Review and set-up of my new Dirty 30's Recording King Parlor Guitar 

The same model of guitar makes a very importance appearance in "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs". Cool, clear water....

So all that was needed was to take the starting height ie 2.75 mm and subtract the desired height ie 2.25mm which gives a difference of 0.5mm at the 12th fret. To find how much is needed to come off the saddle we double the difference ie 0.5mm to give 1.0mm to come off the bottom of the saddle.

Way back in 1983ish I bought a white wood no brand "Cowboy" guitar from a yard sale... Believe it or not, it started downpouring gallons of water on the way back to my car and the guitar inevitably got wet. By the time I got home, the glue was starting to fail.. When I got this guitar it was soo freakin' out of the box perfect it was astounding! Like it walked right out of 1940 to my hands. Later that same day the top split and not only that it came off the sides in places and warped horribly like an ocean wave... just by getting drenched for a few minutes. I did dry it with a towel as soon and as thoroughly as I could, but that 40 year old white wood was like a thirsty sponge... CUT TO a year ago, I bought a dirty 30's and like you I was completely astounded. It's loud, it STAYS in tune for days on end and believe my even one cent bothers me. A bit after I got this wonderfully playing guitar, the neck... changed and I got string buzz, cranked the truss rod, every OK... a bit later more string buzz (always on the 12th. Fret, not the day of the month!). OK I can deal with the neck and I know some people are gonna be like "what do you care about the 12th fret on a parlor guitar anyway, you're using it wrong" I say shut up!! my guitar I play just the way I feel!. here's the thing that is hurting me the most. The BRIDGE has started to pull forward, causing a pregnancy below the bridge and of course messing with the intonation (which was amazing when I first got it). Bottom line, I called and spoke with the King people and they said , hey we will replace it, you pay the shipping.. so with that shipping money, I have to decide whether or not to just go to the local guitar shop and buy another white wood guitar, or stop at a yard sale on the way.

Honest to frig I’ve been messing around with setups for ever and I wish I had seen this video years ago. The only thing I do a little differently is when sanding down the saddle I put the sandpaper on top of a piece of plexiglass just to make sure that surface is perfectly flat. This video or one like it, just as practical would definitely help a lot of people. Thanks once again for your knowledge and wisdom !

If you put a capo on the third or fourth fret before detuning to take out the pegs, the strings will stay in line and not come unwrapped from the tuners. I'd put a blanket or something on the table, too. Those RK guitars sound terrific- nice instruments for the cost. 👍

The better tone that comes from lowering the action is because when the saddle is too tall it can lean to either the neck or the block and you don't get good flat contact to the bottom of the slot in the bridge.

just like listening to Doc Watson, I'm very impressed

Just bought a left-handed one of these from Thomann in Germany for £110. Filed the fret ends myself, oiled the fretboard, polished the frets, swapped the terrible strings for Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys and tightened the truss rod 1/4 turn. It now sounds and plays beautifully, not nearly so harsh as I was expecting, sweet '30s jazz tone if you don't hit it too hard, Totally delighted with it: have now prettified it by staining the fretboard darker and adding tiny tortoise pickguard.

This is almost exactly how I set up one of my guitars not long. It's a Taylor and the action was a bit high for my taste...I made a line with my straight edge, with a pencil, and holding it flat and steady, I sanded it down. I only go in one direction, slowly, and being a scaredy cat, it takes a little longer, but it was worth it to be sure...Anyway, now it plays like a dream, and believe it or not, I believe it sounds better. Maybe I'm imagining it, but playing it better makes it sound better. LOL...I still have more saddle that I could sand, but no way. Its perfect. Excellent video that will really help folks.

