This guitar lives up to all the claims made by the makers. After having it for about at month, I find it totally enjoyable to play. Fingering and action is fine, the tone is balanced and rich. And perhaps the best review is my cat's, who enjoys licking the strings as I play. I've been playing for over 50 years (not THAT good, though) - first a Martin D-18 which was actually not so good, and then a D-41 which is fine, but kind of a bit jumbo. So I decided to try a slightly smaller instrument and took a chance on the (unknown to me) Tofino. No regrets at all!

Understandably, it took just a little longer to receive my Tofino than I had originally anticipated. Mind you, this was pre-COVID, but as they say in Toy Story 2, "you can't rush art." After unboxing the guitar, the first thing that struck me was how both rugged and classy the case was. Then I opened the case and saw the work of art within. The wood grain of the cedar top is exquisite, as are the mahogany back and sides. The abalone inlays are stunning. My main guitar is a bowl-back Ovation that I bought brand new in 1984. The Tofino feels like it is half the weight of the Ovation - which is a good thing but the deep tonal quality of the Ovation is definitely richer and louder compared to the Tofino . With that said, the Tofino is definitely brighter in sound and is very playable with a slightly thinner neck than the ovation. It did indeed take me a full seven days to fall in love with the Tofino. It is now the first guitar I pick up when I want to wind down for the day. There is one thing that I do not love about the Tofino, and that is the way the wiring for the Baggs pick-up just dangles inside the guitar and if you have a battery installed at the end of the wire, the sound of the banging of the battery as you pull your guitar off the stand and into playing position is disappointing and seems like an afterthought rather than an integration. With that said, the positive take on this situation is that it is extremely easy to change the battery. So being a glass half-full kind of guy, I'll focus on that aspect of this issue. Next battery change, however, I do plan on taping some foam around the battery to lesson the blow as it tumbles inside the guitar. My overall impression is that this is one classy guitar. I would challenge anyone to find an equally priced guitar that looks or sounds as good as the Tofino for the price.

 Got a buddy that was checking out your Ian Tyson model recently and wanted to know what I thought. "Beautiful guitar at a good price AND a return policy..BUY IT" was my reply while twisting his arm. Then I made the comment "If I ever bought one, I'd pick the Opeongo". After he ordered his guitar, which arrives in November he ordered ME the Opeongo which arrived last Thursday!      When I opened the custom case I was struck by how beautiful it looked. The size, shape, slot head, and OMG THE TRIM ties everything together. Love the fact that it wasn't made to be cute or fancy. The very clean looking top will age well, bringing out the grain more. The open pore sides and back AND the overall lack of a high gloss reminds you that it IS crafted wood. I believe this also keeps the sound of the woods purer! Also the pick guard is thankfully NOT installed because it looks awesome without it and since I'm not a strummer, I don't need it.      As I picked it up it was very light and balanced. With ANY instrument, getting into a good, useful playing position is crucial. The size and feel of the body and neck would feel comfortable on a couch or resting on the right leg BUT this isn't how I would suggest playing it. After playing it for a bit I noticed that holding it lighter, more in a classical position and away from my belly there appears another voice which adds so much to the overall dynamics. The sustain and volume is surprising and it's voices are versatile and unique. Depending how you play it, you can coax the sound to suit your needs. No...it isn't a heavy strummer or a hard flatpicking guitar but I was playing old timey music, classical, churchy, and blues with it sounding appropriate. The biggest surprise was when I used a capo! I noticed that it STAYS IN TUNE. I'm one of those nitpickers that hear when something is out of tune. I use the capo most of the time so I'm used to the "tricks" of sweetening the sound after the capo is put on. I was shocked when I didn't "need" to. The action is perfect and I can cleanly play things on the Opeongo that I cannot play on my other guitars.      If I had my druthers I would like the neck to be an 1-7/8". If I had a better left hand position instead of a "hillbilly" wraparound thumb position I might feel differently. The shallow neck profile is enough different that I have to adjust for this.     Wishlist: I think that a double high strung 12 string in this size would be an awesome instrument! My rating on the Opeongo out of 5 stars is a 4.99!

I've owned this guitar for a week and it's just the start of a beautiful friendship. The Opeongo presents so unpretentiously, no bling, and rings so true, what can I say, I couldn't be happier. Can't wait(will wait) for the two of us to settle in for a year or so. So glad I found you guys, many thanks.