Reviewed by:
Guitar Hack, on february 18, 2008
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Purchased from: eBay
Features: This guitar was made in December 2006 in China. It has 20 frets and is in the Dreadnought style. It is a copy of the pre-war Martin D-18. It has a solid Sitka Spruce Top and a Solid Mahogany back and sides. The wood quality is outstanding as it is premium wood. It has Ebony fret board and bridge with bone saddle and nut. The bridge pins are fossilized walrus ivory. Finish is gloss and pick guard is not their normal one but is a Mottled Brown. Tuners were a cheap klusion style which I detested because they were a 40:1 ration and they must have had some play in them as it was a bit of a challenge to tune. I replaced them with a set of Grover Sta-tites with an 18:1 ratio. The normal price for this guitar is in the 800 to 1200 range but I got it cheaper on eBay. It didn't come with a pick up but I had an LR Baggs I-beam active pickup installed. The guitar came with a nice case. // 10
Sound: This guitar has incredible tone. Outclasses or matches about everything I've played including the expensive Martin's and Taylors. The sound is rich and balanced (one of the benefits of Mahogany) but if you prefer more bass go with the BR-160 or BR-180. Base is thinner on a mahogany guitar. // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: I don't know about the factory set up. It wasn't set to my liking when I got it but it came from a private owner. It had a set up done to my liking. I like nice low action. Top is perfect. Can't tell that it's two pieces. I looks like one. Bridge pins fit well. No trouble with them binding. One thing I didn't like was the frets were a tad high for my liking. That however is a matter of personal taste so can't take off for that. Woods are all premium woods. There is abalone inlay for the fret dots. // 10
Reliability & Durability: Fit and finish are top notch on it. No glue showing on the inside and looks like a great job done all around. No reason to believe the hardware wouldn't last. It is a fine dependable guitar and I would take it places I wouldn't take a comparable D-18 just because of the lesser cost. I don't see any issues in this department. People that own them love them. // 10
Impression: I play mainly rock and Folk and this is a good guitar for what I play. I've been playing 3 or 4 years and have been on the Quest for the tonal holy grail since. I have one of them with this guitar and the next is to get a Blueridge BR-180. If this were stolen I would go right out and buy another one. I also own a Zager Zad-80, Martin D-15 custom (rosewood/spruce), There is also a Martin DXM in the house and a Breedlove AC-200 which I wouldn't recommend to anyone. I did compare this guitar with others. We don't have a Blueridge dealer near where I Live but I did a lot of research before buying one. Maurysmusic.com has head to head comparisons with the Martin Counterpart and in almost every case the Blueridge meets or exceeds the Martin. In the case of the BR-240 it exceeded the Martin. I went a lot on peoples reviews of the product which is what I always do when buying on line and haven't gotten a bad one yet. I absolutely love the tone on this guitar. Put a new set of strings on it and it will darned near bring tears to my eyes. One thing I don't like is the nut. Wish the neck were a tad wider. I am planing on having a custom nut put on with wider string spacing. Just my personal preference. Others like the neck/nut the way it is. This guitar has a lot of bling on it. The headstock inlay is something you love or hate. I love it. I think when people shop for one of these they tend to look for the BR-140 because it is in their price range. When I purchased it I noticed the 140's going for more than the 240. 240 had added feature and better quality wood. I think others got tunnel vision and missed this one. // 10
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