I own this guitar - bought it new pre pandemic. The light guage strings were a choice driven by arthritis in my hands. The neck profile was also a factor because of the mobility in my hands. Buying online from the other side of the world was a leap in faith but I have zero regrets. It's a great playing guitar which has given me hours of pleasure. I purchased a private build Little Sister at the same time - it's also been phenomenal. They're as close to perfect as I want in a guitar.

For $4,500 new, you'd think the design flaws would be worked out. Ted, you're a class act for not saying more plainly that this instrument isn't worth what they're charging. I can say it, though. So I did.

Hey Ted, Adam Savage from mythbusters talked about you and your wood filling method with CA glue and sawdust on his tested channel today! ('Quick tips' vid)

Always a pleasure to watch you apply methodical repair in a calming manner, thanks.

That sigh, pulling out the second shim, spoke volumes. We (my eldest and I) figure its the second most we've seen Ted frustrated (after the nasty experience with the plastic binding that needed to be routered). I learn tons from your skills, i think I learn more from your ability to pull yourself together at those moments of frustration. Would love an outtake vid someday :P

I was tempted to go back and try to count how many Noes those shims pulled out of you. For such quality materials it does seem the factory have an unacceptable tolerance when it comes to neck angle, I mean, it looks like they should just go back to the drawing board and get their trigonometry right. Same goes for the headstock slots. I did however like the unplugged tone more than I expected! I also like how you rebelled against the bridge sharp edges and just knocked them off

I have a feeling that all those shims are just about the same thickness as their under-saddle pickup.

Hand crafted does not always mean finest quality...

This is intentional and a feature in all of our guitars for the benefit of the owner. Let me explain...the height of the saddle was purposely designed to be relatively high to create torque on the top to produce more volume from such a smaller bodied guitar. On every acoustic guitar after a few years, the top will rise slightly making it near impossible to return the guitar to great playability with good action. Because our top is very thin it is clear to us that the top will rise over time and we want to allow the customer to have the ability to only have to remove shims instead of having to do a full set-up to improve the action. Most guitars, even the most notable of brands, suffer from this problem that requires a lot of work to sort out. Our guitars will not require anything more than removing one of the shims from under the saddle. --Kiki Goldshtein - B&G Co-Founder & CEO

Competent, calm and confident; music to my ears.

ive just got to say. ive learnt so much from your videos, and look forward to your new ones coming out, if I could benefit 20% of your know how through your videos a guy could do amazing things, thank you for sharing your time and knowledge

This guitar an oddball. I also agree with you that under saddle pickups typically don't sound very good (including this one). It takes all that beautiful wood and makes it sound like a shoebox. Great video once again!

Absolutely love the 1/4" male jack on some wire to bring the female back to the hole from the inside. That's a move I'll be making very soon to install a floating pickup in my acoustic archtop. Thanks Ted! And we need to send you a small bag of finger cots so you don't have to worry about that glove cutoff coming off your finger when holding the pickup in place.

What a sound for a plus parlor. Right between my Alvarez parlor and Breedlove concert, but B&G has their own way with wood. That K&K set of pups brought out the recognizable B&G tone quite well... excellent installation as well. Maybe someday you can repair one of "your steel string" guitars you referred to. Love to see and hear one... and take the tour.

I met Eliran in Tel Aviv some three years ago at their shop. Amazing ! It was a magic experience. Their guitars are completely unique. The woods they use are incredible.

As an electric player I wouldn't say no to that kind of action. And hey it sounds great!

Always surprised at how well you play, Ted!

I agree, keep the electronics in a box on the floor, not in the guitar.

It sounds good acoustically, but I don't much care for the 12th fret neck or the problem at the headstock. It does sound good though.

That conversion between thousandths and power of 2 fractions of an inch. Imperial !

Great job as usual. Thank you! I am a guitar maker and sometimes repairman and have installed more K&K's than I want to think about. You are right, often the butt pin hole is off center. Just take your hand ream and twist back and forth to get it centered. Also, early on I bought the ridiculously expensive drill ream from StewMac ($100.00) but it has paid for itself and more!

Just a thought, the number of shims was probably done to keep dimensions the same between this guitar and those that come stock with an under saddle pickup. Would most likely simplify retrofitting an under saddle since the bridge is most likely already routed for it.

Great video as always Ted. I have been getting great results using a step bit for enlarging endpin holes. I'm pretty disappointed in B&G for having a peghead design that will foul the strings or scratch paint off. Usually caused by someone winding the strings on the wrong way. Not by bad design. plus all those shims under the saddle.

FYI, my favorite tool for opening up the end block to install a jack like that is a step drill bit. I have a skinny one from Greenlee that does an amazing job, the Harbor Freight ones work, but don't cut as clean. Open up the hole to the right diameter, then run the correct size bit the rest of the way through. The step bit keeps it centered in the hole, and removes material fairly quick.

Wow. Too many of what I would consider to be design flaws. Especially in that price range !

