Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Natural
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- Product #423794
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- $129.99
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Review Snapshot®
by PowerReviewsPros
- Good feel (38)
- Fun to play (35)
- Good audio (35)
- Stays in tune (21)
- Consistent (18)
Cons
- Requires constant tuning (7)
- Flat sound (3)
Best Uses
- Practicing (42)
- Jamming (25)
- Small venues (14)
- Recording (7)
- School bands (5)
- Reviewer Profile:
- Novice (30), Experienced (21), Professional musician (6)
Most Liked Positive Review
Can this price buy a usable guitar?
Everything about this guitar is cheap and lightweight....except its tone and playability. That's saying a lot for a bottom-of-the-market offering. Some background: ROGUE "Fine Instruments" are a generic housebr...Read complete review
Everything about this guitar is cheap and lightweight....except its tone and playability. That's saying a lot for a bottom-of-the-market offering. Some background: ROGUE "Fine Instruments" are a generic housebrand. These guitars generally sell to the entry levelers because they are priced attractively. The instruments are contracted to Chinese (and Korean) manufacturing entities such as Samick and Daewon instrument corporations for design and assembly. This dreadnaught model originates from a China factory, as do so many other name brand instruments. How they can cover costs and profit margins from halfway round the globe for this price is a mystery to me, but nonetheless a bonus for the underfinanced customer.
Regarding this instrument: I have a fairly large collection of stringed instruments and merely bought the RA-090 to use up a soon-to-expire credit coupon. Curiosity about what a low priced guitar would sound and play like drove my purchase more than anything else. It was received double-boxed and in good (new) condition. The strings were slacked about 3-haltones to reduce shipment stress and wrapped in oiled paper. A chromed allen wrench was included for truss rod adjustment. This was not needed as the neck was straight and I detected no fret buzz once tuned to proper pitch. Sight down the neck and note that the brassy fret wires are quite even. There is just a slight hint of edgy-ness to the fret ends, but fine, really.
I measured the body, neck, headstock, and bridge dimensions against my Martin D-28: almost identical. Heck, the bridge, the headstock shape, and the pickguard look almost exactly like Martin's. The Rogue weighs several ounces less though and sports a single full sheet of (birch?) plywood for its top. Probably the same for the back and sides which are concealed by a piano-black coat of laquer paint. The outer finish is polyurethane, glossy but thinner than usual. There are no edge bindings anywhere, no ivoroid heel caps, no sound hole or seam marquetry. There are also no noticeable glue globs, bridge-to-top gaps, or generally nasty finish details to chastise. I rather like the soundhole surround decal - sort of a Greek urn style roping, gold over black to match the finish colors and wires. The tuners are unmarked Schaller-ish clones, but they are decently chromed and held tuning after the strings stretched a bit. The headstock nut is robust and cleanly cut. Nicely polished and rounded edges. The saddle nut is similar material with no discernable compensation chamfers. Surprising accurate intonation when checked at the twelfth (bit of sharpness in the B and high E).
Playing the guitar was a surprise. I expected high action, dull or wooden tone, and bad intonation. Instead I found reasonably low action (could be a smidge lower, but not bad) and a pleasant overall string tone with nice ringing treble notes. The midrange and lower notes are slightly muddy, but benefit from the dreadnaught size. Fingerstyle and picking both work pretty well with it. Hard strumming with a heavy pick might reveal its weaknesses, but I just don't go there. The brassy looking strings have a comfortable softness to them. I think the tone secret with this cheapie lies in its light, light construction. The design eschews the usual additional layer of spruce top veneer and back and side mahogany veneers which tend to damp other entry grade non-solid wood guitars. It has a perfectly reasonable neck shape (probably because it copies Martin's shapes) and string spacing. Dot position markers are traditional but well executed. The fingerboard (if it is rosewood) has been stained like the bridge to resemble black ebony. All the blackings probably hide various flaws in the wood surfaces, but they can't hide bad tone. I won't say this guitar has great tone, but it does have pretty darn GOOD tone. Perhaps as a happy accident of its lightness and cheapness.
