Brook Guitars Tamar

My baby was purchased in 2004 when I dropped into Brook with a very badly damaged mandolin to see if they could do anything to help. They took it away to the workshop, gave me a coffee and showed me into their showroom - "have a play" they said, "try them all". This is no doubt a very cunning ploy on their part because when they returned an hour later I was crooning gently to a stunning model with a koa back and cedar front. They explained gently that I would either have to give it back or give them some money.

I was back the following day (round trip of 200 miles) with a fist full of notes. I won't say how much I paid because I suspect that I had caught them at a slow time and they were happy to trade.

They threw in a Hiscox case and another cup of coffee (they also did what they could with the mando for free).

I do the occasional pub gig in the company of noisy beggers on accordians and still hold my own for volume. I also play fingerstyle and just love the easy action all the way up the neck. It can give a variety of sound, delicate amd bright when played gently but a full bodied sound when strummed hard.

Prior to getting the Brook I had played the same Kimbara spanish for about 30 years so can't really judge against other contemporary guitars. However, the only adjustment I've ever needed has been to tighten the neck occasionally to compensate for the central heating in my study, where the majority of my playing takes place.
I have just examined it critically and can see no flaws in manufacture whatsoever.
Factory set up was great.

What can I say - I take it out of the case (wherever) and it plays like a dream.

I have never needed to go back but wouldn't hesitate to do so (so long as the wife will let me - she knows what happened last time).
One day I'm going to get the guys to build me a custom octave mando when finances permit.

I;ve been thrashing away for more than 40 years (ouch that hurts) and have a couple of mandolins and the old faithful Kimbara which is strung with nylon and described by friends as my 'fighting guitar' - it goes places I won't take the Brook.

I certainly would get another if mine were stolen, but would mourn the loss of this one.

My Tamar was made in 2004. It has 14 fret neck. Solid European master grade spruce Top. Quarter sawn Cocobolo backs and side selected for tone. Maple neck. Ebony fretboard. Gold hardware. Koa binding on the body, and neck with purfling.. Came with a Hiscox case.

This is just an absolutely wonderful guitar. It suits any style. It is wonderfully rich and articulate, balanced, warm, friendly, maybe even slightly angelic sounding tone. Very nice. Everyone loves the sound of this guitar....it's awesome!

Action, fit, finish.......PERFECT!!!! Just a beautiful looking guitar. A real masterpiece of european craftsmenship.

I have had it six months now and it is holding up like a champ. Never heard of any reliability problems with Brook Guitars.....doubt we ever willl.

They have the best customer support. Truly friendly, caring people, always there for their customers. They take their work seriously and it shows in the quality of Brook Guitars as a buisness. A top notch affair.

This is one of the best guitars I have ever played and I have played allot of guitars. I am very, very picky about the tone of my guitars. When I lived in the S.F. Bay area I would literally play hundreds of guitars before I would decide which one I should buy, sometimes I would hunt for a year or so before one would meet my expectations in what I require from any guitar I buy. So to take a chance on a custom made guitar which I could not play pefore I purchased it was a real test for me. All I can say is I'm glad I did as my Brook Tamar is one awesome guitar which I consider priceless, and it has so much character I doubt that it could be replaced. If it was stlolen I would call Brook the next day to order another.

This guitar was made November 2002 by Brook guitars. It is a custom model.
The top is solid cedar, the back and sides are American Red Gum. I had a highlander IP-2 PICK-UP installed but Brook will put in anything you ask. The neck is mahogany with a stride of lacewood/rosewood/lacewood running down the back. The finish is a semi-matt. The Tamar body shape is a sort of mini-jumbo, mine has a drop cut-away and fretboard (none-more-black ebony)extension into the soundhole. The bridge is pinless, Brook's own design. The tuners are Gold/ebony Waverly's but once again Brook will fit anything. Neck is a comfortable shape with a slight V profile (but as before Brook will do anything you want, this I cannot stress too strongly!)Also included was a hiscox hard case

This is a very new guitar but it already is showing signs of its own character. The sound is nicely balanced already but in a few year's time will be something pretty special. I use this guitar with an AER comp-60 amplifier and it makes me smile! Plugged in or not, the sound is enchanting, very clear and clean but not shrill like a Takamine or gutless like a Yamaha. For advanced fingerstyle techniques (Me! hedges, Bensusan, Kottke) etc I have found the perfect instrument for me. Brook designed it from the ground up using the tamar body as a template. Very responsive, this guitar can handle anything I've thrown at it so far, lovely harmonics up to high up in the series, growly bass when you hit it just right. Basically this is why I went to Brook in the first place. Score rflects sound at the moment not potential (i CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR THIS IN FIVE YEAR'S TIME!)

Great action, spacing at bridge allows for lots of nail-return techniques etc etc. Like ALL aspects of this guitar I got exactly what I'd asked for when I visited the workshop. That simple.

I've already gigged this guitar, it's going to be fine! I need a back-up due to ridiculous amount of tunings used! When the cash is there it'll be another Brook, maybe a slope-shouldered dread. Yum! Ok, it's a fine instrument and therefore I'm going to look after it, I think it could handle a ding or two just don't play it in the bath!

