I am often asked at Stoakes Media about what my favourite guitar is, what’s the best microphone for recording interviews, do I prefer humbuckers or single coils, and all these questions got me thinking. Why don’t I start a series of ‘gear reviews’ and then put them on the website! So here we are. And what a gorgeous guitar to start off with. This is the newly released Adam Black O-3T Travel Acoustic.

Adam Black guitars have been around since 2003, they are still the relative ‘new guys on the block’. They aim to “provide excellent guitars at a price all players can afford” whilst maintaining “an emphasis on quality, playability and tone”.

Straight out the box, I was impressed at just how good this little guitar looked. With its vintage sunburst solid spruce top, laminated sapele mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck with a lovely purple heart fingerboard and bridge. The bridge has a slight curve at the bottom making for a unique look and the bridge pins follow this curve. This guitar my friends, is a looker! It stands out in a crowd. The guitar also comes with an Adam Black branded padded gig bag.

The second surprise came when I picked it up. What a great tone. It was much brighter and a lot louder than I expected. For such a small guitar, it really does pack a punch. Strum it hard and it fills the room, easily competing with much bigger guitars. The guitar came out of the box pretty much in tune too, only a slight tweak was needed (lovely black machine heads by the way) and I set to playing it. I haven’t been able to put it down since.

It is the perfect guitar to take with you when you are travelling, of course, but even playing around the house, it’s great. It has a really comfortable neck with a nice low action making it very easy to play. The neck is a ‘V shape neck’, that fits your hand perfectly and allows easy access for your thumb to play that low E string. My one minor gripe is the scratch plate, it doesn’t quite sit flush with the guitar, meaning its not smooth when you run your fingers over it, there is a definite lip. But that is just a minor thing and in fact, the more I play it, the more I’m getting used to it.

I have now had it nearly a week and I continue to be impressed. The tone has remained brilliant, the guitar has stayed in tune too, which is remarkable. When shopping for guitars, it is easy to be put off by a low price. Don’t allow that to happen with the Adam Black O-3T, this is a remarkable guitar that can easily stand up against guitars four times it’s price.

Would I buy it? I love this little guitar, it plays great, sounds great and looks great. I wonder if Adam Black would consider putting a version out without the scratch plate or perhaps just making the scratch plate a little more flush to the body, as that was the only thing that I wasn’t too keen on. But, all in all, yes, I think I would buy it. This would make a welcomed addition to your guitar collection and it will give you hours and hours of enjoyment.

Review model: O-3T in Vintage Sunburst. There is also a natural finish available.

SPECS:

• Travel Sized Acoustic
• Solid Spruce Top
• Laminated Sapele Mahogany Back & Sides
• Mahogany Neck
• Purpleheart Fingerboard & Bridge
• Dot Inlays
• Black Diecast Machine Heads
• Black Binding
• 23.5” Scale Length
• Height: 93cm / Width: 36.7cm
• Supplied with Gigbag:
Large Front Accessory Pouch, Padded Handle,
Padded Back Pack Straps, Adam Black Logo
• S.R.P: £192.95