By: Rick Landers

The Gruene Guitars company’s mantra is “out of the box” that refers to a conversation the company’s owner had with an old pal, both having annoying guitar purchases when their new guitars arrived needing adjustments to sound good.

“Why can’t someone make a new guitar that’s ready to go, out of the box?” is how John Byers, president and founder of Gruene Guitars asked, before the two of them said, “Why not us?” Ultimately, John became the founder and owner of the new company and continues in that role today.

Based out of San Antonio, Texas, all Gruene guitars are built with all solid woods, no laminated or layered, tops, backs and sides. Gruene, pronounced “green,” sources a number of top notch select materials, parts, components, tone woods, and fabrication from around the world (i.e., Germany, India, Asia, Mexico, Africa, U.S.A., etc.) to get the best product for the money.

And the pricing is 1/3 to 1/2 the price of Gruene’s high quality competition – I’m not sure how this company does it, other than they have very smart processes coupled with superb quality control. Once built, each guitar stays on site for thirty days in what the company calls a guitar’s “settling time,” so they make sure the guitar is 100% and and ready to play upon arrival at the new owner’s door.

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Review: Gruene OG-30 (Model Name: “Amelia”)

I bought my first and only Gruene guitar early in 2021, from eBay and not knowing anything about the company, nor did I know the owner. That came later and I have another Gruene guitar that’s being built now.

Although I’ve owned a number of guitars, at the moment I steer toward dreadnaughts and orchestra models, mainly spruce tops and mahogany, and a few with rosewood backs and sides.

As highlighted above, when my Gruene OG-30 arrived, I opened up the box and allowed the pretty beast several hours to acclimate to my home’s environment. In the meantime, I looked it over and noted that the craftsmanship was superb, the use of natural abalone inlay, an impressive Sitka spruce top and pretty Indian rosewood back and sides. The neck was as good as any mahogany I’d played, with an Indian rosewood fret board and bridge.

Gruene OG-30 – Image courtesy of Gruene Guitars.

Included in the shipping box were three sets of strings, and a few days later Gruene Guitars sent me a right sized company t-shirt and ball cap. My OG-30 is serial number one, and it had apparently been a demo model, so the price was right and no case was included in the deal.

I was so impressed with my Gruene that I contacted Byers, who told me he was a Coast Guard veteran and a family man, so his company supports veterans groups and he names his guitars after his grandchildren, before telling me that his OG-30s are named after one of his granddaughters – Amelia.

I told John I was going to give him some gratis ad space at Guitar International, and some time later he said he’d give our readers a 5% discount if they bought a Gruene. Nor a quid pro quo, per se, but a gracious gesture. And, he sent me a 5% discount code readers can use: RICK-GI

Gruene OG-30 Amelia (Serial Number 1) – Image courtesy of Gruene Guitars.

Once the OG-30 settled in, I sat down and tuned it up. Yep, everything was as it should be, no buzzing, intonation spot on all the way up and down the neck, and the 1.75 inch nut size was exact, and my personal preference.

The fit and finish were both exceptional, and as good, if not better than any other top end guitar I’ve played, and I’ve owned both new and vintage acoustics, including pre-War Martin and Gibson guitars.

The Gruene OG-30 is very similar to an orchestra style Martin with a sound that matches and craftsmanship that’s on par. The Gruene has more bling in the form of natural abalone snowflakes, up and down the fretboard and two that accentuate the bridge.

The Gruene name up top at the headstock is also real abalone, no fake stuff here, and the guitar has herringbone binding and a nice single stripe up the center of the Indian rosewood back. Both strap buttons are in place, the frets nicely dressed. Note that this review is based on a 2021 model, so check the current specifications before you buy.

And the Gruene OG-30 tone is perfect and the little guitar booms, as loud as my dreadnaughts. I’ve performed with it at a couple of small venues (40-60 person capacity) and have been asked what pickup’s installed. Not longer after I bought the Gruene, I picked up one of those nice Rodeway cases to keep it protected.

Overall, the Gruene OG-30 is as any high end guitar on the market, it’s made of solid woods like all Gruene models, it’s a boomer and like Gruene says, this guitar was excellent “out of the box.” All Gruene guitars come with lifetime warranties for original owners, and their top-of-the-line dreadnaught gets hand delivered (USA only) by the company’s president.

Most surprising is a Gruene OG-30 is priced so far below its competitors, it’s a “steal.”

Gruene OG-30 – Image courtesy of Gruene Guitars.

MSRP – $2,595 with OHSC, two sets of Stringjoy strings, Gruene ball cap and T-shirt in the new owner’s size. (5% discount code is: Rick-GI)

GRUENE OG-30 SPECIFICATIONS

Gruene OG-30 Specifications