NGD : Samick ROYALE-II

[gitman]

this is a preliminary report on a new Samick / Greg Bennett "ROYALE-2" model guitar, made in Korea. it cost € 299,- and came without a case. this is my first Korean-made guitar and one of many semihollowbodies that i have owned and played over the last 35 years - the 2 other semi's that i own at this moment are a '64 Gibson ES-345 and a '68 Gibson ES-345, both stock vintage guitars that get played regularly. the '64 ES-345 is in my posession since 1982...
i wanted a stage-worthy guitar for coverband/pitband/show gigs as a compliment/backup to the Suhr Strat that is my main axe for that type of gig.
it had to be a 2 HB guitar, chambered or semihollow and a little smaller than the ES-type guitar - it has to fit in my MONO double gigbag ! contenders were a used Fender JA-90 Tele and a used Squier ESPRIT- both would have been a little more expensive but not by much. my budget was € 400,- plus some extra for maybe different pickups etc. i chose the Samick because it's a new guitar with full warranty and the price is just unbeatable. plus i got to pick a red one ;-) i figured i could always send it back in case there were any issues .... so here goes:

the new guitar came in today and i was able to play it for an 1 1/2 hrs, plugged in.
my first impression straight out of the box : absolutely clean and flawless workmanship, clean joints everywhere, binding on neck and body is perfect, clean frets (not polished to perfection but fine), no filemarks anywhere, the hardware fits and is centered/perfectly aligned, no rattles, no swirls in the finish. the guitar balances nicely on a strap, the weight compares to my ES models (a little lighter it seems) and it feels good in the hands. it was strung with 010's so i put on my usual set of 11 to 49's and set the action to a medium height. tuned up there were no rattles, no buzzes, no dead spots - i was beginning to wonder.... the stop-tp sits rather near the bridge, more so than on my ES so the break-angle of the strings over the bridge is quite steep. by turning the studs i lessend this angle a bit so it's not as severe now. the acoustic tone is resonant with a fast attack- all typical for a well built semi. the internal construction of the Royale is similar to that of the Gibson ES-339 models in such as the sides and the internal block (running lengthwise) are cut from one piece with hollow chambers in the wings- very sturdy and less "acoustic" than the ES-type guitars that have bent sides and a seperate center-block. the semi by Sadowsky is sómewhat similar also.
the top and back is (multi-ply) mahogany, as is the neck (one solid piece with a mitred headstock) and the fingerboard is made of rosewood.
plugged it the guitar delivers a full, warm and robust tone with surprisingly long sustain. chords and single notes blossom nicely, the strings do not overload when i pick with more force and the pickups have a balanced sound albeit a little bland and lacking depth. that changes to the better with a dose of medium overdrive : the sound is sweet, responsive and full of overtones that
glide into controlled feedback at moderate volume. the volume- and tone-pots work smoothly with a long taper until about "2" on the dial and then cut off rather apruptly- a feature that could be remedied with little effort : a change of pickups and pots/caps is almost a normal procedure with any guitar.
i will take her to a gig in a couple of days and that will tell me how she performs under stage conditions but so far i am absolutely overwhelmed (you can tell ...) by the fit and finish and playability of this instrument, at a price point that up to now i didn't even consider to be worth my while to look at. the very popular and sought after japanese ES-type guitars from the 80's and early 90's (Ibanez AM and AS series, Yamaha SA series) cost 3 to 4 times as much and are not superior regarding fit and finish and playability.
with a set of decent after-market pickups (Gibson 57 classics ?) the Royale will be up against all of these with ease and hold her own.
IMHO this is a guitar that every player, regardless whether pro or amateur should strongly consider if he/she is looking for a great playing, sounding and looking semihollow - i have every intention of keeping and gigging this guitar and laughing all the way back from my bank ;-)

[enharmonic]

Great review and a great looking guitar!

[redgold]

That sounds like a keeper! Very interested based on your review. What is the neck shape and depth like? I hope it's a med or fat C...

[gitman]

the neckshape is a pretty universal c-shape, medium depth and not fat like the "boatneck" shape on my Warmoth Tele ... as i said, i have not used it on a gig yet (and my usual gig means 3 to 4 hrs. playtime...) so i can't say for sure how the neck will affect my playing but so far i see no problems.

you know, that guitar is not the end-all-be-all instrument that is destined to outperform all of my existing tried and tested tools - it is a TOOL that will be tweaked and whittled til it fits my hand and my hand will twist and turn til IT has found a way around this particular neck. how and if i will bond with this guitar remains to be seen but i know that with a little effort and good will A LOT is possible :-) i consider myself very fortunate to be able to afford this luxury of trying/testing a guitar while already owning several other high grade and valuable instruments. when i first started out 35 years ago i had ONE guitar, ONE amp, ONE cable and worked my butt off to finance that stuff- a professional-grade guitar like this was not available for that kind of money !

[burningyen]

Those are handsome guitars. Would like to try one someday.

[kwaping]

Congrats, from another Samick owner!

[Phalanx200bc]

Good review.... Our local store had lots a Samicks on the floor for all to play at one point. Not a good thing...everytime I picked one up it had dirty pots, loose pickup rings and toggles etc. Could only assume it was due to floor use ?

[weshunter]

that's a killer looking gtr -- whats the best place to buy samick gtrs online?

[CaseyI]

Yep, that's a looker. I love the 335 meets LP meets Tele shape.

[gitman]

took her to a rehearsal tonight - the solid/rigid construction and the strong neck-body joint (lots of gluing surface, much more than on a 335) make for a tight and sustaining fundamental tone, especially when played with overdrive. it rings ... with the 011's i can cop a passable jazz-tone but it's not as convincing yet as with my vintage axes. i'm still just getting the hang with this one .... no hand/finger fatigue, it holds the tuning (Grovers help) and has enough cut for the 6 piece jazz group. i do have a set of Gibson 57 classics coming in and will post my findings once the pickups are swapped. regarding the long taper of the pots : the jury is still in session....

i made it clear to the online dealer that i'm quite picky and spoiled regarding the fit and finish of my guitars and that i expect an instrument that is inspected and passed by a pro before being shipped out - the man delivered. i have not seen this particular model in a shop yet so i cannot comment on the quality of other Samick guitars.

[Rockledge]

Beautiful. Samick is the company that should be the school for all other manufacturers to learn from.