Photos provided by Orangewood Guitars
If you are looking for a guitar that will push your playing and songwriting in a new direction you might want to consider a rubber bridge guitar. The new rubber bridge trend in acoustic guitars stops your notes and chords from ringing out or sustaining as they do with traditional acoustic guitars. It makes the guitar a more percussive instrument and forces you to play and approach the instrument in a different way. Orangewood guitars is taking the challenge, headache and cost of building a rubber bridge guitar yourself by doing it for you. For review Guitar Thrills got in the Juniper Live Rubber Bridge acoustic/electric guitar in Sunburst finish. The Juniper Live is reminiscent of vintage parlor guitars made in the 1950’s and 60’s by companies like Kay, Stella, Oahu and Harmony.
The only difference is that Orangewood has upgraded the finish, playability, added a dependable truss rod, added a pickup with volume control and a rubber bridge. Right out of the shipping box the Juniper Live Rubber Bridge guitar was close to in tune. The satin finish on the neck and body is very comfortable and resistant to smudges and scratches. It has a mahogany neck, Spruce top, and Sapele wood back and sides. For electronics Orangewood went with the Alnico 5 single humbucker rail pickup attached near the end of the fingerboard. The addition of the single volume control on the lower bout of the body makes volume adjustments easy. There appears to be binding around the headstock, fretboard and both sides of the body. Which is a huge upgrade from the vintage parlor guitars that just painted this feature on. There is also a small 3-play ivory plastic pickguard below the sound hole to keep you from scratching the body with wild strums. Grover open gear tuners handle the tuning for the Juniper live. On the Orangewood Guitar website, you can choose from Mahogany or Spruce top woods. They have finishes choices for the Juniper Live including sunburst (as tested), black, surf green, natural satin and guava red. I’m a big fan of parlor size guitars and the Juniper Live is a fun and creative instrument to just strum around on.
The neck is a smaller C shape, and it fits your body comfortably standing or seated. The Orangewood Juniper Live Rubber Bridge guitar is listed at only $395 and includes a branded gig bag. If you have been interested in trying a rubber bridge acoustic like so many other songwriters and guitarists, I highly recommend the Orangewood instruments as a way to enter this circle. Everything about the Juniper Live feels sturdy, the passive electronics worked flawlessly, and the sound of the rubber bridge is different and unique. It also handled capos well and worked with fingerpicking, thumb picks or traditional picks. For the price this the Orange Juniper Live Rubber Bridge is ideal for taking on the road, to have around the studio or for your next songwriting session. The Ernie Ball Light stainless steel flatwound strings add to the different sound and playability, but that is also what pushes you creatively and musically. Visit the Orangewood guitar website and see what everyone is talking about for yourself.
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