Echo 12 Live

Was so excited when my Echo12 arrived I just had to tune it up and start playing it. Great sound! After playing it for about 30 minutes I finally began to check it out. I could compare the craftsmanship of this guitar to my J45, HD28, 712ce, and some of my other guitars; beautiful. Except, there are about 7 flaws/defects in the grain of the top that are very noticeable. I wish someone had culled out these pieces and selected a different top piece.

Over the past 18 months, I have purchased 4 (four) Orangewood guitars (an Oliver Mahogany, a Duke Live, a Brooklyn, and most recently, an Echo 12-Live). Sadly, this is not going to be a raving review of all my guitar purchases, but a mixed op-ed with some disappointments. Despite the wonderful sound the Brooklyn and the Echo 12-Live produced, I felt the intonation and set-ups were unsatisfactory, so I had to return them. This was rather unexpected since the set-ups on my first two purchases was so wonderfully perfect. Although my experience makes me wonder if Orangewood has been lax on some of their quality control methods, I have been so happy with two of the guitars I purchase, I am giving them another chance and have ordered a second Oliver Mahogany. Fortunately, Orangewood’s gracious policy allows a hassle-free return of guitars within 30-days of purchase (as long as the pick guard in not installed!), but I’m hoping it won’t come to that this time.

This guitar exceeded my cynical expectations. The narrative of its originators intrigued me enough to pull the frugal trigger of my wallet. Seriously, no regrets there. This guitar was ready to go out of the box. No joke. A minor tune touch up with the on board tuner and was ready to go. I have a friend who is an an amateur luthier of some very impressive handmade dreadnoughts. I own two. This axe hangs in very nicely with them I must say. Super value for its price point.. Sounds dreamy, plays dreamy. Keep doing what you are doing. High class Instruments at this price point inspires others.

The Orangewood 12-string rivals my 1983 Guild D212 NT, at a much lower price. The action is comfortable and the sound is bright and balanced. And the on-board Fishman amplification system is excellent and is perfect for recording or live performance. Without reservation, I can say it’s a great value.

I already own a Dana mahogany which is a great little guitar, and have always wanted to own a 12 string acoustic, so I was looking at this Echo 12 live pretty hard. I ordered it on a Sunday, it shipped on a Monday, and I had it in my hands on Tuesday. It was almost perfect, as it had too much relief in the neck when I pulled it from the gig bag. A few minutes with the supplied Allen wrench, and I had a straight neck. The action is very comfortable now and it is an easy instrument to play. I’m a beginner player at only 4 months in, and I expected to have some difficulty with 6 extra strings, but I was very pleasantly surprised with how easy and comfortable it is to play some simpler songs, even barre chords. This instrument is beautiful and without a flaw in its finish,and it really sings 🎸🎼 . The supplied gig bag is also very nice and padded well. It’s nicer than the bag that came with the Dana. I’m very happy with my purchase.