Cleo Live

I wanted a good sounding and easy playing general purpose gigging guitar that I wouldn't have to watch after like a Ming Dynasty vase, and my kids got me this for my birthday. It fits the bill perfectly: Wonderful finish, gorgeous woods (says "Pao Ferro" but looks like Indian Rosewood), sweet sound unplugged, and the L. R. Baggs is about the best acoustic pickup you can plug into an amp. Also it was delivered before the scheduled date. Good work!

The setup was near perfect, except for two nits: (1) The G string "pings" when tuning. Lube helped a little but it's going to need a very slight filing. And (2) This was NOT "freshly restrung"! The strings it came with were tarnished enough to leave my fingers black, and dead as rubber bands. The G string snapped at the peg as I removed it! I had to immediately restring the guitar. I stuck on a set of D'addarios, and it sings. Both easy fixes, but should not need to on a $1000 guita, especially when advertised differently. Nowhere near enough to remove a star though. I very much recommend the guitar.

One issue that may be unique to me: I have been using a Line 6 wireless transmitter, which I love. But the transmitter has a little button which turns the unit on when you push it into the input jack. The L. R. Baggs strap-holder jack's end is a bit rounded (probably to ease putting on the strap), not flat, and the transmitter button doesn't quite hit it when the jack is inserted. Until I figure out a fix, I'm back to a cable! Oh well.

All the reviews on YouTube were spot on. Very happy with the purchase. More guitar than I need for many many years. Aloha.

The Orangewood Cleo Live is not only stunning to look at, but sounds and plays beautifully. It is very easy to play with its low action and comfortable neck, and stays in tune well. The sound is very resonant and bright, especially when played with a pick that to me shares some qualities of a Dreadnought-style guitar, which makes it especially great for Blues, Bluegrass, Latin, and even Tommy Emmanuel-style playing in my opinion.

This guitar offers a lot and is very versatile. For its features and quality I think this guitar is equivalent to much more expensive guitars out there. Bottom line, I don't think anyone would ever regret their purchase of a Cleo Live.

I have been playing Guitar for over 35 years as a working musician. I have owned many Taylor's, Martins, Gibson Guitars and I have to say that Orangewood nailed it with the Cleo Live.
What a great price for what you get. The build quality surpassed my expectations and the tone and playability are outstanding. I can't wait to see what the future brings with Orangewood not to mention That Orangewood will be a household name with Acoustic Guitars in the near future. I forgot to mention the excellent customer service and kudos to the guys doing the setups Thank you !

I discovered Orangewood guitars through recent social media sharing and on-line reviews. So I ordered their best and this Cleo did not disappoint me. I currently own 8xx series Taylor guitars, have played 9xx Taylor's, Own other high-end guitars, high Eastman and Martin's, and High quality classical guitar (Ramirez's1A), Alhambra's and Cordoba's and I have been a long time serious hobbyist luthier with over 20 classical guitars building. So now to own and play a Cleo Live, perhaps I may input some reviews both on playability, and build quality. I also ordered their Sage Mahogany for a HyVibe project I plan to work on. But this feedback is on the Cleo. The guitar was shipped the next days and arrived to me the very next day (I am fairly local to their location), and it came in fully setup, in a nice case, nice logo. The string action was just right to my liking (low) that is easy to play with absolutely no string buzz. The neck setting to the body is low and I do have enough saddle bone to lower down, but there is absolutely no need. The strings were in tune when it came, and intonation to all notes on the fretboard were spot on. The fretwork is absolute clean. No sharp ends to complain. I love the look and feel holding the Cleo, one thing, the neck contour is a real deep C, different than the Taylor's, Eastman's and Martin's but after a few days, I have found I like it more. More comfortable to the hand plus the satin finish of the neck feel of the hand moving is smooth and easier to play too. The voice sustain is commendable, I am still trying to some other string gauges to my liking. 12-53 or 11-52, I have found they work better for me and the sounding of the instrument. I love the look and feel of the torrefied spruce top, love the amber color as it is a real aged guitar. Most of my experience on the back/side on the majority of my guitars was on solid Rosewood, I have one Brazilian Rosewood So I will know more about Pau Ferro wood as I play this Cleo. I love the feel of the headstock, the inlays as they are just enough to enjoy. love the center inlayed line on the back The guitar logo is elegant. Of all of my guitars when possible I ordered with ebony fingerboard and this one ebony is clean black to my taste. Love the gold finish open tuners. One comment I would like to make is the body seems to be a tad heavy. Perhaps the makers would fine tune their building, bracing size. The body lacquer finish although looks beautiful but I would prefer satin touch and feel and it might cut the weight down a bit. In summary I really like it and for price comparison (considering not counting the cost of the great LR Baggs pickup) the guitar's price is a real bargain. Oh, the plastic white binding looks nice work but I would prefer wood binding, that would make the guitar feel more natural and more beautiful. I am pleased now to have owned the Cleo. BTW, Orangewood Guitar's customer services are very responsive!!! Love it.