Soul Tramp
Member
My wife and I are wintering in Vietnam. I decided to buy a Vietnamese made acoustic to leave here so I'll have something to play each year. I visited several guitar shops. Most had Yamaha and other Asian low-end guitars. I was surprised to find almost no Vietnamese made guitars where we are located. Saigon has an entire guitar district where all the luthiers are located, but where we spend our time is nowhere near Saigon. Miraculously, a small shop in my Wife's village of Dong Ha had a wall of new acoustics from a luthier in Saigon who wanted to sell his guitars in other cities. Just pure chance it was my wife's village. I asked the shop owner to see his best guitar. Having looked at other shops I saw guitars from $20 - $150, my expectations weren't high. So, the owner takes down a $250 handmade guitar by luthier Duy Ngoc. Keep in mind $250 is a king's ransom.
I was very impressed! rosewood body and top, African mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard. I like the satin finish as it reminds me of a Guild I had years ago. The finish has some warts but is nice overall. Neck feels good but is a tad wide for my liking. The action is ok but needs a setup. It's not a bright sounding guitar which is probably a result of the rosewood top, which is fine with me. Overall it's a very impressive guitar. I've no doubt it would cost $2K for something comparable back in the States.
Doing a bit of google research on the luthier I found an article CNN did on the Saigon guitar district. They featured Duy Ngoc.
I was very impressed! rosewood body and top, African mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard. I like the satin finish as it reminds me of a Guild I had years ago. The finish has some warts but is nice overall. Neck feels good but is a tad wide for my liking. The action is ok but needs a setup. It's not a bright sounding guitar which is probably a result of the rosewood top, which is fine with me. Overall it's a very impressive guitar. I've no doubt it would cost $2K for something comparable back in the States.
Doing a bit of google research on the luthier I found an article CNN did on the Saigon guitar district. They featured Duy Ngoc.
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