Description
Review of the Ashthorpe Full-Size Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar Bundle
The Ashthorpe 21670566 is a full size dreadnought acoustic electric in black, with an X braced spruce top, basswood back and sides, an okoume neck and a piezo pickup running into an on board four band equaliser. It is supplied as a bundle with a gig bag, a cable, a strap, three picks, a spare set of phosphor bronze strings and an owner’s manual. It is aimed at a beginner or an improving player who wants a dreadnought that can be plugged in.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Four band equaliser on board covering bass, middle, treble and presence. Four bands is more control than the two or three found on most acoustic electrics at this level, and presence in particular helps tame the harshness that piezo pickups are known for.
- X braced spruce top. X bracing is the standard internal pattern for steel string guitars because it holds the top against string tension while leaving the areas that need to move free to do so.
- Phosphor bronze strings, with a spare set included. Phosphor bronze resists corrosion better than plain bronze and holds its brightness longer.
- Cable included. Acoustic electric bundles frequently omit the one item without which the electronics cannot be used, and this one does not.
- Three picks in thin, medium and heavy, which lets a new player find out what they prefer rather than guessing.
- Light at 4.6 pounds for a full size dreadnought.
Cons
- The fretboard is listed as basswood. Basswood is soft and is normally used for bodies rather than fingerboards, where hardness is what resists denting and fret wear, and the description does not name the fretboard wood at all to confirm or contradict it.
- The body material field reads “Spruce, Basswood” while the back is listed separately as basswood, so “body” here appears to mean the top and the back together rather than anything specific.
- The listing states one 9 volt battery is required but does not say whether it is included. Without it the pickup and equaliser will not work at all.
- The stated product dimensions of 4.5 x 4.5 x 41 inches repeat the depth in place of the width, so the packed size cannot be judged from the table.
- The listing does not say whether the spruce top is solid or laminated, which is the specification that most affects how the guitar sounds unplugged and how it ages.
- A dreadnought is a large body. It is the least comfortable of the common shapes for a smaller player.
Detailed Product Description
The top is A grade spruce with X bracing. On any acoustic guitar the top does nearly all the acoustic work, and spruce is the traditional soundboard timber because its stiffness relative to its weight lets a thin panel move freely. The bracing pattern underneath determines which parts of that panel move and which are held. X bracing, in which two braces cross below the soundhole, became standard on steel string guitars because it resists the pull of steel strings while leaving the lower bout free. Whether this particular top is solid or laminated is not stated, and the difference is set out in the guide to solid top versus laminate acoustic guitars.
The back and sides are basswood, chosen here for warmth according to the listing. Basswood is soft and light, and on a guitar with a working top the back and sides contribute far less to the sound than the soundboard does.
The neck is okoume, a stable moderately dense hardwood widely used on affordable acoustics, with a scale length of 25.4 inches. That is effectively the standard long scale, so fret spacing and string tension will feel like a conventional full size dreadnought. The bridge is adjustable and the tuning pegs are chrome. The finish is a high gloss black.
The electronics are a piezoelectric pickup feeding a four band preamp. A piezo sits under the saddle and responds to pressure rather than to string movement through a magnetic field, which is why it works on an acoustic instrument where a magnetic pickup would not. The characteristic weakness of piezo systems is a hard, brittle quality in the upper mids, and the presence control in a four band equaliser is precisely the tool for reducing it. Whether an amplifier is actually needed is covered in the guide to do you need an amp with an acoustic electric guitar.
What Comes with the Product
- The full size dreadnought acoustic electric guitar in black
- A soft nylon gig bag
- A guitar cable
- A shoulder strap
- Three celluloid picks in thin, medium and heavy
- An extra set of phosphor bronze strings
- An owner’s manual
No tuner, capo, stand, string winder or amplifier is listed. The 9 volt battery the preamp requires is not confirmed as included, so one should be bought alongside the guitar.
Who It Suits
This suits a beginner or improving player who expects to play through an amplifier or a PA system at some point, whether at an open mic, in a church hall or in a school. Buying an acoustic electric from the outset avoids the awkward stage of retrofitting a pickup to an acoustic guitar later.
It suits less well a player who will only ever play at home unplugged, since the preamp adds cost and a battery to manage for no benefit. It also suits less well a smaller player, for whom a dreadnought is a lot of guitar. Worth comparing are the closely related Ashthorpe dreadnought acoustic electric, the Ashthorpe thinline cutaway acoustic electric and the Vangoa VDS-13 acoustic electric bundle. The wider selection sits in the acoustic electric guitars section.
How to Maintain
Wipe the strings after every session. Phosphor bronze resists corrosion better than plain bronze but it is still a copper alloy and still reacts to skin oils.
Remove the 9 volt battery if the guitar is being stored for several months. A leaking cell inside a preamp cavity causes damage that costs more than the electronics are worth.
Keep the guitar in its bag, away from radiators, sunny windows and unheated garages. Acoustic bodies react to humidity far more than solid body electrics because the top is a thin panel under constant tension. The signs to watch for are a top bellying upward behind the bridge or an action that climbs noticeably over a season. Storage advice is covered in the guide to how to store a guitar.
Tips and Recommendations
Set the equaliser flat before adjusting anything. Four bands is enough control to make a guitar sound considerably worse as well as better, and starting from neutral makes it obvious which control is doing what.
Carry a spare 9 volt battery. Preamp batteries fail without warning and always at the least convenient moment, and there is no acoustic fallback loud enough to cover it in a room with a PA running.
Use the spare set of strings as a reference for gauge rather than assuming any set will do. Changing gauge alters the tension on the top and the neck relief, and a guitar set up for one gauge will need adjusting for another. The trade offs are covered in the guide to guitar string gauge.
Product FAQ
Does it need a battery?
Yes, one 9 volt battery for the pickup and equaliser. The listing does not confirm whether it is included.
What does the four band equaliser control?
Bass, middle, treble and presence.
Is the spruce top solid or laminated?
Not stated. The listing calls it A grade X braced spruce but does not say which construction.
Is an amplifier included?
No. A cable is supplied but no amplifier, so one will be needed to use the electronics.
