Acoustic Guitar Magazine | 10 years ago

With a metal rod poking out of its neck heel on one end and its end block on the other, not to mention a wooden disc floating in its soundhole, Riversong’s Tradition Canadian Deluxe is, indeed, a strange beast. But whether strummed or fingerpicked, it’s got a warm and familiar voice, rich in sustain and harmonic detail—a sound that lends itself to many styles and approaches. If this particular guitar is any indication, the British Columbia-based company is making smart modern guitars for guitarists of all stripes.

Bold Designs

Riversong Guitars are the brainchild of Mike Miltimore, whose designs are intended to relieve the instruments of the great tension exerted on them when strung to pitch. To that end, the neck of a Riversong extends well past its customary meeting point and to the end block, allowing the guitar to be less heavily braced and therefore more resonant. Riversong guitars also use only about a third of the kerfing as a traditional guitar, which is said to further expand the vibrating area.

In its highest region, a fretboard is most commonly glued to a guitar’s soundboard, but on a Riversong, the fretboard is instead attached to the neck throughout. This scheme is intended to negate the dreaded 14th-fret hump, which occurs when the neck wood expands at a different rate than the body wood, a circumstance that can wreak havoc on a guitar’s action. The neck is removable—obviously advantageous for repair or even replacement—and this also allows it to accommodate 24 frets (on the highest strings only, due to the curvature of the fretboard’s upper edge), as opposed to the traditional 20. Though the usefulness of those four additional high notes is debatable, it’s cool to have them there.

Perhaps most interesting about Riversong’s design is its proprietary system for adjusting the neck angle: using a hex wrench at the neck heel, with the ability to fine-tune at the endpin. This is a definite improvement over having to sand—and potentially ruin—a saddle to adjust a guitar’s action.

The Riversong is built from a fine selection of tonewoods. The AAA Sitka spruce top is finely grained, with some prominent bear-claw figuring, and the body’s AAA maple has impressive flame throughout, especially on the guitar’s back. The walnut used for the fretboard, rosette, and bridge is a thoughtful choice, more sustainably harvested that the customary rosewood.

To be sure, Riversong’s aesthetics are not for everyone. Its skinny asymmetric headstock seems at odds with the body’s ample dreadnought silhouette, and as useful as the neck-adjustment rod is, it looks a little crude. The guitar also has too many extraneous details, like the Rainsong logo emblazoned not once but five times: on the headstock, soundhole disc, preamp controls, and on two parts of the endpin adjustment panel. Then there’s the “Seattle Sunset” finish on our review model—a kind of rainbow-colored sunburst ranging from blue to orange that is best described as an acquired taste. (The instrument is also available in natural, for the less adventurous.)

Satisfying Sound

While the Tradition Canadian Deluxe might lack cosmetic grace, its flawless craftsmanship and, more important, impressive playability and sound more than make up for it. The satin-finished neck is very slender, and its action is a dream. There’s no unwanted buzzing, and the intonation is perfect.

Overall, the guitar is well balanced between registers. It has a tight, present bass, without the boominess sometimes associated with dreadnoughts—perfect for Carter-style strumming—and the treble is sturdy, giving a nice presence to single-note lines.

The instrument has a good amount of headroom and responds equally well to strumming and to fingerpicking. Its sound doesn’t muddy up when the guitar is placed in lowered tunings, and tunings tend to stay put, too.

All told, it’s a satisfying guitar to explore, whether for traditional steel-string approaches, hearty rock strumming, or chord-melody improvisation.

This Riversong comes complete with B-Band’s T65 electronics system, incorporating a three-band EQ with tuner working in concert with an undersaddle pickup. There are better-sounding and less visually obtrusive solutions on the market, but with a bit of EQ tweaking on the preamp and a Fender Acoustasonic amp, this system does a sufficient job of reproducing the guitar’s natural acoustic sound.

At $5,349 list ($4,599 with natural finish), Riversong’s Tradition Canadian Deluxe is not a cheap guitar, and it’s got a lot of strong competition. Its unusual design won’t be for everyone, but it’s a uniquely built guitar with a strong voice, sure to be a rewarding companion for a player who’s unafraid to venture beyond the traditional when it comes to selecting gear.

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