Ava Vintage Sunburst

First the positive. This guitar has wonderful trebles and decent mids. The tone is great - bright but not brittle. The sustain lasts for days, which for my style, I love. I also love the feel of the neck, and the body size and shape are comfortable. The tuning machines are smooth and accurate. On the downside, the bass is weak and lacks the sustain of the trebles. The braces, as visible from the sound hole, are a little rough a places . There is also a spot on the top where the finish was obviously not applied evenly.

There is a uniqueness to the tone - a slight boxiness that adds character. I may hang onto it for that reason and the playability and hope the bass will open more.

I have owned many acoustic guitars over the years including Gibson, Taylor, Takamine and Furch. I would say that the Orangewood Ava Vintage stacks up with all of them. It looks fantastic, plays very well and sounds full and balanced. The size of the Ava is ideal for my smallish hands and playing style (predominately fingerstyle folk and blues). My only small complaint is the with tuners which do not have the solid feel of others tuners I've experienced. Overall though I would highly recommend this instrument for anyone from beginners to very experienced players. I challenge anyone to find a guitar in the $800 range with solid torrefied spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides...all this and a terrific hard shell case? Amazing...Well done Orangewood!