Hi all, I hope that my message finds you all in good health. I'm writing this to share my experience with you in relevance to my recent guitar purchase. So, a few months ago I decided to sell my guitar because I have always been drawn to a deeper/darker sound, which my spruce "Torres" model didn't deliver. It wasn't that the instrument lacked anything, it had been an awesome companion in my journey thus far but maybe it was something which I lacked and I was searching for. Nevertheless, I travelled from China to England visiting Brighton, Kent and London to test guitars and hopefully find that missing something. I'll write below the instruments I tried and a short review of what I felt about them. I spent three full days playing and replaying many instruments, so writing a review for each of the guitars would be a very big job, I will however provide information on the instruments I feel were most appealing to me. It is important to understand that this is only my opinion, which is highly subjective and would probably not be the same for everyone. Juan Hernandez Maestro- New (GBP2800): Specs - Top: Canadian cedar. Nut width: 52.5mm. Back and sides: Cocobolo. Varnish: Nitro Lacquered. Fingerboard: Ebony. Scale: 650 mm.
I really liked this instrument from the first time I lay my hands on it. The construction of the instrument was first class, with high quality woods from all over the world and a very tidy finish. One of the reasons I liked it almost instantly was because of the ease in playability due to a well shaped neck and a great set up. The instrument was also very loud but with sublime control. The bass did not overpower the trebles and the notes had great sustain. My only issue with the instrument was the it was a little too big for my liking and I wanted an instrument, which to me was perfect from the get go. If you don't mind a slightly larger instrument, I would seriously recommend the Hernandez Maestro.
Overall score 4.5/5
Pablo Requena- Second hand (GBP 2000): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 52mm.
Back and sides: Indian Rosewood. Varnish: French Polish. Fingerboard: Ebony.
Scale: 650 mm. Nowadays, Pablo's guitars go for over 4000GBP brand new so this seemed like a bargain. Having said that, after playing the instrument and considering the price I thought that it was not worth it. In my opinion the Alhambra 10p is much better in terms of value for money. Don't get me wrong, it was a good instrument. The balance of the instrument as well as sustain and playability were good but for the same price one could buy a similar instrument with a case and a year's warranty.
Overall score 4.0/5
Stephen Hill 2A- New (GBP 3000): Specs - Top: Spruce. Nut width: 52mm.
Back and sides: Wenge. Varnish: French Polish. Fingerboard: Ebony. Scale: 650 mm.
I don't see what all the fuss is about. The instrument was no more exceptional than most guitars in the 1500GBP-2000GBP category. Again, I'd like to stress that it was not that the instrument was not good, but for the same price one could buy an instrument with higher quality woods and tuners. The workmanship was great as would be expected from a maestro luthier but for me the price of the instrument and what it delivered were not on par. The Hernandez was head and shoulders ahead of it in terms of power, balance and sustain, but the playability of both instruments was similar.
Overall score 4.0/5 Amalio Burguet 1a- New (GBP 2300): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 52mm. Back and sides: Indian Rosewood. Varnish: Lacquer. Fingerboard: Ebony. Scale: 650 mm.
This instrument was very enjoyable to play. I found that even as a new instrument, it had maturity and balance across the fingerboard and strings. I spent quite a long time playing this instrument because I think that for the price it was a very good deal. It had power and sustain, doing a lot of work for the player and making it a very good companion. However, it was missing something, maybe it was me but I felt that I hadn't found what I was looking for, so I continued my search. Overall score 4.2/5 Jose Ramirez 1a 1967- Second hand (GBP 5000): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 54mm.
Back and sides: Brazilian Rosewood. Varnish: Lacquer. Fingerboard: Ebony.
Scale: 664 mm.
The best instrument I've ever played. I had heard that the old Ramirez were very difficult to play because of the action, the size of the instrument as well as the scale length, but it just goes to show that one shouldn't believe something because someone said so. The guitar was very easy to play, the size was not big and the scale length was not noticeable. But oh my, the sound. The notes had a piano-like quality and an extra-ordinary balance. For once Segovia's words mades sense. "The guitar is like an orchestra looked at by the reverse side of the binoculars. It is a little orchestra". And that it was. It had something within it that spoke without words, things within me I had not known. If I had the money I would have bought it instantly. Overall score 5/5 Pappalardo S2- New (GBP 2900): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 52mm.
Back and sides: Indian Rosewood. Varnish: Lacquer. Fingerboard: Raised / Ebony.
Scale: 650 mm.
I loved this guitar. In terms of playability, it was the best out of all the guitars I tested. It was highly responsive and a low action made the difficult passages very simple to play. The volume was the same as most large guitars but there was an unusual control even when one strikes the strings without control. All this, added to the raised fingerboard made it a players dream. An example of this ease in playability is the B section in Satie's Gnossienne No. 1, which goes up to an A on the high E string. On this guitar it was really easy to play that usually awkward note. Having said all of that, it lacked the piano-like notes on the high E string, which I heard on the Ramirez 1a. A little thing like that made sure that I kept at it. Overall score 4.6/5
Yulong Guo Chamber- New (GBP 3000): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 52mm.
Back and sides: Santos Rosewood. Varnish: Lacquer. Fingerboard: Ebony. Scale: 650 mm. Armrest.
