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Tanglewood TW15 & TW45 Guitars |
Upon receiving the two Tanglewood guitars for review, the similarities to another well-known "T" brand guitar were apparent. Right down to the font used on the logo. These similarities continue in almost every aspect of the Tanglewood guitars, except the all-important bottom line. These guitars can comfortably lay claim to the catch phrase, "bang for your buck". So let’s get straight in and see what these value packages have to offer.
The two models were the Tanglewood TW15 and the Tanglewood TW 45. Both were acoustic/electric cutaways fitted with Fishman pick-ups and pre-amps, solid tops backs and sides, and all of this for well under $1000.00. Clearly, unbelievable value for money.
The TW15 [RRP$899.00] features a traditional dreadnought body shape with a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. A mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard and genuine Grover machine heads. The timbers are highlighted with a beautiful satin finish, which gives the neck a great feel and allows the body to resonate freely. The weight of this guitar is well balanced with or without a guitar strap. The feel of the instrument was stunning with one of the best actions I have felt on an acoustic guitar. The ease of touch made this guitar a pleasure to play and produced a very satisfying acoustic tone. The sound was well balanced with a slightly lifted presence.
The Tanglewwod TW45 [RRP$799.00] has a mini jumbo style to it, very round and lovely to look at. The solid cedar top is complimented beautifully with a full gloss sunburst finish. Also featuring solid mahogany back and sides, a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard and Gotoh style machine heads. Although the body has a gloss finish, the neck remains satin, giving great feel and playability. The weight of the instrument was the only indicator of a less than top end instrument. Having said that, when was the last time a few less grams was a problem with a guitar? As with the TW15, the TW45 has an equally fine action, further enhancing the playing experience. Like the TW15, the TW45 has a very balanced tone, with a gentle rise to the top end. Although, those who prefer a fuller sound should stick to the TW15, as the TW45 is more suited to fingerpicking styles.
Plug it in or mic it up. Both of these guitars come fitted with Fishman Classic 4 pickup and preamp combinations, making this pair of guitars a solid live performer. Plugging both models through a DI yielded very similar sound and produced extremely flexible tones thanks to the broad sculpting capabilities of the Fishman’s EQ.
The plugged in sound may be the same, but, as one would expect, their miked up sounds produced drastically different results. The miking combinations were classic Neumann U67 [valve] and AKG C451/CK1 through a Focusrite ISA 220 pre-amp. The TW45 was a surprise package producing a beautifully balanced strumming tone, whereas, the TW15 had a little too much scoop to the mids. Inversely, the TW 15 was far superior when it came to fingerpicking, with the dreadnaught body offering just the right amount of sustain.
All in all, both of these models were fine performers, successfully earning an above average mark in all of the right categories. It needs to be clear that these guitars are not in the same top end league as Martin or Taylor, but they do perform admirably and are every bit the equal of the afore mentioned "T" brand guitar at a fraction of the cost. All of this points to Tanglewood being a brand that we will surely be seeing a lot more of in the future.