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Small-batch Excellence from RK’s Tonewood Reserve





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Not only does Recording King churn out inspired vintage-tinged instruments, the company is also instituting new traditions, like Tonewood Reserve acoustic guitars! The Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret acoustic guitar puts striking natural woodgrain on display with a top, back, and sides carved from solid koa. Tastefully completing this luxurious aesthetic, you’ll find tortoiseshell binding, an enticing rosette, and abalone diamond inlays. The resulting guitar is a captivating showpiece, but it plays like a dream, too! A vintage-inspired “V” neck carved from mahogany supports barre chords, thumb bass walks, inversions, and more, making it the fingerstylist’s dream. The Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret’s playability is rendered even better by a 12-fret neck joint that’s easy on the hands but big on dynamic response. This subtle distinction keeps each string supple and leaves you free to interject more personality as you play. Discover what waits in the Recording King’s prized Tonewood Reserve coffers with a truly special Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret acoustic guitar from Sweetwater!





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Koa’s character takes centerstage





The Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret acoustic guitar emphasizes the bold grain and bolder sound of koa tonewoods with a top, back, and sides all carved from solid koa. Prized koa trees grow mainly in Hawaii, where koa means “bold” in the indigenous language. Koa draws its boldness from extreme tropical weather and rugged volcanic soil, which gives it rich silt-tinted grain along with exceptional tonewood characteristics. The Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret acoustic has a focused, well-rounded sound ? comparable to an all-mahogany acoustic guitar, but with clearer low-end and a livelier midrange that blooms into an assertive bite when played with conviction. Dig into a fingerstyle blues tune or a flatpicking favorite and hear the koa difference for yourself!





Serial A23080149


Serial A23080149


Vibrant playability from the vintage pros





The Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret acoustic guitar has a 12th-fret neck joint, a player-friendly perk rendering your strings more pliable and responsive than alternative joints. This noteworthy design element especially benefits fingerstylists, who can set strings in motion with less effort, resulting in better stamina and less strain. Moreover, this special neck joint widens the Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret’s dynamic potential. When you play gently, the Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret closely mimics your attack and does the same when played using great force. That sensitivity naturally complements the many sounds of koa, which takes on different traits depending on how you play.





Recording King: bringing the sound of the past into the future





Recording King’s legacy stretches all the way back to the 1930s, an era that many musicians consider to be the golden age of acoustic instruments. Originally an in-house brand for the Montgomery Ward retail company, RK closed up shop at the tail-end of the great depression. More than a half-century later, Recording King was resurrected in 2007 and has been providing musicians with world-class vintage-inspired instruments ever since! Guitars, banjos, resonators, and more: Recording King offers the incredible tone and stylings of Great Depression-era instruments, but with an updated construction for modern reliability and high performance.





Serial A23080149


Serial A23080149


Recording King Tonewood Reserve 000 12-fret Acoustic Guitar Features:


Slim 000 body style paired with a 12th-fret neck joint for silky-smooth playability


Built in small batches for incredible value that spares no detail!


Koa top, back, and sides fuel a warm, dynamic sound that grows assertive with aggressive playing


Mahogany neck with a vintage-inspired “V” neck profile


Scalloped X-bracing carved from spruce


Stunning gloss finish


Ebony fingerboard with 20 frets, fitted with abalone diamond inlays


Luxurious appointments, including an ebony bridge, a triple-ring rosette, and tortoiseshell binding


Premium resonate hardware, including a bone nut, a bone saddle, butterbean tuners, and ebony bridge pins