VINTAGEVINTAGE VIATOR TRAVEL GUITAR AND BAG- BY PAUL BRETT

Big Paul Brett fan, got the 12 string. So ordered this from reputable dealer via amazon. I must have got a good 12 string , within the limits of the price point it was ok. If anything I think the price point for all these guitars causes real concern re quality control issues. My Viator was unplayable. There was problems with the cut at the nut , the action was terrible , the Bridge needed attention. The tuners were almost unusable. The padded bag had as much padding as a hankie. I was very disappointed , but thought maybe I just had a bad one. Several emails to JHS and even to Brett himself. No response. Customer care is everything. Sent the guitar back , the seller was exemplary re refund. Got rid of the 12 string as lack confidence in the make. Possibly you should consider if they bring out a better quality model , like on the Giltrap range. Otherwise I would avoid unless you budget another 50-100 pounded for set up fixing , and accept no support from manufacturer. I had a mahogany Taylor baby. Was a great guitar , nice gig bag. Handled heavy strings and various / high tunings with no difficulties. I would buy that again if I needed a small guitar.

I posted this review a year or so ago, and then it mysteriously disappeared: so I'm hoping it doesn't get censored this time..This guitar is a nice idea let down by poor set-up, components, and that strange bolt-on bridge. Mine too vibrated annoyingly, and removal of the abalone discs confirmed that both bridge fixing screws were loose. Eventually I managed, with the help of my partners small hand wielding a small spanner, to tighten them up.Another annoying source of vibration was the machine heads; they drove me crazy for weeks! Tightening up the friction screw as hard as I could didn't help, they still vibrated, and they were still too loose. I eventually dismantled them, and with deft use of a centre punch, deformed the slot of the bracket into which the shaft sits. Drastic I know, but you can't see much when assembled, and it improved the loose pegs. However, there was still an occasional rattle!!.. but I FINALLY found the source.. it was actually the small chrome machine head knobs themselves, which are pressed on to the shafts.. there was a tiny amount of play in a few of these, that would resonate at certain frequencies. A drop of superglue wicked up into the shaft/knob join has sorted it.The truss rod is at the end of it's adjustment, and the neck is a still a touch too flat. I have put heavier strings on which helped very slightly in getting a little relief in the neck.I really shouldn't have to do all this on a £200 guitar.. but having said all that, it's now probably my favourite armchair go to instrument, the sound belying it's size. So I would cautiously recommend it, but get it set up and checked before you buy!

My wife wanted a smaller scale guitar and, after much searching, we settled on this. Our local guitar shop offered the most competitive price !!! so we went and bought it. The neck, frets and soundboard were all finished excellently although the tuning gears had been over lubricated and the excess was running over the headstock. The opaque finish on the sides and back was "rustic" at best and the wood grain could be felt through the finish. First impressions were favourable - good tone and volume. Wife disappeared into spare room to practice but kept commenting on a buzzing sound which I put down to soft fingertips which would sort itself out in a couple of days. It didn't and when I checked the guitar myself it was making a horrible fuzz box sound all the time. Back to the shop where the luthier spotted that the bridge was glued and bolted and the distortion was coming from the bridge so we concluded that the nut on one of the securing bolts was loose and that the washer was resonating. Easy he said - I'll just reach in and tighten it up. Big problem - the sound hole is so small that it is impossible to get a normal size hand or wrist through it. Guitar sent back to Vintage as a reject and all money refunded. Later found a limited edition Mariner short scale parlour for the same price - very, very well finished and sounds great. Happy at last.

Great little guitar!I'd been looking at this little guitar for a year before I took the leap and bought it from Ivor Mairants. Now I realise that the only other review here said that they were not happy with the guitar, but I feel that the other customer got unlucky. Personally I could not be happier with the guitar and the service that Nigel Keniry at Ivor Mairants provided. This little guitar is great! Nigel put a set of Elixir 10's on the guitar for me and tuned it to high G and it sounds great. The build quality is very good, the sustain is excellent, the tone is sweet and clear. I have several good acoustic guitars and I'm more than happy to own this little one and I will be buying another tuned to regular E at some point in the future. Paul Brett has created a little Terz guitar that will not cost a fortune like the Martin and it still sounds very good. I hope Paul gets to read this and chooses to add a dark antique sunburst to this little guitar and perhaps changes the chrome tuners to the gold tuners seen on his VE8000PB parlour guitar. I think if Paul and JHS add those two things this little guitar would look even better, even if it cost a little more to do those two things, it would still be worth the money. If you want a little guitar that you can sit on the sofa and fingerpick tunes or strum lightly this is an excellent guitar for that purpose. I love it and I'm glad I bought this little beauty. Well done, Paul!