Product: Brook Guitars Tamar 12-String
Price Paid: pounds sterling 2,500
Submitted
10/15/1998
at
01:40am
by
David Mark
Features
:
10
Made in June-September 1998 to customer specification in Devon, England. 14-fret neck, flat top acoustic 12-string. Back and sides are walnut, with customer-chosen highly-patterned back. Top is very pale spruce. Neck is mahogany, with ebony fingerboard. Rosewood bridge, bone nut, gold-plated Waverly tuners. Customer-specified headstock inlays, mother of pearl fret markers. Body size similar to Martin 00 range. Came with hard shell case.
Sound
:
10
Very full, bright ringing tone. The nicest sounding 12-string I have played.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Action surprisingly low, so guitar exceptionally playable even when tuned to concert pitch. Beautiful hand finishing.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
Too new to judge durability, but looks to be built to last with strong bracing. Waverly tuners have a good reputation, although gold finish may wear over time. Would trust it without back up
Customer Support
:
10
It doesn't get much better, given that the guitar was built to my specification, with the wood chosen and the headstock designed to please etc. The crew at Brook are great to deal with and well worth a visit. New set-ups are offered and I am sure any problems will be sorted without quibble. There is no official warranty. I am so impressed that I am now aiting on my second Brook!
Overall Rating
:
10
I am the proud owner of many guitars, having been playing on and off for more than 20 years (still not very good!). My other acoustics are Martin and Taylor, with Takamine, Ovation and Washburn electro-acoustics. The Brook is very special, representing a very high quality handmade instrument that has been personalised in a pleasing way. The combination of looks and playability is hard to beat and it would definitely be replaced if I were to lose it. This is my first British guiitar, but will not be my last. While expensive, because of the import costs of quality US guitars, it is still fairly competitive. Stock Brook models, without the fancy finish, are priced to compete with Martins, Taylors etc but are more exclusive and have that hand-made feel.
