The Recording King 12-String

[count savage]

If you're looking for a really decent acoustic 12-string and don't want to spend a lot of dough, the Recording King RD-06-12 is an incredible deal. Laminate mahogany sides and back, but they look as good as solid bodies, and solid sitka spruce top.  It's a dread body, but a 12-fret which gives it more bass. I play it tuned down a step in standard D tuning. It's reaaally easy and nice to play. It doesn't have the deep richness of a Guild/Taylor/Larrivee, but it sounds really good nonetheless. Also, records better than the Guild F512 R that I had, which lists at about $3500.  The RK has a kind of warm but glassy, even sound. I paid $249 shipped. The build is amazingly good -- it's designed in U.S., built in China, then re-checked and set up in the U.S. -- and it doesn't need a set up, plays great right out of the box.  A lot of people want to have a 12 string but don't play it all that much, so here's a great opportunity to get a good one for not a lot of money and see whether you like playing a 12-er. I've been playing it non-stop for two weeks and ignoring its betters, a Guild D50, a Larrivee LV-05E and a 1967 Gibson J50. I'm planning on another RK purchase as soon as I put together another two hundred bucks.

[Bax Burgess]

RK is one brand I'd chance buying before hearing/playing. I took my first gamble with their RR-50VS resonator, and then lucked into playing the RK RO-06 000, which I grabbed. Breedlove is my standard for estimating other guitars, so too bad for RK that I already have a Breedlove 12, but if I had known beforehand about the RK 12...

[count savage]

Yeah, I bought the RK 12-string without hearing it or playing it, but it turned out to be a lot better than I imagined it would be. and I'm still playing it all the time and still happy with it. I'm going to be purchasing the 000 - 06 you mentioned soon and am looking forward to it.  The RK guitars have their own sound and I like it. It's definitely different than Larrivee or Martin or the rest, but there's much more to it than you'd expect to get for the price. I went to the Guitar Center today and played a bunch of acoustics in the RK price range and quite a bit higher, and they really didn't compete. If I didn't already have some pretty expensive guitars, I'd start collecting a bunch of RKs. I'd get their attempt at a D 35, would get the Nick Lucas homage, and the Eric Schoenberg, which looks phenomenal.  I'd be tempted to trade one of the dreads if anyone sold the RKs and took in trades, but they don't seem to.   

[Bax Burgess]

There's a small shop nearby that suddenly had a couple of RK 000s and a Crafter of the same size (I had recently ordered a Crafter for my niece, never played one myself), so first the Crafter - thin sound, anticipation deflated (thankfully my niece seems to like hers), next the first RK - hmmm, woody?, no shine, though I think it was a cedar top, and the store owner hooked right into it. Then the spruce RO-06, and I knew by 20 seconds that I was leaving the store with it (not *another* guitar). The owner, a hot player, took a turn, marveling at what he termed 'limitless headroom', where the louder he played the louder it wanted to go.

[eded]

You guys are killing me.

[Johnny M]

You guys are killing me.

[JDR1014]

I tried an RK 12 string yesterday and was very impressed as well.  Since I already have 2 other nice 12 strings it didn't come home with me.  However, another RK did - an 000 bodied 12 fret R0-06.  I've been looking for this style guitar for quite a while and was planning on spending quite a bit more, but when I tried this one, I was amazed.   What a nice sounding and playing guitar!  Understated vintage style apointments, well - constructed, and quality materials and workmanship.  It's laminated back and sides, but RK is doing something right to get the great  sound quality they produce.  Certainly a much nicer guitar than its price would suggest. 

[count savage]

Hey Bax and JDR, I'm planning on buying either the ROS-06 or the ROS-16. I'm thinking they're essentially the same guitar with different appointments. Now that you've had them a bit, what is your take? Are you still playing them and liking them?  Are they still satisfying to play and sounding as good as you thought they did? I've only really heard good things about them.....

[Bax Burgess]

If I had to choose between one of my fine thousand+ 000s and my RO-06 000, I'd take the RK, as the sound is rich/juicy even, it's nice to hold, and I could buy another without crying. If I could start my collection all over again, I'd begin with RK's price point. Trying to add context, I own a Blueberry Parlor and a Breedlove Revival.

