Eddie and Sooj Park are Korean brothers who moved from Korea to California with a dream. Their dream is to make one of the most popular musical instruments on the earth will be available at an affordable price so that anyone can buy them easily. In November 2017 they launched the first collection of acoustic guitars. Eddie and Sooj Park are musicians. They know the musical aspects and needs very well.
All Orangewood guitars are designed in the USA and manufactured in China and Indonesia. Park brothers were fascinated about making quality guitars at an affordable price. The same idea reflects in every guitar model. Some Orangewood acoustic guitar models like Austen, Oliver, Manhattan, and Victoria were launched in 2018.
Today we are going to discuss 10 orangewood acoustic guitars. We will discuss the tonal quality, build, design, and whether the model is worth buying or not.
Echo Torrefied Spruce Live
Echo Torrefied Spruce has a Dreadnought body shape with a solid Sitka spruce top. The back and sides have a Layered Pau Ferro.
It's a non-porous hard wood with open grain that gives a warm tone. Pau Ferro adds richness to the bass frequencies and smoothness to the treble. Another interesting feature of echo torrefied spruce live acoustic guitar is the involvement of the Torrefaction process.
What's the Torrefaction process?
It's baking the wood used for making the guitar. the Torrefaction process removes the moisture of the wood by heating the wood at a temperature of almost 250ยฐ. After removing the moisture reheating is done to add the moisture again by using water vapor.
The reason to perform this process is to get a fuller tone and more volume. generally, this process is mostly used for the Spruce or Sitka as a top wood. It has a C-shaped neck with a width suitable for small hands too. Scalloped X bracing improves the overall tone and sound.
I saw Scalloped X bracing is mostly used in high-quality guitars. overall, echo torrefied spruce live is a guitar with a high-quality build and rich tonal quality and most important is it's easy to play. the package also includes a good quality gig bag.
Echo Torrefied Spruce Live
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Brooklyn Live
Size is the main difference between Brooklyn Live and echo torrefied Spruce live. Brooklyn Live has the Grand Concert body shape. Echo torrefied Spruce is a dreadnought guitar. Let me tell you a few differences between the grand concert and dreadnought body which will help you to choose the best.
What are the differences between Dreadnought and Grand concert?
Dreadnought guitars are large-size guitars with broader bodies. Grand concert guitars are smaller compared to a dreadnought.
Dreadnought guitar is louder compared to Grand concert. If you want a guitar for strumming echo torrefied Spruce is a better choice. For finger playing, Brooklyn Live is a better choice.
Brooklyn live has a Solid Sitka Spruce with Layered Pau Ferro back and sides. the neck is Mahogany with Ovangkol fretboard and bridges.
Those who aren't familiar with Ovangkol may think it's something new wood with some unique characteristics but that's not the case.
Ovangkol and rosewood have many similarities. both are tough and durable. They are used for fretboards and bridges.
Coming back to the performance and playability of Brooklyn live I like the sound and it's so easy to play. As I said it's a grand concert body shape which is small in size and suitable for short arms and small hands. It's lightweight and comfortable for hours of playing.
It has a balanced tone but slightly less clarity and depth. For a beginner, it's difficult to comment on its clarity but the experienced user can feel it. Overall it's a great choice for beginners. Not only because of its playability but also because of its appearance. gold hardware and abalone rosette make the Brooklyn live a beautiful guitar that everyone will fall in love with it.
Brooklyn Live
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Rey Mahogany guitar
The first two orangewood acoustic guitars in this list are Non-Cutaway guitars. This third guitar Orangewood Rey is a Cutaway acoustic guitar. The cutaway body has its advantages as well as disadvantages. If you want to access higher frets cutaway guitar is the best choice.
Rey Mahogany has a layered mahogany top and back. It's not a full-bodied guitar that affects the sound. Considering the price of Rey mahogany build quality is good. purple heart is used for fretboard and bridge. Purpleheart is a hardwood that feels smooth and gives a better tone.
If you are looking for a beginner-friendly acoustic guitar below $150 Orangewood Rey Mahogany is a good choice. If You want to reach the higher frets. If you want to practice playing a guitar for many hours comfortably Orangewood Rey Mahogany with a cutaway body is a good option.
Rey Mahogany guitar
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Oliver Jr Mahogany
I have already listed the ten best mini guitars for the kids and beginners and I admit that I missed the name Oliver jr mahogany. maybe it's because Oliver jr mahogany has some cons. That doesn't mean it's a bad guitar. It's the mini version of orangewood's most selling guitar Oliver Mahogany Live. Like many other small-size guitars we reviewed it has its pros and cons.
Oliver jr mahogany is suitable for kids and adults with small hands. It has a Mahogany solid top with layered mahogany back and sides. Scale length is 23.5". Like I said it's more for beginners and less for pros. It has a bright and balanced tone. I was expecting more bass.
Like all small sizes, guitars' sound projection is an area where it doesn't perform well. overall it's a great package for beginners and adults with small hands. Good choice for picking it always in your car. It's cheaper so you can keep one in your home and one in your car for traveling.
Oliver jr Mahogany
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Ava Torrefied Spruce
We discussed how the torrification process improves wood resonance. Echo Torrefied Spruce Live is an example of that. If you are thinking about the main difference between echo torrefied spruce and ava Torrefied Spruce let me tell you that Ava torrefied spruce is a combination of solid spruce top, Solid mahogany back and sides.
