Members rjoxyz Posted February 20, 2008 Members Share Posted February 20, 2008 Compulsive and curious GASaholic that I am, I decided to be a guinea pig for the board (I know...such a selfless gesture ) after seeing a thread mentioning the Silver Creek guitars sold by MF. Apparently, they are re-badged Johnson Carolinas? I ordered a solid spruce/rosewood dread (D-170). With the instant rebate promo they are running, my total came to...get this...$265, with case included (a "special gift" per MF). The guitar arrived yesterday. I immediately changed the corroded strings for a new set of Martin SP PB mediums. Lo and behold, it sounds like a rosewood dread is supposed to sound, with maybe a little less bass than a D-28. The tone is fairly bright, but not annoyingly so. Not sure if this has anything to do with the Engelmann top v. the usual Sitka. The 1 11/16" neck has a soft vintage V shape and is quite comfortable. Fit and finish is not bad, though the inside is a bit rough. Very nice inlay on the headstock. Gloss poly finish is not as thick as some from Asia. A good thing. After playing a while with the SP's, I replaced the plastic pins with ebony and swapped strings again to GHS Vintage Bronze mediums and it smoothed out the trebles and brought out the bass just a bit. Will this serve as a substitute for my HD-28? Nope. However, the tone is very good--open and full. Certainly compares in terms of tone, to guitars I have played, costing 3-4 times as much . The rebate special runs to the end of the month, saving $35 off orders over $250. If you pick mahogany instead of rosewood at $249 and pick up a set of strings to get it over $250--you end up at about $220--with case. The series comes in both Dread and OM/000 styles, in both rosewood and hog. If anyone is looking for an all-solid wood guitar, on an extremely tight budget--gotta look at these. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?N=100001+706042 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted February 20, 2008 Members Share Posted February 20, 2008 Nice! You would have to pay a lot more for something like that over here in the UK, probably twice as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AugTPD Posted February 20, 2008 Members Share Posted February 20, 2008 I've been seriously considering a mahogany b/s dread and this deal is making it very hard to resist. And you're at least the third or fourth player I've heard that has purchased a silver creek/johnson carolina that has been impressed with the quality for the money. EDIT: Quick question for ya, how did it come set up? I'm not opposed to doing some tweaking but I really don't like to do massive adjustments at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChiyoDad Posted February 20, 2008 Members Share Posted February 20, 2008 These guitars, the Johnson Carolinas, and the Johnson Petalumas are one and the same. IMHO, these are good guitars for the money but their quality control can be spotty. Once in a while, something with sub-standard performance slips through. I think they're getting better though. As long as you can get an easy return/exchange, you should be covered and you'll probably find a good gem. I had purchased a Johnson Petaluma through Costco.com just a while back. It's the equivalent of the Silver Creek T-160 and the Carolina JO-26. You can read my review in that link. A purchase through Costco.com runs $320 (shipping included) and you don't get a case. You do however get Costco's lifetime satisfaction guarantee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MikeArta Posted February 20, 2008 Members Share Posted February 20, 2008 I ordered a T-160. With a coupon and the rebate, I was all geeked about getting a solid wood guitar and free HSC for $187.00. However, when the box arrived on Monday, it felt light - no case. I called MF and learned that the case is back-ordered until the end of April. Then, I opened the box - MF sent the D-170 instead of the T-160. SIGH, another call to MF. . . I noodled on the dread for a while and essentially agree with rjoxyz's review of the D-170. The D-170 is not a Martin, although it looks a lot like one, but it sounds much better than anyone would expect for the price - just a notch under Bluerdige BR-160, I'd say. In fact, I toyed with the idea of keeping the guitar, but the neck feels rather cramped- and I'd still need an OM beater. BTW - The action was medium/low, but not low enough for me: I'd have had to sand the saddle if I'd kept it. Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the dread to reach MF, and then for them to ship the OM. Film at eleven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 20, 2008 Author Members Share Posted February 20, 2008 The action was medium/low, but not low enough for me: I'd have had to sand the saddle if I'd kept it. I measured the action on mine at 4/32". Not bad for pickwork, and I don't play far up the neck, so I will probably leave it there. For fingerpicking, I prefer something closer to 3/32". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeffcoop Posted February 23, 2008 Members Share Posted February 23, 2008 Thank goodness the T-170 (OM-size, rosewood back/sides) is sold out. Combining the lowered price with the instant rebate, I'm not sure I could have resisted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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