I wanted to buy an Acoustic guitar after my last guitar (Signature) fell of the guitar stand and had a cracked neck. I loved my Signature Acoustic (Kolkatta Made). It had a rich deep Bass. Though the treble strings were not as bright as I wanted them to be. . I have an Electric Samick (Indonesian make), which is the best Gat I have held so far for the price I got it (8k, 6 yrs ago). But I always wanted an imported Acoustic guitar to go with the electric from the likes of Yamaha, Ovation, Fender, Gibson or the ever famous Washburn. But I knew I would never have enough money to buy any of these.
The cheapest of them was the Yamaha without pickup for 8k. In Mumbai there are just 2 shops that sell real good, reliable and quality instruments. Furtados.s Opposite Metro Adlabs and Bhargavas, Opposite Furtados and Bhargavas (Musicians Mall) opp Charni rd Station. I had been to these shops a zillion times and checked every possible guitars available. I stay at Mulund and still enjoyed traveling all the way to V.T Just to get my hands on the guitars there which I could only dream of playing. Finally I walked into Bhargava, Near Charni rd and this time with Cash at hand to buy a guitar.
I had heard news about Chinese guitars making a grand entry into the Indian markets. I wanted to check out a few but never thought of buying one, because of the poor reputation of Chinese products. I got into the store and started browsing through some Hobner, which is now Hobmer (Strange!!), Givson which is now Grason (Strange again!!) My eyes fell on a good, shiny, black finish guitar hung on the rack. I picked it up expecting it to be an imported guitar (Yamaha or Fender), It had a good set of equalizer and provision for both Stereo jack and an XLR jack. I plugged the guitar to an Amp and started strumming.
The sound was amazing. The treble was exactly as crisp as I wanted it to be. The Bass strings had the exact depth yet had the metallic timbre that I wanted. I was really impressed. The body had a clean look with a great shiny finish. The body inside had ribbed Joints like I expected from an imported Guitar. I looked carefully and the brand name Read “Pluto”. I thought, that is a strange brand, I have never heard before. I asked the chinky bugger at the shop about the guitar. He told me that this was a new guitar just launched. Imported directly from China. CHINA???? The name itself put me off, but he assured me that the quality is very good. It indeed was. I had a good look at the guitar again. Strummed a few chords and finally decided to Ask for the price. To my chock he said it costs……….. Rs 5,000/-. This was amazing.
A guitar of such good sound quality and build for just 5k? I made up my mind to buy this one. The guitar has a 4 band equalizer, a built-in Tuner for those who find it hard to ear tune the guitar, An Active pickup (Battery Operated), Stereo as well as a 3 pin XLR jack for better sound output. The wood used for the guitar is really hard and produces good resonance, for both low as well as High frequencies. I replaced the Original Pluto Strings with a set of D’Addario strings and the guitar transformed into a beauty in terms of sound. The Phosphor bronze coated strings had a warm yet attacking tone. The guitar neck Tilt can be adjusted with the Allen Key provided. The tuning keys are top class. They wind strings real smooth. The action was pretty good too. The tuner works almost to perfection. I trust my ears more though.
The negative I found in the guitar was the intonation. I checked almost 4 guitars to find the right intonation. The one I found with near good intonation had high action, so had to settle for one with lower action but intonation slightly out of sync especially in the Bass A and E strings. I have used the guitar for over a year and half now. The sound quality remains intact, given the fact that I take good care of it. But as expected from Chinese guitars, the neck is slightly warped (Not much though). Everything else remains as it was during purchase. The body has remained intact through out even after using the Guitar for Carols last Christmas, where it was tortured with heavy strumming and a few hits here n there.
I always make it a point to loosen the strings if I don’t plan to play the guitar for more than a week. This ensures longer guitar life and better sound quality. Over all I am really happy with the guitar would definitely recommend it to anyone. Now a days there are many more Chinese brands in the market. I haven’t had the time to go n check them out. As and when I do, I will write a review of those. Till then Rock on!!
