ACOUST IC S
1 CORT CUT CRAFT £1,349
With a well-established reputation for electric guitars, not least for PRS, Manson and a host of others, Cort has us rather taken with its own-brand acoustics. The “thoroughly modern” Cut Craft bundles in just about every boutique-style concept – fan frets, body contours, plus an LR Baggs M-80 soundhole pickup – on an all-solid European spruce/Myrtlewood small jumbo-size at a very tidy price, which includes a hard case. There’s more boutique-like craft with Cort’s other Limited Edition models such as the Roselyn LE, with its offset soundhole on the top and a soundport on the side, a bevel cut on body arm rest, and Art Nouveaustyle soundhole inlay, and The Puzzle LE, which will retail around £1,899. www.cortguitars.com
2 FENDER AMERICAN ACOUSTASONIC STRATOCASTER £1,749
Last year’s introduction of the radical Acoustasonic Telecaster is joined this year by a Stratocaster version. The patented ‘donut’ soundhole was redesigned to maximise the guitar’s acoustic resonance. Its single magnetic pickup is placed exactly in the same position as a conventional Stratocaster, and the ‘sound engine’ has been redesigned in conjunction with Fishman to offer new acoustic and electric sounds, the latter with a little more onboard crunch than you’ll find on the Telecaster version. www.fender.com
With a well-established reputation for electric guitars, not least for PRS, Manson and a host of others, Cort has us rather taken with its own-brand acoustics
GIBSON MONTANA 3 FROM £1,749
More evidence of Gibson’s renaissance is in its acoustic Montana division: later this year the factory is expanding to effectively double its output. And demand is only going to increase with the many new additions for the start of this year. Like Gibson USA, and from this year Epiphone, Montana now groups its guitars into Original and Modern series, so the smallbodied L-00 Original (£2,349) obviously sits in the former camp, the L-00 Studio Walnut (from £1,749) in the latter with its walnut back and sides. There are plenty of corkers in the Original series where you can compare 50s and 60s versions of the J-45 (£2,349 and £2,199 respectively), too, for example.
But if you hanker after those older styles, the Acoustic Custom Shop now has a whole Historic Collection (from £3,699 for the 1942 LG-2), which are virtually twice the price of the Original models as you’d expect. The 1942 Banner J-45, for instance, stopped us in our tracks. www.gibson.com
4 LARRIVÉE C-03R-TE CUSTOM ‘TOMMY EMMANUEL’ £2,699
While one of the world’s finest acoustic players is known for his association with Maton, he’s also seen with a C-10 12-fret custom guitar with angel headstock inlay, which goes by the name of ‘The Boss’, made for him by Jean Larrivée some two decades ago. While a replica of that guitar would be prohibitively expensive, with the blessing of Maton, this 03-level version with Sitka spruce/East Indian rosewood construction, a Florentine cutaway and 12 frets to the body is now available. It’s not a signature guitar as such, but the special label is hand-signed by Tommy. Join the queue to order one here… www.larrivee.com
More evidence of Gibson’s renaissance is in its acoustic Montana division: the factory is expanding to effectively double its output
With nearly two years of development and over 30 unique prototypes, Martin’s new SC-13E is aimed at an alternative, younger and less brand-specific audience
LOWDEN ADDITIONS 5 FROM £4,335
Now in its 46th year, Lowden continues to expand its line-up. For 2020, the company has added a third body shape to its 12-fret series, which was introduced back in 2018, the Wee Lowden. The WL-35 12-fret (£4,335) has a driftwood cedar top with walnut back and sides. Lowden has also introduced a beautifully striped ebony as a back and sides tonewood on its 35 series. The new F-35 (£8,035) combines this with a sinker redwood top and soundbox bevel.
