Of course, it doesn’t have the booming projection or robust bottom end of a dread, but there’s more than enough volume here to make it a viable gigging and busking instrument, and we noticed an audible improvement in the bass tonality over the few weeks we had this guitar on test – something that bodes well for the future as the tonewoods age. We start by strumming a few cowboy chords and, as you’d expect with a good OM, it has a rich, balanced tonality, and that balance makes this a real fingerpicker’s guitar, though the string spacing is a little on the narrow side. The matt-finished neck is a relatively slim C that will be comfortable for strummers, pickers and especially those transitioning over from electric – the lack of gloss lends it a played-in feel that suits the overall vintage vibe. It’s the little touches, as they say, and picking the guitar up instantly builds on that good first impression. Time was you’d have to accept certain aesthetic compromises to get a decent instrument at this price point, but upon opening the supplied hard case, the PO-220E’s lovely vintage-hued finish earns appreciative oohs and ahhs to an awkwardly empty room. In useīefore we dive into the important stuff, let’s take a moment to appreciate the actual important stuff – this is a remarkably pretty acoustic guitar for 650 quid. Under the hood there’s also a brand new X-bracing pattern, while all the woods are solid: spruce for the top, mahogany for the back and sides, and ovangkol for the bridge and fingerboard. Like the rest of the range, it sports updated aesthetics, courtesy of a very handsome caramel-tinged natural finish, tiger-stripe pickguard, new ‘feathered’ purfling and soundhole rosette ornamentation, and snowflake pearloid inlays running up to a pearly headstock inlay. The PO-220E is the only completely new instrument in the range, joining the dreadnought, parlour and 000 body shapes as the first Orchestra-sized Paramount. With all-solid woods, Fishman electrics and more conventional looks than the quirky California series, they’ve always felt like serious instruments for the mid-price market and with 2022 giving the whole range a refresh, that’s never been more true. As the top end of Fender’s conventional acoustic range, the Paramount series has won many friends since it was launched back in 2016.
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