If you need a starter product to test the waters with without really committing to guitar investment, this is probably as cheap and good as its gonna get. If you're flying off on a business trip across the States and can't trust the fate of your precious American made flattop, you can ship one of these suckers (now free!) to your destination just ahead of you. It's a weird consumer world we're living in these days. Enjoy the options while they last. And on the other spectrum, save up for and support our American made products when the time is right. A fine Gibson, Martin, or Taylor are worthy investments in their own right and far beyond the tonal reaches of these starter-outers.
Everything you need, but nothing more.
Middling for guitars in general, but pretty darn good for this price point, and the criticism is focused more on the quality of materials rather than how it's put together.
I could have gone with 8 or 10, but only time will tell if it holds up.
VS
Most Liked Negative Review
Good for practice
I bought this acoustic to practice fingerpicking, and using a thumbpick. It sounds decent for that, but I start any heavy strumming, the clarity goes out the window. It sounds good with light...Read complete review
I bought this acoustic to practice fingerpicking, and using a thumbpick. It sounds decent for that, but I start any heavy strumming, the clarity goes out the window. It sounds good with light picking and fingerpicking. Great guitar for a beginner, and I like it for practicing my fingerpicking. I wouldn't use it to perform anywhere. The wood has a nice tone, but the fingerboard is just painted black. I found that out when I tried to level out the dot inlays with a razorblade, they were uneven and stuck up out of the ....Fretboard? Tuners are cheap and require a retune every time I pick it up. But for a $49.95 guitar, I can live with it, and it serves it's purpose well as a guitar I can practice fingerpicking on. Well worth the price, but I wouldn't upgrade anything on it, For another $100.00 I would buy a Yamaha or Epiphone, and that would be a huge step up from this one. Still, I've spent $50.00 more foolishly in the past, I can say this guitar was worth every penny I pid, but not a penny more. I'm happy with my purchase.
I guess the features would be the strings, Or maybe the celtic style soundhole rosette.
It's a cheap guitar, but it dosen't claim to be much more.
It was worth the $$ I spent on it.
Reviews
Reviewed by 136 customers
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Pros
- Consistent
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Rich Sound
- Stays In Tune
Cons
Best Uses
- Practicing
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
Very good for a beginner like myself to learn on. Have a great insructor and she thinks it a good deal for the money.
Pros
- Fun To Play
Cons
Best Uses
- Practicing
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
I bought this as a birthday present for my teen age grandson. He is learning to play and loves it. I was pleased with the quick delivery also.
Pros
- Consistent
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Rich Sound
- Stays In Tune
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
I've been playing guitar for over 30 years. My guitars have to have a solid tone and stay in tune! This one fits the bill! It sounds really good for the folk and country music I play. It comes ready to play. Just open the box, and after some unwrapping, tighten the strings and play! The strings can easily be upgraded to better quality, and the sound will improve. It sounds just fine as it is shipped: very bright and punchy! Several friends have played my Rogue, and are amazed at the price! Such a good deal! The Rogue 090 is not my main guitar... I actually leave it at work so I can play with a co-workers at lunch! This is the perfect guitar for a beginner, or a very nice 2nd guitar to take to the beach or to a jam session. This is a WONDERFUL guitar! I've played guitars with big names and price-tags... the price of this guitar is far under its quality! P.S. I have bought 2 Rogues... NEVER A PROBLEM! Thanks!
Pros
- Clear Sound
- Consistent
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Stays In Tune
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- School Bands
- Travel
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
After EXTENSIVE research (via reviews and youtube) I took a risk and purchased the natural guitar as a starter for my tweenager. What a pleasant surprise when it exceeded not only my expectations (which I admit were guarded because of the price), but that of the 4 pros who broke it in for me when it arrived.
It arrived in great condition out of the box; no dings, scuffs and I was told required no set up at all. The action was low and even, the neck didn't need adjusting and the frets/bridge/nut were playable as-is. Just the same it's always a good idea to have someone who knows what to look for to give it a good once over should you buy one. After a good workout from the guys, the intonation remained quite good all things considered and it held tune better than expected.
The RA 090 had a lighter lacquer finish than your average guitar which seemed to work in it's favor in producing a nice clear sound. The higher registers of the fret board also produced little to no buzz. Even the tuning pegs, though obviously not high-end, were a nice presentable polished chrome.
