Baton Rouge X11C/P-SCC

There are lots of inexpensive guitars out there. I doubt there are many that are made with such obvious professionalism and care as these. This puts the large manufacturers to shame and underscores just how much we are all over-paying for a big-name headstock. I have small-bodied Martins, Gibsons and Guilds so have a good reference point for this parlor, bought for fingerpicking. This certainly holds its own with guitars costing way, way more. The cedar tone is smooth but clear and it has more than sufficient thump in the bass. And it certainly doesn't sound like it has laminated back and sides when picked. There is generous string spacing at the nut and the bridge which was what drew me in, and this is a real plus. (I really don't know why the big American brands insist on standardised tight string spacing for guitars bought for picking rather than strumming). Right out of the box the action is low on this Baton Rouge, and frets are smooth. The guitar comes with a hand-completed checklist of the kind associated with high-end guitars, showing it has been inspected and set up well in the factory. It's also light and comfortable so you don't want to put it down. Great addition for those with looking for a 12-fretter who don't want to break the bank.

This guitar is an absolute bargain. The solid cedar top on it is very lively, giving the guitar great sustain and resonance. I play in the D family of open tunings so I tried heavier strings on it but they must pull the top too tight because they killed the resonance. Back to light strings and it came back to life.
Quality is very good, frets are all perfect. Mine just has what I can only describe as a tiny crinkle in the top where the sound hole meets the fret board. But I can overlook that when it sounds like this. Intonation is perfect on 5 of 6 strings and good enough on the 6th. My neck was back-bowed so needed some adjusting via the truss rod, then the action was good, no problem.
I got this to try a wider neck for fingerstyle and slide, think old country blues and folk. It's superb for such styles and is now my favourite guitar. It just sounds good. My advice it to get the cedar over the laminate top, electronics aren't as important as a good initial sound, and if you want to play fingerstyle, a wide neck like this was designed for it.