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Post subject: NGD Sonoran Slimline
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:19 am
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First off I need to say that I haven't played acoustic for 20+ years so this isn't perhaps the best of references. Also, because of time constraints, I haven't been able to audition any guitars and bought this on the internet based on specification, so don't really have any references for comparison.

In fairness I have perhaps played a couple of acoustics recently. I didn't like them. I play Strats (2 MIA's and a modified MIM), and they are all strung with 008's, so not a great start. But I liked the thought of the convenience of an acoustic that hopefully wouldn't feel 1000 miles from my Strats.

I pondered the Telecoustic (the Stratacoustic just looks wrong) but reports and reviews suggested it only really sounded anything when plugged in. This rather defeated the object and the only finish I liked was on the most expensive and I couldn't work out why this would be half as much again to the finish I didn't like.

The Sonoran looked like a possibility but I dislike the broad body of a conventional acoustic, Compared to the figure caressing contours of a Strat all conventional acoustics feel like torture to play. So I was still undecided. Then they re-released (?) the Slimline. Job's a good'n.

The guitar arrived yesterday. Today my fingers hurt.

The guitar is stung with 12's (that sould be be a B string not an E in my previous world) but wasn't as aggressively stiff as I had remembered....still hurt my fingers though and very scratchy and squeaky. But that is probably just my problem in transitioning to an acoustic.

First thing to remember is that this is a £230 guitar made in China (the last bit is probably irrelevant though).

The body has a solid top, really nice edge biding and looks like the body of a £300+ guitar.

The neck on the other hand looks, and feels like a £100 guitar, so I guess it balances out. The satin finish to the neck doesn't have the quality of the satin finishes on 2 of my Strats and feels thin and unfished but still manages to be a bit gloopy and sticky in places. Not sticky sticky but that sticky you get on a glossy neck on a hot day. It also has a strange tinted stain which makes it look cheaper again. The frets must be of the thinnest wire available (not great as I have become a lover of jumbo frets since my most recent Strat) and has a something dark wood fingerboard (all my Strats are Maple by choice).

While further considering the neck there is a bizarre gap at the end. The fingerboard extends, as it might on a 22 fret Stat. There is no extra fret and the gap under the fingerboard extension is around 4mm above the face of the body, most strange. Is this normal with an acoustic? From this you can see the back of the neck pocket (the neck is screwed on) and the finish to the nose of the pocket perhaps isn't as precise as I am use to.

OK so I am sure this is all down to my ignorance of acoustics compared to my beautiful Strats. As you can perhaps imagine from my string choice, I bend like a nut case. That's going to have to stop.

And "Vintage" tuners is just an excuse to fit the cheapest nastiest tuners you have ever seen. The guitar does seem to hold in tune pretty well though, even though the reinforcing bars installed purporting to be strings are new. I have only tried the on-board tuner (great feature) but the tuning is a tad notchy and I have had to back off and come back up on a number of occasions when it has jumped past the note.

Intonation seems fine throughout the neck; even in the areas that the body cut-out optimistically gives access to. And the action is far from as obnoxious as I remember of acoustics. It's not like my Strats (obviously) but I couldn't use the guitar as an impromptu clothes line either.

Sound wise, unplugged I am very happy. It (to my ears) sounds broad, rounded and rather mellow. Very nice indeed (that'll be the £300 body again then). It certainly isn't as loud as I remember steel strung acoustics to be but this is no surprise. For my predominant late night lounge playing this lack of outright volume is an advantage rather than a downside. In my ignorance it sounds just how I want it to sound. :-)

I haven't plugged it in yet, and perhaps wont. Although, as a Looping freak, I may have to indulge in some body tapping joy that I see others use to great effect. "Watch this space" as they say.

So, in summary, a very pleasant sounding guitar with a comfortable body. The neck feels a bit cheap but I am sure that will turn to "Vintage" in a very short time. I have some lighter strings which I may install but I don't feel this is the necessity that I have experienced on a new Strat. Do I enjoy playing it? Hell yes!