Dang just something special about a Recording King , especially the dirty 30 ''s.... I got to play some of the antique Originals back in the 80s but I hardly ever see any more.... I missed an opportunity to get a real delta blues Recording King resonator completely covered in patina back then at a farm auction , but it still brought good money for those days. The new dirty 30 resonator I'm going to do my homework before I tamper with it too much

I sand my saddles down more or less the same way, though I finish off the last few strokes against a squared block to clean up any minor degree of skew I may have put in the saddle's underside.

Awesome work and great playing thank you I’m picking up mine tonight I know what I’m in for

I have learned more from J.P.`s videos than anything else!!! Just frigging wonderful!!!!!

JP I just picked up one of these yesterday. I used your video to make the same saddle adjustment and it worked perfectly. I agree this is a great little guitar. Plays great and sounds great. Thanks for your help and keep on Pickin’.

I love mine too....RPS 7...Dirty 30s.... $200 guitar and in 50 years of playing is the first guitar I've never had to touch! Perfect action, intonation , neck..right out of the box!! I've owned Martins, Gibson's , Taylor's etc and always had to sand down the saddle , adjust truss rod or whatever....Recording King was perfect out of the box!! Will buy another or several more in the future......

Cool. Good job!

Thanks for posting JP. I do minor setups myself as well, and use Doug in Bedford for the more serious work. You could make a Denver guitar sound amazing. Hope we are all back listening to you play summer festivals soon!

thanks for posting, great presentation.

I could listen to you do that Travis style stuff all day!❤️. Think I’ll pick one of these up. Thanks JP

Love your playing J P I have been giving very serious thought to getting one. I brought a new Martin OM 21 home and right off the bat tore the strings off and got out to lower the saddle the file and my wife about had a stroke ! Got the action lowered and it has stayed over the years. Please place more videos when you can.

I’ve had mine of the early ones that came in black color since 2013. Very nice instrument for the money.

I just bought one of these, the one with sound hole pick up. I love it. Funny thing here, you made the comment about the strings not being Elixirs, my daughter said the same thing when she played it, it just made me laugh. The day after I got it I took it to a buddy who is a touring musician and he loved it. He couldn't believe it was an all laminate guitar. I'm going to have fun with it.

You play beautifully!

Great video. That guitar loves that style!

Great playing Bro!

Looking at picking one of these up used (Dirty 37 Series). Thanks for the video, great playing.

I feel like dancing hearing that after the adjustment...and the way you're playing. Awesome is right.

Really enjoyed watching you tweak this guitar. I was told that the 12th fret being halfway between the saddle and the nut, the saddle has to be reduced in height exactly twice as much as the amount you want to lower the string. So you can measure it exactly if your eyesight is up to it and your sharpie is sharp enough.

Now I want one!

Thanks JP. Could you also do a video to lower the action on the nut side. I bought an Alvarez guitar and the action is very high. Though it has loads of saddle to grind it and make the action lower.

That guitar sounds beautiful, especially with you playing it? You're a helluva picker! Sweet Jeebus! I just got a Musician's Friend promotional email for one of these and want one now.

Thanks master!!!

I’m like you John, I’ll do my own saddles and nuts. I love that shirt btw!!!🤣🤣🤘🎸

I just recently came across your channel, and I love your playing and skill. But one thing I really love is that you are not a guitar snob. You are not afraid to give credit where credit is due. I appreciate that you give credit to the fact that some Chinese guitar makers are making excellent instruments that sound just as good, and in some cases, better than the American counterparts. I especially like your sound comparisons between the Recoding King and the Martin D-28. My son in law is a very skilled guitar player mainly Bluegrass and Travis picking. He bought a used Martin D-28 for 3 grand and I later sold him my Blueridge BR160 for 400 bucks. He actually reaches for the Blueridge far more than the Martin. The Blueridge has remarkable tone and power. Power that projects across large rooms without amplification. I miss that Blueridge, but now own a Recording King RD 227. It is a wonderful guitar that I bought for an affordable 500 bucks. Keep up the good videos and especially the set up tricks and tips.

best review I have seen for this guitar. Bought one today on Reverb after watching this.

