Tanglewood Guitars - what are your thoughts on them.

CoolCat · December 2021

I only have one acoustic guitar, a Tanglewood TW1000. It is a dreadnought and I bought it back in 2009.

I'm very happy with mine and was wondering who else has a Tanglewood guitar and what do you think of them?

Mellish · December 2021

I've never tried a Tanglewood, so I can't add to the upcoming discussion, sorry. But welcome to TFB

BillDL · December 2021

I have played a few higher end Tanglewood guitars owned by people I know over the last few years and I was impressed by the build quality and tonality. In fact, I was considering buying this TW1000N guitar that has been at the Newcastle GuitarGuitar store for a while now (I'm sure they had it lower than £499 for a while):

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/px210813372619003--tanglewood-tw-1000n-pre-owned

(link will obviously be dead when it sells)

That specific model is out of production now so I'm not sure what the RRP would have been new to put some perspective on the 2nd-hand price. My guess is that it would have retailed new for about £700 to £750. That puts it up against quite stiff opposition, but I think it holds its own.

What has put me off that particular guitar slightly is that they have graded the body as a 3 and the neck/fretwork as a 4. They never grade ANY 2nd-hand guitars as 5 as a rule, so in general a 4 is very good condition to pristine. I have only ever bought used guitars from them that were rated as 4 and 4 and I have never been disappointed by any cosmetic issues that were not visible in the fairly high resolution images.

If I could justify another dreadnought guitar up above the £1,000 mark I would certainly consider their "heritage" range that receive excellent reviews and look quite beautiful:

https://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product-category/heritage/

but when it gets down to the £500 or so mark there really isn't anything that grabs my attention and I would be considering a lot of brands.

For some reason Tanglewood have never gained as much presige as brands like Takamine. I don't know why, because in similar price bands the Tanglewood guitars are easily as good, and I would suggest better, than the Takamine guitars.

bertie · December 2021

I have a TW73 parlor (brown sunburst) solid cedar on solid mahogany - its really very good, got it at an auction "bankrupt stock" for £225 (think they retail at around £600 ish ?) a couple of years ago to use as my "leave it out, play in the garden, take away on work"

Image: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_BZDmOQWIBI/maxresdefault.jpg

Its a tad narrow on the nut/string spacing - but its volume/tone way outways the "getting used to"

there are a lot worse guitars for £225................there are a lot worse for £600

proggy · December 2021

I bought a high end Tanglewood a few years ago. A Heritage TW70 H SRE. All solid OM shape.
Although it was a lovely guitar, moving it on was a problem. Being as it wasn't really getting played I decided to sell it.
I paid £1,099 for the guitar and managed to get £400 for it, in immaculate condition with a nice after market case thrown in.
I definitely wouldn't buy another one.
It's actually in the acoustic classifieds on here somewhere.

more · December 2021

Tanglewood guitars have been around for about fifty years. They design instruments and commission a manufacture to make them , now mostly in china . I have looked at and tried a few acoustics guitars and ukuleles . All of them fall in the middle of the road bracket. Better than cheep unknown brands , but never quit making it into the better end of the market . A really common sight in the high-street, music shop windows . I think if you can pick up a good second hand one, cheaply ,it can be a good buy . If your looking at new , I would stretch the budget to a better guitar .

BigPaulie · December 2021

If you're happy with your guitar that's all that matters.

Jimbro66 · December 2021

I've had a couple of the upper range Tanglewoods and played others in guitar stores. They were OK but nothing special. The two issues with them are QC and depreciation. Very varied in quality so essential to try before buying. Depreciation is dreadful - like @proggy's £1,100 one now down to £400. Some are difficult to sell at any more than a giveaway price.

I'd never buy another.

CoolCat · December 2021

Many thanks to all for your comments. Whilst I am happy with the one I've got it is interesting to hear the views of other forum users. The depreciation issue is a concern though.

brojangles · December 2021

They're good. A Tanglewood dread was my only guitar for about 15 years and it was fine. They're consistently praised on here - I think ICBM is a fan. You hear less about them because they're a UK brand and not much known in the US where so much internet chatter about guitars comes from.

Creed_Clicks · December 2021

Gigged one for a while. I can't recall the model name. It was ok, I replaced it with a Taylor and then a Martin which became my main gigging semi acoustic. I would not rule out a Tanglewood again though.
Some of their mahogany small bodied ones I tried, from the cheap end of the scale were very nice indeed.

