioning the delivery restrictions.@@edwardjons8684
like dude why would you want an Orangewood? i dunno about the UK but check your local pawn shops maybe there are a few floating around..
in my opinion this Orangewood guitar sounds horrible..
Cole clark make awesome acoutic guitars. Made in australia using australian wood. Sound great look beautiful
I’ve never tried these. I’ll take a look
All my old high end Martins needed a neck reset after half a century of wear & tear. Expensive to fix but the luthier had no problem dealing with dovetail neck joints & the glue used. Some neck joints can be problematic.
While the Orangewood Ava TS is a nice sounding guitar for the price, what surprises might a future luthier find in the neck joint in half a century?
As a favour to future luthiers & guitar techs, please take one apart using a chainsaw or get the information from the factory while they are still around to ask . The chainsaw would make a far more interesting video.
You could also use the chainsaw on the guitar from the company that threatened to sue you if you failed to give them a favourable review.
G’day mate. Thank you for a great channel and honest reviews. Have a good one 👍🇦🇺
Sounds kinda good. I might grab one, I'd get one without the pickup myself, no need when mic'ing sounds so good, better off grabbing those mics instead..
This guitar suffers the same problem as most other piezo pickups do. They are a bit subdued. The mic tone sounds fantastix. The pickup is still solid and just as good as many ive played in much higher pricepoints. So cheers 🍻
This guitar reminds me to my Yamaha LJ16 ARE. ARE is the torrifiing systhem from Yamaha. The bodyshape is a little different. The LJ 16 has a jumbo shape in 000 sice. Back an sides from The LJ are Rosewood.
But the sound of this two is nearly the same. Unplugged. The Anthem is unbeatable. I use it i a Dreadnought what I never use. May be I should change it.
Thak you for this refiew. I like the way you do it.
The excellent sound from the Lewitt is far less fuzzy and far cleaner than the internal mic. The internal mic is warm. Just not clear. Surprised as LLBags generally makes some of the better internal pickups.
The guitar itself sounds very, very good.
Oof, that internal pickup is bow-wow city. Lewitt all the way. It sounds like a guitar made from solid woods, which is nice. I recently learned of acoustic guitars made from compressed sawdust and finished with wood veneers. Good guitar, proud to be a 10%er. 😺
Well the pickup signal would obviously be eq’Ed. At any gig or session
Amazon sells Orangewood guitars. I bought my second one through them!
Seems really compact as shape size. I like it!
You should try the Orangewood Juniper Live. It has a rubber bridge and has a retro look. I have one, along with 4 other Orangewoods. Love them.
Hi Andy! Thanks a lot for the good review, so enthusiastic and accuracy . I'd like to buy the AVA Vintage Sunburst Live, but I live in Italy. I've understand that the company only sell their product in USA , so how did you manage to buy this guitar considering that you live in UK?
I'm torrified. I don't know if it fits your criteria but I've been eyeing a Yamaha CSF3M for a while now.
The Rey was a great guitar for well under 200$. Took a 6-700 guitar to be an upgrade to it for me
Such a beautiful guitar!
14:18 very cool my guitars are all shoved up with lil bits of foam to prevent the lil rings and tings
"My cat's gonna really like that." :)
I'm really enjoying your reviews. Great job!
The Ava is a "Grand Concert" body shape, or "00" size. To compare, you get Parlors, then
"0" or Concert,
00 / Grand Concert,
000 / OM (Orchestra: same body shape, but OM has a slightly longer scale),
0000 or Grand Auditorium,
Dreadnought, Jumbo.
Those 0/00/000 have different shoulders shapes, more or less "sloppy", and more "waiste" than your bigger traditional Dreadnought. I really like, and actually prefer, those smaller OM/ 00/ 000 shapes and sound !
Thanks!
I have a problem with brands that don't let you try before you buy by having it in stores. I need to have a go on it, feel it, to know if it works with me.
I totally understand. I don’t disagree but that would add to the price in this case.
Hey I’m a first time watcher and have just got out of the 90% of viewers who have subscribed,all looks great at the moment keep it up
Cheers from NZL
Welcome aboard!
Quite a looker, and having the pick guard not attached is a nice touch.
Which pick did you use?
The Stick was a good sign, I was waiting for you to use it.
I bought a Martin Orchestra Model 2 years ago (OM-28E) and very very happy with it, it's the one I'm playing daily and the one I record my music with. However I'm also very curious with Orangewood, have been hearing good things about it, especially if that Ava is the third of the price it sounds like a pretty good deal!