I’m glad I came across this video as I just got my RK parlor guitar last night and the feeling was the same: it just needs the saddle to be a bit lower, otherwise, very impressive guitar for the price. Beautiful playing btw, saludos from El Paso, Texas.

Just ordered the brownburst with the goldfoil pickup - can't wait to try some fingerpicking and slide on it

Sweet! Oh, Canada!

I just bought one on kijiji. I prefer it to my bros Taylor gs mini koa. The feel and the quality of construction is amazing on this thing. It took 2o minutes to get used to a smaller guitar, but once that happened I just cant put it down!

⚓️ Thanks JP 😎 I got a CL Epiphone J-45 for $100 🤯 had to do the same work 🥸 exactly 😃 the guitar came from an air conditioned home … sounded like a ukulele… a month without A/C all good!!!

Thanks for the video and nice playing, sir! Ive had mine for about 3 years now and love it! It came set up and playing great right out of the box and it's just a great sounding/playing guitar! Ive never changed the strings but I'm about to and wanted to ask you what kind would you prefer? I love the string size that came on the guitar from factory but am unsure what the correct size is other than they are light ?;

Hi..Nice video...Seems like a pretty good ax for the money..way way back in early 70s..i took lessons from a country bluesman in Boston...he had an old Rec..King guitar..he seemed to think it was somehow tied to Gibson..anyway his Guitar was the sweetest sounding I ever heard..stuff like miss John Hurt ..Avalon was the first tune he showed me...anyway Thanks..I may see if i can pick one up somewhere...Dave

I might try this myself on an old banger I have to practice. Its not as scary as I thought if careful and no need to pay 60 quid for unless its a very sentimental guitar. I like the picking sound u get out of this around 17 mins. A sound I'm looking for...

Hi J.P. that was an interesting video. I was going to ask you if lowering the saddle changes the tone of the guitar, but you answered that already. Because the strings were set so high, does that mean that's the players preference or it made it difficult to play because the saddle was built to high. Sounds great and such a beautiful tone.Thank you for sharing your video. I got a kick out of reading your T-shirt.

Recording King has thier shit together and very affordable my son bought 1 recently and uses it for jazzy Django type stuff

had one that the bridge was coming up on some, so traded it for an ibanez acousitc I hated, traded it for a mitchell mini I love, but if I could afford a solid top recorking king I would buy it in a heartbeat

John did you ever do a video on the Fishman Loudbox Mini?

Awesome video thanks for sharing. Where do you live? If you don't want to answer, I totally understand.

Wow cool video! You are obviously so experienced... But how on earth does a regular human decide the ratio of bone height to the truss rod (relief) etc. Lower the bone too much, more relief... etc. Quite the formula to figure out! Crazy stuff... just bought one of these second hand and not receiving it for about a month - this video is probably going to come in handy 🙂 Keep pickin' friend!

This guitar took some setup, but after that it's awesome. The truss rod was so tight, I thought I was gonna break it. But worth the effort. For $200 this thing is sweet.

Would love to know which model Recording King that is. I am about 2 miles from an guitar store that is an RK dealer, and I want to sit down with that model.

How do you know when to lower the saddle or just adjust the truss rod ??

Could you tell me what model that one is series 7 or 9 parlor or 0 or 00 Thanks, enjoyed your video very much

JP...chords you play at 17:32...are they original? They’re lovely!

What are your thoughts on laminated tops John? I think they DO open up but it just takes longer....Ive even read though somewhere that they get worse over time! ?? Not sure about that one...

Poor man’s Waterloo. Sounds good.

Is the desired 2.25 string height in millimeters? Also, how much did you shave off, measurement wise? Planning on doing this to mine if needed when she arrives. Thanks.

What string height would you recommend at the 12 fret for a dreadnought like a D18ge? My style is flat picking and strumming.

I put d'addario 11's 80/20 , plays like a electric after bridge cut, sounds nobody can believe it's a $150 guitar.

