Tanglewood Crossroads Folk Acoustic Guitar

What we say

We're not going to tell you the Crossroads is the only good guitar at this price point, far from it, but they really are excellent as first guitars: they're well made, the finish work on the frets is great so we can tweak them to play with a low easy action and the silky satin darkburst finish is a classy alternative to the cheap looking gloss lacquers that adorns many sub-£200 guitars.

We stock the Crossroads in two sizes: dreadnought and orchestra. Both are what would be considered full size but the dreadnought is a physically larger guitar and the orchestra smaller with a tighter waist so it sits lower on your lap. At this level we recommend that choosing between the two is largely  down to comfort and the orchestra suits most people of small to medium build - I'm 5 foot 10 and I find both sizes comfortable but prefer the orchestra. if you're a tall guy you might find the dreadnought suits you better.

So if you're looking for a cheap guitar to get you started the Crossroads is your ideal jumping in point!

What they say

The Crossroads series pays homage to the style and sound of classic instruments from 1930’s America. The 30’s were a time of hardship all across the USA with the Great Depression bringing communities to their knees and the strife and pain of poverty and famine recorded in journals and diaries and of course in song, all across the country. Some of what are now regarded as the finest and most influential musicians in the world created a rhythmic sound during those years and sang of their troubles, a sound we now think of as the blues.

The guitars used to play this music weren’t fancy, or ornately decorated or adorned with expensive lacquers, they were straightforward and functional, but in a lot of cases these instruments were still quite precisely engineered for the day. With a really significant cost to the musician in those days it meant that guitars of this era had to play well and last a long time, often to be passed on through family generations.

To create an instrument that evokes these traditional values, so often overlooked in our modern society, we at Tanglewood had to commission the services of a very special luthier, none other than Michael Sanden, the man behind Tanglewood Master design. Michael is the creator of the Sanden Guitar company in Sweden, and now the chief design consultant for Tanglewood Guitars.