Overall Rating
(24)
Trusted Customer
/ Nov 3rd 2020
Everything is great, having a learning curve with the eq settings when plugged in.
Adrian Roberts
/ Oct 22nd 2020
Great guitar but arrived loose in the delivery box and the strings we very rusty.
Mr Alan Saunders
/ Aug 16th 2020
The sound of this guitar is amazing
Trusted Customer
/ Jul 6th 2020
Excellent
Trusted Customer
/ Jun 18th 2020
A great machine at a great price,
Trusted Customer
/ Jun 11th 2020
Beautiful sounding instrument
Trusted Customer
/ Jun 8th 2020
Good
Trusted Customer
/ Nov 26th 2019
Excellent
Mr Mattia Degli Esposti Merli
/ Nov 9th 2019
Good
Dr Alexandros Papachristidis
/ Nov 8th 2019
Good
Mike
/ Sep 30th 2019
It could have great been, but no.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Andertons are always great, so this review is not about their service, it's about the quality of the Sire R3.
—————————————————————————————————————
I am very disappointed with the Sire R3, which I purchased about a month ago. For some reason the email to review my purchase ended up in the junk folder, hence the late review.
I was really excited about buying the Sire R3, having watched Lee and Mike Dawes demo them on the channel, especially as the quality for the price point was being raved about. Encouraged by this video I ordered an R3 Grand Auditorium in Sunburst. Unfortunately I couldn’t stretch my budget to buy an R7.
Now the reality. I received my guitar which had a tag hanging from the headstock saying:
“Strung with D’Addario EXP - Strings that last”
Unfortunately, that claim is not the case as they were badly corroded straight out of the box. Ordinarily, I would expect cheap factory strings on a guitar, so when I read that quote from the tag I thought it was ridiculous.
I then discovered a nasty blemish on the headstock and contacted Andertons about this and the strings. They quickly arranged for a replacement guitar to be sent and the original collected at the same time. I also made a point of asking for the replacement guitar to be checked over before shipping and I was told it would be. Great service as usual.
The replacement turned up with corroded strings again and even worse blemishes. I was not a happy chappy!
The guy I spoke to at Andertons was really helpful, apologetic and assured me that it had been requested for the guitar to be inspected prior to shipping. However, this clearly hadn’t happened, as the way the guitar had been packed in the box was identical to how the first guitar had been packed from the factory, so it was obvious the guitar had not been inspected.
I was also told that there had been some quality issues with the Sire R3 models. The spec has also been changed so the finish On the sides and back is satin instead of gloss and the black tuners have been changed from ones with black plastic heads to fully metal tuners.
I was given the option of a full refund, an alternative guitar or to keep the guitar and have £50 refunded to effectively discount the guitar. I accepted the last option as I really liked how the guitar played and sounded and didn't think I would be able to get another guitar with a similar sound system for this price. I was also sent another set of strings which was nice.
I decided to just live with the blemishes and have been enjoying playing the guitar. However, a few days ago I was looking at the guitar sitting on the stand and noticed that the bridge doesn’t even look like it has been put on straight. It doesn’t seem to affect the playability of the guitar so I haven’t gone back to Andertons, as of yet.
In conclusion, I am massively disappointed with the Sire R3, being that they have been raved about so much. I appreciate that they are not the most expensive guitar in the world, but I bought this guitar based on the amazing quality, sound and features quoted and demonstrated on the YouTube channel.
I feel really sorry for Andertons, as they are being let down by poor quality control at the Sire factory. With the number of shipments Andertons deal with, they can’t be expected to inspect every guitar prior to shipping. Although, I will say that they should have inspected the second guitar for the following reasons:
1. Because I had specifically asked them to.
2. Because I was assured that this would be done.
3. Because there had been an issue/complaint with the first guitar, so checking the replacement should have been an automatic thing really.
Shipping of the replacement was actually delayed by a day so the guitar could be "checked over by our QC department prior to dispatch". So, a slight negative point there for Andertons, which I put down to a breakdown in communication. The service I received from them in dealing with these issues made up for this oversight.
