Post by jonwireless on Feb 16, 2015 0:25:11 GMT
A few weeks ago I received an unexpected windfall (the naughty bank came clean and gave me some of my own money back) and I was able to contemplate the purchase of a new guitar. With itching fingers and painfully throbbing wallet I set about purchasing all the magazines as well as lurking on makers websites and bothering shop owners.
I already have a Takamine AN10 which is a really terrific dreadnought with a lovely tone, plain looks and comparatively easy playability and so I was a little worried that perhaps buying something more expensive would just provide me with a better name, more abelone and no real benefit.
For various reasons mostly involved in not wanting what all my friends have I had narrowed my search down to Larivee, Stonebridge/Furch, Breedlove and possibly having a machine built by Kif Wood who is a Cornish Luthier.
Having tried at first and failed to find a shop that stocked all of these brands, (obviously not Kif) this proved to be a no no. Finding a shop that stocked the Larivee that I had set my sights on proved almost insurmountable especially as one supplier told me that the 05 could only be ordered from the maker and almost no-one in the country had one in stock. I could not lay my hands on the model of Breedlove that I wanted to play and I felt that the Kif would be outside my budget. So a couple of trips to Guitar Village in Farnham ended with a play-off between a Furch/Stonebridge G23 CRC (we’ll come to the name shortly) and a F/S G25.
First time out G25 won handsomely and being dead on budget seemed to be the obvious choice with it’s Master Grade tone woods and extra decoration, also the tone also seemed to be even better than that of the G23, but the more I played, the better the G23 sounded to my ears (and those of my wife) and the more I fell in love with it’s plainer looks and seemingly deeper reasonances. Also I’m not a huge fan of shiny decoration and to my eyes at least the 25 was just a little showy with abalone purfling and flowery decoration on the neck at 12/13th frets. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing it’s just I’d rather spend my money on wood rather than shellfish.
At just over £400 less than the G25 the G23 comes across as something of a raging, steaming, howling bargain, The sound is simply superb and stacks up remarkably well against just about anything else I have played in a similar price bracket. Having now played a similarly priced Breedlove and a pair of Kifs, all of which were lovely guitars and I would be pleased and happy to own any of them but somehow the Furch seems to have just that little bit more of everything in the way of playability and sound while its comparatively plain looks give it an air of quiet good taste, which I will try my best to live up to.
So basically it has a solid Cedar top, solid rosewood sides and back and a mahogany neck with gold Schaller tuners and high gloss finish. There is 45mm nut which is a little wider than my Takamine, which combined with with a low action (2.5mm apparently) makes it wonderfully easy to play. The sound is beautiful balanced with a rich, honeyed bass and precise clear top that flatters the player (well it flatters me!) and encourages better fingering and a lighter touch. It is not outrageously loud but certainly has an authority that belies it’s comparatively small size and it comfortably informs a village hall filled with about a hundred people of its serious purpose even for the very quietest of notes.
The finish is superb with no horrible bits, misalignments, gaps or gluey smears. Having had a bit of a squint, a sniff and a feel of the inside, the attention to detail carries on right through the whole instrument. and the details which include the very thin wooden label and the virtually invisible clear scratch plate are considered and thoughtful touches. it comes in a very robust Hiscox sarcophagus for lying in state. I could wish it had ebony buttons instead of Tortoisoid but that would be to cavil.
As a cure for any lurking “Post Purchase Cognitive Dissonance”, I was able to hear my instrument in the hands of a true professional. Two days after buying the guitar, the fabulous Jack Harris (a truly gifted guitarist and fabulous songwriter and raconteur, do try and catch him if you can jackharrismusic.com/bio/) played the Furch for most of his set at our village hall gig (more of this in another posting) while keeping his own Taylor in a tuning. It sounded just fabulous in the hands of a really proper guitarist. Phew!
The only mild problem with the guitar is the name. Is it to be pronounced “Furk”, “Furtch” or “Fürchhhh”? The name Stonebridge was apparently coopted for the American market where it was felt that the name might offend/upset/frighten the more susceptible members of the community so something a little less “difficult” was suggested. The Stone Bridge in question is the Charles Bridge in Prague. However My guitar has a large and curly “F” on the headstock and “Furch” written on the label, so Furch it is. I just wish that the computer would stop helpfully correcting the name to “Lurch” when I type it.
