Blueridge BR-160

$795 without case. One-year warranty. Solid spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, scalloped braces, dovetail neck joint, high-gloss lacquer finish, butter bean—style tuners. 25.5-inch scale. Nut width: 1 11/16 inches. String spacing at the bridge: 2 1/8 inches. Made in China.

The name Blueridge has long been associated with affordable instruments. Most recently, the brand received critical acclaim for its Chinese-made vintage Martin copies. For this review, Saga Musical Instruments submitted the all-solid-wood BR-160. Adhering closely to Martin dreadnought dimensions, the BR-160 even features vintage-style forward-shifted-and-scalloped X-bracing. Saga decided to stick with a basic herringbone style on the guitar's body, but the BR-160 breaks from tradition with a variation on snowflake inlays in the fingerboard and an over-the-top headstock inlay that is more akin to that of a fancy banjo than a typical guitar. Saga also used a yellow toner to "age" the guitar's top to a slightly unnatural orange color. The craftsmanship, choice of materials, and setup that went into the BR-160 were outstanding and prove how far Chinese manufacturers have come.

Tonally, the Blueridge was very impressive as well. Even though Simmons found the neck to be a bit too shallow, we all agreed that the guitar played great. True to the guitars it emulates, the BR-160 excelled when flatpicked. It displayed a great dynamic range, retained its rich tone when played hard, and displayed good balance throughout its range.