Another guitar taking pride of place was the Dali-esque fan-fret F-50FF (£8,035), again with striped (Macassar) ebony back and sides, a sinker redwood top and soundbox bevel. Does guitar making get any better than this? www.lowdenguitars.com
MARTIN SC-13E 6 APPROX. £1,600
With nearly two years of development and over 30 unique prototypes, Martin’s new SC-13E is aimed not at the brand’s traditional players but an alternative, younger and less brand-specific audience. This is reflected in its new cutaway body shape, asymmetric neck shape, heel-less neck joint (a dovetail press fit secured with two bolts means it can removed in a matter of minutes), and an X-brace on the guitar’s back. It’s powered with a Fishman MX-T system, with tuner. The 13-frets-to-thebody model will be shipped with a more electric-like low action. The design “leans forward”, said Martin at its launch. “We’re moving forward, but it’s not too modern.” Despite the considerable development, it has a price of around £1,600: “A lot of technology at a price-point we don’t think can be matched,” says Martin. www.martinguitar.com
7 SEAGULL S6 CLASSIC BLACK A/E £499
Not all the acoustics we stumbled across at the show had four-figure price tags. The Godin-made Seagull range had a new version of one of its best-selling electros in semi-gloss black colour over its cedar top with white pearloid pickguard. The neck is silver leaf maple and the back and sides are wild cherry. Powering comes from Fishman Sonitone with its a soundholemounted preamp, and rotary controls for volume and tone.
The original Godin-made acoustic brand, Norman, is making a bit of a comeback in the UK with a more compact all-electro range. The ST30 (£959, pictured) features a new-for-Norman body shape – that’s based on a Gibson J-180, we’re told – which comes in Havanan Burst with split parallelogramstyle aged pearloid inlays. The 12-fret B18 parlour (£599) comes in Cherry Burst with top-mounted volume and tone controls for the under-saddle Q-Discrete system, a style we’ve already seen on both Seagull and Art & Lutherie. Choice is good! www.seagullguitars.com
Taylor’s 324ce uses Urban Ash for its back and sides. “Sonically, it has a pleasing musicality similar to Honduran mahogany,” says Taylor
8 TAKAMINE 2020 LTD ‘PEACE’ £2,499
Originally started back in 1987 to celebrate the company’s 25th Anniversary, Takamine’s 2020 LTD is a concert-size electro that celebrates the new decade with “a wonderful message of peace”, says Takamine. The spruce/ovangkol model, of which only 20 will be available for the UK and Ireland, features an “olive branch and dove motif inlaid entirely by hand into the ebony fingerboard using multi-coloured stone and shell”. The guitar’s Sitka spruce top has a Green Tea gloss finish to further differentiate it from the mainstream. Powering comes from Takamine’s CT4-DX preamp. www.takamine.com
9 TAYLOR BUILDER’S EDITION 324CE £3,239
Along with various updates from the El Cajon, California-based makers, Taylor’s Andy Powers unveiled four new Builder’s Edition models: the first Grand Concert 912ce (£6,479), which is aimed at electric players; the first V-Class Grand Symphony 816ce (£4,799) with a unique top-shoulder soundport; the 652ce (£4,319), a 12-fret reverse strung 12-string; and the most affordable 324ce Grand Auditorium (£3,239), which utilises Urban Ash for its back and sides. This wood is “sourced from trees that required removal from municipal area in Southern California due to age, safety concerns or other factors determined by cities. Sonically, Urban Ash has a pleasing musicality similar to Honduran mahogany,” says Taylor.
All four new of these Builder’s Edition guitars use the Taylor V-Class bracing, of course, which has been added to the new 618e and 818e Grand Orchestra models, as well as the K26ce all-koa Grand Symphony for this year. www.taylorguitars.com YAMAHA NX 10 FROM £422
The NX range was launched a decade back offering two distinct flavours of the nylonstring electro: the more ‘electric’-like 14-fret NTX, with cambered fingerboard and thinner width neck, and the more classic-style NCX 12-fret with full width neck and flat fingerboard. Both styles featured a full-spec electro system, too. It’s this area that has been upgraded to a more stealth-like Atmosfeel system, which combines a film-type top sensor, an undersaddle transducer and a microphone all controlled by three low‑profile rotaries.
There is just one model in each style in the 5 series (£1,785), then the NTX3 (£939) comes in two colours, Natural and Brown Sunburst, while the NTX1 (£422) is available Natural with laminate flamed maple back and sides, and either Brown Sunburst or Black with laminate nato or okume back and sides. The NCX3 comes with either Sitka spruce of red cedar tops; likewise, the NCX1, which is also available in spruce/laminate flame maple (£516).
Rodrigo y Gabriela also had a hand in these designs (see box on previous page). http://uk.yamaha.com