So anyway. After all that and having played it for at least an hour every day since purchase, I can definitely say that I absolutely love it and I'm really happy with my purchase.
www.furch.cz/en/millenium-guitars/detail/23-cr/
I already have a Takamine AN10 which is a really terrific dreadnought with a lovely tone, plain looks and comparatively easy playability and so I was a little worried that perhaps buying something more expensive would just provide me with a better name, more abelone and no real benefit.
For various reasons mostly involved in not wanting what all my friends have I had narrowed my search down to Larivee, Stonebridge/Furch, Breedlove and possibly having a machine built by Kif Wood who is a Cornish Luthier.
Having tried at first and failed to find a shop that stocked all of these brands, (obviously not Kif) this proved to be a no no. Finding a shop that stocked the Larivee that I had set my sights on proved almost insurmountable especially as one supplier told me that the 05 could only be ordered from the maker and almost no-one in the country had one in stock. I could not lay my hands on the model of Breedlove that I wanted to play and I felt that the Kif would be outside my budget. So a couple of trips to Guitar Village in Farnham ended with a play-off between a Furch/Stonebridge G23 CRC (we’ll come to the name shortly) and a F/S G25.
First time out G25 won handsomely and being dead on budget seemed to be the obvious choice with it’s Master Grade tone woods and extra decoration, also the tone also seemed to be even better than that of the G23, but the more I played, the better the G23 sounded to my ears (and those of my wife) and the more I fell in love with it’s plainer looks and seemingly deeper reasonances. Also I’m not a huge fan of shiny decoration and to my eyes at least the 25 was just a little showy with abalone purfling and flowery decoration on the neck at 12/13th frets. I’m not saying that this is a bad thing it’s just I’d rather spend my money on wood rather than shellfish.
At just over £400 less than the G25 the G23 comes across as something of a raging, steaming, howling bargain, The sound is simply superb and stacks up remarkably well against just about anything else I have played in a similar price bracket. Having now played a similarly priced Breedlove and a pair of Kifs, all of which were lovely guitars and I would be pleased and happy to own any of them but somehow the Furch seems to have just that little bit more of everything in the way of playability and sound while its comparatively plain looks give it an air of quiet good taste, which I will try my best to live up to.
So basically it has a solid Cedar top, solid rosewood sides and back and a mahogany neck with gold Schaller tuners and high gloss finish. There is 45mm nut which is a little wider than my Takamine, which combined with with a low action (2.5mm apparently) makes it wonderfully easy to play. The sound is beautiful balanced with a rich, honeyed bass and precise clear top that flatters the player (well it flatters me!) and encourages better fingering and a lighter touch. It is not outrageously loud but certainly has an authority that belies it’s comparatively small size and it comfortably informs a village hall filled with about a hundred people of its serious purpose even for the very quietest of notes.
The finish is superb with no horrible bits, misalignments, gaps or gluey smears. Having had a bit of a squint, a sniff and a feel of the inside, the attention to detail carries on right through the whole instrument. and the details which include the very thin wooden label and the virtually invisible clear scratch plate are considered and thoughtful touches. it comes in a very robust Hiscox sarcophagus for lying in state. I could wish it had ebony buttons instead of Tortoisoid but that would be to cavil.
As a cure for any lurking “Post Purchase Cognitive Dissonance”, I was able to hear my instrument in the hands of a true professional. Two days after buying the guitar, the fabulous Jack Harris (a truly gifted guitarist and fabulous songwriter and raconteur, do try and catch him if you can jackharrismusic.com/bio/) played the Furch for most of his set at our village hall gig (more of this in another posting) while keeping his own Taylor in a tuning. It sounded just fabulous in the hands of a really proper guitarist. Phew!
The only mild problem with the guitar is the name. Is it to be pronounced “Furk”, “Furtch” or “Fürchhhh”? The name Stonebridge was apparently coopted for the American market where it was felt that the name might offend/upset/frighten the more susceptible members of the community so something a little less “difficult” was suggested. The Stone Bridge in question is the Charles Bridge in Prague. However My guitar has a large and curly “F” on the headstock and “Furch” written on the label, so Furch it is. I just wish that the computer would stop helpfully correcting the name to “Lurch” when I type it.
So anyway. After all that and having played it for at least an hour every day since purchase, I can definitely say that I absolutely love it and I'm really happy with my purchase.
www.furch.cz/en/millenium-guitars/detail/23-cr/
It's not the gutural "ch" that the scottish use (like in "Gaughan"), though. The easiest way for a british tongue would be to try and pronounce it
Jo whoever he is.
