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  #1  
Old 10-13-2008, 02:46 PM
TaylorKoaFan TaylorKoaFan is offline
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Default Impressed with Chinese made Trinity College guitar???

I stopped by a local music store and tried, for the first time, a "Trinity College" guitar (I think made by Saga). This guitar actually sounded pretty impressive. I was truly suprised.

It seemed to project really well and sounded full and lush. The one I played was Spruce/Rosewood. The craftsmanship was spotty (to say the least)... I noticed some visible glue from the joints and a couple of other minor flaws that made me question how long the instrument would last or if the neck would warp... but the sound was pretty impressive for what I expected. It was made in China (I think??? Definitely an asian country but I guess I'm not certain it was China).

Maybe the key is "expectations"... When you expect something great, and you get something only "good", you're disappointed. When you expect something really bad but you get something "good", it makes it that much greater...

Has anyone ever played one of these? What were your thoughts on the sound?

Don't worry, I'm not about to trade in my Bourgeois for one!!
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Old 10-13-2008, 03:13 PM
GuitarVlog GuitarVlog is offline
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I played six, three TG-10s, one TG-20, one TG-100 and one TG-202.

The TG-10s and the TG-20 were all over the place. One was good for its price. One was completely uninviting at any price. Two were on par with less expensive OOO 14-fret models from Recording King (also Chinese made but from The Music Link). That is, the two sounded good but their competitor had models that sounded as good but for less (albeit without the cutaway and 12-fret configuration).

The TG-100 and TG-202 were rather nice but I've completely forgotten what they might be equivalent to. I tried them at Eric Schoenberg's shop in Tiburon, California. I found it a little hard however to perceive that signature "depth" or punch that comes with 12-fret guitars. These guitars are modeled after Eric Schoenberg's Soloist guitars. I played them against Eric's Soloists and the latter are clearly better (no surprise).

In all cases, I wasn't inspired to buy one except for the TG-20. It was more expensive than the guitar that I wound up with but I was tempted to buy it for the cutaway and the 12-fret design. In the end, I didn't think that those two features mattered that much so I went instead with a 14-fret OOO.

I guess my overall opinion is that the quality varies notably with these guitars so I would emphasize that prospective buyers play them before making a purchase decision.
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Old 10-13-2008, 04:15 PM
raulb raulb is offline
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I have a Trinity College mandola. I find the fit and finish to be very good considering. In fact, I have an old, cheap, guitar that I don't think is as good. The TC sound could be better because it sounds a little tinny, but on the whole, not bad.

On the whole, the instrument is OK. Would I recommend it? Only as a begginer's instrument.
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