Ortega R121-7/8 NT

The Ortega R121-7/8 NT nylon string guitar arrived quickly and safely in its gigbag inside a polythene bag in an Ortega box, inside a strong Thomann box.

The Ortega ONB78 custom gigbag is very good quality, with a large and small zipped pocket on the front. It has 18 mm padding to protect the guitar and double shoulder straps on the back, as well as a comfortable padded carrying handle on the side. The Meinl online shop sells this gigbag separately for €57. So the guitar and bag for only €209 (with free shipping) is a real bargain!

The guitar looks lovely, with a nicely grained natural German spruce top (NT). It is a thin ply (laminated) top that is very resonant, even though it’s not solid. The sustain of all the strings, especially the bottom end, is impressive.

I had a Yamaha FG180 that was also ply top with good resonance. This type of top is tough and good for travelling, especially in humid places.

The back has an attractive striped grain, just like the photo on Thomann’s website. The sides are the same medium brown colour as the back. The purling is a high quality, simple design.

The stock Ortega strings are surprisingly good, I haven’t changed them yet even though I bought a set of Savarez 520R High Tension to put on.

The tuning pegs are OK but not the best. On mine, the B-string peg feels a little loose and takes a bit longer to get exactly right. But once in tune, the guitar stays in tune quite well – considering it has nylon strings.

The action was OK and easy to play when it arrived but I will lower it by sanding down the saddle and adjusting the truss rod to make it even easier. Having a dual-action truss rod on an inexpensive classical guitar is very unusual and one of the reasons I bought this. An Allen key is included in one of the pockets.

I chose a 7/8 guitar because my hands are slightly smaller than average. I have a good full-size nylon string cedar top classical guitar, but I’ve always found it not as easy to play because of the standard classical wide and longer neck.

I bought a Yamaha CS40ii 3/4 nylon before buying this Ortega 7/8 but returned it to Thomann (with their generous pre-paid label) because it was too small. I also did not like the heavily stained top because it was much darker than the photos, even darker than my cedar classical.

So I would particularly recommend this Ortega R121-7/8 for adults with smaller hands and children.

Overall: I am extremely pleased with this purchase and Thomann’s wonderful service!