[JDR1014]

Well, count, I've only had it a couple of days, but have been playing it quite a bit..........some observtions:

Playing action is very good - backed off the truss rod a bit to gain some neck relief because of a slight buzz.  Probably settling in to its new home.  It's not as loud as my D-03R and other dreads I own but has a nice full sound with excellent note definition.  Sounds best with a lighter pick attack than I'm used to on dreads. This guitar rings and sustains impressively.  I really like the full C shape neck - bettter for me than the soft V shape on a couple of other RK models I tried.  I believe the ROS-16 and higher priced 12 fret 000 models have the soft V. 

The finish is a really nice thin poly, evenly applied, and the woods are beautiful and well - matched.  Top is fine grained with quite bit of silking and is a nice aged looking color - not the yellow shade I've seen in some online pix.  Although I had been thinking about ordering the fancier 16, model, I actually like the understated appointments of the 06 with the tortoise bindings - has a vintage look that seems "right".

To sum it up, this guitar looks, feels and plays like something much more expensive and IMO is truly a quality instrument at a very reasonable price.

[count savage]

Thanks for weighing in on your responses and feelings guys -- much appreciated. I think I will like the C neck better than the soft V. I've never had A V neck, but I like the C neck shape on the 12-string a lot, so that's kind of important. You didn't say anything to dissuade me from getting the ROS-06 and a lot that encourages me to take the plunge. You know, after having a couple industry standard acoustics like the Guild, Gibson, a Martin and the Larrivee, I think if I were starting out again I too would build a large collection starting at the RK price point. What continues to be sort of weird to me is that by just about any measure these are inexpensive or cheap guitars but they don't play and sound like cheap guitars at all, and I'm kind of hooked on their sound. It's definitely different from my three dreadnaughts, and the 12 string is waaaay different than what I considered the flagship of acoustic 12-strings, the Guild F512 I had, but I play the RK all the time and the Guild I ended up not playing all that much, hence I traded it away. The Guild low end, the bass, was so amazing that the whole guitar shook, but you know, I get a bit of that with the RK -- always play in standard D tuning -- and I really like the over all sound, in some ways better than the Guild. Sacrilege I know....though I have yet to sit down with an L-05 12 string, and if a used and affordable Taylor Kottke, came up, well ...:).... In the meantime, I am completely satisfied with the RK. As I said, I'm actually sort of 'hooked' on the sound of it....they came up with something new.

[L07 Shooting Star]

Hi there, Count Savage, JDR1014, and Bax Burgess.

Sounds like you guys like these quitars a lot, then, eh?  Would be enlightening to some (me at least) if you could post some sound clips of these RKs comparing them to the Guilds, Gibsons, Martins, and Larrivees you have.  Would better illustrate the differences you are hearing.

Some pics of your RKs would be nice too.

Cheers,
Kurt

[Bax Burgess]

For necessary accuracy I'd have to string mine the same, and at the moment I don't know exactly what I have on each of them. I don't know Guilds, Martins, Gibsons, and only slightly a Larrivee parlor that I currently have underdriving extra lights on. Not much help, I'm afraid.

[L07 Shooting Star]

For necessary accuracy I'd have to string mine the same, and at the moment I don't know exactly what I have on each of them. I don't know Guilds, Martins, Gibsons, and only slightly a Larrivee parlor that I currently have underdriving extra lights on. Not much help, I'm afraid.

A comparison to your Breedlove or Blueberry would be awesome too.  My suggestion wasn't limited to the brands I mentioned, just looking for an imperical demonstration of the good vibes you guys are describing.  Obviously, you are hearing good things in spite of the differences in string brands and gauges.   So samples of them just how they are now would be great.  Looks like count savage has a Gibson, Larrivee and a Guild so maybe he could demo the comparisons with those particular brands.

Its hard to imagine the differences when they are only described in words.  It's kind of like trying to decide if you might like a certain wine based on the description on the label (which is always complimentary).  You can't judge until you taste it for yourself.  Likewise, actually hearing these guitars for ourselves would be more demonstrative.

Or at least is there a web sight one could go to or a Youtube of someone playing one of these guitars?

