Red Line Acoustics(NMC)

[dorenac]

I'm on the prowl for a small guitar to scratch my GAS. I've looked at all the 00-size Martins(CEO-7, Jeff Tweedy 00, deep body guitars, etc.). I can finger pick but prefer to flat pick, and don't want a D,000, OM, size guitar. And then I came upon Cumberland Acoustics Red Line Advanced Parlor guitar. And that grabbed my interest. So has anyone played one of these? For that matter I would welcome comments on others as previously mentioned, too. Thanks. Apologies if this isn't the appropriate place for this post.

[fatt-dad]

have you looked at the Gibson Robert Johnson model. It's a 14" wide (lower bout), short scale, mahogany L-1. It's really an exact copy of a 1930 Gibson L-1. I've owned a 1930 L-1 for 32 years and love it!

No idea about price. I have played the Robert Johnson and liked it - not quite as open/aged as the original. Great guitar though!

Good luck in your journey. The X12 Taylor are the smallest of regular guitar line. I think folks like their Big Baby too. I have a 914, but that seems too big for your post?

I used to own an LXM Martin. It's like a formica guitar. Fun to play and indestructible! I kept that guitar through the summer and winter in the back of my station wagon for years! Right here in Richmond! Never had a problem! That very guitar is now in Tanzania. I sent it there via a preacher in a small village - one that didn't even have one guitar! It does now and that guitar is still making music! It's been well over 8 years!

f-d

[colorado_al]

I haven't played their guitars but I have played several of their A5 mandolins and was really impressed. Very high quality. Great sound

[Br1ck]

I own two Pono 0 sized guitars. They are very well made with no plastic used anywhere. They run anywhere from $600 or so to around $1400. They are a small company. I've gotten the owner twice while calling for information. George Kitakas was the guy answering the phone. I had an ebony bridge pin split on a guitar I bought used. He didn't have any more of that style and insisted on sending me a set. Wouldn't take my money.

I wanted a good guitar that wouldn't break the bank as I knew it would not supplant my bigger guitars. Later I bought the twelve string matching Pono. They do not have all the models always available, but believe they will make you one in around three months or so. No questions asked return policy. Unfortunately they no longer build in rosewood (CRITES hassles) but do a variety of mahogany, mango and acacia. Mango and acacia are related to koa. They make some great looking ebony parlors, and you can get some with nice shell inlay.

I also have a very simple, very sweet tenor uke. Hard to beat at this price point. They have a small shop in Indonesia where workers are treated fairly. They were better than the Eastmans I tried.

[pops1]

Larivee also makes some great sounding small 0 sized guitars.

[Rodney Riley]

No experience, but would love to have one of their “Hemi” resonators. Have read several posts that have great things to say about their mandos. Don’t think you would be disappointed with one of their instruments.

Think Luna makes some small bodied guitars. Our Grandblessing’s little Martin has a really loud voice

[colorado_al]

I've played the Eastman E10P and it was really good.
Here's a really good deal on one for $575:
https://reverb.com/item/8211192-east...-guitar-w-case
Solid Adirondack top, solid mahogany back and sides

I'll be near there tomorrow if you want me to check it out for you

[dorenac]

Thanks for all these leads. I think one thing I didn't emphasize well is that I am actually looking for ideas for a 00-size guitar that comes across fairly well for flatpicking. Not too boxy sounding but with pretty good balance bass-mid-treble. A 0-size guitar is probably a little too small to get much clear bass, not that any of the smaller guitars will have a dreadnaught "boom". But I don't want that anyway.

colorado_al: thanks for the link and offer, and I see that Eastman is already sold. Must be pretty nice.

Br1ck: I don't know much about Pono but will check it out

I sent a PM to Cumberland Acoustics last night asking about their guitars. I am assuming they are the same outfit which makes the great mandolin bridges.

[Bill Kammerzell]

[QUOTE

I sent a PM to Cumberland Acoustics last night asking about their guitars. I am assuming they are the same outfit which makes the great mandolin bridges.[/QUOTE]

Yes they are. They also have some nice A-5 models as well as some Resophonic Guitars. I just purchased a couple of their mandolin arm rests. Heard good stuff about their mandolins. I've talked with Steve Smith a couple of times, and IIRC he told me he built guitars with Gibson for a time.

