Common Tanglewood Guitars Mistakes to Avoid

Most problems people have with new Tanglewood guitars don't come from the guitar itself — they come from assumptions made before or during the purchase. Here are the specific, avoidable mistakes that come up most often around Tanglewood guitars, and the quick fix for each one.

Mistake 1: Assuming the Series Name Tells You the Country of Manufacture

Tanglewood describes itself as UK-designed, with manufacturing carried out internationally. That's a completely normal setup for a brand offering multiple price tiers, but it means you can't reliably guess where any specific guitar was built just from its series name or "Great Britain" branding on higher-end ranges. If country of manufacture genuinely matters to you, ask the retailer directly and check the specific model rather than assuming.

Mistake 2: Skipping a Proper Setup After Buying

A brand-new guitar straight out of the box isn't necessarily set up to play its best, especially at the more affordable end of the range. Action that's slightly too high, or a truss rod that hasn't been adjusted for your local climate, can make an otherwise decent instrument feel much harder to play than it should. Budgeting for a professional setup — even a modest one — routinely does more for playability than choosing a pricier model would have.

Mistake 3: Confusing "Solid Top" With "All-Solid"

These are not the same thing, and mixing them up leads to real disappointment. A "solid top" guitar has a solid top only — the back and sides are typically laminated. "All-solid" means the top, back and sides are all solid wood, which generally costs more and behaves differently as it ages. Read the actual spec sheet rather than assuming from marketing language or a single word in a listing title.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Humidity on All-Solid Models

Solid wood construction offers real tonal benefits, but it comes with a genuine responsibility: solid tops, and especially all-solid instruments, are more sensitive to changes in humidity than laminated ones. Leaving one in a hot car boot, next to a radiator, or in a very dry centrally heated room over winter is a common way to cause cracking or bridge lifting that has nothing to do with build quality. A basic humidifier or simply more careful storage avoids most of this entirely.

Mistake 5: Assuming Electronics From the Series Name Alone

Tanglewood has used electronics from more than one supplier — including Fishman and LR Baggs — across different series and model years. Assuming a particular series always comes with a particular pickup system, based on something you read about an older or different model, can lead to a nasty surprise when you actually plug in. Check the specific model's current spec sheet, not general brand reputation.

Mistake 6: Buying Used Tanglewood Guitars Without Checking the Basics

Second-hand Tanglewood guitars can be genuinely good value, but only if you actually check them properly rather than trusting the listing photos. Look for bridge lifting, doming around the bridge, cracks near the neck joint, and uneven fret wear. Confirm the truss rod turns smoothly. None of this takes long, and skipping it is how people end up with an expensive repair bill on what looked like a bargain.

Mistake 7: Treating an Old Brochure as Current Fact

Specifications, finishes, electronics and even series names change over time, sometimes within the same model's production run. A spec you read in an old review, forum post or brochure isn't guaranteed to match what's actually on the shelf today. Always cross-check against the current official listing for the exact model you're looking at before you commit.

The Bottom Line

Nearly every regret people have after buying Tanglewood guitars traces back to one of these seven mistakes, and every one of them is avoidable with a few minutes of checking. For the full picture of what to look for before you buy, our buyer's guide covers the positive checklist version of this article, and our complete guide to Tanglewood guitars explains how the whole range fits together.

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