Pavan TP20

This is a Pavan tp 20 review. Cedar top, indian rosewood body, ebony fingerboard. I think the tuners are Schaller. 650mm scale. Made in Spain for Tom Prisloe. 2009. Solid top and body. There really isn't much in the classical guitar world that passes for features. Even the finest guitars look pretty much like the most basic. You can get specs on Pavanguitars.com

I am 54 years old, took classical guitar in College in the 1970's, bought a handemade yamaha GC 3D spruce/rosewood guitar which i've been playing ever since. it is a wonderful guitar that is hard to beat.
The Pavan TP 20 beats it. The sound,resonance, overtones are rich, balanced, loud enough, responsive. Sustain is wonderful.

Set up was fine. no problems. no buzzing. Action was perfect. tuners work beautifully (one problem with the yamaha is that a couple of tuners are prety much past their prime). Bracing, hardware, saddle, etc. all fine. Very subtle scratches in finish on back.

Absolutely no problems. Seems at least as reliable and durable as any other classical guitar i've ever seen or played.

Tom Prisloe was true to his reputation. he called me back after work at 9pm on a weekday, talked patiently, answered my inane questions.

I have been playing for 40 years. In addition to this, I have a Yamaha GC 3D handmade classical guitar, a rare handmade yamaha FG1500 (which simply is the best steel string I have ever seen or heard, a harwood and isaacs lute.
I am a dilettante at best but listen to a lot of classical, have seen Segovia live (twice), Parkening, and Bream. i think my comments are as valid as anyone elses. I can play Prelude,fugue, and allegro, a few other intermediate Bach pieces, which frankly is all I am interested in at this stage of my life. I just began taking lessons again and am playing better than ever. I bought this after several intense weeks of research on the internet, and played a Loriente Clarita, mint condition, which some fans feel is superior to not only the TP20 but the TP 30, which is the same price. I didn't find that. I'd give the Clarita a slight edge in brightness, probably because it is spruce, I believe, but the sustain and richness and overtones were significantly more noticeable with the Pavan TP 20. It plays beautifully. I don't know what strings it came with but they are fine. If it were stolen or lost i'd buy another instantly. I had the opportunity to buy the Clarita at exactly the same price as the TP 20 and i do not regret for an instant that I bought the "lesser" guitar. It plays and sounds significantly better. What is still amazing is how good my GC3D still sounds and plays!

tp 20, check out pavanguitars.com for specs...its a classical guitar, you features are in your hands...

harmony central your reviews do work! I've been playing rock and pop for over 20 years, want to get into classsical, did a bunch of research, found pavan, boutght a tp20, and am very happy! I've owned nylon string guitars before, just never played classical...the tone on this one is amazing...just as good as a 2000 brand that I tried out...

set up by tom prisloe...he makes high end instruments that cost about 5000, these models he contracts a company in spain to make...its also his own wood, he ships the wood to them...well made, a lot less finish than other guitars at this price, thank god, other crappy guitars choke the instrument with globs of finish...some imperfections with it, little scuff marks here and there, but nothing major...my guitar the g string is a bit higher than the others, and sustains a tiny bit less, again minor stuff, but its there nonetheless...didnt sour me on this guitar however, you do not feel like you are playing an 895 dollar guitar, its feels WAY more expensive, and even better, it feels like it will grow with you as you get better...

like any classical, you have to take care of them, but it seems like it will last as long as I do this...

the BEST customer support in the UNIVERSE! i'm not kidding, you speak to tom himself, and not just for a minute, the firsttime we spoke i was on the phone with him for like 15 minutes, taking about classical guitars...i had questions regarding left handed models, and he totatlly explained everything to me...this guy is the real deal, you dont see this kind of commitment to making you feel comfortable...you get a 7 day return policy, if anything is wrong, he fixes it right away, he stands behind his stuff, very impressive...

i was totally nervous about buying a classical over the internet, now I am totally glad that i did, i look forward to many nights of frustration, trying to get my fingers to do what i cant even do with a pick...later, gotta go practice!

I am a beginning CG player who wanted a good quality instrument. The TP-20's are made for Tom Prisloe in Spain by an unknown shop. I spent considerable time at local shops and on the web before deciding to purchase a TP-20. In comparison to other similarly priced instruments, the TP-20 is a particularly attactive instrument with quality features, see "MY"'s review for a good listing of the more interesting points. I agree with his comment regarding the strings, get rid of the original set before judging the sound of the instrument.

Sound quality of the TP-20 is excellent. I have played steel string for years, and I was amazed at the variation in sound of CG guitars of supposedly identical models, and across price ranges. The sound quality of the TP-20 is hard to beat at its price point. I wish I'd had a chance to play a Lucida Arista Concerto as a comparison, but I didn't find anything close for under $1K. Sustain is very impressive! The body seems much more resonant than other sub $1K instruments. Again, the original set of strings must be replaced before you can begin to judge the sound.

My TP-20 is actually the second one I received. The first had several problems: loose tuning machines (stripped mounting screws), an annoying body buzz on open G (and any other G), and a dimpled finish due to the finish sinking into the rosewood pores. Tom Prisloe paid for return shipping, and promptly replaced it with a flawless TP-20, with no questions. If you decide to purchase a TP-20, it's important to know that Tom stands behind these instruments. My new TP-20 has no visible fit issues at all. Attention to detail on this instrument is excellent for a sub-$1K guitar. The finish polishing could be a bit better (fine scratches and some tiny flaws visible), but some of this is due to the fact that the TP-20 is not heavily finished like other guitars in this price range, which kills the sound. Again, if you have any problems with the finish as I did with my first TP-20, just call Tom and he will make it right.

