Neat guitar. I'm old enough to remember when Carbon Fiber was so exotic & expensive only supercars, military and aerospace used it. Now they are guitar tops. 🙂
Looks fonky, sounds great! I love the offset pick gobbler! A fine candidate to replace my not so bad, but huge, cheapy Mitchell acoustic with a wind of mechanic’s wire pulling together the split headstock, (my clumsiness.)
LOL. Yeah. It's got a look alright. But I got the black satin and with the black cf soundboard it actually looks a lot more imposing than it should for this price point. More importantly, it's just a great sounding guitar and an insane price point.
We all learned that carbon fibre isn't as amazing as we were one told via that little Submarine Titan Ocean Gate used. So the lesson here is don't take this guitar to Titanic depths. I do like the coffee holder in this design.
Steve...in a word...YES! Now, I don't want to get all hyped about this guitar, and I owned a vintage J-45 (another reviewer compared the Donner to a J-45) and no, I don't think it sounds like my old J-45. But it does have almost limitless bottom end, and it sounds so much better than my Taylor Mini hog it's not even funny. In fact, it's kind of sad. I always thought my little hog would be the one guitar I'd keep if I had to get rid of everything else. Not any more. The Mini sounded TINNY a.f. The Donner, OTOH, sounded rich, full, loud, and, well, just right. (NOTE: Years ago I played an Ovation, I think it was the Elite TX, or LX, not sure. And it had TONS of bass, but it wasn't all that balanced of a sound. This Donner has better balance, IMO.) And for just under $250, with a little gig bag, decent replacement strings, and a cool strap...C'mon, man. I thought my Eastman E1D was the best value of any guitar I'd played. But this little Donner is on another level, fighting way above its weight class. It looks cool, it sounds great, and it's not like any other guitar I'd ever played. Even the tuners are cool/weird. They feel small, like they belong on an electric guitar, but they work. The whole thing just works. Out of the box. Great rounded frets, no sharp edges. The action was fine. I'm grinning from ear to ear. My only concern has to do with the two divergent materials -- wood back/sides, and cf soundboard. It's the opposite of the original Ovations, and they had all kinds of problems because of the different expansion/contraction rates of wood and cf. In the Ovations, the soundboard finish (and sometimes even the wood) cracked under the pressure of the Lyracord against the wooden top. Here, it's the inverse -- wood back/sides, cf soundboard. Consequently, I'd expect some separation between the wooden "bowl" and the cf soundboard. It's like magical epoxy is holding it together, and eventually, I'm pretty sure it'll pull away. But since I'm 70, I'll probably be long gone by then. In the meantime, for $250...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!! 😀
I love the design but I fear it's weak spot is where the carbon fiber joins the wood body. After some time, it may separate and have to be glued again. Carbon fiber has low thermal expansion whereas wood expands and contracts. Wood glued to wood and carbon fiber glued to carbon fiber seems to be the strongest, but I'm not an expert. I almost bought one of these a while back.
@ I’ve been in construction all of my life and while I am not a luthier, I’m a bit leery about the strength of the glue joints. I know for sure that plastic will not adhere to wood with most glue or any kind of glue at all. I’m good with wood on wood or plastic on plastic.
@@jameslanclos568 Right...that's where the Ovation "excelled" -- was in combining the two disparate elements, Lyracord and wood. The thing is...they got that part right but didn't account for the expansion/contraction of the soundboard inside the non-moving bowl. This guitar is the opposite: The soundboard won't move, but the bowl around it will. And the only thing holding it all together is that bonding agent. They can hold planes together, but I see that joint where the top is held to the sides as a big red flag. But I tell ya...since I got it I'm blown away. Totally blown away. And last night a attached (temporarily) a Schaller Oyster contact mic (using BluTak) and while it could use a pre-amp (I ran it right into a P.A.) it sounded just like the guitar, only louder. Exactly the way it should sound. I kept turning off the P.A. just to make sure, and it's a great little set up for $250 total. Sorry for rambling.
