Kerrville Folk Festival Guitar

[Buc McMaster]

Next month I'll be headed to the festival in the Texas hill country where everyone has a guitar in tow. I sure didn't want to take the Gibson and have to leave it in a hotel and drag it around in the heat and humidity that Texas is famous for, so I've been on the look out for a beater of reasonable quality. Found it. A Fender Sonoran.......kind of cool. Strat headstock, solid top, on-board electronics of some kind. Sounds like, well......yeah, like that. After a good setup it will be a good campfire guitar. And it's got a bullion gold pickguard!! Festival should be fun!

 

 

[Guth]

Buc,

 

The KFF is a real gem of an event and I have many fond memories from the numerous times I made the pilgrimage to the ranch. I'm looking forward to your festival report once all is said and done.

 

All the best,

Guth

[Murph]

I never heard of it when I lived in Fredricksburg.

 

But, that was 1974......

 

[Jinder]

Buc, is the Sonoran the baby dread?

 

Those Fender acoustics look very cool, but I have found the bigger ones to be rather heavy and overbuilt. I'd like your opinion on the Sonoran, it looks like a fun beater.

[whis4ey]

and a left hander too :D

I would just love a festival like that

Maybe I should organise one over here? :)

[Buc McMaster]

Buc' date=' is the Sonoran the baby dread? Those Fender acoustics look very cool, but I have found the bigger ones to be rather heavy and overbuilt. I'd like your opinion on the Sonoran, it looks like a fun beater.[/quote']

 

Hmmm. I haven't put a tape on it, but the body size does seem a bit smaller than a full sized dreadnaught.....but that could be just me, having played nothing but a J200 for a long time. All I can find says this guitar is suppose to be mahogany, but this one is rosewood, laminated of course. The top is solid spruce but not a particularly nice cut of wood.........kind of speckled in color. It sounds a bit thin, not a lot of bottom, but seems to be well balanced. The sustain is incredible......chords and single notes hang on for a long time. Not terribly loud but good acoustic volume for singing. Stoutly built, yet quite lightweight. Long scale, and the Strat-style neck is a joy to play! Swung on a strap it is very much fun and feels very good in the hands. Have yet to plug it in for an electronics test. I've taken the saddle down some but the strings are high in the nut. I don't have a set of nut files, so I'll run it by my old stomping grounds (music store) and have that done. Even in need of a setup it plays quite well and I think it will be perfect for it's purpose as a back porch/campfire guitar.

[Jinder]

I'm sure it will fulfill it's purpose admirably!

 

Have you plugged it in yet? I often find the pickups in low-mid price guitars to be surprisingly good, I bought a £120 Chinese acoustic from eBay a few years ago (out of curiosity, it has a bizarre design with two soundholes either side of the neck heel!) which had a really cheap Artec pickup and preamp in it, but it sounds HUGE plugged in, and really punchy for blues.

 

I'm sure it might tweak the nipples of a purist or two, but I think that Strat 'stock looks super cool.