There's more acoustic guitar news from the 2012 Winter NAMM show. Recording King, the Hayward, California-based guitar manufacturer, has updated its line of Century Jubilee Series Slope Shoulder guitars with an extended scale length and more of the vintage styling the brand has become known for.
We’ve taken everything great about our slope shoulder guitars and added a bunch of new features that will please both modern players and vintage enthusiasts. Following the early mid-century “Jumbo” to “advanced Jumbo” change, we’ve extended ours to the full dreadnought scale of 25.4” for a little more punch and projection. The classic body shape still delivers the sweetness and ideal tonal blend characteristic to slope shoulder guitars, but the longer scale gives it just a touch more volume to help cut through the mix. The 1-11/16” bone nut is perfectly comfortable for strumming, fingerstyle or flatpicking, and combined with the bone saddle, helps to give these guitars and additional degree of brightness and clarity.
To celebrate the sonic upgrades, we’ve made some changes in the detailing too, with ivory body and fretboard binding, pearl fretboard dots, vintage-inspired Golden Age tuners and the classic Recording King headstock logo inlay.
Our slope shoulder guitars are available in two different styles to fit the needs of any player. The RAJ-126 has a solid AA grade Sitka spruce top and solid African Mahogany back and sides. It’s finished in vintage sunburst with a classic firestripe pickguard, and ivory Golden Age tuning machines.
The RAJ-116 has the same AA grade Sitka top with Mahogany back and sides. It’s finished in natural, with the same firestripe pickguard but with classic-style Grover tuners.
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Players will appreciate the vintage tone and appointments on a guitar that doesn't have a vintage price tag.
The Recording King Slope Shoulder guitars start at a street price of $499.99 with solid Sitka top and Rosewood back and sides, and come with Recording King's industry-leading lifetime warranty.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
