Name or Forum username: keembo Date: 12/27/08 Review: Blueridge BR-163 Rating you give the Blueridge BR163: 4 - Highly recommend it
Likes: Great volume and clarity. Love the size. Good craftsmanship
Dislikes: I prefer a 1-3/4 nut.
Additional Comments: Because I enjoy fingerpicking a lot, the nut width is just a bit on the tight side. This guitar would be a wonderful woman's guitar for sure, and it really has strong output. I don't do bluegrass, but it should be a great flatpicker and bluegrasser. Certainly, it is well worth the money.
Name or Forum username: MR Date: 3/22/07 Review: Blueridge BR-163 Rating you give the Blueridge BR163: 4 - Highly recommend it
Like about the Blueridge BR-163: I bought a Blueridge BR-163, expecting it to be good for versatile styles of fingerstyle, strumming, and picking. Since the purchase, I can only say that I am very glad I bought this guitar. The quality build, playability, and tonal characteristics of the BR-163 are amazing when compared to other equally priced guitars. I actually brought mine into a few guitar stores and played side-by-side with $900-$1300 Martins, Takamines, and Taylors. The BR-163 easily blew each of them away in sound and feel! And not that it matters, but in one of the stores, an employee walked by (not noticing the headstock) and said, "Wow, you have a Clapton!" I laughed, but another guy said it does look like it."
Dislike about the Blueridge BR163: I chose to remove the dalmation pickguard. So, if you don't like the pickguard, don't let it steer you away; it's easily removed. The BR-163 is beautiful with or without a guard, and you can customize it in this respect. Initially, I did not care for the headstock. However, as I realized more with each day how much I liked the guitar and the value I got for my dollar, I became proud, and don't mind the colorful inlay.
Additional Comments: The voice of the BR-163 changes slightly when the plastic bridge pins are replaced. I installed Tusq pins. This inexpensive alteration produced a welcomed change: The overall tone is more mellow, the bass notes are more pronounced, the sustain is even greater, allowing a bell-like tone to ring after the volume begins to decay, and the harmonics are now much sweeter because of the increased sustain and ring. I highly recommend this upgrade, whether you try ivory, bone, ebony, or Tusq.
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