In our Washburn Rover review, we are going to introduce you to the budget Rover RO10SK-A travel guitar. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll call this thing Rover or RO10 in our review.
Travel acoustic guitars attract buyers with their compactness and travel friendliness. However, how well does RO10 work as a travel guitar at its price point?
Read our Washburn Rover travel guitar review to find out!
Features And Upsides Of Washburn Acoustic Travel Guitar
In this section, let’s have a look at what makes the Rover acoustic travel guitar. We’ll focus on the upsides of this model, but we’ll also mention the cons if any.
Nice Build Quality With A Solid Spruce Top
The construction of the Rover RO10 guitar is fairly nice, considering the price. In fact, for the money, it was quite a surprise for us to see a solid spruce top. Typically, guitars in this price range are all laminated wood, so the solid top is definitely a plus for the Rover.
The back and sides are made of mahogany, but they’re not solid, unlike the top.
The solid top may also mature and start to sound better as you play the Rover guitar. This is one of the best traits of solid wood since it can actually start bringing more value for the money down the line.
Warm & Clear Sound With Some Punchiness
In terms of tones, you are going to get the warm and punchy sound of mahogany combined with the clear notes of spruce. Nothing spectacular here, though the sound of this guitar is pretty nice for the buck.
With that said, the compact form factor of this guitar affects not only the dimensions – it also affects the sound. High-end travel guitars have sound that is no worse than in full-size guitars, but this doesn’t apply to cheaper guitars like Washburn RO10.
If you want good sound at this price point, then you should just purchase a full-size guitar.
Compact Size
The highlight and main reason to buy the Washburn RO10 guitar is its size. This guitar is very narrow, which makes it space-saving and convenient for travel. But despite the narrowness, this guitar has a full 23.75-inch scale length – pretty standard for acoustic guitars.
Now, needless to say, you are going to sacrifice some sound quality and range to get such a compact musical instrument. However, if you truly need a travel-friendly guitar, then you’ll have to live with the sound.
Unless you are willing to spend a lot of money on a high-end travel guitar, you will need to sacrifice tone quality. That’s the trade-off of the compact body – there are going to be consequences if you remove material from a guitar and make it smaller.
Pocket-friendly Pricing
Finally, another good reason to buy the Washburn Rover travel guitar is its wallet-friendly pricing. This is a budget guitar, so it’s suitable for those who don’t have the money or just don’t need a spectacular sound.
Obviously, as mentioned earlier, you will need to sacrifice sound and build quality to get Rover’s price. That’s fine though as long as you realize what’s at stake.
Pros & Cons Of Washburn Rover Acoustic Guitar
As a recap, here are the pros and cons of the Rover steel-string travel acoustic guitar.
Pros:
- Affordable price tag.
- Compact travel-friendly sizing.
- Solid top – will sound better as you play more.
- Boasts the warm tones of mahogany and the clarity of spruce.
Cons:
- The compact form factor will limit the tonal range of the guitar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Washburn a good guitar brand?
Washburn appears to be a solid guitar brand to buy from, especially if you are a beginning or amateur player. The brand offers plenty of pocket-friendly guitar options, and its models have universally good feedback online.
Where are Washburn guitars made?
Washburn guitars appear to be primarily manufactured in China. Before 2017, Washburn had its instruments manufactured primarily in Korea – now, it seems that most of its guitars are made in China. This isn’t an issue in terms of quality, but buyers who prefer to buy American-made products may find this problematic.
Washburn Rover Review: Demo
Alternatives of Washburn RO10
Conclusion
And that concludes our Washburn Rover review!
So all in all, it’s a solid guitar for the price. It’s great if you need a space-saving guitar for travel, and it will also delight you with the respectable sound quality on the road.
But needless to say, if you want good sound and aren’t worried about space, then you should just go for a full-size guitar – you will get fuller tones.