Blueridge Guitars BR-183 Historic Series 000 Guitar, 000 Sitka

First of all, this is not a Martin 000-42; that is a $6,000 guitar and deservedly so. Having said that, this is a faithful attempt to replicate the 000-42 (sonically and aesthetically), and omg they came up with an awesome instrument. The copy I got has an A++ grade for the spruce and rosewood (at least to my evaluation) -- I'm comparing it against my Martin HD-28, and this one seems to have a better tonewood. The sound also has more coloration and complexity than my HD-28 (which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what you play). Given the size, the volume is loud -- not as loud as my HD-28 dreadnought, but louder than my Seagull S6 laminated-back dreadnought guitar. More than worth the $910 I paid for it during Amazon's Labor Day Sale (Thanks Amazon!). The build quality is high above average, though not as perfect as the high-end guitars from the likes of Martin, Taylor, and Larrivee.I use Martin's monel (nickel alloy) strings (Tony Rice Medium) to make the sound even warmer and to subdue the tonal complexity/coloration of this guitar which can be quite overwhelming sometimes.

I was delightfully surprised when I received this guitar. Essentially, a copy of one of the more famous brands headquartered in Pennsylvania. Built out of quality solid woods (rosewood & spruce). Beautiful craftmanship. Easy to play right out of the box with no setup needed. Sounds amazing.I own over 65 guitars including Martins, Taylors, Collins, and Gibsons. I just ordered two other Blueridge models.

This guitar looks as great as it sounds! Plays easy and has excellent volume for a small body guitar

Perfect intonation with a beautiful and balanced tone. Attention to detail is evident Inside and out. A lot of value in this guitar.

Everything I hoped it would be.

I have a BR-180 that I have been playing since 2003 with a contemporary Bluegrass band. It really has developed into a real cannon and the appearance is that of a D-45 which I used to own but traded it for a banjo! I wanted a OOO body guitar to fingerpick and the smaller body size is easy to get my arm around now that Mother Nature is catching up to me. The BR-183 was on sale, used, and now I have a matched set. The tone is quite different from the dread, but we all like the sound and of course, the Blueridge quality is excellent. This my third Blueridge and I have loved them all. It's not a Martin, but the sound and the craftsmanship are excellent and if something happens to the instrument, it can be replaced without breaking the bank! I highly recommend Blueridge guitars, Kentucky mandolins, all the fine products imported by Saga and no, they didn't pay me to say that!

I've owned my BR-183 for at least four years. It is still the favorite performing instrument of my bandmates, despite its smaller size and more intimate tone-- it is preferred over, for example, a top-end Taylor Grand Symphony Koa and a handmade mid-70s Brazilian Rosewood LoPrinzi dreadnought.The fit and finish on this instrument is top-flight. Out of the case, it had a surprisingly full tone, and over the years of intensive playing and performance, it has only improved in tone. Intonation is excellent up and down the neck. The fingerboard is a bit narrow but I have yet to feel cramped on it, though I'm used to 1-3/4" nut widths. Played fingerstyle it is an absolute joy. Without picks, it has a finger-sensitive quality-- one can hear the smallest changes of finger-angle, the shifts between soft fingers, callouses, and fingernails hitting the string. Up and down the neck, notes glimmer and then arrive with nuance and authority. Strummed, with the action extremely low, it does compress, but in a very pleasing way-- it seems designed to provide a sort of percussive rhythm-guitar quality. "Snapping" the strings gives a delightful pop to the notes and they retain their sonority rather than simply dying, as occurs with the very-young and very stolid Taylor GS. While the Taylor has begun to open up over the year of its life with me, the Blueridge seems more like a 20-year-old instrument.If there is a complaint to make, it's with the lacquer, which is fairly thickly laid on-- one wonders what the sound would be like with a thinner finish. The detailing is almost gaudy-- the abalone is beautifully inlaid, but there's a lot of it!This instrument's extraordinary virtues inveigled me into buying a "B-stock" BR-180, the top-of-the-line Blueridge Dreadnought, to keep at a retreat where I travel to write and think. I imagined it to be a sort of on-vacation workhorse, and was delighted to be corrected by its balance, volume, authority, and subtlety. Like the BR-183, it has become a favorite of mine, and of the band's-- requiring that I trek it back for performances regularly. Both these instruments have been fitted with Fishman undersaddle pickups that are led into a Fishman Aura for recording and performance, and the result is amplified sound almost exactly corresponding to the sound of the instruments in rehearsal in a living room-- quite an achievement.