WORKHORSE ROUND-UP
Need a buddy for some serious gig use? Here’s some suggestions for a reliable electro
Our pick of pro-grade, do-it-all electro-acoustics for a fair price
Using a clever manufacturing method, Auden import the ‘shell’ from a small factory in China and do all the important stuff at its workshop in Northamptonshire. And so we have a wide range of carefully made guitars that don’t break the bank. The Chester is a cutaway 000-style with mahogany back and sides, AAA spruce top, and ebony fingerboard. Other top features include the high-ratio Schertler tuners, bone nut and excellentsounding Brad Clark Supernatural pickup/preamp system. Price includes a hard case. www.audenguitars.com Original road-warriors, Takamine, need no introduction for stage-aimed players. The only problem you might have is deciding which guitar suits you. Oh, and their impenetrable modelnumbering system, of course. This P5NC is from the Pro Series and is a perfect choice for the singersongwriter with its ‘small jumbo’ NEX shape and top spec X-braced spruce top, rosewood back and sides (all solid) with a deep cutaway. Takamine’s proprietary CTP-3 Cool Tube preamp system and its Palathetic under-saddle pickup provide the powering with plenty of onboard EQ help. Hard case included. www.takamine.com This cutaway ‘concert’ shape is a fine example of a no-frills stage-aimed guitar and uses plenty of Yamaha’s proprietary technology. The spruce top is ‘aged’ via its A.R.E system and features scalloped bracing along with solid rosewood back and sides. There’s plenty of attention to the neck profile and its rolled fingerboard edges too, while powering is from the proprietary SRT2 System (which combines under-saddle and mic modelling). Add in Gotoh open-back tuners, Tusq nut and saddle, plus a hardcase and it’s hard to argue with this Japanesemade electro. https://uk.yamaha.com
This forward-looking electro is, by design, aimed at the non-traditional player. It features a 13-fretsto-the-body neck-join, offset ‘S’ body and heel-less neck joint, not to mention the subtler ‘morphing’ asymmetric neck profile, all aimed to create “a blurring of the line between traditional acoustic and more electric-like styles,” says Martin. The Sure Align neck attachment does away with the traditional heel and improves upper-fret playability. Powering comes from Fishman’s MX-T preamp with Sonicore under-saddle transducer (with soundhole-placed volume and tone), phase switch and tuner. Comes with gigbag. www.martinguitar.com
Here’s another great example of the increasing popularity of the small-bodied acoustic, the GT – as in ‘Grand Theatre’ – is a “scaled-down body that echoes the jumbo curves of our Grand Orchestra shape,” says Taylor. Its urban-ash back and sides tick the conservation box – and provides a wood that has a similar sonic quality to Honduran mahogany. While its top is Sitka spruce, the fingerboard is eucalyptus on a mahogany neck. There’s the new C-class bracing, plus the Expression System 2 provides a big plugged-in sound. Includes Taylor’s AeroCase. www.taylorguitars.com
This is a cutaway flamenco-style nylon-string electro built in China, but very much in the traditional Spanish style. It’s all solid wood with traditional cypress back and sides with a European spruce top, and is 12 frets to the body. The neck is slightly narrower (50mm at the nut) and edges into ‘cross-over’ style with a slightly thinner body depth. Powering comes from Fishman’s Prefix ProBlend preamp with both under-saddle and an internal mic. The price includes an excellent humidified hard case. We’ve gigged ours plenty of times – perfect for those Latin styles. www.cordobaguitars.com