Ashthorpe 21670568 Acoustic-Electric Guitar: Full Review

The Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Guitar is a high-quality, full-size dreadnought acoustic-electric guitar with a cutaway design. Ashthorpe is known for producing reasonably priced instruments that rival more expensive models in tone and playability. This Ashthorpe dreadnought aims to deliver deep bass, bright treble, and a balanced tone across the frequency range. With its laminate spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and cutaway body style, this guitar offers versatile sound in an accessible package. The built-in preamp and pickup system allows you to plug into an amplifier or PA system for amplified performances. Overall, this Ashthorpe dreadnought acoustic-electric presents excellent value as a gig-ready workhorse at an affordable price point.

Body Style and Design

The Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Guitar features a classic dreadnought body shape with a single cutaway design. This large body style produces a robust, bass-heavy tone while the cutaway allows easier access to the upper frets.

The dreadnought body shape has long been a staple of acoustic guitars, prized for its volume and rich low end. The wide waist and sloping shoulders produce a powerful and deep tone. This makes the dreadnought ideal for strumming chords and rhythm playing. The large body also projects the acoustic sound well, allowing the guitar to fill a room without amplification.

The single cutaway gives you the benefits of the dreadnought shape while also enabling easy fret access up to the 14th fret or beyond. This helps facilitate solos, lead playing, and complex chording requiring a bigger reach up the neck. The cutaway doesn't inhibit the guitar's sound projection and bass response nearly as much as a double cutaway would. Overall, the Ashthorpe's design merges the familiar boom and resonance of a dreadnought with modern playability.

The dreadnought body style has been popular for acoustic guitars since the 1930s. Many iconic acoustic guitar models feature the dreadnought shape such as the Martin D-28 and Gibson Hummingbird. While other shapes like the orchestra, parlor and jumbo sizes exist, the dreadnought remains the most common choice for its versatility and balanced tone. Many acoustic-electric guitars, like the Best Choice Products SKY1032, utilize a dreadnought body for its excellent acoustic sound projection.

The Ashthorpe pairs its traditional dreadnought outline with a single cutaway for the best of both worlds. The cutaway enables easy upper fret access which facilitates more advanced playing techniques. However, the guitar still retains the booming dreadnought voice and resonant bass frequencies. This makes the Ashthorpe well-suited to a wide range of musical styles and playing applications. From strumming chords by the campfire to intricate fingerstyle solos, the Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Guitar provides an inspiring platform.

Tonewoods

The Ashthorpe Dreadnought features a solid spruce top, with mahogany back and sides. This combination of tonewoods produces a balanced, well-rounded tonal profile that works well for various playing styles and genres.

The solid spruce top offers crisp highs, balanced mids, and good bass response. Spruce is a popular choice of top wood due to its lightweight and resonant properties that emphasize the treble and mids. The solid spruce top allows the guitar to breathe and open up, yielding excellent projection and dynamic range.

Mahogany is used for the back and sides. Known for its rich low end, mahogany provides a nice warmth and sweetness to balance out the bright spruce top. The midrange also benefits from mahogany's wood tone, filling out the sound. Mahogany back and sides make this an expressive and versatile instrument suitable for strumming, flatpicking, and fingerstyle playing.

The all-mahogany body construction gives the Ashthorpe Dreadnought a balanced and clear presence. The combination of spruce and mahogany woods allows this acoustic-electric to sound great both amplified and unplugged. The tonewoods shape the guitar's core foundational voice and tonal palette.

When it comes to tonewoods, there are many factors that contribute to the overall sound and playability of an acoustic guitar. The specific wood species, grain patterns, density, stiffness, and cut all influence the instrument's sonic properties and response. While spruce and mahogany are common woods used, other tonewoods like rosewood, maple, koa, walnut, and exotic woods also impart their own unique characteristics.

The size and shape of the guitar body also affects the tone and volume. Larger bodied guitars like dreadnoughts generally offer more low-end punch and projection while smaller bodied guitars provide enhanced balance and articulation. The bracing pattern underneath the top further shapes the flex and resonance.

High quality acoustic guitars are finely crafted with carefully selected and matched tonewoods. Master luthiers leverage their expertise in working with various woods to create instruments with exceptional sound, playability, and aesthetic beauty. Beyond the wood choices, skilled craftsmanship and construction techniques determine how well the guitar performs.

While the Ashthorpe Dreadnought delivers a versatile tonal palette, other body styles and tonewood combinations exist to suit different musical needs. The Martin 000-28 for example features a solid Sitka spruce top with East Indian Rosewood back and sides. This all-solid wood construction produces a balanced and refined tone favored by fingerstyle players. The smaller 000 body style provides controlled overtones and excellent note definition through the register.

Ultimately there is no perfect recipe for great acoustic guitar tonewoods. The woods interact in complex ways that skilled luthiers experiment with. The best judge of tone is the player's own ears and musical needs. By understanding how various tonewoods influence the sound, guitarists can find their ideal instrument.

Hardware

One of the standout features of the Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Guitar is its hardware, which contributes to both the look and sound of the instrument. It comes equipped with quality die-cast chrome tuners that do an excellent job of keeping the guitar in tune. The tuners are sealed to prevent corrosion and have a precise 18:1 tuning ratio for accurate tuning adjustments.

The nut and saddle are both made of synthetic bone, which provides a smooth feel on the strings while transferring vibrations efficiently. The guitar has a rosewood bridge and fingerboard, which give it a richer, warmer tone compared to maple. Rosewood is known for its resonant properties that add complexity to the guitar's sound. The bridge and fingerboard are beautifully crafted with attractive grain patterns. Overall the hardware compliments both the playability and aesthetics of this acoustic-electric guitar.