I have only had the guitar a fairly short time, so I cannot comment more fully on this area. I see no obvious reason why the TP-20 would not be durable. The case I purchased from Tom is excellent, the guitar fits snugly, so it should weather transport well. The guitar seems very solidly built.

See my comments above. When you buy mail order, customer support is extremely important. If you look at comments regarding some of the other online CG sellers, many people have had issues with getting problems with their guitars dealt with. You won't have that issue with Tom, and from what I've heard, if you want to trade up to one of his handbuilt concert guitars, he'll credit you for your TP-20 in return. Great service.

My high rating is for guitars in the same price range, under $1K. Obviously, a guitar of this price isn't going to directly compare with a $5K concert instrument. But for a beginning or intermediate CG player, the TP-20 is an absolutely top-notch instrument.

This will mostly be a comparison of the TP-20 with the TP-30, which I also own (I have to practice in two places, and have a Pavan in each). If you have been wondering whether the TP-30 (mine is a TP-30-64 short scale) is worth the money, this writeup might help.

The TP-20 I have is labeled 2004, and is a solid Indian RW/solid red cedar top 650/52mm nut as usual. Whoever the mystery factory is whose luthiers put together the Pavan Spanish guitars, they obviously have continuous access to top-quality wood. The rosewood and cedar in my TP-20 are fine, clear, book-matched pieces of the highest quality, equal to those in my TP-30. Tuners are Dutch, as I understand it, heavy in construction. They show a little backlash when unloaded, but with strings mounted, they are smooth and reliable. The neck is medium-thickness cedar, standard classical fretting, with an ebony spine reinforcement. My neck was unusually straight, with almost no relief, and the frets were even and well-finished on the edges. One small feature for which I am going to subtract 0.5 is the original strings. The basses were decent, but the trebles were so bad (played out of tune, dull tone) that I at first thought I might have gotten a lemon. Throw the original strings away and try a new reputable set before you judge your TP-20, should you get one.

I play classical repertoire, including modern South American music, so that is what background shapes these opinions. The TP-20 sounds good, considerably better than other $750 guitars I've played. It is just a hair short of the TP-30 - a bit more fundamental, less harmonic richness, a little less balanced between strings and between bass/treble, but it sounds interesting and has that warmth that makes nylon (or kevlar, or whatever) strings so interesting to play. Mine had good sustain, and is particularly sweet in the higher positions. It is also a bit less responsive than the TP-30 (at least the one example I knkow well), so it doesn't require as much concentration to play, but won't give you strong vibrato when you call for it either.

Action was well set up, but I am beginning to think that Tom Prisloe might be too busy now to set up every guitar he ships. My TP-20 was well set up, but in a 'standard' fashion without the special dimensions I asked for. In any case, the pieces go together to make this an easy-to-play guitar, equal to or better than my TP-30, which has had several levels of work on its playability.

Fit and finish is a tricky one; as I said above, the TP-20 is made of great wood. The finish is even better, on average, than my TP-30 - for example, the joint between the neck and the body is very clean, and is not slathered with a fillet of finish. However, here's the tricky part - in several (relatively small) spots, someone had taken a buffing wheel to the back edge of my TP-20 using a rather gritty abrasive. The result was two rough areas, with visible scratches. These cleaned up, but were disappointing in a new guitar. A mixed outcome here, so a somewhat mixed rating.

Classical guitars are a bit twitchy always, but this one seems very solid and likely to resist handling, low humidity and the lot. The nitrocellulose lacquer finish deserves special mention, since it is hard and thick enough to resist skin dreck, string burns and so on, without quenching the sound. This is a respect in which the TP-20 beats most other guitar in its price range.

Tom Prisloe is reponsive and genial; just give him a call.

I've been playing classical for several years, but spaced out over decades. I'd replace the TP-20 with another, but I'd take the 7 day trial seriously, and return a guitar immediately if it had finish defects. Spend awhile just looking carefully at any guitar bought over the internet, and keep in mind that I am still very positive about the overall finish of my TP-20.

The TP-20 is a bargain, satisfying to play and look at for less than comparable guitars. In fact, it is among the best for student guitars from other makers. If you are chohrding or playing rhythm, no reason to get the TP-30. The TP-20 will serve. The more fingerstyle or classical, or melody you play, the more the TP-30, with its slightly greater sophistication, will make sense.

Solid Cedar top, ebony fretboard, ebony reinforced neck, beautiful rosette, solid rosewood sides and back. No trussrod.

Sound is fantastic. It's brand new and I've played it for about a week now. It's already starting to mellow out and become nice and smooth. I can't wait to see how it sounds in several years. It's quite a bit louder than any other classical guitar I've played. Projects very well.

Tom Prisloe will tailor the action to yoru specifications when you order it, so of course there's no way one could complain. You could give him an exact measurment for each string at the 12th fret if you wanted. The finish is beautiful. The rosette is great.

IT just feels like a quality insturment. You'll know when you hold it.

Tom is perfect.

The Tuners it came with I didn't like. There was a lot of play in the gears. I spent $70 on some ebony buttoned Schaller hauser style tuners and put those on. I had to drill holes. I just wish I would have bought the TKL 8900 case he offers for $115 with a guitar purchase. The case I already had didn't fit the slightly larger lower bout (a bit over 15"). I bought the same case after the fact for $150 shipped. That's the best price I found online. D'oh!