As a novice, I wouldn't know what to look for, which is why I had it delivered to my job, where I work with various levels of guitar players, including one who builds guitars (and a few self professed "guitar snobs"). I was very pleased with their reaction. All had a great time taking turns playing and looking it over, and agreed that for this ridiculously low price point, it had a nice sound, and for what it was worth, turned out to be a nicely constructed attractive guitar.
They felt it was most suitable as a starter for a beginner, or a travel guitar to jam with, leaving the much nicer high end guitars safely at home for bigger and better things.
I can't speak for the other Rogue models, but this particular one had the best reviews pound for pound and can't be beat for the money. Time will tell how well it will hold up.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Loud
- Rich Sound
Cons
- NONE
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
Bought this lovely guitar just the other day and it arrived within 2-3 days. It came in a rectangular box with another box inside that held the guitar. Took it out, tuned it, and ABSOLUTELY fell in love with it. The loudness of the guitar, the rings of the strings, how easy it is to press down on the strings, etc. I was absolutely stunned and shocked. For only around 50, this guitar is a MUST get. After reading over reviews, i thought "Sure, why not. It sounds like it's okay" and to my surprise, it's even better. The natural look of the wood and glossiness is so beautiful & gives the guitar a warm look to it. Looks like i'm not going to be touching my other two guitars for a while. For only being around 50, i was a bit sketchy about it being an okay guitar and having some problems but it has NONE! I expected a guitar that sounded like this to cost so much more. Even my aunt thought it was around 300. Most reviews i had read so far on this guitar said "Constant Tuning" but you only have to break in the strings and turn the knobs a few times (About twice). The tuning stayed in very well for me. Had no problems with it at all. If you want something to play with and not spend too much money,GET THIS GUITAR. You will NOT be disappointed.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Great tone
- Killer Value
- Rich Sound
- Stays In Tune
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Outdoor Events
- Practicing
- Recording
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
AGAIN, FORGIVE ME FOR THE LONG UPDATE. PLEASE READ MY ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW BEFORE READING THIS: I am still loving this guitar! One other thing that I didn't mention in my first review was that this guitar can also play LOUD! Not only this, but the tone doesn't collapse or get congested at all when strummed very hard. You can strum this thing to death if you want to, and all of the tone and dynamics miraculously stay completely intact. This is a very hard trick to do. This isn't really my playing style, but it's nice to know it's there if I need it. But, for those who have a harder strumming style, this will be a real advantage. One thing I would like to clarify from my last review (no pun intended), is what I meant by this guitar's "clarity." This guitar does not have a ton of treble to it's sound, yet the tone that it does produce is very clearly, and cleanly delineated. If you are looking for a pristine, more modern sounding guitar, then this may not be the guitar for you. However, if you are looking for a more vintage sounding guitar that has an already broken-in, well-seasoned tone, then this is a really great guitar for that kind of sound. This guitar is not about pristine highs, but more about a very compelling vintage sound with warmth with tons of character. Again, I would describe its tone as very inviting; something that you would enjoy listening to for long periods of time. Now that I have had this guitar for a while, I have really noticed just how complex and sumptuous this guitar's tone really is. If you listen closely to the sound hole and strum it very lightly, you can hear all kinds of very complex harmonic overtones that compliment each other. It really is something else to hear this in person. Hit the strings a little harder, and let it ring out; listen closely, and you can hear all these subtle complexities that really add to the great sound of this guitar. Now, I certainly don't usually play with my ear to the sound hole, but when you hear these complex interactions, you realize just how complimentary they are to this guitar's fundamental tone when playing at normal levels. You would never know what makes the sound of this guitar so special if you never tried listening to it in this way. This is what I discovered. Also, this guitar's sound seems to have a very universal appeal. When I play this guitar in front of people, no matter their age or playing experience, they all seem to say the same thing: "Wow, that's wonderful! What are you playing?" It has a sound that seems to pull in the listener, as well as the player. And as far as my original comments about this guitar having somewhat of a "thin" top: First off, I had previously always owned guitars with solid tops, and never one with a laminate top like the one on this guitar. As I learned, solid tops are generally thicker than laminate tops. The reason being is that, in addition to the bracing, solid wood needs to be thicker to support the normal stress that the guitar's strings apply to the top. But, a laminate top is able to be thinner because of the inherent strength of the laminations of the wood. Upon further review, I looked at other laminate top guitars, and they were all thinner than the solid top guitars. The laminate top guitars I looked at were also pretty much the same thickness as the Rogue. Given the durable track record of laminate guitars, this should not be an issue at all. So my original worries were completely unfounded, and can safely be laid to rest. No worries about the Rogue's construction at all folks. Buy with confidence and enjoy! Peace. :)
Pros
- Consistent
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Rich Sound
- Stays In Tune
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
- Recording
- School Bands
- Small Venues
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
I have been wanting a black 6 and 12 string acoustics for a few years and have found that I can get one or the other, but no one carried both in what I wanted to pay. I came across the black 6 string and thought for that price, i would try it and when I got the money get a more expensive one, I would give that one to a friends that want to learn and not be out alot of money. I was surprized when I got it. Right out of the box it needed tuned but I don't hold that against it. They all do. But after tuning it a few times to get the strings stretehed out, I haven't had to do it again. the sound if awesome. Compares to more expensive guitars. It has a full deep tone in the lower strings and full high tome in the higher stings. All the sound is balanced and sounds really good. It is fun to play and will be keeping this one.
