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Guitar World

Entertainment

Paul Riario

“A rubber bridge acoustic with softly muted tones that are nothing short of inspiring”: Orangewood Guitars Juniper Sunburst Live review

Some might find it curious, but one of the more interesting – and hottest – guitar trends is rubber bridge guitars. The idea behind it boils down to fashioning a bridge or a strip made of rubber to dampen the tone of a guitar in order to project a softly muted sound that’s instantly alluring.

The idea isn’t exactly new; a few aftermarket hardware companies have offered rubber bridges and dampeners for that muted texture for basses and electric guitars. However, prior to the pandemic, an Angeleno luthier named Reuben Cox had been outfitting numerous acoustic guitars with rubber-bridge builds that landed in the hands of some of the most recognized alt-rock darlings, including Phoebe Bridgers and Jeff Tweedy.

These artists, among others, recorded many notable chart-topping hits and brooding album cuts with that percussive-yet-mellowed tone from rubber-bridge guitars.

With that, it seems this trend isn’t going away anytime soon, which is why Orangewood Guitars offers two rubber-bridge acoustics – the Juniper Sunburst Live (reviewed here) and the Juniper Black Live.

If you haven’t already, I’d urge you to pick up one of these intriguing acoustics, because not only are they affordable, but you just might end up writing the next big indie hit song.

Coming out of its included gig bag, the Juniper Sunburst Live feels solidly built with Orangewood’s custom parlor-sized construction and a 24.75-inch scale length. It’s an inviting body style with compact dimensions that lends itself to intimate performances, and the 3 5/8-inch body depth is deep enough to provide a bit of plucky punch to its muted tones.

At the heart of the Juniper’s sound is Orangewood’s methodical design for its rubber bridge. The company tested many versions to get the proper thickness of the rubber, surface area and fine-tuneable adjustability to support its distinctly muted tone and intonation.

The guitar also implements a vintage trapeze tailpiece as additional reinforcement for its non-scalloped X-bracing, and as a by-product, it adds to its “old-time” mojo appearance.

The Juniper features a soft satin finish from top to bottom, a solid spruce top in a vintage three-color sunburst, a 3-ply white/black/white “teardrop” pickguard, layered sapele mahogany back and sides with creme binding, mahogany neck, a sonokeling (Indian rosewood) fretboard and bridge, and bone nut with a 1.73-inch nut width.

The guitar also comes equipped with premium Grover open-gear tuners with an 18:1 gear ratio for superior tuning stability and an Alnico 5 rail humbucker pickup with a vintage “cupcake” volume knob.

It is undeniable how much fun it is to play a rubber-bridge guitar, and the Juniper Sunburst Live is a solid and reliable vehicle to bring inspired life to this “deadened” and muted sound – which is further enhanced by the flatwound strings it’s strung with.

Still, it’s an entirely different universe compared to traditional acoustics, since all the ringing dynamics are dampened, but what you get in return is a plush, melancholy tone that softly chimes like a plucked harp.

It’s not a boisterous instrument, but for singer-songwriters and solo acts that rely on pensive and thoughtful performances, the Juniper Sunburst Live is the real deal

Everything is dialed in – from its near-perfect, low-action setup to the comfortable profile of its slim C-shaped neck. Plugged in, the Juniper comes alive with renewed vitality where the high-output rail pickup cleanly articulates its softly muted voice – and sounds even more captivating with ambient effects like delay and reverb.

That same sound also tracks on recordings with a lovely character that adds layers of muted depth. It’s not a boisterous instrument, but for singer-songwriters and solo acts that rely on pensive and thoughtful performances, the Juniper Sunburst Live is the real deal – and for the attractive price, it’s one to add to your collection.