Timberidge TR1SBP

Recently I had my hands on the Timberidge Mini Series-4 guitar, which I thought had a unique voice and built with quality, appeal and charm, so it was nice to get my hands on the full-bodied Timberidge (TR1SBP) and see how it stacked up. This particular model was a stock, Series 1 Dreadnaught guitar, and like all Timberidge guitars is designed in Australia and built in China making it an extremely affordable option.

This guitar is simple in design, built with a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, TUSQ nut and saddle, and a lovely abalone inlay around the soundhole. The maple binding on the neck and body provides an elegant look, a slick gloss coating gives a vintage vibe, and a flamed pattern on the back of the neck adds depth and character. Six diecast Grover tuners with satin black buttons hold it this instrument perfectly in tune, a pre-installed piezo pickup and input allows you to go electric, and the guitar comes with a choice of three self-adhesive pickguards in clear, black and tortoiseshell.

Out of its case, this guitar looked good, with a nice selection of materials and hardware used in its construction. On closer inspection, the frets were nicely rounded and dressed evenly with the setup department doing a good job ensuring no fret-buzz was apparent at the medium action it arrived in.

Strung with a set of D'addario EXP Long Life Strings this guitar sounded bold and brilliant, with a tight bass response and a lot of presence. The tone and action made it a fingerpickers delight, and like the last Timberidge I reviewed, this guitar has more of a mid-heavy lead voice as opposed to softer, boomier acoustics with different body shapes and materials utilised. I loved what I refer to as the 'string path', the journey the string takes from its mounting in the bridge to the tuning post (as it's something I evaluate more closely these days). The attention to detail and choice of materials was very good along the string path, with the X-brace under the top and a solid mounting into bridge and body being responsible for a strong attack, while the TUSQ nut, saddle and Grover machine heads kept this guitar perfectly in tune at all times. 

Another cool thing is it's piezo pickup, which I wouldn't have known about had I not read the specs. You can plug a guitar lead into the input jack located at the strap pin just like most acoustic/ electrics; however, there is no onboard preamp that immediately identifies this feature. Don't despair, because with a bit of gain into an acoustic amp or PA you're rewarded with great tones. I actually like the fact that it has no onboard preamp, because being a sound guy I've had to compensate for some really poor tones and EQ coming straight from the guitar. I'm sure you'd get a great live tone if you invest in a feedback buster and threw a headstock tuner on this guitar because the stock tone coming out of the piezo is excellent.

The TR1-SBP is great value for money, and is diverse enough to make it very appealing to acoustic guitarists wanting to buy their first gigging acoustic, or musicians in need of another guitar to add more colour to their sonic palette.