I got one of those guitars from MF, it had a bent neck, no finish on the neck , not worth getting fixed, Does that guitar have a solid top?

I like your shirt, do you remember where you got it? Also, overall good travel/parlor guitar? Or do you recommend another?

Okay... I want a similar guitar in size but what is the best one I can get without doing this? Like the action is Fabulous out of the box ready to go?

Note: before you start grinding away on the saddle you might want to ensure neck relief is where you want it, that's a matter of playing style and preference. Should you decide that the saddle is too high then measure the string at 12th fret for both the low E and high E and make calculations for material removal accordingly. Just a tip.

does this setting on work on a dreadnought? for example the Recording King RDS-7

Which recording king's parlor guitar is better in your opinion between Series 7 and Series 9?

he makes everything sound good though :)

Great demo and playing. I was wondering what the name of the song was that you start playing at the 15:54 mark with that cool chromatic riff. Also, have you ever had a chance to compare the Dirty 30's with a Gretsch Jim Dandy?

I'm looking for my first steel string guitar. I have been playing classical guitar for over a year and I wanted to expand my knowledge and skills with a good acoustic guitar. I'm from europe and Recording King's guitars are almost unknown arround here and I can't try one without buying it. A guitar I got very interested is a Recording King RGA-G6-CFE5 and I found basically nothing about that guitar on the internet, can you please help me? I would love a review of that guitar

A ? For you! Do you find bone saddles sound quacky ? I hate the sound of them . Do you like Tusk saddles? Thank You

What's better this or the Fender Sonoran?

does anybody know what pickguard fits on these kind of guitars? I want to buy the solid top parlor version of this but I don't know if a regular pickguard would fit.

What if I have a 14 fret would you still be using 2.25 ?

That was a great video J.P.! I loved your podcast with the Trailer Park Boys. I have a seagull similar to that guitar and love it. Any experience with seagull seeing how you are Canadian?

thank you, I love the look of this guitar, but avoided it due to the play. I didn't like it. I'm going to get one for my next art project. You put me over the edge!

These are selling in the Uk for something like £140!!

This was absolutely great. You are a good teacher, practical, and agree that you have to get your hands on the instrument to get the feel of what you have bought. Machines or bringing it into the shop just are not quite the same thing, for sure. I trust your observation of the intonation. That's a big deal, and I can tell the way you play this is not your first or second guitar!

Scraping back of guitar on the Table.

No towel under the git box?

After you shaved off the bridge, it sounded a bit flat to my ear, but once you adjusted the neck, it sounded like a very expensive guitar, in my opinion. You know i have a good ear. My nose is not that great though. Giggity !

Is that the Single O, or the 24.2" Series 9 Parlor?

Nice video. I just wish you would put a towel or something down on the table so you don’t scratch the back of the guitar.

I’m waiting on my Dirty 30 tenor guitar to show up. How can they do it for $200?

What series is it 11 or 9. You never answer questions .

Strings gauge?

I love Recording king but every time I hear JP play, I just want to burn it.. 🤣

Do you still do guitar lessons ?

If you sand too low just shim it up with veneer or anything else.....It will work, whether it's ideal or not idk, but no one will notice

Don’t you cut off half the amount of difference in height to create a perfect fit ?

What is the price of that guitar? It does sound great. I. Stay well and safe my friend.

Sounds good but the headstock looks just ridiculous lol

slippery deer sh.t

I have a Recording King Dirty 30's....Makes a bad buzz around the 12th fret....drives me crazy....wondering if its the Bridge or ? But I love the guitar....as long as I dont go down the keck to the 12th fret.

Canadians are metric ! Like us in New Zealand 🇳🇿

One more ? Why tune 440 and not 443 , all harp players need 443

Is this a paid endorsement of this Recording King model?

The stones are biological from giants along time ago

It's a Blues guitar, play some Blues.