Paul Brett Vintage Viaten or Ashbury?

[dsbsbndc]

Hello
Rather than risk one of my tenors being damaged en-route each time I go back to the UK from the USA, not to mention the baggage charges, I thought it would be worth getting a relatively inexpensive guitar to keep practising when I'm back.
I've seen good reviews of the Paul Brett Vintage Viatens and I know Hobgoblin Music sell a couple of Ashbury models.
Any thoughts which might be best?
Many thanks

[derbex]

FWIW I have the AT14 Ashbury and am happy with that. I showed it to my music teacher and he thought it a decent guitar for the money. I got mine 2nd hand from ebay -you also see them at a cheaper price on Amazon occasionally.

Everything works, although a setup might help it out, the nut is a bit high. It sounds pretty decent and much like any other guitar, so if you are looking for a distinctive tenor sound this might not be the one for you.

I called in at Hobgoblin about a month ago and had a quick strum of what they had in the basement, the only one that sounded significantly better than mine, to my ear, was the Lindisfarne cutaway at 3 times the price.

Haven't tried a Viaten, and you could probably find a Tanglewood or Kala at a similar price or an Ozark for a bit more.

[dsbsbndc]

Thanks Jeremy, I hadn't realized that Tanglewood made a tenor too.

[Martin Jonas]

I haven't tried the Ashbury, but I have the Viaten and the small Ozark. As Jeremy has said, it depends on what you're looking for. The Viaten has a very distinctive tone and a much smaller body than the Ashbury, so if you're looking for a generic guitar tone, you're probably better off with the Ashbury and if you're looking for something with a more distinctive tone for soloing, you may prefer the Viaten. I really like mine.

Martin

[dsbsbndc]

Many thanks Martin, I also just discovered your thread from when you bought your Ozark! How does that compare?