The hype is real my friend. These are an amazing value.
dude the martin kills this garbage you always get what you pay for
@@soofitnsexy I mean, it is not going to be able to beat a Martin/ Taylor at an entirely different price point, it's a Lot cheaper. But if I ever get an Orangewood, don't think will be fit for more serious live performances, but I'd probabably bring it to campsites, and casual outdoor gathering, without worrying too much... I think it has its place.
exactly right...still my yamahas kill these at a cheaper dollar!!@@NicHeuwGuitar
10000000 PERCENT@@KT-fn6me
Have you tried the Eastman line of Guitars ? Most models are solid wood construction, hand voiced, hand carved braces.
Also have you played a Zager ?
The mic gain was way too low on the mic (use that supplied tweaker to adjust it). The LR Baggs should should sound much better than that when properly adjusted.
I'm enjoying your reviews. Very lively and sincere. Cheers from the US Left Coast!
Thank you Kevin! Cheers from Austria!
Good review especially the pick up v mic comparison.... disappointed that no mention of Orangewood still only being available in North America with no option for international shipping. When you mention it was shipped to Austria clicked through to Orangewood thinking this had changed !
I hate piezos and this video proves to me that I surely prefer the mic source, above all.
By the way, good sounding guitar for sure and for the price but, IMHO it lacks some projection and bass.
Very good video Andy! Well made as usual.
They shipped to you in Austria but their site says they only ship to USA and Canada. Pity, as they look great value.
What Orangewood is doing is amazing.
really?????? this guitar should be 300 bucks max
@@soofitnsexy that is funny. But you are allowed to have an opinion. So keep on keeping on.
@@soofitnsexy also, you have clearly never built a guitar before.
how could you say this thing sounds great ? it doesn't; it's over priced for the price point; there are better alternatives with house hold names with better price point.. you are out of your mind if you think this is a good entry..
@@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow I have played numerous Orangewood guitars and for the money they played very well and sounded pretty good. I mean, you don’t have to like them and you can think they are complete trash. That is the thing about subjective views. They vary and it is ok.
Orangewood needs to ship to UK. I want it so bad.
Fantastic review! Thank you for the share!!
So - that guitar sounds excellent! I don't recognize the song you were playing but it was also very nice.
John Mayer Something Like Olivia (Acoustic Performance) th-cam.com/video/izkqPdVAdL4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=cYQaodOm_L5QOy0a
Thanks, Andy, this was a great review!
Would like to see how these compare against current Yamaha FG3, FG5 and LL, LS series and even the FG800 series - they are perhaps a better point of comparison than a Martin or Taylor.
The FG and LL's are full dreads, though. The CSF3M would be a good one to compare, too. Its got a passive piezo in it that could use a little boost but its nice and clean.
@@CedricSatterfield hence I suggested the LS models - and there’s always the FS series too!
Preferred the internal Piezo sound than the internal mic; still the combination sounded better than external microphones. But overall, Ava sung well, especially correct intonations with the capo. Lots of high-end guitars have pickup, but without the built-in tuner, it's kind of suck! Thank you for the review of Ava.
Nice to see an acoustic review
Glad you liked it!
It's a pity that, at present, Orangewood only ship within the US and Canada.
The smell of guitar wood….omg YES! YES! ❤❤❤
You play beautifully.
A slightly different Anthem adjustment would have made it crisper.
( Ive been setting them up, for some time)
great review! nice playing
Am I the only one who doesn’t like factory installed pickups on acoustic guitars ? I’ve always felt like the company was trying to up sale lesser models by adding pickups. They never sound good unless they are blended with a live mic and then what’s the point?
That’s actually a very good sounding and looking guitar though.
WOW! I want this. I contacted @Orangewood and they said they only deliver to the US and Canada. C20? I live in Europe
Andy! Top demo; the mics sounded great. Is there an issue with the piezo & internal mic system, it sounded like the tone was wound back. Even though I use mic’s myself, I do have a similar system in my acoustic and it sounds more present.
ive got taylor 314ce 2010 ,amazing guitar
Nice one. Reminds me of the also very nice Yamahas.
I could be interested, but on entering some details into the ‘basket’, it doesn’t seem that Orangewood wants to send any guitars to the UK … or, in fact, anywhere outside the United States. So, Guitar Geek, how did a positive influencer such as yourself manage to persuade them to send one to you in Austria?
I'm thinking abt getting a cleo/Sierra, would love to see you review it
Hard to judge guitars like these straight out of the box. Sounded a bit tinny to me, but the strings probably need a bit of playing in.
Never seen one until your review
Once again another lovely guitar by them, just need to ship internationally now….
