Bravo JP!! Regular musicians cannot afford the big guys anymore. I had to sell my OM-21 to help pay for recording an album and I'll never be able to buy another because of how stupid the prices have become. You have given all of us hope that quality materials, flawless craftsmanship and superb sound are within reach. The big boys seem to have forgotten who got 'em there.

I sittin' here listening to you just chucklin my head off......you are 100% spot on!! 100%

Checking out more of your videos and being entertained while learning. Your helping a lot of players that other wise would have spent money they didn't have on a logo rather than a great sounding more affordable acoustic. Thanks JP

Thank you for this excellent video, your reflections, and for making the point so clearly.

I love your channel for what you do. I have been following different channels that review guitars for over 10 years. But this channel is definitely one of the best channels if you are looking for honest opinions about guitars. Obviously it has something to do with the fact that you are an awesome guitar player!!!

Well said brother! I am glad these recording King guitars are out there. Truly incredible. The sound of the recording king is very impressive.

Beautiful work in every respect, straighforward, no nonsence breakdown of how to make an amazing value guitar even more playable and sweet as a nut, rings like a bell. And on a larger note (no pun intended) you add something possitive and beautiful to peoples lives in doing so.

Awesome sir! Amazing comparison

What GREAT info J.P.! It`s makes a lot of sense to listen to someone who is honest and says it like it is!!!!

Great video. My feelings exactly. Thank you. And you are quite a player!! Happy Holidays :)

Amen! Great points. I've got a Recording King rd-10 and never been happier with an acoustic guitar.

Wow man your a great player I love your playing and tone. Thank you sir!!!

The RD328 has been sold out for pretty much the whole pandemic, but 2 weeks ago Thomann posted a B-stock (return)! I ordered it right away, got it 5 days later, stringed it up with new 12's, took it to a jam and was blown away by how well it sounded, put up with much more expensive instruments, AND how well it cut through in the jam situation! These videos where VERY helpful! Thanks J.P.!

Good comparison keep it up!

Great to hear that! Greetings from Norway 🇧🇻

Thank you for letting us know!

Thanks for this, JP. Last month I decided I wanted a small-body guitar, and I was torn between a Little Martin and a Recording King Single 0 parlor guitar. I ended up getting the Recording King, partly because it cost less than half as much as the Martin...but I love it, and this video makes me even more glad that I made the choice that I did. RK really does make great instruments for the price.

Excellent follow up video on the results and your philosophy value.... when you said "Decal", was expecting Bubbles, Randy and Julian to barge through the door.

You play the strings so amazing. I keep trying to do this and keep replaying. Mad respect. Love both guitars. I picked up a maple top guild that is just my favorite to date. Just need to get some high speed picking skills. Thank you for sharing

Thanks JP!

Great advice, I am playing Recording King by myself. Brilliant guitars at a reasonable price!

I love your stuff JP, love your family. Stack 'em high boy.

Am pleased I got it correct (am fortunate owner of 67 D16 in very rough shape but love it & got it yrs. ago through trades...& very fortunate also have a nice Santa Cruz that I knew little about when traded for it at a shop, except the rosewood was great & the Gibson I traded for it, though also R.W & great sounding J60, was bulky as heck with tiny neck). Have followed you for years (you are a true master of the craft) very much appreciate your comments & sharing on here. Best to you & yours, stay healthy & hope to see you in concert, down the road.

Wow! Thank you so much JP! I’ve been looking for a good guitar that’s affordable for months and haven’t found one that I like. I am going to order one of these

Thanks so much! Saw a RK on reverb, had never heard of them before. I definitely am buying it to try.

Great vid !

I love you dude.......what a great video.....you ain't lying brother....my best to you sir!!

Great perspective! Thanks! I get more comments about how beautiful my Yamaha FS-TA sounds than I do w my Martin 00015. Got the yamaha for $300 off craigslist and paid a luthier to install bone nut and saddle. It's fun to play and I take it everywhere without worry. I wanna try the recording king 11 series.

