Product: Almansa 415F
Price Paid: UNKNOWN
Submitted
10/08/2007
at
10:20am
by
federico
Features
:
9
Hand made in Alamasa Spain. The 415 was discontinued 2 years ago and replaced with the 447. The scale is 650mm, 52mm nut. the woods are all solid with very tight grains. German spruce top and solid cypress back and sides. I don't know the brand of tuners, but are very smooth and accurate. It has a clear golpeador.
Sound
:
10
When it was new I found the sound a little bit constrained (typical for a spruce top) but with time it has really opened up. It now has a very rich, full spanish sound with lots of volume. Not as raspy as other flamencos that I have heard except when you really drive it.
All the strings are equal volume and balanced.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
The fit and finish is superb--book matched, nice joints, no glue slop inside, perfect finish--very much the same as a guitar many times it's price. I find the action alittle high for what I am used to, but will have it reduced next week.
Reliability/Durability
:
No Opinion
Customer Support
:
10
The store I dealt with has been incredible and helped me pick the most guitar for what I spent.
Overall Rating
:
10
This is one of my favourite guitars. There is no better value and is quite a versatile guitar. I have played for many years and now own 27 guitars. I would cry if this were stolen and buy another one right away. In fact I plan to reduce my stable down to 5 and this will one of the babies that I will defintely keep.
The ALMANSA 415F is one the best values out there but unknown outside of Spain. This brand is very popular in certain regions in Spain known for their rich flamenco history. The luthiers are fantastic craftsmen who come from an impressive background but I don't think they are very good marketers.
Product: Almansa 415F
Price Paid: USD 1200
Submitted
08/29/2007
at
12:26pm
by
Adam
Features
:
No Opinion
Solid cypress sides and back, german spruce top. Ebony finger board. Very good quality machine heads. Exceptionally well put together.
Sound
:
10
Traditional flamenco sound. Exceptionally well balanced tones. Great seperation of notes. Fast attack. Loud!
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Exceptionally well built guitar. Beautiful to look at. Bookmatched build is top notch. All solid woods. Tight grains. Set up and action is perfect for flamenco. There is room for lowering if you are use to a lower action.
The finish is perfect with zero flaws.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
Very dependable work horse.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never had a need to use their customer support.
Overall Rating
:
No Opinion
I have been playing on and off for 37 years. I own a Ramirez 1a, Yamaha Grand Concert, Kenny Hill Sig. series and several electrical guitars. If this were stolen, I would definitley get another. I love the sound and playability of this instrument. It is great value for the money and compares to some guitars in the $4000+ range. When I bought this guitar, I was looking firstly for a true flamenco sound and an instrument that wouldn't make me go broke. I found it in the 417.