This instrument was a strange one. After playing the Pappalardo for almost 30 minutes I picked up the Yulong Guo and I put it straight back down. I really disliked it. It was bright even when I played tasto or tried hard to create a darker sound. And honestly it felt like no matter how much I tried to colour a piece with different tonal variances, I seemingly got the same response. The guitar was however loud and easy to play. Again, this may just be me and my preference of sound but for the asking price it was not worth it. Overall score 3.8/5 Manuel Adalid Membrana- New (GBP 2800): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 52mm.
Back and sides: Pau Ferro. Varnish: French Polish. Fingerboard: Ebony. Scale: 650 mm.
It was between this instrument and the one I chose for the final showdown. It has everything, power, balance, control, sustain and fantastic playability. Before playing this instrument in terms of tonal quality my favourite had been the Hernandez Maestro and in terms of playability it had been the Pappaladro, but the Membrana had a bit of both worlds and a little more. I really enjoyed playing it and it seemed like this was going to be the one until... Overall score 4.8/5 Mengual y Margarit Luthier- New (GBP 3500): Specs - Top: Cedar. Nut width: 52mm.
Back and sides: Indian Rosewood. Varnish: Lacquer. Fingerboard: Ebony. Scale: 650 mm.
I played this. This was it. From the first note I played, it captivated and held my attention. Legend has it that the Stradivarius instruments have something within them that only the player feels. Tests on frequency and pitch have shown that they are no different from most modern instruments but then what is it that gives them their charm and mysticism? Maybe there is something innate within the player, which they find within their instrument. A bond that can't be described but only felt. I felt this instantly with my guitar and now it is here with me, in China. Overall score 5/5
.....I love the new site!! It is enough similar to the old so as to not challenge me in navigating it. And I think it has more 'eye appeal' than the former site. It is laid out extremely well, and is very easy to use.
Thank you, Tavi, for all the continuing improvements!!!! I also love our 'new' instructors, Ines and Taso. I listened to Ines play the performance video of Packington's Pound, and she makes me want to pick up that piece again, with her tutorials.....I will let you know how that goes.
That's so great to know Diana! Thanks for the analysis and yes, both Taso and Ines are just wonderful! Excellent guitarists, teachers and diligent working musicians. Share with us a recording of Packington's Pound when you are done with it.
The new site is great. I am happy to see the videos upload much smoother/quicker now. One suggestion that I have is to create a "Coming soon..." post where you regularly update the list of upcoming songs that will soon be featured on the site and cite what production stage the song(s) are in (ex. preparation/planning stage, soon to be recorded, recording stage, post production, etc.). In my opinion, this could help build excitement and anticipation and give current and prospective students even more to look forward to.
Hi Steve, this is a very good suggestion. I might rename the "News" section to "Upcoming Projects." FYI, the next tutorial released will be Leyenda, 2 Studies by Leo Brower, Recuerdos de L'Alhambra and Una Limosna by Barrios.
Steve, check out the new "Upcoming Projects" page on the website and thanks for the good suggestions.
Hi Tavi, new site is looking good easier to navigate too. I was thinking it might be cool is there was a separate section where people could upload their own performance of their favorite piece. Best of luck with the site.
John
Hi John, this is a great suggestion. For now, the easiest way to do this is for students to upload their video recordings to YouTube and then provide links to those videos in the Forum section. I like the idea of students and teacher playing for each other. Thanks for the suggestion.
It would probably be more efficient for subscribers to access their packages / accounts quickly from a direct link on the main page.
dbueker, excellent suggestion. Check out the "SIGN IN" option on the home page of both the classical and jazz tracks.
I would like to suggest adding a way for subscribers to suggest projects by while also including a way to request the level of difficulty. It may be beneficial to also have this list view-able by others and include an option for subscribers to “like” suggestion thus indicating support.
Since it’s my suggestion (and because I bought one of the twenty Coco guitars), I’m going to selfishly suggest a classical interpretation of Remember Me at the intermediate level. I think you could do something interesting with that song. I got the idea while watching the video of you playing one of the limited edition guitars.
this is more of a comment on teaching style than the website but I thought it could go here.
I really enjoy Tavi's teaching method where he methodically goes over the left and right hand placement, and then does a recap every few bars in slow motion. I sometimes struggle with other teachers when they skip over the left hand fingering or which strings to play, and I have to pause the video and rewind many times, or go to the tabs, which are not always correct.
just a personal preference of mine - i'd rather leave the quick learning to the fast track tutorials if that's possible
It would be great and very practical to rewind a videolession for 5 sec, like you can do that on youTube with the "arrowkeys".
I agree that there should be a convenient way to rewind just a little so that one can easily review something that they either missed or are struggling with and may need to see a number of times.
All I do is leave the cursor over the point I want to rewind to on the time lapse bar. The time shows up when you do this so you can choose the exact point you want. Doesn't this work for you?
That’s ok if you’re using a laptop. Not as convenient if you’re using an iPad
If I use my phone I do the same just tap at the same spot, not as precise but it only means a few extra seconds if you go too far back. Referring to the tabs also helps me with complicated parts, then the video is easier to understand second time you play it.