You my friend are 100% correct. The prices the big three are demanding for their guitars are ridiculous. One of my guitars is Yamaha FG735S. I've had it 18 yrs. Its sounds amazing.

Great points JP Enjoy your Picking

I am going to purchase the MD-328 now that I watched your video. Great video.

I am happy that i stumbled on to this video. I had actually never thought about all these factors that you mentioned. I wanted to own a Martin myself, i know very little about guitars. I seen a brand new Martin in the store yesterday that had really bad problems, i mean an actual check in the wood on the face. I thought then WTH? they still had it marked at over 2800.00. Led me to ask, what is going on with Martin. I certainly applaud Taylor for all their efforts of planting trees and using as much of the wood as possible. After watching this video though I will go back and check out the Recording Kings that i seen hanging there. Thanks for all your efforts, possibly saved me from making a horrible decision.

Love your videos brother your so knowledgeable

Great reviews on the Recording King sir. I just purchased a RD-328 myself and damn does it sing... My uncle owned a Martin D-28 that was made in the late '20's and I remember how the sound of that guitar enveloped the room when it was played. These Recording King guitars are built with the quality materials an craftsmanship that you'd expect from any of the top 3 for a fraction of the price... Another guitar that I purchased recently is my Lag Tramontane. It plays like an electric, the action and satin neck is so good for under $800!

Hey JP update on my rd328 just had a professional set up and put tony rice monel strings medium gauge strings on it and man it woke up the adi top, great tone with no loss of volume and actually gained volume

Lovely sound, great playin' bro!

Great comparison, and a cool video. If you REALLY want to see "bang for the buck", try this same taste test with the Recording King RD-T16. This is a mahogany laminate dread, with the torrified Addy top. New retail is $529.00. I paid $325 for mine pre-owned on Reverb. I'd be very interested to see you do the same comparison with that model of Recording King. Great work, subscribed!!

Great video. You just got yourself another subscriber.

JP, Starting to really like you as I see you on KZfaq. I hope you are healthy. Would be very nice to have you around for many more years.

Hello JP, I'm a fresh big fan of yours! Based on this video (and the further research) I committed to order my own RD-328... I am looking forward to to try it out in October when I should receive it. I'm very thankful for your channel and your insight into guitar world. Some guitar brands do not have to be THAT expensive as they are! Once again thank you very much!

I didn't know which was which, but I liked the second better! The Recording King! Just a very minimal miniscule difference in sound. An awesome sound! Thank you for doing these videos...

proud to finally be a member here

Amazing playing btw!

Your great !! Just subscribed!! Wow you can pick !! I am a working musican and all 4 of my stage guitars are recording Kings I love them and can afford them !! Your Great. stay safe

Sweet!!.thanks John

Wow great review. I just picked up a Recording King Raj-26 which looks like a Gibson J45. I bought it at a pawn shop for the unbelievable price of 80$. It has a built in pickup which sounds great. There is a top hairline crack/separation from not enough humidity but can be fixed and definitely doesn't affect the sound. It appears to have been road hard and put away wet, but it's a fantastic guitar. I own a Gibson and several other high end brands, and the feel and playability of the RK is amazing. These are great guitars for the money.

Thank you for this ! :-)

I don’t just like this channel, I love it!

I bought a Gibson G 45 after testing the mexican Taylor and Martin, and I lover her. Great sound and playability and... pretty affordable for a US build. Can you review one of those in the future?

Spot on man. Bring it. I had a Martin endorsement for a while. I love them. But as you said, they are terribly expensive. I have a bunch of Eastman’s now and a hand selected Martin 000-18.

Holy crap....I was not expecting that from the RK.... I'm not a dread guy, but this made me order the RO-328...thanks for the video!

Note the answer is in the description! They sounded similar (and good) to me. I guessed correctly because JP sounded slightly more comfortable on the 2nd one, like an old pair of shoes. (Other channels have blindfold tests and we learn to listen for non-tone indicators :) Thanks for the videos and amen for small, organic guitar builders!

