Members jerime Posted September 16, 2007 Members Share Posted September 16, 2007 I played one today at the local guitar shop. I was fairly impressed. Very similar to the Johnson Carolina series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerime Posted September 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 18, 2007 Really, no one? Well do yourself a favor and go try one out. http://www.recordingking.com/Guitars.1111.0.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jessz1 Posted September 19, 2007 Members Share Posted September 19, 2007 I have a recording king banjo. Decent cheap made in china instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AK47 Posted September 19, 2007 Members Share Posted September 19, 2007 If I remember my research correctly the name "Recording King" was used in the old days as a cheap line of Gibson. This was before the Gibson acquisition of Epiphone. The old Recording Kings were nice guitars as far as the new Asian line using the same name I haven't got a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerime Posted September 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 19, 2007 Yeah I saw somewhere that originally they were made for Montgomery Ward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tkris Posted September 20, 2007 Members Share Posted September 20, 2007 i believe that greg rich, the guitar designer behind the johnson carolinas (and i think blueridge before that) designed the recording kings. they do look pretty sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicgearclub Posted February 28, 2008 Members Share Posted February 28, 2008 I always tell people to give these guitars a try, and the people who do are always impressed; especially because they are made in China. I have an RD-127 and I effing love it, so solidly built and the projection is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeffcoop Posted February 28, 2008 Members Share Posted February 28, 2008 I'd play one if there were any available nearby--according to the Recording King website, the two nearest dealers are about a two-hour drive away (one to the north, one to the south). I actually bid on a used one on ebay yesterday. Didn't win. I'd like to give one a try--I've read very positive things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members daklander Posted February 29, 2008 Members Share Posted February 29, 2008 Heard they build some pretty good banjos. Didn't know about the nice guitars. I thought they only made the picture guitars. I've seen those somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jake7 Posted February 29, 2008 Members Share Posted February 29, 2008 There's a really nice dread hanging in my local shop, rosewood back and sides, all solid wood and only like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samilyn Posted February 29, 2008 Members Share Posted February 29, 2008 I always tell people to give these guitars a try, and the people who do are always impressed; especially because they are made in China. I have an RD-127 and I effing love it, so solidly built and the projection is amazing. Yo, Spammer.....Guess what? Spam sux.Got shoes? We need shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiyoDad Posted February 29, 2008 Members Share Posted February 29, 2008 I played one today at the local guitar shop. I was fairly impressed. Very similar to the Johnson Carolina series. They come off the same assembly line as the Carolinas. In fact, the Carolina series will be discontinued under Johnson be re-badged as Recording Kings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members musicgearclub Posted September 26, 2008 Members Share Posted September 26, 2008 Yo, Spammer..... Guess what? Spam sux. Got shoes? We need shoes. Hey...uh I'm not trying to spam. Just spreading the good word of Recording King! Can't a guy have an opinion even though he sells the stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bobinthewater Posted September 27, 2008 Members Share Posted September 27, 2008 I have owned Johnsons, and now Recording Kings. Solid body Johnsons- I had two- really lacked in some sound dynamics. Just my personal opinion. Maybe the manufacturing process was a bit off. Just the JD series, the 26 and 27. All of my RK's sound just way better, though I have two rd-27s, and they sound quite different. One has no pickguard, and it has more bass, by a lot. But, I have extensively played a Johnson JO-27, and the sound is really fantastic. I can't imagine what these will sound like in 20 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted September 27, 2008 Members Share Posted September 27, 2008 Greg Rich, who designed the Johnson Carolina II's confirmed that they were rebadged into Recording Kings. Makes sense. Customers probably feel awkward when talking about playing with their "Johnson". This week, I played a Johnson Carolina II JO-27 (closeout price of $300) against a Recording King RO-27 ($520) at Eric Schoenberg's shop in Tiburon. Then my friend played both of them. Then a teacher/professional played both of them. None of us perceived a difference. But there was a difference in the price and the Johnson Carolina II had better-looking woods. Eric himself said that the Johnson Carolinas (the batch after they fixed the bellying problems) were better-made. Maybe it was sales talk but Eric isn't exactly known in the community as an aggressive salesperson. After all, he could have said that the Recording Kings were better-made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted September 27, 2008 Members Share Posted September 27, 2008 Greg Rich, who designed the Johnson Carolina II's confirmed that they were rebadged into Recording Kings. Makes sense. Customers probably feel awkward when talking about playing with their "Johnson". It's my johnson and I'll play with it whenever I want to! :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted September 28, 2008 Members Share Posted September 28, 2008 My Johnson JO-27 - which is basically a clone of a Martin 000-28EC at 1/5th the price - is an amazing sounding and playing guitar. Certainly not the cosmetic equivalent of a 000-28EC, but I wouldn't want to live on the difference in sound and playability between the two. I'd certainly expect the Martin to age better, because of the thinner, nitro (vs. poly) finish, but the JO-27 is a very worthy guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fmw Posted September 28, 2008 Members Share Posted September 28, 2008 If I remember my research correctly the name "Recording King" was used in the old days as a cheap line of Gibson. This was before the Gibson acquisition of Epiphone. The old Recording Kings were nice guitars as far as the new Asian line using the same name I haven't got a clue. It was Montgomery Ward's house brand for musical instruments. The RK banjos have a good reputation. While banjo making and acoustic guitar making aren't even remotely similar crafts, the people at RK seem to have a knack for importing good products. No reason to think the guitars wouldn't be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greymuzzle Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I too have a Johnson JO 27 and rate it very highly, not only for the price, but also for its musicality in general. Only problem is I reckon I'm going to need to replace the tuners. Any other owners(DonK?) or knowledgeable folks have ideas as to what would make a suitable direct swap? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GuitarVlog Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 Only problem is I reckon I'm going to need to replace the tuners. Any other owners(DonK?) or knowledgeable folks have ideas as to what would make a suitable direct swap? I had read somewhere that Gotoh makes a set of open tuners (also with butterbean knobs) that would fit. You might have to do some refinishing on the back though. I recently purchased a JO-27. It was one of the last ones that Eric Schoenberg had acquired before TML decided to rebadge them into Recording Kings. At $295, it was the most outstanding value in his shop and, on tone alone, compared very favorably to more expensive guitars. Eric said that the Johnson Carolinas are actually "better made" than the RKs. I don't know what he specifically meant by that. We played-off the JO-27 against the RK-27 with the assistance of a pro/teacher who was visiting the shop. We couldn't hear a difference. What I did immediately notice was that the Englemann spruce on the JO-27 was much nicer than on the RK-27 and the RK-26. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted September 30, 2008 Members Share Posted September 30, 2008 I too have a Johnson JO 27 and rate it very highly, not only for the price, but also for its musicality in general.Only problem is I reckon I'm going to need to replace the tuners. Any other owners(DonK?) or knowledgeable folks have ideas as to what would make a suitable direct swap? I've been contemplating going to Waverly or the Grover Sta-Tites Waverly-style) open back tuners. Neither is a drop-in replacement, however; you'll have to fill the existing screw holes and then redrill. Stew-Mac has detailed specifications on both of these tuners, including precise templates. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/1/Grover_18:1_Sta-Tites/Specs.html#details I don't really have any problem with the stock tuners; I just think the guitar would look really classy with open back tuners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Greymuzzle Posted October 1, 2008 Members Share Posted October 1, 2008 DonKMany thanks for the helpful reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TESmith Posted October 1, 2008 Members Share Posted October 1, 2008 i believe that greg rich, the guitar designer behind the johnson carolinas (and i think blueridge before that)designed the recording kings. they do look pretty sweet. The Music Link proudly welcomes Greg Rich, one of the industry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted October 1, 2008 Members Share Posted October 1, 2008 My little bro had a beautiful sounding Recording King from the 30s. He's still sorry he ever sold it. The local boutique guitar shop started selling these new RKs a few months ago. The owner said he wanted to have something to sell in the $500 range. I played the one he handed me and thought it was a nice little guitar for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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