I wanted to acquire a tenor guitar. A friend of mine runs a vintage instrument business so I was able to try Martin, Gibson and Kalamazoo tenors from the 1920s to the 1960s. Despite their provenance (and cost!)   none tempted me to add them to my collection.

Then I played a brand new little O size Blueridge BR40T tenor with a solid spruce top and laminated mahogany back and sides. It played and sounded at least as good as any of the older models and cost the princely sum of GBP375 (C USD450).

That is the one I have owned happily for the past five years. I have also played other Blueridge guitars and have generally been impressed.

Alan