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Post subject: Re: NGD Sonoran Slimline
Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 2:48 pm
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Acoustics are very different animals, especially when you're used to jumbo frets and ultralight strings. In my opinion most Acoustics need at least a 12 for the high E. If you go much lighter the thing will have no body. I play 12-54 which are considered "lite" strings for acoustics. There is a real upside for you, once you get used to the heavier strings and play the acoustic for a while, when you pick up the electric you'll really fly. I found this out when I got my first 12 string acoustic. After I played it for a while and my fingers got stronger my electric playing really improved. I still like to warm up on the 12 string, belive me when you get a piece down on the acoustic and then go to the electric it will be even better. When it comes to cost, to me it really matters with acoustic , you may not feel much difference between a $600 and a $1300 electric but you will on acoustic. There is also a HUGE difference between a laminate/ply and a solid wood instrument. Try any ply, then pick up a tonewood Martin you'll hear it instantly. I have a very nice sounding ply,it sounds great by itself but playing together with the "big boy" Martin they just don't compare. I still love my Alverez its the best $500 I ever spent . I played it for years thinking how much better does a guitar need to sound? After I heard a pro level instrument, I saw the light. BTW the more you play that acoustic the better it will sound, I beat the hell out of my Alverez and it really loosened up and sounds better with age( I dont have the nerve to do that with the martin,lol)


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Post subject: Re: NGD Sonoran Slimline
Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 3:49 am
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Thanks for your comments.

I appreciate that wrestling with reinforcing bars will be good for me in the long run but, as I only do it for fun these days, the packet of 010's is looking ever more inviting. Who knows, I might even venture into the dark side of 009s on one of my Strats.

I plugged the beastly in yesterday and it sounded pretty damn good. The reproduction was extremely accurate and acoustic sounding.

I also compared the on-board tuner with my BOSS clip on. Again, no issues there at all.

So, for the money, it seems like a very acceptable piece of kit. I may give the neck a bit of a go with wet'n'dry to try to smooth out some of the gloopy lacquer, and give the fingerboard a bit of TLC, but otherwise I am very happy with it.

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Post subject: Re: NGD Sonoran Slimline
Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 2:49 am
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Well Sonia is proving to be far more alluring now clad in very slinky Fender 010-048s. I can't say that audibly there is a significant difference and part of the perceived change may be just because of what I have read.

Next time around she may get a bit of a bottom boost with Ernie Ball Earthwood Rock and Blues 010-052s but I'm in no rush.

Now that my focus is less on the strings the neck has become a bit more "Vintage" and less "Cheap and nasty". So all good.

I now need to try and find a case the fits it as I can see us spending a lot of time together. And another joy is (rather like my MiM) being cheap I don't feel overly precious about her so she can pretty much go anywhere :-)

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Post subject: Re: NGD Sonoran Slimline
Posted: Thu May 25, 2017 7:49 am
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John Sims wrote:

...Now that my focus is less on the strings the neck has become a bit more "Vintage" and less "Cheap and nasty"...


Sonia really hasn't had the attention she deserves. The neck continued to feel cheap and sticky and poorly finished. So, after lunch today, I had at it with some 1200 grade and some G10 compound. The 1200 did indeed show the finish to be somewhat poor and uneven with highs and lows and build ups all over the place.

Not 30 minutes later the feel of the guitar is completely transformed. It also looks more like a quality instrument with the neck (at least the back of it) now looking like it belongs with the very nicely finished body. I could perhaps spend another 30 or so minutes getting it really smooth but I will perhaps save that for when I swap off the Christmas $@!&#* tuners.

Obviously the neck is no longer "Satin" but now glossy. One would think this would make it seem stickier but seemingly the original finish was so poor that the opposite now seems to be the case.

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Post subject: Re: NGD Sonoran Slimline
Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 6:32 am
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And now fitted with the redundant tuners from my Road Worn Strat and with the head polished to match the neck it looks, and feels, like a much nicer guitar.

I appreciate that the original satin finish is meant to feel better but, as it wasn't terribly well executed, it just looked cheap. Allied to the plastic buttons on the machine heads it gave the impression of a very budget price instrument.

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