Coming back to the guitar, these issues definitely need to be addressed if Sire don’t want to end up with a bad reputation and an army of unhappy customers. I would also suggest that Andertons hold off on purchasing any further stock from them until the quality issues are addressed.
The image with the blue box is from the first guitar, the others are from the second and both guitars had the D'Addario tag.
If you are reading this in the Andertons site, find the review on Feefo to see the images.
E Skidmore
/ Oct 9th 2019
Great sound and quality for a very affordable price! highly recommended
Trusted Customer
/ Oct 3rd 2019
Excellent
Mr Adam Leedell
/ Sep 17th 2019
I am moving up from an entry level acoustic. The Sire R3 is a lovely guitar and is a pleasure to play.
Mr Marshall Palle Krickau
/ Jul 15th 2019
Det er en fantastisk god guitar. Den lyder super godt, er let at spille på og kvaliteten virker rigtig god. Selvom jeg måtte vente næsten 4 måneder på den, så er den absolut ventetiden værd. Jeg er meget tilfreds med guitaren og vil helt klart anbefale den.
Mr Simon Ticehurst
/ Jul 14th 2019
This amp is perfect for the guitarist who wants a .lot more than a basic amp,basically its all the bells and whistles and much much more than there is enough space to do it justice here
Mr R Mukherjee
/ Dec 13th 2018
The Guitar has a great sound and plays well but one of the tuning pegs broke after 2 days. Now trying to get it fixed.
Trusted Customer
/ Dec 12th 2018
Excellent
Owen Holmes
/ Dec 3rd 2018
I was looking for a new acoustic and i saw the review of these guitars with Mike Dawes on the Youtube page. The mic/piezo pickup, with the option to blend them and the simple tone control is what initially piqued my interest. Mikes reaction to their playability and the sound quality sealed the deal. When i first got the guitar i was struck by how beautiful it was. I've not been able to find any problems with the finish or the binding. The fretboard and bridge saddle felt slightly weird but it seems they were somewhat dry and had some sawdust left on them from the factory. A quick condition with some lemon oil and they both felt wonderful. The guitar was well set up, the truss rod only needed a slight tweak and the bridge was the perfect height. The tuning keys are metal but have plastic tops which work fine but feel cheap, it doesn't effect the playability though so i don't mind and i understand it's to keep costs down, they do hold tune very well and turn smoothly so it really is nitpicking on my behalf. The frets are well shaped and there's no sharp edges to them, i might give them a quick rub with a fret rubber just to see if they shine up a bit more but they feel pretty darn good already. The guitar came with D'darrio 11's which are great. The electronics in the guitar are everything i'd hoped for and more. The microphone really adds that definition to the tone which takes the artificial sound of the piezo and makes it sounds like a real acoustic, though the piezo in this guitar is one of the best sounding piezo's i've ever heard just by itself. The EQ is very easy to use, incredibly flexible and has a great range of tone. Also the guitar sounds great when not plugged in and is surprisingly loud. I'm amazed at the sound quality, especially from a passive pickup system. All in all... i can't believe the value for money this guitar represents, money well spent. Thanks Andertons and Marcus Miller.
Mr Peter Coker
/ Nov 25th 2018
Great guitar for the price
Mr Alex Mitchell
/ Nov 20th 2018
Superb guitar! Sounds brilliant acousticly and plugged in. Beautiful finish and build quality, I'm very happy with it!
Nicholas Meeks
/ Nov 20th 2018
Love it. Now I just need to improve my technique. Although tbh, after yrs of learning on an awful, cheap hand me down, I feel I've improved over night with this purchase. Sounds great
Mr Roland Westberg
/ Nov 2nd 2018
Fick hem gittaren, packade upp den, kopplade in den i förstärkaren och simsalabim . Det bästa mickade gitarr ljud jag hört! Otroligt bra o lätt inställt ljud. Gittaren låter oxå väldigt bra utan förstärkare och är lättspelad.
Mr Volker Hense
/ Oct 26th 2018
Superfast shipment, premium product!
More Reviews