@@jameslanclos568 Yes, it is. TBH...I got mine for $190 but as soon as I went back to that page, after the purchase, it was showing $249. And I want to point out that I got the Schaller $50 contact pickup, and I already had some BluTak, and it was crazy. I plugged it directly into a little Kustom PA, and I turned up the volume all the way, and I swear...it just sounded like I was playing the strings really hard. IT SOUNDED LIKE THAT GUITAR, just louder. And that's exactly what amplifying the sound should do. Just make YOUR guitar play louder, not make it sound like an electrified guitar. I had to keep turning off the PA because I couldn't believe my ears. It needs a pre-amp, but for a little control sample it's as good as a K&K in terms of just making the guitar's sound play louder. I'm in Heaven.
was that John Denver The Eagle and The Hawk at 11:35 ? in any case this is a great sounding acoustic for the price, and it seems atm at least they have a $20 off coupon which brings the price down to $229 , and while some people may be upset the entire guitar isn't carbon fiber i think its the combination of a carbon fiber top with african mahogany back sides and neck that gives the guitar its warm full resonant tone
I looked through the whole Amazon thing, they don't tell you what the scale is any place! I prefer 24 3/4, and I don't buy the longer scale acoustics. Even at the great price of $249. 8( Oh well... Peace --gary
No...engineering. There is little to no point in having a neckade of carbon. Truss rods exist. The main advantage of a carbon top acoustic is.. It CANT ever really belly Which is the harbinger of death for every all solid acoustic guitar @@leokimvideo
Neat guitar. I'm old enough to remember when Carbon Fiber was so exotic & expensive only supercars, military and aerospace used it. Now they are guitar tops. 🙂
Looks fonky, sounds great! I love the offset pick gobbler! A fine candidate to replace my not so bad, but huge, cheapy Mitchell acoustic with a wind of mechanic’s wire pulling together the split headstock, (my clumsiness.)
LOL. Yeah. It's got a look alright. But I got the black satin and with the black cf soundboard it actually looks a lot more imposing than it should for this price point. More importantly, it's just a great sounding guitar and an insane price point.
Great demo. The yellow donner mini delay pedal is great for $30
Pretty nice. My first electric was Donner. Good company 😊😊😊
We all learned that carbon fibre isn't as amazing as we were one told via that little Submarine Titan Ocean Gate used. So the lesson here is don't take this guitar to Titanic depths. I do like the coffee holder in this design.
looks like a fun instrument
Steve...in a word...YES! Now, I don't want to get all hyped about this guitar, and I owned a vintage J-45 (another reviewer compared the Donner to a J-45) and no, I don't think it sounds like my old J-45. But it does have almost limitless bottom end, and it sounds so much better than my Taylor Mini hog it's not even funny. In fact, it's kind of sad. I always thought my little hog would be the one guitar I'd keep if I had to get rid of everything else. Not any more. The Mini sounded TINNY a.f. The Donner, OTOH, sounded rich, full, loud, and, well, just right. (NOTE: Years ago I played an Ovation, I think it was the Elite TX, or LX, not sure. And it had TONS of bass, but it wasn't all that balanced of a sound. This Donner has better balance, IMO.)
And for just under $250, with a little gig bag, decent replacement strings, and a cool strap...C'mon, man. I thought my Eastman E1D was the best value of any guitar I'd played. But this little Donner is on another level, fighting way above its weight class. It looks cool, it sounds great, and it's not like any other guitar I'd ever played. Even the tuners are cool/weird. They feel small, like they belong on an electric guitar, but they work. The whole thing just works. Out of the box. Great rounded frets, no sharp edges. The action was fine. I'm grinning from ear to ear.
My only concern has to do with the two divergent materials -- wood back/sides, and cf soundboard. It's the opposite of the original Ovations, and they had all kinds of problems because of the different expansion/contraction rates of wood and cf. In the Ovations, the soundboard finish (and sometimes even the wood) cracked under the pressure of the Lyracord against the wooden top. Here, it's the inverse -- wood back/sides, cf soundboard. Consequently, I'd expect some separation between the wooden "bowl" and the cf soundboard. It's like magical epoxy is holding it together, and eventually, I'm pretty sure it'll pull away. But since I'm 70, I'll probably be long gone by then. In the meantime, for $250...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!!! 😀
Ordered one last night!
great review steve sweet sounding guitar dude
Steve you rock brother this guitar really surprised me it really sounded great
STEVE...I love you brother! Always look forward to your reviews.
