Brook Guitars Lyn 010

My Brook "Lyn" is a small-bodied (00 size?), 12-fret, slot headstock fingerpicker completed in November 2000. It has the classic combination of solid spruce top with solid Indian rosewood back (one piece) and sides, ebony bridge and 45mm fingerboard with subtle mother-of-pearl dot inlay. The body is bound with what looks like mahogany and embellished with an almost indiscernible herringbone inlay. Machine-heads are disappointingly the "three-on-a-strip" variety but work well enough. Although gloss-finished, the overall impression is one of understated class. The guitar came in a Hiscox case.

I always struggle with adjectives for sound. It's "rosewood" woody, but it sparkles. The kind of guitar that "hums" spontaneously as you pull that last string into perfect tune. The only comparison I can make is with an Olson SJ, James Taylor's guitar. That sustaining ring with full bass in a small body, that "perfect picker" sound. I play a range of singer-songwriter stuff and emulate Duck Baker-style Celtic reels for my partypiece. My "Lyn" copes with it all beautifully.

The action "striaght out of the case" was too low for me and the truss rod had to be tightened just a fraction to cure a tiny buzz. But it took less than fifteen minutes for me to decide to buy the guitar - and that was before the buzz was stopped by the shop guitar tech with a suitable socket wrench. The finish is excellent, inside and out and the neck has a silky quality enhanced by the Elixir strings fitted. Detail around the endpin and block is simply craftmanship at its best.

As with most dedicated pickers' guitars, my "Lyn" will be wrapped in cotton wool and kept in a controlled environment. There is nothing to make me think that it wouldn't withstand the rigours of road-use, but I've got less delicate guitars that I care less about - I think I'll keep using those for the gigs. It certainly keeps its tuning impeccably (strung with 13s) in both standard and DADGAD, which is always a good test for a working guitar.

Brook Guitars seem to pride themselves on developing a good rapport with their customers. E-mails are promptly acknowledged with warm good humour. There's something about the size of their business and the small numbers of instruments they produce that I found gave me a sense of belonging - along with a great sense of "smugness" that my guitar's fabulous and it didn't cost the Earth. I will visit their workshops when I'm in the vicinity - but I don't think it will be to make a warranty claim.

I've played and collected guitars for 25 years. I already own Martins, Taylors and Ovations. I actually went looking for a Lowden or a Taylor 700/800 when I found the Brook. It's quite simply a beautiful, inspiring instrument that always makes me smile. I've had it for almost three months now, and the others are pretty much collecting dust. And I'm going to buy a Brook 12-string .... although I've never even seen one. Maybe that says it all. I think it's love.