Kurt

[frankhond]

I think a good Recording King is comparable to the "original" model it tries to copy, for the money and all that. But the issue is that they seem to be very uneven in quality. This is mainly an issue for reputable dealers who wouldn't want to unload crappy guitars to their customers.

I spoke to a dealer over here who is actually quitting the brand, because "half of them were not good enough to sell".

So again, don't just buy one cheap from some online store. Get it from a good dealer and try it if possible before you buy.

Also, asian guitars tend to be more susceptible to cracking in drier climates because the humidity down there.

[count savage]

All good points and thanks for joining in this discussion.  There are a number of YouTube videos with RKs. Just go to the site and put Recording King in the Search.  Of course, it's hard to tell from some of the clips because the recording varies so much. Some of the guitars sound great, some sound terribly thin. I think one of the best videos features an ROS-06, and probably the best is Acoustic Guitar magazine's review of the ROS-626, which is all solid woods and sells for about three times that of the -06. (The Eric Schoenberg interview is worth watching, too) The AG reviewer plays a little and that sound on that video sold me on the whole brand. I don't think recording my various acoustics would be very informative in the end because they're all different, strung with different strings and each has different challenges to get a decent recording sound. As an example the Guild D50 D-Tar Wavelength is an amazing sounding guitar through a P.A. but is not all that easy to record with a small condenser microphone. Whereas the two Larrivees I've had, a D-03R and the LV-05E both record extremely well with virtually no EQ required.   I do agree that an audio clip comparison of RKs like the comparison of Larrivee models would be great. I have to say that that Larrivee comparison is amazing and I don't know any other guitar maker that has anything similar.  I will say that no guitar stores in my area carry these guitars, so I do order online and take my chances. I always make sure there is a return policy. But really, there's no comparison to actually HAVING the guitar at home for a few weeks to try it out, vs. a few hours in a guitar store.  I have no compunction about sending anything like that back, though it does cost a few bucks. My suggestion is if you're really interested and can afford to buy one to try it out, do so.  To my ears the RK sound is not as deep or quite as woody-rich as, say, a Martin or Guild or Taylor, but it's a very 'live' sound, meaning it doesn't sound dull, muffled and is bright but not overly bright, and very 'ringy' but not cheap sounding, either, like many guitars in the lower price range.  The RK 12 string records well without EQ because it's very balanced and yet jangly and all 12 strings resonate, and create a great sound, which is not always true in 12-strings, even in higher end ones, in my experience.  I would have no qualms if I could afford it, to try one of RK's rosewood or mahogany solid body or laminate dreadnaughts. I would not expect them to sound like Martins or Gibsons, but I do think they'd be pretty decent guitars and many guitar owners would like them, though not all. (Another big selling point for me is that the RK is reaaaally easy to play; responsive, easy to chord and very dynamic, responding to a light touch or a hard strum.)   I agree that I have read about some build quality issues on the RKs, and even more with the Silver Creeks, but on the other hand I had a $3,000 American made Guild that brand new was not built right and required a neck reset immediately. How did that happen?  Whereas the RK 12-string I bought from www.rock-star supply was set up perfectly out of the box and is essentially flawless in its build. Pretty wild, but true.....

[Bax Burgess]

Of quality issues I've read online, I've seen only instances of cosmetics, none relating to playability/sound. A dealer would have to consider a chipped finish spot as a price reduction/deal breaker (to the customer: what else might be wrong with this guitar?), lending the brand a pretty poor rep.

[JDR1014]

I certainly agree that it's preferable to be able to try the guitar first - REGARDLESS of manufacturer or price range.  Fortunately I was able to do so with my RK, but quite frankly it was coincidence that I stopped at that shop for something else and they just happened to have it. I didn't even know they (or anyone around here) had any RK's.  I had planned on ordering one from a seller that has a good return policy and have done that a number of times only one return.  Sometimes that's the only option.

As far as QC issues with Recording King instruments, I had done a great deal of online research on that.   I concluded that there were reports of some QC issues when the line first came out.......but my impression that QC is now much more consistent and very comparable to other brands.  I played 4 different RK models at the shop and was very impressed with each of them - tone, playability, and quality/finish.   

[Bax Burgess]

I'm right there with you.

[cke]

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