A brief review of Samhradh, Road trip Guitar made by Dave White.I agree with and endorse all that’s been said by previous temporary custodians.
Keith
A slightly less brief review - I have enjoyed my couple of weeks with Samhradh very much indeed, having managed to force it from the hands of
scorpiodog. Paul had obviously had a great time with the guitar and was reluctant to let it go.
But I did manage to escape from a grand day out in Dorset still with the guitar in my sweaty mitts. Or in the car boot at least. I noticed that the case was smaller than most of my other cases, and actually holding the guitar once home it became obvious that the guitar was just a little smaller than in my mental picture, and very elegant too.
I’ll not repeat all the factual descriptive stuff about the woods and measurements so comprehensively documented by
earwighoney, but simply add some of my own thoughts.
Samhradh looks stunning, with beautiful woods throughout, and with bindings and purflings that set the whole thing off really well. I liked the asymmetric headstock shape, though was less keen on the pointy cutaway. The finish, especially on the walnut b/s was lovely to feel and to look at.
Comfort when sitting down to play the guitar - Samhradh was very comfortable indeed in this position, and also when playing slouched in sofa mode too. The soundport added a lot to the player experience too - I haven’t yet dared to add one to any of my guitars, but it is tempting.
Comfort when standing to play the guitar - Dave knew I would not care for the strap button placement on the body side - and he was right! The guitar hangs on the strap at an almost strap-peeling-off angle, and tends to rotate when worn standing up resulting in the guitar soundboard pointing ever so slightly towards the floor.
The neck felt good from the start - nice wide string spacing at the nut end, well finished fret ends and a comfortable feel when doing thumbovers. The neck depth felt right - neither chunky nor electric-slim. No hint of a V in the profile, quite the opposite in fact - quite an extensive flat area up the middle - I prefer something a bit more rounded, but adjusting was no problem.
Beginning to play Samhradh revealed that a couple of very slight settling tweaks were necessary, after which it was possible to play gently or hard anywhere on the fingerboard with no rattles or buzzes. Intonation, as always on Dave’s guitars was excellent, and low strings played high up combined well with open high strings with no not-quite-there feelings resulting.
Plenty of volume was available, with pleasing tones throughout the considerable dynamic range. Glyn (
Nuffsed) was delighted with the volume and tone he could get with his fairly gentle bare-fingered picking style. His tone was slightly fuller and rounder than when I played with my usual thumbpick and nails technique. Certainly no complaints either way though. Strummage was fun too, with it being easy to bring out firm bass notes/runs whilst strumming.
You can hear a fair representation of the sounds I got from Samhradh in the recordings I’ve posted earlier in this thread. It is apparent how versatile this guitar can be, always sounding balanced and clear whatever style is employed. Especially notable is that when played in higher capo positions, although there are the expected slight tonal and volume changes, the sustain and chime remain very present, making it a delight to play even with capo at fret 7.
It was in my initial playing experiments that I realised
earwighoney was right about the slightly cramped string spacing at the saddle - I found it so too. It was in fact several millimetres less than I am used to. I don’t usually get tripped up by the string spacing at the saddle, but I did find it took me a while to get used to this. Obviously a personal playing preference which would be taken into account in a personally commissioned guitar.
As Samhradh was road ready with K&K pickups it seemed a shame not to try the plugged in capability! There’s a vid earlier in this thread of playing through PA, though only with the monitor sound as we were still setting up, and in a rush. I played Samhradh on several occasions during the evening, one song being videoed by someone else - hopefully I will be able to post that eventually. The guitar was a pleasure to use “live” and it was quick and easy to get a natural sound with minimal faffing about. No feedback problems despite standing near the bass players personal monitor amp and having a whole band mix in the floor monitors pointing at the guitar soundboard.
K&K minis do tend to result in some handling noise from the instrument, and those in Samradh were no exception. In fact the tendency was quite marked in this instance, but not enough to be a problem for me.
I also used Samhradh for all the music in church the next day, and enjoyed doing so. The only slight downside was a result of Samhradh’s responsiveness. We play on a wooden floor, slightly raised on top of the stone church floor, and being fairly hollow underneath. When the guitar was on my stand between songs, walking across the platform produced some well-amplified foot stomping noises - thankfully easily cured by putting the stand on a carpet offcut.
I had a grand time with Samhradh - a beautiful, wellmade and finished versatile guitar that suited me very well in almost respects. Fortunately the very things that were less good for me are perfect for the new owner, Kitty Macfarlane, who seemed a little overwhelmed both by Dave’s generosity, and by the loveliness of the guitar. She played it at Halsway Manor and sounded great - she sings beautifully, and I’m sure Samhradh will inspire her songwriting and her playing to even greater heights...
... which, after all, is why Dave builds instruments. Thanks again Dave for the chance to play another of your creations!
Keith