Northwood FM80-D

Well I finally did it. Got myself down to 2 guitars, with pretty much, identical necks, both dimensionally and feeling wise too.
After much deliberation and wondering how I’d got myself with 4 lovely guitars, each with very different necks and feel, to their playing. I decided to take the one that suited me best and get it’s cousin.
A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to get a Northwood R80–MJ www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=149054
and after some heavy back and forwarding, over which of my guitars truly best suited me, decided the Northwood was the one. This decision had been helped by an AGF get-together at Fliss’s house. Listening to my guitars being played by others, as well, made it fairly clear that the full tone of the Northwood, gave me the nicest buzz and would best be used for vocal accompaniment, which the bulk of my playing is used for.

Anyway, as the shop had sold the M80-MJ, basically the mahogany B & S version of my guitar, I was left with the choice of 2 rather special guitars. Another mini-jumbo, with spectacular, quilted bubinga B & S and figured redwood top.

Or an FM80-D. As can be seen by the title, I got the latter. The QB80-MJ was a stunning guitar but a little too flash for me. Also, I definitely preferred the tone of the mini-jumbo, I already had.

The Northwood FM80-D is a dreadnought shaped guitar, handmade in Canada, by John McQuarrie. It has an Englemann spruce top.
Flamed Maple B & S and front veneer to the headstock.
Rosewood body binding.
Ebony fretboard, bridge, bridge-pins, headstock binding and tuner buttons.
Bone nut and saddle.
And Abalone rosette and headstock logo.
The neck has the same dimensions (1.75 ins nut & 25.6 ins scale) and profile as my mini-jumbo. Thank goodness!
Like my MJ, it also comes fitted with a Fishman Matrix UST.

Very recently I’d tried out 3 Martin dreads. A D18, D28 and a CEO-Southern Jumbo. Not to buy, just for the fun. In comparison, tonewise, the Northwood is less boomy, having more of a warm, bottom end clout to it.
There’s the full, dreadnought tone, you’d expect. Added to that, it has quite a vibrant toned sparkle. A powerful chord sounder, yet also, particularly sweet on single notes too. It covers some of the big sound of my mini-jumbo but differs, in that it has a more direct tone, not quite so all-encompassing as the MJ.

Now I’ve had time to A/B them, they feel incredibly similar to play. And what a relief that is. It’s so nice to swap guitars, to get their different tones but have them feeling the same, in my hands. It truly is a big plus for me.
The headstock shape, neck, bridge and rosette, are the same on dread and MJ.

The FM80D has a fairly traditional dreadnought look. What makes it stand out for me visually, is the flamed maple B & S, with the rosewood binding. And the distinctive Northwood headstock shape, with the flamed maple front, ebony binding and mahogany rear. Quite a treat for the eyes.

Overall then, I am very impressed with the Northwood’s build quality, finishing and strong, individual tone. It feels very good, in my hands and very sweet, in my ears.

It’s just struck me, that the last time I owned a guitar, similar in appearance to this. It was a Samick, Greg Bennett series D9. It cost less than one twelfth of the Northwood. Obviously there’s no comparison but I remember it fondly and took it out to play, many a time. How things have changed.