Blueridge BR-40T tenor guitar

[islandgirl]

Hi y'all! I am very interested in getting a BR 40T but can't find one in my location. I am not really wanting to purchase on line as I like to feel it! I am in BC Canada and wonder if anyone knows of a location that I can check out. I am also interested in your opinions on this instrument! Thanks

[WoodyCTA102]

I've had one for a number of years. It's a very decent, nice playing/sounding tenor. I had a 1930s Martin 0-18T that was killer, but needed too much maintenance. I don't think the BR40T was that good, but it was very close. I have some nicer mandolas, octaves, guitars, etc. If it were my main instrument, I might want something a bit nicer. But for occasional use, it's good.

I did sand down the edges of the neck to be more comfortable (mine has a truss rod), and used steel wool to remove a little of the thick finish (just because).

It has developed a seam separation in the top (running from bottom to bridge), but haven't repaired it because is still sounds/plays well and is tight.

If you can't find one to try, I would suggest buying a used one such that if you really didn't like it you'd pretty much get your money back if you resold it. It is really a decent tenor, regardless of price. Considering price, it's a very good deal.

[rollingdam]

The Long&Mcquade saskatoon store has a used one for sale

[islandgirl]

The Long&Mcquade saskatoon store has a used one for sale

Thanks for the info y'all! If I can't find one I may go for a smaller guitar such as the Taylor mini gs. Want try to get close to mandolin but with four strings!

[islandgirl]

I went into one of my local music stores today, and they told me that they could get in the BR 60T! The first time I had asked, they said that they didn't think they could get it! They are looking into the 40T availability. Things may be looking up!

[fox]

All the Blueridge tenor models are great, a bit overbuilt but correspondingly robust, 23” scale can be a bit of a stretch if you are jumping up from a mandolin though.
They are great for strumming, I much prefer GDAE to CGDA but that is just a personal thing.
I have quite a few tenor guitars but not many perform better than a well set up Blueridge.

[John Lloyd]

I just got a BR40-TCE and love it. In fact I'll probably make a complete post about it soon.

[crisscross]

They are great for strumming, I much prefer GDAE to CGDA but that is just a personal thing.
I agree, that they sound great when strummed. But I have mine tuned CDGA.
I use it for song accompaniment in our little acoustic trio:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkC73rQl_7Y
So long, no one has complained, that it is missing two strings...

[islandgirl]

Thanks for that video! Nice sound!

[islandgirl]

OK! Now that I am leaning towards the BR-60T, I need to get sheet music. How does mandolin sheet music convert to tenor guitar? I know that the key will be different.

[Verne Andru]

I'm in BC as well and there's nothing happening for tenors. Long&Mc's don't stock but can special order if it's coming from an established supplier. Rufus sometimes has or can get stuff Mc's doesn't. There's a Guitar Center in Bellingham but they don't stock tenors either. There was a fellow on the island producing some really funky custom tenors, but I've not seen anything from him for a while. With stuff like tenors we just have to take our best educated guess and order blind. I was able to find a really nice Harmony through Craigslist, but that was pretty fluky.

Transposing between tenor and mandolin is a matter of finding your root - if song is in G on the mando, find G on the tenor - and playing the same shapes, just in a different place on the fretboard. Tenor music I've studied tends to keep the playing action up the fretboard around to the 10th fret.

The circle of 5ths comes in handy - mandolin is tuned a 5th higher than tenor, alternately a tenor is tuned a 4th lower than mandolin. In practice - if the mandolin music calls for me to play a D chord, transposing a 5th I play a mando A shape on the tenor for the same chord. It will be a D chord albeit an octave lower, which is where playing higher up the neck comes into play.

They're the same but different. I also play a 5 string mandolin and have taken to thinking of it as a tenor on the low strings and mandolin on the high so I'm getting used to switching on the fly. It's a challenge, to be sure.