By: Rick Landers
Recently, Gruene Guitars shipped Guitar International one of its newer dreadnaughts for review, a prototype D-18 model named a “Saratoga”. Upon arrival I let it acclimate to its new surroundings, after its flight from San Antonio, Texas, the headquarters of the guitar company.
As expected, the Saratoga arrived ready to play “out of the box” with no need for any adjustments or set up, other than turning its strings. So, I started out strumming and picking several tunes, as well as pulled up on them, while fretting them in various fret positions, to allow them to stretch a bit, as new strings can be a bit wonky, or unreliable, when initially installed.
The Gruene Saratoga model showed up in a hardshell case that is a standard inclusion with new production Gruene guitar purchases.
My first impression of the Saratoga was it being a relatively large guitar that wouldn’t crush my shoulder during a two or three-hour gig. Although, it’s a bit heavier than my ’46 Gibson J-45, it fell in the same weight range for comfortability.
This model is not one with a lot of bling. It’s a straight forward acoustic rendition of similar big name guitars, like a Martin D-18, D-28 or the non-sunburst Gibson J-50s. Fret position markets are standard dots, but sport Mother-of-Pearl. Unlike the stock models now in production, the prototype included an elaborate headstock torch inlay; of natural abalone. The production model has a vertical Gruene name abalone logo inlay at the headstock.
As I found on two other Gruene models I’ve reviewed and four others I have played, the wood selections were excellent, and I’ve been advised are personally selected by Gruene’s in-house wood expert.
The Saratoga is built with High Altitude Italian Alpine Spruce and the reviewed guitar’s grain was tight in the middle of the top and incrementally became a bit wider as the wood made it to the outer reaches of the dreadnaught. Some believe this is the best grain pattern for acoustic builds. The trebles, mid-range and bass tones sounded excellent. And aesthetically, the spruce top had considerable horizontal shimmering,
The fretboard and bridge were a nice rich looking ebony, and the guitar is surrounded in maple wood binding, front and back of the body, the neck and the headstock. Gruene does not use ivoroid (plastic), due to wood binding’s trait to move with the rest of the guitar, in different environmental conditions. Both the nut and saddle are bone, and the gold butterbean tuners held their ground after some very heavy strumming.
Gruene imposes a 30-day environmental proofing period for every one of its guitars to ensure its guitars high-end quality is exacting, and then each guitar is given a final set up prior to its free shipping.
Checking out the back and sides of the Gruene Saratoga presents more high-quality tone producing Honduras or Honduran mahogany wood, with outstanding straight grain and not a blemish to be found. And the Honduran mahogany neck I found comfortable with that cool pyramid shaped wood volute at the headstock, similar to Martin’s D-18.
And, the Saratoga’s back center seam duplicates a Martin post-war D-28 patten. Tuners on the prototype are not branded. Typically, Gruene offers tuners from Germany and Taiwan.
So, let’s get to where the “rubber meets the road,” and that’s the playability and the sound. Mids, lows and treble sounded spot on all the way up and down the fret board, and the tuners stayed snug throughout some heavy handed stumming. Intonation proved excellent up the board. I also planted a capo in several spots with no problems.
Fingerpicking (I don’t use picks) was a breeze and the 1.75mm nut was my favorite, but I expect Gruene may take custom orders, beyond whatever options they may typically offer on their standard models.
All things considered, this Gruene Saratoga D-18, is quite an exceptional tone master, using all solid woods (no laminates or layered woods. very high-quality construction, professional craftsmanship, and tone quality and playability on par with the other top quality brand acoustic guitars. And at the current MSRP of $1,895.00, it’s an excellent value that includes: a hardshell case, a lifetime warranty for original purchasers, an optional Lay-Away Program, and free shipping.
Recently, Gruene Guitars upgraded its homepage, added new product images, presented a FAQs page with answers to typical questions, and each guitar model’s specific page has detailed specifications. The production Gruene Saratoga D-18 specifications are HERE.