I for one really like the sound

Sounds awesome and no fret buzz, even with that “shredder action.” Cool.

Sounds great acoustically. Electrically... it sounds almost like an electric, which is interesting and probably opens up some tone options for creative musicians.

Love the vids Woodford I would love to do something like this for a living, keep it up man!

i would never wish to buy a B&G guitar after seeing this, lessons need to be learned.

I use a step bit to drill end pin holes. Very clean and easy to control.

Now I wasn't in the room, but man, that did NOT look like the standards of a custom-ish build.

Hi Ted, still hot here. 32C and 80%RH. Brisbane, Australia. Really hard to do meaningful work. Really helps to see your weekly posts.

Thanks for playing them for us Ted.

Thank You Ted, I have been playing repairing building guitars since the late 60's, but I always learn something new from your videos. I have used shims of different materials under saddle- slot peizos to soften or brighten tone. However K&K are OUTSTANDING in transducing true acoustic characteristics of the instrument. A fellow on YT made amazing acoustic audio speakers by sticking a $12 Audio Exciter to a foam board. I found that placing audio exciters to a guitar top with double stick tape sounds incredible, and moving them around locates resonance points on the guitar top. I find that gluing three K&K peizos to the tone-wood directly under the resonance points from the audio exciters (loosely following the surface area/ frequency vibration maps of a violin top and back) adds 40%* dynamic range improvement over placing the K&K peizos under the bridge. Buy a $12. 15w audio exciters, connect it to a stereo, and gently hold it against the top of a Martin Dreadnought. I'm tellin' you your favorite song will blossom. *Note: 67% of all statistics are made up on the spot (Huge Smile).

That is such a beautiful bridge!

Hi Ted! I love these type of 00 or 000 guitars. Great instruments. I'm not crazy fan of under saddle pickups... Thanks for this new video. 🎶🎶🎶

This why I prefer a paddle head style headstock on an acoustic guitar.

Once again, thank you sir!

I take your point about the sound it seems very jangly and I like bright guitars

I have serious reservations with this companies product. At least as far as consistency/quality control. I ordered a private build Little Sister hollow electric model a few years ago, which was early on in the models introduction. An expensive and exciting first for me that I waited eight months to receive. It was quite beautiful and sounded great BUT the tunomatic bridge had to be raised so high and quite dramatically slanted from bass to treble end. With a closer look the set neck was visually slanted as well in the pocket. I contacted B&G and they attributed it to working with the hot hide glue and its unpredictability and there was nothing they could do a lot it since it plays fine so within tolerances. So disappointed in this explanation and their unwillingness to do anything with a four grand plus guitar. Somehow this particular Caletta doesn’t surprise me.

Despite the numbers, it sounds great both ways.

I really like the sound.

great!!!!! i always enjoy these!!!!!!!!!......thanks!!!!!

Inverted initial reaming is awesome idea TY… my Guild ( USA)all solid hog dread needs some LRBaggs …it has hole on the back( an mini sound hole I guessed).

Their electric Little Sister lineups are beautiful and beautifully made. I do think, however, that with their success of the electrics, they jumped into the acoustics too quickly. Still look and sound great tho.

NICE VIDEO !!! Greetings from Europe , Estonia.

Yes it's a Grand Parlor Guitar

I would've loved to have heard you play Classical Gas on it.

So many shims sucking up the saddle's information. String angle from the nut to the tuning posts? Such a high saddle. Back to the drawing board.

The great thing about acoustic instruments is you don’t need pickups or amps…

Thank you again 🇦🇺

It almost looks like the strings are meant to be on the opposite tuners to usual, but i still feel like the strings on the furthest tuners would rub

Well hell. That’s why I can’t be a world-class luthier… no Converse tennis shoe.

Nice wall hanger

Well, it's pretty. For my $3,300 (and up) I don't want a fistful of shims, plastic pins (at least sand the mold-marks off), self- harming peg-head, nor glue spooge visible through the sound hole. And yeah, sharp bridge hurt hand. Not like. But it sounds nice, and it is very pretty.

After so many lovely instruments that is the first one I've just thought, no thank you.

Jeez that guitar is georgeous.

I wonder whether the numerous thin shims were meant to suck some of the harsh out of that thing. Nice in lots of ways, but man that sounded brittle . . .

I was just vibing along with everything, maybe taken aback a bit by the number of shims under the saddle... but then you showed that headstock all strung up- what the hell??

Damn, look at all those shims. For the amount of money for a guitar like that, those shims are unacceptable.

I do believe you were mentioned on Adam Savage's Tested video in the last few days. You've made the big time !

I have an older Seagull Parlor guitar that has a similar sound. Just a touch warmer, perhaps.

Got a very distinctive sound and does seem (especially amplified) low in bass. I like it but I wouldn't have it as an only acoustic guitar!