I’d love to own an @orangewood however when I last checked they still don’t ship to the UK!!! I maybe wrong though, please tell me if they can ship to the UK as I’d definitely purchase one. In fact the “Ava” looks and sounds amazeballs ❤❤❤
They don’t ship to the UK… yet!
Radiohead Street Spirit (fade out) was utterly spot-on 😍👏👏👏👍❗️
Mine arrived damaged so I refused delivery. Tried to call them but they do take phone calls? E-Mail only and on top of that they are charging me a restocking fee? Even though it arrived damaged from their end. The box has no packing material what so ever. I guess they figure the case hard or soft is sufficient? I live on the east coast and they are on the west coast so you can imagine all the damage that can occur. They ship with Fed-X which is not ideal as my box arrived open and crushed with a big hole in one side. They can do better in shipping.
Serious bang for the buck. great video Andy
Hi Andy, I'm torrified and that since some years. I'm still looking Forward for the international Sales from orangewood, but they seem not to be interessted. Do you have an Idea how to buy one from Germany ? .. thanks an keep going 😉 best wishes Heiko
I'd recommend anything by Godin/Seagull etc
Sounds great but I like to try guitars before I buy them especially at this price point. It’s a shame they have nowhere to buy in person but then I know the price would then probably go up.
if Orangewood offered international shipping I would've easily gotten one!
Great sounding guitar for the price!
Well, I learned something from this! I did not know that Orangewood guitars were only available direct from Orangewood until now.
What amplifier were you playing it through either with the Anthem or via the microphones?
Nice guitar. But I'll always hate that Piezo sound! Ugh. My martin 000C Steve Miller Pegasus blends between a piezo and an internal mic (Fishman Eclipse blend system), and it does sound (much) better than the Baggs, I'm afraid to tell ya.
I skipped straight to the sound demo after seeing it was orangewood and was like wow for a cheap $200 guitar that thing does sounds really great! besides it being kinda ugly this would be great to bring out to gigs where you don't want to hurt your real guitar or worry about it getting stolen.
Then I saw the price.... come on man. Just above $1000 is like the magic number for a solid utility acoustic from brands with way better mojo.
So yeah it does sound good, but is really a good deal? There's all kinds of import guitars less than $1000 and above $1000 is the real stuff... I think this is even a hard sell below $500. If you're gonna drop 1k on a guitar you can get something so much better from one of the big brands or even some boutique brands.
I think something from either the Godin or Cordoba factory is a better deal at maybe half the price? Used USA martins can hover around 1k or lower and a $100 k&k pure mini usually sounds better than an anthem for everything.
I say bad deal. No value for money, no resell value, no cool-factor. The brand is bad juju too, its like the raid shadow legends of the guitar world.
I’d love to see where used Martin guitars are under $1000.
It’s not all about the sounds either. I urge you to pick up a $200 guitar and then one of these. You will feel a difference.
I hope you play a few more guitars and learn the differences for a proper comparison. At the moment you seem price and “mojo” which is pretty juvenile
@@TheGuitarGeek I know several people who own 000-15 00-15 and 0-15 and I own TWO myself. There's probably like a dozen floating around my circle of musicians. so let me search for that one since I'm so familiar with it. That's just one martin guitar, there's more I could search for you if you want a different shape.
if you search martin 000-15 on reverb the first result I got is $1087 and it's a slightly older one from 2002 back when they still used real mahogany which I think sounds better than sipo, which I have on one of my newer martin. Ive played a few of those older real mahogany 15 series and they're really really nice! There's a 2009 street master at $1050. A few other street masters around that price too. I'm not a huge fan of the looks but they're good guitars. For half that price there's road series stuff, but there's also AMI which often uses solid tops instead of that brittle and prone to irreparable fracture HPL stuff on the road series. I've owned one of those. Those are more in $500 territory but in a good way.
I've also personally bought a used USA Martin from GC for $1000 even.
The anthem sounds good and there's artists I know who use them but it's pretty pricey and I think the k&k is most people's preference if you have them A/B them. Plus less expensive and less intrusive to the guitar.
sorry dude, you are out of your mind if you think this sounds good...in my opinion no self respecting Musician's will take this on stage & play it along side a Taylor or a Martin or a Gibson Hell even an entry level Epiphone Acoustic / Electric within the same price range of this Orangewood is better for the buck.... Dude stop clowning on us we know ..Orange wood in my opinion is not even in the same ball park Orange wood is little league it's all just my opinion... @@TheGuitarGeek
@@Mr.PhatsVarietyVibesShow careful lol he was kinda mean to me when I said that