Mattharrier · December 2021

CoolCat said:

Whilst I am happy with the one I've got it is interesting to hear the views of other forum users. The depreciation issue is a concern though.

Only if you plan on selling it. If you keep it, the resale value is irrelevant

I have a friend with a Tanglewood semi hollow, which he says sounds lovely and plays fairly well although needs a set up. I have another friend with a Tanglewood uke which he loves (and is a nice instrument, sounds lovely).

lincolnblue · December 2021

I bought a 12 string super jumbo Tanglewood back in about 2001. It was a really lovely instrument and I regret selling it. I can't remember the model but it was fantastic quality. Was one of their higher end guitars I think.

AlbertC · December 2021

I had a TW1000 and really liked it - sounded great on recordings - but being the never-satisfied type of chap I am, I sold it and bought something else. Probably should've kept it but I guess I could pick up another. They're great value dreads for not a lot of money used.
I also have an slightly old beaten up TW73 parlour I bought more than 10 years ago. It's a pretty decent guitar but I don't play it these days and should probably sell it, though I doubt it's worth much over £100, if that.

westford · December 2021

I’ve got a Tanglewood Mini Koa and am very happy with it, really comfortable shape and size for me, and I liked how it sounded from the moment I gave it a strum in the shop. I wasn’t keen on the sunburst finish to begin with, but it’s grown on me.

Lestratcaster · December 2021

I've got a TW28 which I got for my 14th birthday. It cost £120 back in the day and I've still got it. It's aged nicely and still plays and sounds great. Very bright and brash sounding, compared to my D28 which is much warmer and bassier. But good to keep as a spare and if I ever need to change tuning and have another guitar ready to go.

Exorcist · December 2021

I've had a tanglewood 12 string for about 30ish years and its absolutely fine. I also have the little parlour all solid mahogany and its slightly bigger brother. Both excellent, particularly for the price. I've played some high end TW dread's in music shops and was actually very impressed when played back to back with the big brands (taylor, guild, martin etc) although IMHO acoustics can all be a bit stiff when brand new. If I was buying another I would definitely play it first, as I have found the QC a bit hit and miss, and not everyone I picked up was a good guitar, but a good one is a great one, if that makes sense. I certainly wouldn't rule out the higher end if you can get over the brand name. IMHO (the bottom end cheaper ones I can't really comment on - with the exception of the 12, the guitars I played/owned have all been all solid).
One other thing about the parlour - it was a 12 fret small body with a 1 11/16 nut, which tends to be harder to find, but fits me perfectly.

thomasw88 · December 2021

I have a tanglewood TW15ns which is all solid, and absolutely fantastic. I also have a Simon & Patrick mini jumbo which is all solid and is fantastic. I prefer the Simon & Patrick for gigging as plugged in it sounds better (LR baggs M80) but in the house and for recording prefer the tanglewood as it has a lovely tone. (I have a takemine pickup in it which is a rebranded LR baggs M1a)

Prior to them I had a heap of other guitars including a Taylor 414 which was ok.. I prefer both the tanglewood and S&P to the Taylor

I previoulsy had and gigged an old Tanglewood sundance which was knackered and beaten up when I got it but sounded and played great.

jeromegreenday · December 2021

I've got a good one, from 1997? It's solid rosewood back and sides, cedar top, maple binding I think it says 30th anniversary in ablone block inlay on the 12th fret. It was the Most expensive highest quality they made at that time. There's not a shred of info about it on the internet. I couldn't be happier. Great warm loud projection for a cedar/rosewood combo

CoolCat · December 2021

Thank you all for your posts. Really appreciate hearing your views on this brand of guitar.

bluecat · December 2021

Well,after all those mixed comments,where do I start.some people are more interested in what resale value will be instead of having a nice playable guitar that sounds good.I have a Tanglewood TW45 N-DLX.with solid spruce top ,mahogany back and sides and gold hardware.My friend who sold it to me who had a music shop in Hessle East Yorkshire said it played like a Taylor,I I bought it new about 15 years ago and never would sell it,even if I was on the bones of my A***. It is fantastic!!! I payed £500.00 for it then ,i string it with Ernie Ball earthwood Rock and Blues and it sounds wonderful,it sounds a little bit better as each year goes by.

I also had a Tanglewood 12 string ,lovely guitar but I could not get into playing 12 strings,not really my style. Got £25.00 for it,some one got a bargain,but needed the case for another guitar.

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Tanglewood Guitars - what are your thoughts on them.

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