Electronics

The Ashthorpe Dreadnought features a built-in preamp and pickup system that gives it excellent amplification and sound reproduction. The preamp has volume, bass, mid, and treble controls that allow you to shape your amplified tone.

The guitar has a dual-source pickup configuration. It has both a thinner undersaddle piezo pickup and a thicker bridge humbucker pickup. The piezo pickup captures the bright, crisp tones of the strings and guitar body. The humbucker pickup provides a warmer, richer tone that brings out the low end.

You can blend between the two pickup sources to create a balanced amplified tone. The combination of the detailed piezo pickup and full humbucker allows both the highs and lows to come through.

The preamp has an onboard tuner and EQ controls to give you versatility. With the 3-band EQ you can add more sparkle, scoop the mids, or boost the lows in your amplified tone. The preamp also has built-in reverb to add ambience.

Overall the electronics system gives very good acoustic amplification and reproduction without coloring your natural acoustic tone too much. The dual pickup configuration and EQ controls provide the versatility needed for both performing live and recording in the studio.

Sound Quality

The Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric has a well-balanced tone that projects nicely without being too bright or boomy. The solid spruce top produces clear, articulate highs while the mahogany back and sides add warmth and fullness to the sound.

Strummed chords ring out with good sustain and separation between notes. Fingerstyle playing is also nicely accentuated due to the crisp treble response. Whether the guitar is played acoustically or plugged in, the tone remains balanced with good clarity across the frequencies.

The guitar projects well when played unplugged, thanks to the solid spruce top. It's loud enough for jamming with friends or busking. Plugged in, the undersaddle pickup reproduces the natural acoustic tone accurately. The guitar has enough volume to keep up with drums and other amplified instruments in a band setting.

Overall, the Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric lives up to its promise of balanced, projecting tone that sounds just as good amplified as it does unplugged. The guitar's well-built acoustic properties allow it to produce quality sound without relying solely on electronics and effects.

Playability

The Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Guitar offers exceptional playability right out of the box. This starts with a comfortable neck profile that feels great in your hands. The slim taper neck has a smooth satin finish, allowing effortless transitions up and down the fretboard. The low action from the bridge and nut makes chords and solos easy to play, even for small hands or beginners. There is no string buzz or rattle anywhere along the neck. Combined with the tight string spacing at the nut, the Ashthorpe provides a playing experience that's easy and enjoyable for even long practice sessions. Whether you prefer to strum open chords or riff up and down the neck, this guitar offers exemplary playability for diverse playing styles. The smooth feel and low action help your hands glide from chord shapes to lead lines fluidly and intuitively. For guitarists at any skill level, the Ashthorpe's comfortable neck design and overall stellar playability make playing a delight.

Pros

The Ashthorpe Dreadnought acoustic-electric guitar offers several benefits that make it a great value at this price point.

• The use of solid spruce and mahogany tonewoods results in a full, balanced tone with good projection and sustain. Spruce is a popular top wood that provides brightness and volume, while mahogany backs and sides add warmth and richness.

• The guitar features quality hardware and electronics, including chrome tuners, a rosewood bridge, and a built-in preamp and pickup system. The electronics allow you to plug into an amplifier or PA system for playing live shows or recording.

• Many reviewers mention the impressive sound and playability of this guitar for the price. It stays in tune well and produces a loud, vibrant unplugged tone. The neck is comfortable and smooth, making it easy to play.

• The guitar has a stylish dreadnought cutaway body shape with an attractive natural gloss finish. It looks more expensive than it actually is.

• You get a lot of value for the money with the Ashthorpe acoustic-electric. It's affordable yet doesn't compromise on tonewoods, electronics, hardware or craftsmanship. Overall an excellent entry-level guitar.

Cons

The Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Guitar has a few drawbacks to consider.

• The electronics could be improved. The preamp and EQ controls are fairly basic and may not provide enough tonal shaping options for more advanced players. The pickup and preamp don't seem to capture the nuances of the guitar's acoustic tone as well as higher end electronics. There is some noise and hum issues that can come through the pickup as well. Upgrading to an aftermarket pickup and preamp could help improve the amplified tone.

• The tuners feel a bit cheap and loose. Staying in tune can be a challenge, especially when using the guitar heavily. Upgrading the tuners may help with tuning stability.

• The fit and finish could be more refined. There are some rough edges and tooling marks around the bridge and fret ends. The plastic nut and saddle are just adequate.

• The thin poly finish limits resonance. A thin nitrocellulose or French polish would let the tonewoods vibrate more freely.

• It's on the heavy side for a dreadnought. Weighing in around 4.5 lbs, it can feel cumbersome on longer playing sessions.

Overall the electronics, hardware, and attention to detail could see some improvements. But at this price point, these cons are not entirely surprising. With a few upgrades, the Ashthorpe could punch above its weight.

Summary

The Ashthorpe Acoustic-Electric Dreadnought Cutaway guitar offers an excellent value for those looking for a quality entry-level acoustic-electric. With its laminate spruce top, laminate mahogany back and sides, and built-in EQ, this guitar provides a balanced tone across the frequency range. The cutaway body style and adjustable truss rod make this guitar comfortable and easy to play for even beginners.

Overall, this is a recommended choice for aspiring musicians ready to plug in for the first time. It compares well to other models in this price range such as the Fender FA-125CE and Yamaha FGX800C. While it may lack some projection and dynamic range compared to a more expensive acoustic-electric, the Ashthorpe delivers quality sound and playability at an affordable price point. For those seeking an acoustic-electric dreadnought for practice, jam sessions, open mics, or recording, the Ashthorpe 21670568 is definitely worth considering.