BATON ROUGE Fat Mat Black

[Slayertplsko]

Hi. Does anyone have experience with this guitar? Is it well-suited for jazz?
From what I could find out, Baton Rouge is a relatively new corporation, probably from New Orleans.
Baton Rouge Fat Mat Black [batonrouge-fatmatblack] - 302,07EUR : MUZIKUS - hudobné nástroje, ozvuèovacia a osvet¾ovacia technika, taneèné potreby, hudobniny

[robertm2000]

I don't know if they are connected, but this guitar looks an awful lot like the Kona Jazz Guitar I looked at recently. I suspect these guitars could come from the same Asian factory. That in itself doesn't necessarily have any negative connotations - but it does indicate the need for a lot of caution.

The Kona guitar was, on the surface, a good-looking, playing and sounding guitar. But I looked it up on Harmony-central.com - and what reviews there were were not at all complimentary. I went back to the store and looked more closely at the Kona guitar, and most of the problem areas identified in the Harmony-central reviews showed up upon closer inspection. So I didn't get it, and I feel no loss for having done that. It's always a risk to get a guitar mail-order, and I would say almost as much a risk to get one from a store without researching VERY carefully on the brand - the internet makes a very good resource for that.

Good luck - I hope you get what you want, but please be careful!

[Slayertplsko]

That's why I was asking. This guitar usually costs from 450€ to 500€, so I also wonder why they'd be selling it here at such a low price.

[robertm2000]

I suspect that if you stay with a recognized brand like Fender (love those Teles!), Gibson, Ibanez, Godin, etc., you'll have less problems finding a good instrument. I don't know if you have access to any sort of music store, but I'd suggest you look there to start with.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by Slayertplsko

From what I could find out, Baton Rouge is a relatively new corporation, probably from New Orleans.

Heh, my rule of thumb is that the more namedropping in the product name, the more likely it's made in China, or elsewhere in Asia.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by robertm2000

I suspect that if you stay with a recognized brand like Fender (love those Teles!), Gibson, Ibanez, Godin, etc., you'll have less problems finding a good instrument. I don't know if you have access to any sort of music store, but I'd suggest you look there to start with.

Easier said that done -- Gibsons, especially, make you pay through the nose for the name on the headstock.

My take is that you have to do your research and you have to get your hands on the instruments themselves. The hand-on is not so easy for some brands oe from some locations.

A good example would be the Squier Classic Vibe series. Squier is Fenders budget mark, but the the CV line, though made in China, has gotten lots of good reviews. They're good value for money.

[Drifter]

As far as I know Baton Rouge guitars are designed somewhere in eastern Europe (Czech Republic?) and produced in China.

[Dad3353]

Good evening, Slayertplsko...
I'm never likely to be in the market for 'brand' guitars, and have several from 'budget' makers. I assume you're not able to compare in a shop, or with friends, a large range of instruments, and have to go 'blind' on the web (shouldn't that be 'deaf..?).
My Xaviere tele-type thinline is excellent, and cost me 200€ delivered to the door in rural France with a hard case. For semi-hollow, they make this...
Xaviere semi-hollow...
...not a Gretch body, but personal taste would be judge. I have a Samick 335-type, equally excellent, and a Douglas (Rondo...) 6-string fretless bass. I wouldn't claim that any of these instruments can be fairly compared with the luthiers or big marques, but then again, I'm no [fill in the name of any decent guitarist...].
I have never had any issues buying on the web; I do, however, buy from our local music shop if they have the articles I want/need. I would be wary of the site in your post personally, but I wouldn't want to do them any mis-service, they may be good. I just have had good experience with others (Xaviere, Rondo...). Maybe I'm just lucky (or tasteless? No, on second thoughts, don't answer that...)
Hope this helps...