2010 Recording King RP2-626C Cutaway 00 12-Fret Guitar

For a 6-year-old guitar, this has definitely had some travel and shows under its belt in the way of various scritchy-scratch and finish ding/chips -- but no cracks. Someone liked it a bunch and there's a reason why: this is an impressive instrument. I'm not usually excited about modern import makes, but these Recording King instruments have just been getting better and better. This one specs-out like a 30s 00-18 (12 fret) with scalloped x-bracing in spruce over mahogany but adds a cutaway and a longer (~25 3/8) scale length. You can "fanboy" the details at RK's own website entry.

I forgot to mention that this is a Schoenberg-designed model -- yup -- but a much more affordable variant than the Martin-made variety. The sound is robust in the lower-mids and it has a definite punch, roundness, and gutsiness that's lacking in a lot of modern 00 guitars. I gave it a fresh fret level/dress, bridge reglue, and good setup, too, so it plays on-the-dot with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret.

This is solid wood throughout -- spruce over hog. This is 14 1/4" on the lower bout.

The nut and saddle are both bone, the headstock veneer is rosewood, and the board and bridge are both ebony.

The neck has a 1 3/4" nut width but a 30s-style, soft-V, quick, Martin-feeling neck.

The soft cutaway is a bonus rather than a detractor in the looks department. I often can't stand the look of cutaways on a flattop, but the look is kept classic and traditional on the Schoenberg-style bodies so it blends well.

The 12-fret bridge location at the wider bit of the lower bout also means that any compression or loss of airspace in the instrument is mitigated by that sweet-spot bridge boost.

The rosette is simply and "vintage-spec" and all the binding is ivoroid, which is a nice touch.

18:1 tuners are a lovely addition. These are some of my favorite modern tuners on a "normal" budget -- they work beautifully.

As you can see, there's plenty of saddle.

This had some sort of pickup installed and I plugged the enlarged hole and installed a strap button in the plug. It'd be easy to remove to install your own-preference pickup... or leave as-is.

The original hard, arched RK-branded case comes with it. These are nice things.