Curious headstock design. Wouldn't the extreme angle of the E strings (especially the lower E), at the head stock cause the corners of the nut to crack and break off? Absolutely love how you so diplomatically criticize this guitar without insulting the builder and owner. Thank you for your amazing videos!

I made a mistake after 30 years mostly lol playing guitar. I bought different string based on price. I have used elixirs for as long as I can remember I’ll never make that mistake again.

how about swapping the low E and the D string in the tuners? would that help not cutting into the headstock? i've seen 5 strings electric basses strung up like that

They are that expensive because you get $250 worth of "shim kindlin'" with the guitar... what a deal!!

I like the sound. It is a pretty guitar with some odd components. Good Job.

The bridge doesn't even look sanded.

I saw your respect and awe for Israeli craftsmanship go out the window when you found those under saddle shims. Ditto for the off-center strap pin. Man, you just can't get quality perfection with humans anymore. Bring on the CNC robots! 😁

Love K&K pickups …. I installed one in my Duncan Africa! Love at first …… hmmm… what rhyme with sight but would work here? Lol . Sorry, it’s the songwriter in me!!!

To my ear, the K&K amplified sound was more full bodied. Every time I've heard anyone using a K&K, I've been impressed by how "guitar like" they sound. The unamplified sound was strangely nasally, and lacking in the low end, even for a small bodied guitar. The headstock was attractive. But I had a bad feeling, judgig by how narrow the slots appeared to be. The pickup install was a win anyway.

In the background is played the Imperials song 'Shimmy, Shimmy, Coco Bop'... lotsa shims. For some 'barbaric' guitar repairs, check out Jerry Rosa. He is great, however. Worth some views.

I think the guitar looks and sounds absolutely beautiful (with the exception of the shitty-sounding pickup and the weird string angles on the headstock).

Not a guitar I would buy. Thanks for a great video.

Have you ever come across a early 1900's parlor guitar with the Name "The Crown" or just "Crown"....possibly a Lyon and Healy, Bruno...or Regal build? i have a memory and maybe it was on your site that I saw this. Can't seem to track it down.... the maker, or model. Really enjoy your content and approach to repair.

Nice!! A guitar repair and a blizzard.

There are some great vids of Yoni Slessinger playing B&G guitars. Check out his finger style rendering of Sultans of Swing - awesome.

So I guess the slipper foot might even work against this particular guitar, since it's going to resist the much needed budging, right?

Surprised how good it sounds. The pickup sound probably needs some EQ, but even that with a bit of reverb would be pretty cool!

I hope those shims didn't come from the factory. That's insane for such an expensive guitar.

Nice work

Flaws aside, a very pretty guitar.

I've used a step drill bit several times to enlarge the endpin hole. Works very well. If you can't get a step drill with long enough steps to clear the tail block, you can ream it straight from the inside. Were those shims there because the slot was drilled for the standard undersaddle pickup, maybe? If so, that's a bit naughty - a top of the line model with a worse configuration than a lower priced one.

Great video

I'm surprised (mildly) that you didn't mask the vice grips when pulling the strap pin.

Hah, oh no. Ted, I have number 30 here from 2018. I had two shims and eventually removed them. It’s very very lightly built guitar and has certainly settled somewhat. My d string to soundboard is 13mm. I know that’s kinda high, but is it really THAT high? I have to say mine sound really nice, quite middley, but good for finger style. I got mine for $2.7k - which I *was* happy about, but now I’m not quite so sure. Did I get bitten by the hype 😆

Great video, as always. The guitar sounds nice unplugged, and has a very... specific... sound plugged in (not an effect I would want all the time, but similar sounds have been used to great impact in plenty of recordings). The bridge needs the same miter on the center block that it has on the wings, and that headstock just makes me angry.

Would you try a step drill bit on the end pin hole to increase the size? They're pretty good! I almost thought ted was gonna cut the end pin off flush and use it as the plug for cutting a new hole!

I like this guitar a lot, but I doubt I would pay over 4k for it.

WOW. An acoustic that sounds better as an electric.

I'm not sure why the "slipper foot brace(?)" comes to a point(ish) rather than spread at the end? I would think that the narrow end would concentrate more lever forces linearly along a longitudinal grain segment, than if you had a wider termination point. BTW, for a "premium" instrument, it sounds very ...shall I say, common.

Custom order my @$$... At that price point, you'd expect the level of accuracy in measurements at tighter tolerances.

I think the action is perfect tbh. The headstock needs to be reworked

Don't leave out Gil Yaron from Tel Aviv

Not a great amplified sound, but pretty decent unplugged. Interesting shape, but overall not my favorite look. Unfortnate headstock.

Hi Ted, I'm just getting around to watch this video now and had a question. If the 'E-e' strings are going to damage the head stock anyway, why wouldn't you wind the 'E-e' strings so they are closer to the outside of the head stock like they were before you changed the strings?

A very nice unamplified, I'm curious, would loosening the truss rod have helped!

I think I actually like the amplified sound better than the unamplified. Which is weird, LOL.