Silvercreek T-160 arrived today... I'm shocked!
 

I, like so many other folks were not expecting much in these guitars. I got in in 2.5 days f being shipped. Packed great, secure and professionally. I just could not believe the build quality of this guitar upon first inspection. VERY clean... No slop on the finish anywhere. The fret work is as good or better than anything out there I have played. The wood selection is so good. I wish some of my other guitars looked like this. Book matched, tight grained top. Gorgeous mahogany back and sides... yes it looks Honduran/South American. The top has a Martin like vintage toner that looks "Urnge" as they say here in the south. Its ok I guess. Tuners look nice and work well. Bone nut and saddle. Stock setup was like any other new guitar. Truss rod wrench turn and sanded/took down some height off the saddle. Still needs to be broken in and played. Neck feels great... Not as much of a "V" as I thought it would be.

During the first hour I was not impressed with the sound. Thin, tight, Asian rim sounding blah blah blah. I adjusted the truss rod again, put the Tone Rite on it and went to run some errands. I came back picked it up and tuned it. First strum already it was a different guitar from when I first took it out. It needed to acclimate some and still does. I still have the stock D'Addario's on it. I want to wait for it to sit with its little vibrating friend for a couple of days before changing them. I have some EJ16's I will put on it. The stock ones say D'Addario, but I think they are just a cheap, stock string. They don't feel like EJ's, but I could be wrong. Either way their gone in a day or two. I was going to change the bridge pins, but no real need. Yes they are cheap, but I have experimented with bridge pins so many times I just don't see the value in changing them unless they break or to change the looks. But that's me.

I did not get the case with it, but ordered it today and still got a deal an free shipping (and an additional discount as if I bought it at the same time as the guitar) Should get it soon!

Mine did NOT come with a pick guard... I thought it was supposed to. Doesn't matter. I probably would have taken it off anyway. It is almost sick how nice and clean this guitar is for under two bills. It'sa neat little compliment to my new Breedlove American which is just SUPERB!

I will try to post pics. Thanks for all the reviews other wrote to help me justify this purchase. It is now my only small body since I sold my Cargo and Parlor, but it surely fits the bill for what I need.

Congrats! These guitars have really peaked my interest too. I'm looking for a cheap 000. Does anyone know if Silvercreek makes a model with a factory pick-up?

Killer

No, I don't think they do. At least according to the website at MF they don't. They do have a Martin Thinline Gold on sale for eighty nine bucks though on MF (the flyer came with the guitar). I am very picky about guitar finishes. These Silver Creeks are great looking and will develop well from what I hear. From what I hear they are made right along side the Recording Kings.

This is a cheap as you will find ANYWHERE for an all solid 000. I can't think of anything else in the price range to rival it.

Silver Creek guitars are a bit crude, but they can be surprisingly playable guitars. I have a D160 that I love.

You are not the first to notice the absence of pickguard. Some come with pickguard, and some do not. :confused:

The Silver Creek guitars come in four varieties: D160=mahogany dreadnought, D170=rosewood dreadnought, T160=mahogany 000,T170=rosewood 000. Electrics not available.

Doesn't look like it would be hard to put a UST or piezo pickup in one tho.

For the price point they can't be beat. I have had too many Epi/samick cheapo Asian rim that just don't sound good what ever you do to them. Maybe this one will open up some more. Its on the Tone Rite now. That should emulate a few weeks/months of playing. I think what ever pickup would fit a Martin (UST) would also fit a SC. Has that same kind of narrow saddle. Also if you like soundhole pickups you could use that too. They would make great gigging guitars. Mine is a small body beater, finger style house guitar. Just for fun...

Some imports are definitely better than others. I've owned plenty of the lackluster imports in the past as well. It's nice to find an affordable "winner". I believe you can put the Blueridge 40 series in the same category although I believe they are more consistently great for the price (more $$$ than Silver Creek). I've read plenty of complaints about QC issues with the SC models but in that price range I doubt there is a whole lot else you can find with solid wood and the the other nice features. Unbeatable as you said, if you get a good one.

Tsk tsk! You sound like that guy who complains about the neck angles of Stanfords. ;)

I've only been following the Silver Creek threads for a year or so, and so far, the QC concerns I've seen have been cosmetic and setup issues only. Maybe you could point to the "plenty of complaints"?

I got the T-170 back in October. Ridiculous price, superb guitar. Period.
I got a bunch of fly rods too, and the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork are clearing up nicely here, near Aspen.
Les

Put a sound-port in mine Then I installed those PU's that resemble 'Pure Western Mini's'. Cold NOT be happier!
Les

Those are probably the only two mods I haven't done. :)

Frankly, I only bought mine as a beater and experimental vehicle. So far, I'm very happy with the results of my experiments:

• Changed tuners to Wilkinsons. The old tuners worked fine, but the Wilkinsons really are smoother and better looking.
  
• Reshaped the neck to match a Martin modified-low-oval profile. Personal preference -- I love the MLO profile!
  
• Sanded off the headstock bling. Turns out to be a cardstock-thick overlay.
  
• Experimented with brace shaving -- so far, I like it even better with lighter bracing, but it possibly took away some of the killer projection of the off-the-shelf Silver Creek.

Sorry..... Didn't mean to sound condescending and wasn't trying to be. Maybe I shouldn't have said "complaints" but if you read through a lot of those Silver Creek threads from awhile back there were people sending back anywhere from 1 to 3 of them to get a "good 1" due to various issues. Some were cosmetic or setup, but there were others like neck or nut problems. I'd have to dig up the threads to see what they were but I'll let someone else do it if they want :D. I'm not ripping on SC or imports though, just pointing that out. For the price I'd certainly try one if I needed it.

I understand completely how you feel about the Stanford guy.

There was *one* guy who returned his Silver Creek something like 5 times and then posted a thread about how happy he finally was. He later admitted that he was trying to get a "perfect" one and the others had unspecified cosmetic flaws that he didn't like.

You're not the first person to take that hear-say as evidence of QC problems, but this is how unjustified bad reps get perpetuated.

My T-160 has been pretty fun so far. I finally changed the strings and put on a new set of EJ16's. Made me wish I had waited because the new ones just jangled a little more than the old (not as dead as I thought). The Tone Rite helped some in the first 12 hours, but not much after that. It seems to excel at finger picked blues more than anything. I actually tuned it a half of a step down and that sounds more resonant than std tuning and easier to play. Pretty neat little box. Its not my Larrivee parlor I just sold, but its good for the price and fits the small body slot.

Silver Creeks love medium gauge strings, IMO. :)

I agree, I did try some Martin Claptons on mine but mediums really make it sing.