Great video.

It’s because of you, JP, that I bought a recording king rd 328, to replace my old $500 Mexican made Martin custom x series dread., about 3 weeks ago now., it only took a few hours to get totally comfortable with the v shape neck profile, as I’d never played one before., this guitar is amazingly good!, love your channel, great content!

Amen brother!

Not the same guitar but my 2016 Recording King ROS-10/000 12 fret is a gem! Solid Spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides. Plays like sweet butter, perfect intonation, wonderful resonance and very well built, I love fingerpicking on this guitar! Have not played my Taylor 317e as much as I used to, this RK is just so nice. I will be buying another Recording King, an RD-328! Thanks JP for your videos.

I'm a builder/fixer (mostly fixer) in WNC where a ton of bluegrass pickers reside and I can tell you that for the past 4 or 5 years most of them that I know are sittin' their Martins aside and playing the Recording Kings. I've had 8 in the shop, some for set-ups and so on but the main thing that makes the most difference is the finish on the top...it's thick! It's also a bear to get off but when you do it really, REALLY sings. Afterwards I apply a sunburst or a aging die & a very thin finish and they're good to go. One of the guys emailed RK to ask them to skip the finishing process all together and they will not do that. They called that a "custom" order. anyway, take off that top finish and you'll really be blown away!

Amen to those wise words. I do not know much about acoustic guitars, but I quite do within the electric guitar's world. And I have the same opinion (based on my experience playing them) as yours regarding electric guitars and the big names within the industry. Cheers! Marc

You're an absolute savage on those guitars!!!!

AMEN. AMEN. AMEN. That's why I love Yamaha so much. Not just for their superb affordable guitars, but bc of how important that is to support musicians and music.

Thank you for clearing up the information upon the martins nowadays as opposed to the 40's and 50's. Martin is my dream guitar the D-18 to be specific but ill settle right now for my takamine

Hey JP, Mike here, really, really nice playing. I am essentially an electric guitarist and have been for the last 36 years but I have a Telecaster and it's made in Mexico it's the only non-American guitar I have and it's the oldest electric I have and I swear by that guitar, despite just a few mods I made it's an incredible guitar with rock solid tuning and a beautiful sound ...and only now am I really getting seriously into acoustic guitar territory, after 36 years of playing guitar ...O well better late than never. Take care JP. Mike.

Well, I purchased the RD-328 and love it. Wow what a guitar. I wanted a Martin D28 so bad but couldn't afford it now and the Recording King has saved the day for me. I plan on doing several videos on my own channels to, comparing it with a new Gibson J-45 rosewood and my 1965 Epiphone Texan. Thank you for these videos. Without them, I would not have purchased this guitar. But now I'm a very happy Recording King owner

Just found your channel sir. Very pleased to see these comparison videos. I won't ever (I'm almost 60) pay the thousands that the big companies require for their products....especially when they attempt to compete with lesser, hard to use that word...because Yamaha, Ibanez, RK, Washburn....they aren't really small companies....but the biggies, try to make affordable instruments....but use crap material and cheap labor....but still cost more... I will at this point say, that the player...makes a huge difference....hand that Recording King to another, less experienced player....won't sound the same.... At your level, your brain immediately adjusts attack, even slight bending to correct tone and intonation.... I've been experimenting with some cheaper guitars...and have found some really interesting stuff about acoustics, and what has always been the gospel....hoping to try my own design, crafting one next year... But thank you for your insight, knowledge and god love ya, straight forward approach to guitars.

You're a terrific flatpicker! I listened, and instead of trying to decide which was which, I chose the one I preferred. It was the Recording King - a fuller, more solid tone. The other one sounded brighter, more brash. In my experience guitars, even if they're the same model, can vary depending on I suppose factors such as wood density, stifness and so on. I've owned several D-28s, and they've varied. I've long thought that the only way is to go into a music shop with a wall full of guitars, and just choose the one you like best - whatever the make. Interestingly, so far I haven't played a boutique guitar that I thought would suit me. Another factor to consider is I think the player's style and touch, as well as string choice. Decisions, decisions!

