Ayers Grand Concert Series

Gloss finish, 'Grand Concert' sized guitar which is apparently based on a Martin 00 pre-war design. No name Kluson copy tuners which need changing, medium wide neck with single dot inlays, ebony I think or very dark rosewood. Lovely neck to play fingerpicking. The guitar is probably made in 2005 or thereabouts in Vietnam. Very nice solid spruce top which has a lovely honey aged hue to it. Solid mahogany back and sides with gloss finish. Really nice timber inlaid rosette, understated binding, guitar looks really nice but not flashy. Ebony bridge, bone nut and saddle. Standard Ayers scale which is 640mm, about 25 inches. Would rate higher but for cheap tuners and also frets not perfectly smooth on the edge of the neck. These are well known setbacks for Ayers, but I believe they got a new fretting machine over there in Vietnam.

Wow, the sound. This has a vintage 00 tone which is fantastic. This is the sweetest sounding guitar I have ever owned. It is slotted headstock with 12 fret join and has a bit of depth in the body. This, and the scalloped bracing and hand construction make this guitar sound incredible. First up you might think the guitar sounds a little light on in the bass, compared to a dreadnought but it aces the bigger bodied guitars on mid and high end projection.

I have now collected 000, dread, jumbo and Auditorium shaped guitars as they all have a different voice. But this 00 projects incredibly well in the upper mid range. It is a perfect rag picking guitar.

Punchy, woody, characterful sound. Sounds beautiful strummed too. I put in an LR Baggs IBeam active and this has reproduced the sound of the guitar beautifully. I have gigged with this guitar and did not put it down. It sounds clearer and richer than my Epiphone Masterbilt EF500RA (000 bodied Epi with LR Baggs iMix.

I took out the saddle and sanded it down about 1mm and now the action is perfect. Low enough to pick gently with the thumb and fingers but can handle the thumb and metal finger picks I use playing live.

Fit and finish on the guitar is fantastic. As stated fret finish is not absolutely perfect. If you run your hand along edge of fretboard you feel some slight rough edges.

Will be replacing the kluson copy tuners as the low E tuner is buggered. (Aussie expression).

Very solidly built guitar. Tuners are a concern for live playing. I would take a second guitar to a gig but this will be my main axe for regular tuning.

Bought it second hand off ebay. Doubt there would be much support for it but there is an Aussie Ayers website.

Best guitar I have owned to date. I have been playing for 28 years. Learning about tone and how a guitar sounds goes hand in hand with learning to play better. These Ayers (I aslo have an auditorium model) have some magic about their tone. They are special guitars. The grand concert is a blues and fingerpicking guitar with a beautiful voice. Loud and full of complex woody tone.

Maybe I will experience high end Collings, Martins and hand made guitars down the track. The Ayers guitars were designed by Australian luthier Gerard Gilet. They are the high water mark in guitars for me.