Presenting the BR-343 Contemporary Series Gospel OOO Acoustic Guitar by Blueridge A magnificent abalone and pearl chalice and cross graces the headstock, while the ancient locked ring symbol for the Trinity marks the fingerboard of the Blueridge Gospel guitar- making it one of the most beautiful guitars ever made! Traditional Look Distinctive Design Body Wood Selections Solid Sitka spruce, one of the world’s strongest and most durable woods, is used for the tops of our Contemporary Series guitars. When combined with the prewar forward-X bracing pattern, the top has the perfect balance of strength and flexibility to promote the ideal tone. For the back and sides, you have a choice of select mahogany or nicely figured Santos rosewood. The entire guitar is finished in a high gloss natural shade that displays the beauty of the woods employed. And with a cutaway option, our Contemporary Series has just the right guitar for any musical need! Fingerboards and Fittings Every Contemporary Series guitar features fingerboard and bridge of East Indian rosewood—chosen for its hardness and stability as well as its beauty. The standard models feature pearl position dots while the top models of the BR-70 series have hexagonal outlines of abalone pearl to complement the matching pearl inlaid border of the top and the central soundhole rosette ring. A traditional teardrop-shaped pickguard of black ABS is used on all models, and the mahogany models are bound in black ABS while the rosewood models feature white ABS binding. Vintage-style, open-back tuners with butterbean buttons are used on all models. These 14:1 ratio gears turn smoothly and easily and will give years of trouble-free service. They are heavily nickel-plated, with gold-plate on the BR-70 series. Construction Every feature of construction that has made the prewar instruments so great is used on these new Contemporary Series guitars. The dovetail neck/body joint is the strongest known and all interior blocks and braces are just big enough to combine sufficient strength with the least possible weight. The nut width of 1 11⁄16˝ is designed to please both acoustic and electric guitar players and the neck profile is small and properly shaped for the ultimate in playing ease and comfort. The Details With the top being the single most important factor in the production of tone, the combination of a solid top with laminated back and sides offers a great sounding guitar that can be priced so affordably as to be within the means of virtually ANY guitarist—even the aspiring student. An added bonus is the crack-resistant nature of the laminated wood, which, though strong, is still thin enough to add resonance to the tone. Blueridge offers in these Contemporary Series guitars the perfect balance of tone, playability and affordability that has made us the true benchmark that all other makers strive to emulate. Blueridge guitars offer you the most value for less! Attention to Detail Blueridge Contemporary Series Unbelievable sound and build quality at an affordable price! The Blueridge Contemporary Series offers guitarists instruments priced easily within the means of the serious student, but have all the features that the pro player demands. A solid top of close-grained spruce, braced with the time-honored forward-X bracing pattern, offers tone and volume that you won’t find anywhere else at such an affordable price! The slim, low-profile mahogany neck is designed for the modern player and the adjustable truss rod keeps the neck in perfect alignment at all times. The styling is tasteful and understated with delicate black and white lines of ornamental purfling on the standard models and the top model has a top border and sound hole rosette of genuine abalone pearl. Incorporating all the accepted construction methods that made the prewar guitars so great, these guitars sound fabulous right out of the box. With select models featuring Fishman electronics and a cutaway option, our Contemporary Series has just the right guitar for any musical need! Key Features Select solid spruce top with classic forward-X pattern, hand-carved parabolic braces High-gloss, vintage Sunburst finish top Select Laminated mahogany sides and back 000 body style with 14th-fret neck joint Carved Select mahogany, low profile neck with, dove-tail neck joint and 25.6 inch (650 mm) scale length Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge Maple bridge plate The fingerboard is tastefully inlaid with The Trinity inspired fret position markers of M-O-P The peghead adorned with a completely original, Cross and Chalice inlay of Abalone and M-O-P, in keeping with the Gospel theme Black pickguard B/W/B ABS binding with fine black and white purfling on soundboard Accurate vintage-style 14:1 ratio gold-plated open-back tuners with butterbean-style buttons Shop Adjusted