I got it right. The second guitar sounded to me more ... deep and warm and “round”, not just bright like the first one. So I picked the second one as the Martin

I'm no great player but have gigged for years. I have owned many guitars. Among them Martin, Takemine & Taylor. A couple of years ago, I wanted a cheap but good quality guitar that I could play in pub sessions and hand over to unknown persons without fear and hold my Taylor in reserve. I found a chinese made Framus Legacy, Solid Rosewood & Spruce Top with a Fishman Prefix T preamp. I purchased for a ridiculous €650 ($690) on Thomann. It was AWESOME! So much so, I sold my Taylor & kept it as my main guitar. I took it to my luthier, highly renowned & experienced with over 40 years in the business and he was simply blown away. You are 100% correct in everything you say. My next high end guitar will be made by the same luthier. I have just added the Recording King to my basket and have to wait 3-4 weeks before it is in stock. Thanks for the time and the review.

Makes me want to jump in my car and go try one. Great playing and honest review.

Great playing

I got it right! It was a total guess though. I actually liked the sound of the RK better. Guess that means I gotta get me one!

I chose the wrong one. I went back and listened again. I would still make the same mistake. I own a Martin D15 so shame on me. I think it is the player that fooled me. :) Great job! Thanks for doing these, it's fun to learn about different brands that perhaps I don't have in my local shop that are really great sounding.

ah man, i got it right. I honestly was getting excited that I had gotten it wrong (I just ordered the OM model of this RK), as he was describing the percentages! Honestly it was the crazy complexity of that final strum of the second guitar that made me go "whoa that must be the martin," and then the rk was obviously a little more spanky and bright on that attack, though that Adirondack will be playing a small role in that

Thanks for the video. I’m actually struggling with this exact problem. I used to travel 20 plus years ago as a mandolin player for a band called Ernie Thacker and Route 23. Wasn’t able to pay the big money for a Gibson back then so I kept playing my Alvarez for the first two years. This was around the time that everyone else was getting tired of this too and new instrument makers were popping up everywhere. I got an endorsement from Ken Radcliffe for a silver angel mandolin! Absolute monster of a mandolin. Now we are returning to the game to try some more (as if we didn’t get BROKE the first round) but this time I’m attempting it as a guitar player. Oh my! I only thought martins were high back then! Wow! Guess I’ll be beating the strings off my broken, misaligned neck, needing a set up in the worst way blueridge br-60 with its laminate back and sides! She ain’t much to look at but almost every festival I get ask what im playing. lol. And If you were to decide and grab a cheap version of the Martin to try and play with the big boys at the big venue with a Dm, DX, Road series, etc.. a man would never get in the clubhouse! 😂 Again, thanks for the video!

I dreamed of owning a D-28 like the one my teacher had when I was 15. It took me 38 years of owning a $120 acoustic (Woody), a Strat (Brownie) Rickenbacker 360/6 (Blondie) I had the money and I was hell bent on buying that D-28. I didn't see anything else in the store. Tunnel vision. I was going to bring it to its new home. Were going to stay up all night and play every song and then some. Whoo Hoo......Then I saw the D-18 tried it and told them. Wrap it up. This one is mine.

Good info!

You got me to buy a RK single 0 and am not disappointed. I’m an Eastman fan and have an E6D for a dread. Your playing is off the chart.

I went in a small music store a while back, they had 12-14 Martin D18’s and D28’s, I played most of them with the exception of the cherry wood ones, I noticed an Eastman D28 style guitar in a beautiful sunburst hanging on the wall, I got it and hit a G chord and my mouth dropped! It was the best guitar in the shop hands down, Adirondack top, forward shifted scalloped braces, solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, beautiful guitar. Around $1100 dollars! The fit and finish was immaculate.