Echo Torrefied spruce has the same kind of spruce top but the back and sides are Layered Pau Ferro. This difference in build also creates a difference in tonal quality. Another difference is its body shape. Echo Spruce is a dreadnought-shaped guitar. Ava has a Grand Concert shape.
other specifications like Ebony fretboard, Mahogany neck, and Ebony bridge are similar but what is the main difference is all solid body vs partially laminate body and this difference decides the sound quality and difference in price. Ava all solid grand concert costs $745.
Orangewood Echo Torrefied Spruce costs $545. If your priority is sound quality and budget isn't a constraint I suggest you go for Ava all solid grand concert. You will get brighter and more balanced tones compared to Echo spruce.
Ava Torrefied Spruce
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Ava Torrefied Live
The only difference between Ava Live and Ava Torrefied Spruce is the involvement of electronics. Ava Live has LR Baggs Anthem pickup which is not in Ava Torrefied Spruce except that all the physical features and build is the same. Ava live has the same grand concert body shape with a scale length of 25.5".
TUSQ nut and Scalloped X bracing. LR Baggs Anthem gives a more natural, rich, and loud sound. another noticeable thing about Ava Live is that it belongs to the Highland all-solid acoustic series guitar. The Highland series is available in three shapes. Hudson which is a dreadnought-shaped guitar, Ava has a grand concert body shape and a grand auditorium cutaway-shaped body which is also called Sage. If you want natural and loud sound Ava live is a good option to think about.
Ava Torrefied live
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Sage Torrefied Spruce
Orangewood Highland series guitars are the first solid wood guitar series of orangewood guitars. As I said Highland series includes three types of guitars having different body shapes. These three types are Hudson (dreadnought), Ava (grand concert), and Sage (grand auditorium cutaway).
before discussing Sage Torrefied Spruce let me tell you something about the grand auditorium cutaway guitar. This type of guitar has the characteristics of dreadnought guitars and grand concert-type guitars. This modern-looking guitar delivers an almost equal level of loudness you get with the dreadnought style. grand auditorium cutaway guitar balances between high frequency and low-frequency ranges.
The grand auditorium cutaway guitar is an ideal choice for singers, writers, and performers. The same is true about the Sage Torrefied Spruce. It has a solid build with a Torrefied Solid Sitka Spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. Mother of Pearl inlays makes this guitar a decent combination of beauty and performance.
when we played the Sage spruce for a couple of hours we found that this guitar is best suited for fingerstyle guitarists. I would suggest this guitar not only because it is best for fingerstyle guitarists but it is a value-for-the-money guitar. Despite having all solid bodies with high-quality material this guitar is available at an affordable price.
Sage Torrefied Spruce
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Mason Nylon Cedar Live
Mason Nylon Cedar Live is the first Nylon-string guitar of orangewood. Beginners prefer Nylon strings because they are softer than steel strings. They are gentle on a beginner's finger. Mason Nylon Cedar Live has a Grand Auditorium Cutaway body shape. Solid Cedar top and layered Pau Ferro back and sides. Cedar top delivers fuller sound and volume.
Cedar is a soft wood that is ideal for Soft strumming. It produces a louder tone. The cutaway Body shape of Mason Nylon Cedar is comfortable to hold and play with. The c-shaped neck and Nylon Strings make this guitar a highly playable guitar. I would say it's more for beginners who just started the journey of playing the guitar.
Mason Nylon Cedar Live
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Hudson Torrefied Spruce
Another model belongs to the Orangewood Highland series. Dreadnought body shape with Torrefied Solid Sitka Spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. This guitar is an example of affordability and quality build. It has the loud and rich tone that any good quality dreadnought guitar delivers.
When I saw it for the first time, it looked more like a vintage-style guitar. torrefaction makes the Spruce top slightly darker which enhances the beauty of the Hudson Torrefied Spruce. The tone of any acoustic guitar mostly depends on the type of tonewood used for the top and sides.
This is all solid body guitar that delivered a rich tone with fuller volume. This type of quality build is mostly seen in an expensive guitar but Hudson Torrefied Spruce could manage it quite well. though you don't have the choice of electronics pickups you can get the same guitar with the name Hudson Torrefied Spruce Live that has LR Baggs Anthem.
Hudson Torrefied Spruce
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Florence
What I liked the most in Florence is it's aesthetic. The solid spruce top, a 3-tone sunburst finish looks so beautiful that I decided to buy it immediately. The Orangewood Florence is a smaller size guitar with a 39โ overall length. Parlor guitars are smaller so they are best for the tones emphasizing the midranges.
Florence delivered a bright tone. The size of the guitar didn't affect the tone of the guitar and that's the special thing about Florence. Though it doesn't give fuller sound and volume it's ok to play in a small size room or keep it in your car as a travel companion. considering its price build quality is good.
Florence
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Conclusion
We have reviewed 10 Orangewood acoustic guitars. These ten guitars have different body shapes like a dreadnought, grand concert, Parlour, and grand Auditorium Cutaway. Guitars like Ava Torrefied live have electronic pickups that improve loudness and tonal quality but cost more than $1000.
Many of the models included in this list are made from torrefied wood. torrefaction process improves the tonal quality of wood. These torrefied wood guitars cost more than other guitars but also sound better. This list also has guitars belonging to the highland series of orangewood.
If you think the price of these guitars ranges from $200 to $1000. The most important point to think about before buying is your budget. Then you need to think about for whom you are buying the guitar. If you are buying a guitar for a kid you must think about the size of the guitar.
Oliver jr mahogany is a decent choice in that case. If you are buying a guitar for a beginner considering a nylon string can be a wise choice because Nylon strings are softer on the hands of beginners. Other models like the Rey mahogany guitar are a good choice for beginners that allows them to access higher frets due to the single cutaway design. Rey mahogany guitar is affordable as well as easy to play.