If I had to say something bad, it would be the string squeal when sliding up and down the fretboard changing chords. It is louder than the guitar and as annoying as fingernails on a chalkboard. Best to change strings. The strings are a little tight and hard to press. I like .10 guage strings and use them on all my other guitars so I will be putting them on this one.
All in all, I am very pleased and love playing it. Will definately recommend this to friends or anyone that asks abotu it.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Rich Sound
- Unbelievable Value
Cons
- None At This Price
Best Uses
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
I recently bought a Rogue brand delay pedal and was impressed with the value so based on reviews and the Rogue name I decided to buy this guitar for someone I plan on teaching. I also got it so I could learn how to set up acoustics and not feel nervous about ruining an expensive guitar.
Right out of the box the action on it wasn't bad at all and it was totally playable. The finish is really good (natural) and there were no significant fit or finish issues (I don't care about that in general, especially at this price point.) I ended up filing down the nut and saddle for a little lower action and this thing is fun to play. It has a really good ring to it - more so with open chords/strings but bar chords sound OK too.
I have to say this thing is an impossible value. I honestly don't know how they can make money off it. I'm a retired weekend warrior with hundreds of paid gigs under my belt and have owned Les Pauls, PRS, Fender American Strats, Taylor, and now just have my trusty Martin. I am telling you, unless you are going to spend several hundred - just get this and take it to a guitar store for a proper setup. (You need that for any guitar anyway.) You absolutely cannot go wrong. I'm going to get a second for another family member who wants to learn and will probably get a third for myself as something I can leave hanging around the house. I'm impressed even with the strings that came with it but will replace with Elixer strings which I would also recommend. In my opinion they stay sounding good WAY longer than other brands and are worth the price. While we're at it, I love the little Korg Pitchclip available at MF - it's tiny and you can just leave it on the headstock.
I really didn't expect something fun to play at this price and am amazed by the value. If you are looking for something for a child or someone else in your life, this is a full size guitar and way better than any starter package deal you'll get at a box store. If you are an experienced musician looking for something for the campfire, this will more than do the trick.
Pros
- Fun To Play
- Good Feel
- Rich Sound
Cons
Best Uses
- Jamming
- Practicing
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
Was testing some high-end guitars, and found a Martin D-35 that I liked and will get. On the way out of the store, I tried some lower end guitars, none of which were close to the Martin. Picked up the Rogue, which was far cheaper than any of the others, and, no, it wasn't close to the Martin either. But it actually played better than any of the others in the lower price range. Of course it doesn't have a solid top (you can see the laminations in the plywood around the sound hole), but it actually sounds really good, especially when played hard. Action was fine, body was cheaply made but respectable. It's hard to believe they can make an instrument that sounds so good for that price.
Pros
Cons
Best Uses
Comments about Rogue RA-090 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar:
I purchased this guitar just to start playing again. This is a great guitar for the money. Much better than expected. I plan to put some new better quality strings on it, but am very satisfied with the sound. It was shipped promptly and arrived in perfect condition.