I'm so glad you are doing these comparisons, as I for years preached this to our customers in Maine. I'd tell them not to worry about what was on the headstock. Play them, and then buy what feels and sounds the best. Before the Recording King, they had the Carolina line, which was really nice also. It was actually a bit nicer (headstock inlay), but the RK went back to a more traditional look. The solid wood models were just amazing and priced reasonable. Back in the mid 2000s, we were selling them for less then $500!

You are so right .I started playing when I was 14.im 61 now .iv never been able to afford a martin always wanted one...but I want a nice sounding guitar not a parcel of land.

I'd guessed the Martin was #2... but I did prefer #1. Thank you for the comparison!

You are spot on.Great video. And you tell it like it is.Recording 328s👍

I ended up here looking for a Recording King review and last night watched a bio on Gordan Lightfoot. Just found out who you are. No wonder I though you were a great player, Lol. Must be fate that got me here. Great music man!

Nice comparison JP. I am not shocked in the least by the results. There are plenty of mid priced guitars out there that sound and play amazing. You could make one of those Jim Dandy’s sound amazing.

JP - I bought a Recording King ROM-06 on Ebay some years back. It had gotten hurt, a fall-over damage/crack to neck extending down below the nut. Easy fix - can't tell you how many times people have mistaken it for a Martin not just because of cosmetics but because it is a beautiful sounding guitar. Of the several different brand guitars I have this is my #1.

Going to get one!

I was blown away by this Recording King RD-342 I played the other day. Cannot believe how great the instrument sounds. Heading back to Guitar Center and pick that wonderful instrument up.

My Recording King "Dirty Thirties" OOO is played along with Taylors and Martins. I don't ask for more. Its my sound and it its consistent to all others.

Great guitar THANKS.

thx helpful review

I just bought an RK off the sweetwater used rack. Had never heard of them but I couldn't put it down. Absolutely in love with this thing and I got it for 250 bucks!!!

Thank you and by the way I got it right.....a Martin just has a sound that screams Martin! I had a Recording King about 10 years back. Wish I had kept it.

Thanks..... I didn't comment on which was which but to my ears I picked #2 as the one with just a little more something in the clarity in between the notes and #1 had a bit of a drone note on one of the notes... The only thing I can say is a Martin will hold its value for resale for the most part and as they get much older the resale value goes up.... When I bought my D28 a builder here in Ontario Mario Proulx had just made a D18 model that I fell in love with, to this day I kick my ass I didn't buy it instead of the D28 Martin. Got to play the Proulx last year and after 20 - 25yrs I am now really kicking my ass.... But I do love my Martin D18GE it is a fine guitar...

You are an amazing talent

I just subscribed !

My 000-328 has opend up within a week too,crazy much. Sanded down the saddle just now and now its even better.

Thank you John way I feel as well 100% you should do a video on Eastman

GREAT video. Would LOVE to see a comparison between this Recording King and the Alvarez Masterworks MD70, which retails at $999. They both seem to be "Martin killers" at similar prices/builds.

J.P. you are awesome.

I completed my 76th circuit around the Sun last week and I have played guitar (on and off) since I was 15. My first guitar was a Truetone branded Kay electric. My second guitar was a Gibson B45-12 Sunburst (without the tailpiece). I have owned Epiphone, a Gibson Petite classic, a Guild (maybe a D-25???) and a Kent classic that I have had for 53 years. I always wanted a Martin but could never afford one until a friend gave me a 1994 OM-21 w/ a Martin case, that had a cracked top and loose braces That still sounded great to me. I took it to a great luthier in Tucson (Mike Cutler, The Luthier's Bench). He gave me an estimate of $200 ( I expected $500) and it took him a good bit more work than he had anticipated. I told him he could add the additional time, but he insisted on accepting the original bid. So I have a Martin OM-21 for $200. Only way I was ever going to get one. The repair on the crack looks like the shadow of a string. I sure enjoyed your pickin' on the Recording King. I would put my money there before spending bejillions on any of the Sacred Cow guitars. Thanx for the introduction.

The answer!!!!! I cannot wait!!!!!!