Almansa 434S Classical

My Almansa has no extras. I got a wonderful guitar. No extras. Not bells no whistles. As a visual artist, I like colour and high contrast, so the pink in the rosette seemed to stick out for me. I liked too, that the guitar was light in colour as opposed to many of the darker ones.

I am learning folk and classical. It is very bright, which is one of the reasons I bought it. I like the warm tone.

I had the guys at Long & McQuade in Toronto check it out thouroughly. Everything was in the right places.

Now I did get a used nut barely used guitar! Mine was $350 plus tax. New, it would have been $465 plus tax! Mine had the bridge nut shaved down so the action was better. I noticed on the identical new guitar, the bridge nut was significantly higher than mine. I was happy with mine.

Mine is a used guitar so it didn't come with a warranty. However, the service at L & M is always top notch! In fact, ironically, it wasn't one of the guys who helped me, it was 2 customers on 2 different ocassions! They both (informed me- 2 separate ocassions) that they had 10 and 12 guitars respectively; that if they were to get another, this would be the one! THIS guitar was sitting there for 2 weeks! They said I had to take this as it was meant for me! I sweated, I hmmmed, and haaad...and a week later, I had put it on hold and paid it off within 30 days.

I am a self avowed bare ass beginner. I ALSO have a few friends that have been playing for several years and they all say it is a hell of a guitar! Period. If I had this stolen or lost it, I would not hesitate to get another Almansa 434. I may also try a better one, but I am more than VERY satisfied with this one! I love learning on it and I truly enjoy coming home to practice everyday and I love waking up to practice in the mornings too!

434-Spruce model. Features have already been spoken about. There is not much to speak of here - it is a plain ol' classical guitar. It is rather pretty, however.

Absolutely terrific sound. I am still surprised by the variety of sounds that can be obtained by varying the way in which you attack the strings with your fingers. It is very responsive - a true guitarist's guitar.

This guitar sounds much better than those double its price.

Set up fine. No problems. No known flaws.

This is a fairly reliable guitar. It is rather light and does not seem like it could easily stand a beating. But who's going to give their guitar a beating?

No comment.

Absolutely delightful guitar. This thing sounds beautiful. Highly recommended.

Solid Spruce (type not specified) top with laminated Indian Rosewood sides. Cedar neck, ebony fignerboard, with gold-plated tuners.

Very bright, clear and loud sound. Impressive for the low price. Talking about how it sounds won't convey much, so go try one for yourself.

My guitar had no flaws on it whatsoever. The action on it is low to normal for a classical. I have friends who don't play classical who consider it high. This guitar looks wonderful.

While I certainly wouldn't consider this a concert level guitar, it delivers a loud enough sound to play in public. Tuning is not a problem.

I purchased this guitar for Long & McQuade in Canada. As always, they were easy to deal with and helpful in every way. A nice chance from the pretence you often find in music stores.

I've been playing classical guitar for 25 years or so and have owned many guitars, both handmade and factory made (all classical). I bought this guitar as a replacement for a Yamaha to play while teaching. It has far surpassed my expectations to the point I am considering one of their Professional models. Dollar for dollar the best guitar purchase I've made. Highly recommended.

This is a Spanish made standard sized classical guitar, features as follows:

Purchased from Classicalshop.com for $550.00. I had to purchase a case (don't even buy a guitar without one).

Spruce top (since the type is not specified, I will have to assume it is standard Sitka).
Laminated Rosewood back and sides.
Ebony fingerboard.
Rosewood bridge.
Cedar neck.
Rosewood laminated headstock.
Standard gold plated pearloid tuners.
Phenolic nut and bridge string height strip.
Standard medium frets.

The sound is interestingly cutting, but lacks the warmth and low end that a nylon stringed instrument should possess. In short, I will attribute this to a spruce top (this model is also available with a Cedar top), and laminated Rosewood back and sides. Though the rigidity of laminated woods will offer up a durable instrument, the lack of responsive vibration hinders the tonal "bounce-back" that helps the top vibrate.
I would also like to note that Spruce is a fabulous choice for a steel string or classical acoustic, but you may have to wait a few years before the wood matures and comes into its own. Simply put, the grain is tighter (than Cedar) and will take longer to loosen up and vibrate at optimal performance. Cedar has looser grain patterns and usually (providing the cut is good) sounds excellent right off the bat. The only thing sacrificed with Cedar is higher end trebles (Cedar tends to have a darker, warmer sound).
Alright, enough babble... this guitar sounds like a Flamenco; it's trebly, cutting, raspy, and resonates fabulously. If I could do it over again, would I? I would have purchased the Cedar version.
One last note, when microphoned through our Church's sound system, it sounded heavenly.

Alright... we are not talking about a $25,000 custom build here; fit and finish left room for improvement.
The polyeurethane binding on the 12th fret was cracked and flaked off. I was very dissapointed and considered sending the guitar back; instead I taped it up and built the finish back up (took me the better part of a Saturday evening). Needless to say, it is fixed.
I also noticed a heavy eurethane semi-run at the heel body joint with small specles of saw dust; yeah I know... noone else would ever notice, but I do.
The top has two very small knot grooves (no big deal).
The back center line is not centered with the heel cap.
The ebony finger board has several areas that could have used a better sanding job.
The finish is not very durable! Be careful with this guitar or you will ding the hay out of it. I merely tapped the center line at the back of the guitar with the case hing and ended up with a dissapointing ding. Again, I taped it off and built it back up with eurethane (it's fixed).
Here is the worst part of all... I fear the neck was not glued on straight. Tuning this guitar is a mother! Never mind trying to do it by harmonics, something is out of whack. I'm embarrased to say, but I have to use a digital tuner to get this thing anywhere near tuned. I can't help but to notice the heal looking ever so slightly cocked. A true dissapointment... makes it hard for me to want to play it.

This is a guitar to be used in a padded room without any sharp objects (hey... it's a classical guitar).
Finish is very pretty and shiny, but rigid and easy to crack.
I would not use this guitar live because the tuning is so unstable (please don't lecture me on proper classical guitar stringing, I know how to do it and have mastered it). I know nylon strings are unstable, continuously stretch, and are very sensitive to weather change, but this is ridiculous. I tune this thing every ten minutes.
If you purchase this guitar, consider it a personal playing instrument for your own personal pleasure; I can't imagine to many people are enthralled watching someone tune a guitar all night long.

Didn't bother complaining... my fault.
I've simply resorted to playing my steel string (far more dependable).
I will say that I'm surprised Classicalshop.com sent a guitar out with cracked binding however. I thought they personally inspected each instrument? I won't buy from them again.

I've been playing for 17 years. My style of music is praise and worship; I play in the church worship group (sometimes bass).
I also have a Fender GA-45SCE steel string (real nice guitar - check out the reviews).
If my Almansa were stolen, I would briefly wipe a single tear from my cheek, and then move on (no I would not replace it).
What do I love about the guitar? The romantic ambieance that can only be had from a Spanish made classical (you know the same thing you get, but don't really get from a Fender Stratocaster).
What do I hate about it? I can't help but feel that I could have got a comparable asian model for $200.
In short, I can live with the visual imperfections, but not with the unbalanced tuning.
The tone is OK... it grows on you.
Before you buy one, go to a dealer where you can try one out, and go over it with a magnifying glass.