Would you consider reviewing the Natasha X-Carbon as well?
There’s really not a lot of coverage of the Asian makers, but the value is dramatic
Would be great for a little knock around guitar
Great guitar. Got one today.
However, they are $199 on sale for Black Friday………… 😢
Tks ! Really appreciate you rewiev
I would send them some money right now if they would put a pickup in this thing. Wonder what the holdup is?
Why carbon fiber top? and wood everywhere else? Thanks Steve 🤘 I'm thinking shrinkage?
I love the design but I fear it's weak spot is where the carbon fiber joins the wood body. After some time, it may separate and have to be glued again. Carbon fiber has low thermal expansion whereas wood expands and contracts. Wood glued to wood and carbon fiber glued to carbon fiber seems to be the strongest, but I'm not an expert. I almost bought one of these a while back.
That's my concern as well.
@ I’ve been in construction all of my life and while I am not a luthier, I’m a bit leery about the strength of the glue joints. I know for sure that plastic will not adhere to wood with most glue or any kind of glue at all. I’m good with wood on wood or plastic on plastic.
@@jameslanclos568 Right...that's where the Ovation "excelled" -- was in combining the two disparate elements, Lyracord and wood. The thing is...they got that part right but didn't account for the expansion/contraction of the soundboard inside the non-moving bowl. This guitar is the opposite: The soundboard won't move, but the bowl around it will. And the only thing holding it all together is that bonding agent. They can hold planes together, but I see that joint where the top is held to the sides as a big red flag. But I tell ya...since I got it I'm blown away. Totally blown away. And last night a attached (temporarily) a Schaller Oyster contact mic (using BluTak) and while it could use a pre-amp (I ran it right into a P.A.) it sounded just like the guitar, only louder. Exactly the way it should sound. I kept turning off the P.A. just to make sure, and it's a great little set up for $250 total. Sorry for rambling.
@@skaybaltimore $250 is a great price.
@@jameslanclos568 Yes, it is. TBH...I got mine for $190 but as soon as I went back to that page, after the purchase, it was showing $249. And I want to point out that I got the Schaller $50 contact pickup, and I already had some BluTak, and it was crazy. I plugged it directly into a little Kustom PA, and I turned up the volume all the way, and I swear...it just sounded like I was playing the strings really hard. IT SOUNDED LIKE THAT GUITAR, just louder.
And that's exactly what amplifying the sound should do. Just make YOUR guitar play louder, not make it sound like an electrified guitar. I had to keep turning off the PA because I couldn't believe my ears. It needs a pre-amp, but for a little control sample it's as good as a K&K in terms of just making the guitar's sound play louder. I'm in Heaven.
It’s cool for what it is. At that price what’s not to like
I think it sounded great.
I never knew the sign language for 'unholy matchup'...webucation thx you
was that John Denver The Eagle and The Hawk at 11:35 ? in any case this is a great sounding acoustic for the price, and it seems atm at least they have a $20 off coupon which brings the price down to $229 , and while some people may be upset the entire guitar isn't carbon fiber i think its the combination of a carbon fiber top with african mahogany back sides and neck that gives the guitar its warm full resonant tone
Mr. SFB, what are you doing with that razor blade when not opening GUITARS OF THE WEEK!!!🤧
I looked through the whole Amazon thing, they don't tell you what the scale is any place! I prefer 24 3/4, and I don't buy the longer scale acoustics. Even at the great price of $249. 8( Oh well... Peace --gary
According to my tape measure, it's 24.75".
@@SFBGuitar Thanks Steve!! I couldn't find that anywhere!! Good news! 8) Peace --gary
Why isn't the neck not carbon? That's what it takes to make a guitar more stable.
easy to explain, cost
No...engineering. There is little to no point in having a neckade of carbon. Truss rods exist.
The main advantage of a carbon top acoustic is..
It CANT ever really belly
Which is the harbinger of death for every all solid acoustic guitar @@leokimvideo
Thats a kids guitar
You could not possibly be more wrong.
16 minute video, 8 minutes in still havent seen the guitar
8 minutes in on an “in” date with your mom and I still haven’t seen her face……….. 😂
Horrible Review You should do something else