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Anyone ever have the opportunity to compare the two guitars?
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06-10-2017 10:07 AM
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Bravo is a laminate right? It's going to have that thunky, dead, boxy sound, at least compared to the 16-B. It's for plugged-in playing and is perhaps a better gig and road guitar, depending on your priorities.
It's almost an apples vs. oranges discussion sound wise.
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My Bravo is as loud as most flat top guitars and not thunky at all as compared to my ES 175. My only complaint with the Bravo is the 1.75 nut width. My 65 year old fingers favor the Gibson.
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I prefer the 1 11/16" width too. Of course, Benedetto will build to your spec preferences while Gibson won't.
Is the Bravo lighter and narrower than the ES-175? (I could look that up but you know...)
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Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
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Originally Posted by John Link
Interesting comment about the neck. I find the Bravo neck to be quite sleek compared to my Eastman guitars.
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Quote from OP's earlier thread: "I have a Bravo and an AR503CE. I really love that scale length. I really love the feel and playability of the Bravo. Not in love in with it's unplugged tone."
I've played several Bravos and Bravo Deluxe models. I've also played a 16B. I imagine you won't get a ton of replies to this question as I don't believe there have been that many 16B's produced compared to the Bravo.
My take-they are both designed to be electric guitars. Despite the fact that the 16B is all solid woods and the Bravo is laminated, I don't recall a huge, startling difference in unplugged tone. Perhaps the 16B was a bit warmer unplugged-however I didn't hear double the price tone wise.
If you are "not in love" with the Bravo's unplugged tone, perhaps it's because that's not what it was designed for. If you are expecting top notch acoustic archtop tone out of a Bravo, it's just not gonna happen, although it is certainly not unpleasant.
Build quality and playability on both were over the top excellent, however I will admit to being biased as I gig out with a Cremona.
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Yes, it is much lighter and measures about 2.5" in depth.
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Originally Posted by SierraTango
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Sounds like voodoo to me. I know you are a experienced player and the obvious question I would ask is- have you had the Bravo professionally set up or consulted a luthier about your concerns?
In my experience every guitar from entry level to high end has some inconsistency that may drive one player mad and be perfectly OK with another.
I would also ask-have you contacted the shop in Savannah and spoken to them? They are caring, knowledgeable people and I doubt they would recommend magnets being placed on any instrument to cure a issue.
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Originally Posted by SierraTango
The magnet may not seem so extreme an idea if you look at this: Arbutus Fittings - Violin Tailpiece Acoustics Tape a penny to your tailpiece and think you will hear a difference.
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So if the Bravo has been seen by several experienced luthiers with no joy what did they tell you? That your concerns couldn't be addressed? That the instrument had a production flaw that was out of their skill set to fix?
If that were the situation and I was in your shoes, original owner or not, I would be packing it up and sending it to Savannah. If no joy then I'd move it along and find another instrument. Did you play the Bravo much before you bought it?
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Thanks for the comments. I will keep my response short today. I am travelling and do not have a normal keyboard with me.
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mine's a little unusual, i guess. I've got a laminate 16-B.
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Originally Posted by desuitcase
A laminate 16B. Didn't know any of those were made. Was it a special order? But then again there are laminate Manhattans out there so we learn something new everyday. Hopefully...
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Originally Posted by SierraTango
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MikeSF, isn't the Bravo Deluxe the laminate version of the 16B?
There is one for sale in Aquamarine, a 7-stringer, over at Archtop dot com, if you are interested. It is a 2015 Bravo Deluxe 7-string. 2015 Benedetto Bravo Deluxe Seven String . Asking $4995 but it can be a lot lower.
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Recently they did a live Facebook video where laminate top 16B was discussed. Although they have done some they are not really set up with tooling to do that laminate top on a routine production basis. The Bravo upper bout is wider than the 16B.
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Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
Last edited by mikeSF; 07-22-2017 at 11:54 PM.
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