[Joe Mendel]

Give a Santa Cruz H model a look. Not cheap, but a small guitar that works well for flatpicking. Cumberland Acoustics parlor guitars are very, very nice, I'm not sure how great they would be for flatpicking fiddle tunes and that sort of thing, for strumming and finger-picking they're great. Steve's a great guy to work with too!

[pops1]

The Larrivee 0 size is not at all boxy like you think of a small ladder braced guitar. It has a solid bass, not boomy like a dreadnaught, but solid and can be flatpicked quite well. It will handle the heavier strings that most smaller finger style guitars don't use. When setting up a finger style guitar I don't want heavy strings, a flat picked guitar, yes. That may be some of the difference in sound you have heard. I have heavier strings on the Larrivee and tune them down a step for fingerpicking, I can tune them up should I want to flat pick, I could leave them up, but like the sound for finger style tuned down. It is a very nice resonant guitar for not a lot of $$. I got mine used and need to put the mandolin down and play it more. They also make 00 and other sized guitars I believe.

[colorado_al]

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/120173#120173

[Br1ck]

I have a Martin custom 00 15 12 fret that is a really nice guitar, but my fingerpicking friend prefers the Pono OP 30. He likes the rosewood. All hog is a very different animal. Vintage Martin 00 18s are hit and miss. Talking 50s-60s here.

[Jim Garber]

I always like to check out what you can get at the lower end of things. One guitar I tried recently that I thought was worth a lot more than the selling price was a Recording King ROS-G9M EZ Tone I played at GC. These are simple 12-fret, all solid wood parlor size guitars but the tone and the volume is pretty impressive. When I first tried one they were asking $299. Then during Xmas season they went down to $199. Now, it seems, they are back up to $299.

Of course, the usual caveat goes with anything that GC sells -- you have to make sure that they set it up correctly.

On a side note, my 22 year old daughter decided she wanted to play guitar and they had a Recording King with a solid top and laminated B&S for $99.99. Unbelievable and it actually sounds and plays well, tho not as well as the one above.

As for the OP question: I checked on the Cumberland site and could not find any flattop guitars. Where did you see this one you are asking about?

Oh, I see... way down on their Instagram page.

[MissingString]

Have you looked at Waterloo guitars? They have several 12 and 14 fret models that are quite small, light and resonant. Both ladder and x braced models. Much has been written about the line which is the brainchild of Bill Collings. Not inexpensive but not outrageously priced... they play great! Good luck, interesting thread.

[colorado_al]

You could always go with the Saga Blueridge BR-42. New for around $400 with case with coupon code "SAVE10"
https://www.instrumentalley.com/Blue...et-p/br-42.htm

You'd have to do your own setup

[dorenac]

My budget is closer to $2k. So I would like all solid woods especially, but not exclusively, sitka top and rosewood B&S. And I think the 00(or deep body 00) is the sweet spot for size. Also having small hands I don't want a v-neck. The Red Lines read somewhere between an 0 and an 00, which is why I was curious about those.

[colorado_al]

Steve Smith from Cumberland Acoustic & Red Line is a great person to deal with. His mandolins are top notch. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again.

[pheffernan]

My budget is closer to $2k. So I would like all solid woods especially, but not exclusively, sitka top and rosewood B&S. And I think the 00(or deep body 00) is the sweet spot for size. Also having small hands I don't want a v-neck. The Red Lines read somewhere between an 0 and an 00, which is why I was curious about those.

While it may no be exactly what you're after, I did want to mention the new Guild M20 as an option. I've always had a soft spot for the Guild brand going back to my youth in New England, as it represented quality and value particularly in an era when Martin and Gibson lost their way. And I feel bad about how that brand has been mismanaged, damaged by seemingly endless moves (New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, Washington, Connecticut, and now again California), purchases, and sales. Hopefully, Córdoba can provide the brand with a little stability, and reintroducing the M20 makes a lot of sense to me. It is a workingman's guitar with simple aesthetics but superior function, priced favorably against its counterpart at Martin, and with a pleasing nod to the image (if not debatably the reality) of Nick Drake holding the Guilds of yore.

[dorenac]

Thanks pheffernan for the lead. Didn't know Guild was still alive. My old college roomie played a dreadnought back in the 70's and it was a real peach. I'll definitely add this to my search list. I think an M20 sunburst or M40 Troubadour might be worth considering. the neck profiles on these Guilds are nice. It would be nice to hear from people who have played one or the other.

******* I just discovered Martin's Dreadnought, Jr. while on the computer. Does anyone know about this guitar or have one, or have played one?