I've been looking forward to this bit!! It's like this. After a couple of e-mails I went to visit Brook's workshop in Devon (UK) I hand-picked EVERY LITTLE PIECE OF WOOD THAT WENT INTO THAT GUITAR! No Kidding, I was offered the choice of a stack of obscenely grained backs and sides and chose the one that I fell in love with. THEY LET YOU DO THAT HERE! All wood except for koa and Rio is the same price! Wipe me dry!! I paid a deposit and the guitar was ready six months later just as they said it would be. During this time they kept me updated regularly with j-pegs and e-mails about progress and custom options. When I flew over to collect the guitar they even picked me up frm the station!! They also make very good coffee. Look, it doesn't get any better than this I'm telling you!!

I have been playing for 19 years (I'm 25)and have owned guitars by Martin, Yamaha and Lowden. The Lowden is 15 year's old so it's a tough act to follow. Basically I took it to the Brook workshop, told them what I liked and what I didn't and my Tamar was born. If the Tamar was lost or stolen I would be on the phone for a new one straight away! The six-month wait would be more than worth it. (Brook do very fine off the peg guitars but now I've tasted custom I can't go back!)The over-all rating reflects the instrument "as is" and not its potential for development. You can check this guitar and others out at www.brookguitars.com in the news section Dec 2002

This follows my earlier review. The EMG Ampjak turned out to be hopeless and I replaced it with a Headway which is really good. Brook made me a new saddle free of charge (I did send them a cheque, but they didn't want it!) to rectify the over-zealous filing which Hanks had done when they fitted the EMG and had tried to correct with a shim. This really helped the sound and pickup balance - I carefully set the height with a carborundum knife sharpening stone which gave me a good level surface. Anyway, to summarise, Brook are brilliant, and as for the pickups, see the reviews.

Please see my earlier review. Having had the guitar a while longer, changed the setup slightly, put lighter strings on it and a better pickup, I'm really pleased with it.

So, another Tamar on Harmony Central! well, this one is brand new, 1998, a six-string. It is a sort of small jumbo(!), rounded shape body but whilst deeper and wider waisted than a 000 size, it is smaller than a J200 (what isn't!). Mine is local English flamed walnut, bookmatched with the most beautiful close-grained cedar top. The fingerboard is ebony, the headstock faced in what can be described as birdseye walnut. Gotoh chrome tuners. Body bound in rosewood. Hard case included. I had an EMG Ampjak pickup put in. The neck has a faint V, quite narrow, but with a near-perfect action. Gloss finish.

This has a really warm, almost dark haunting bottom end. The guitar has a very smooth sound, but bright enough in the higher registers to cut through. It has the response of Mahogany, but rings on like a rosewood. The sound is actually quite unusual, it has a voice all of its own. I did compare some rosewood/spruce OO and OOO sized Brooks, which sound more conventional, this has something of a dreadnought sound maybe the shape and wood working together. The quality and volume stand witht the very best you can buy. Well, these guitars are just that, really. It finger picks and strums nicely. The EMG is clean and even, I have always been happy with their stuff, it's reliable and forgiving and a very neat installation.

Nearly 10 here. It's streets ahead of production guitars. All the materials are absolutely top quality. The cedar top is the closest grain I have ever seen, and the walnut is beautiful, all beautifully bookmatched. The action was as low as you can go and the frets immaculate. I have had the action raised a touch and the relief increased slightly, but that is personal preference. All Brooks seem to be set up really low and the fretwork makes for a really easy to play guitar. The only minor flaws are polishing around the heel, but this is hand made not cut by laser. Overall, fantastic work.

All good quality. the Gotoh tuners seem just as good as Schaller, it comes in a gig-worthy Hiscox case. The EMG, as I said is a good pickup and pre-amp with a superb jack/endpin. Batteries last forever. The guitar should last forever too, as far as a steel string acoustic ever will.

I have spoken with Brook since acquiring my first Brook, a Bovey baby guitar. They were great, really interested, they remember each and every guitar and seem to have as much pleasure making them as I do playing them. They have been around a long time, originally making Manson guitars, well-established in the UK. They said if I ever have any problem, they'll sort it out and I believe them. The prices they charge suggest they are not out to make a fortune! Also, the dealer, Hanks, are enthusiastic too despite being a very large central London dealer which is itself part of a large group of shops - I find their other stores a bit cynical and very expensive. Hanks gave me a good price and threw in a few extras as well, including the pickup of my choice and fitting and a free set-up in the first year.

I am going to sell a couple of long-owned acoustics to pay for this, and intend it to be my only full size six-string acoustic. I have played for about 20 years. Folk, blues, ragtime for my own amusement and regular praise and worship through a p.a. I always use a DI box, either a Session Matchbox or a Boss AD5. It is a guitar for life. You can have any wood you like, but I chose this off the peg as it is a near-twin of my Brook Bovey which is also reviewed here. I really like all of it, otherwise I'd have had one made to order. It really does compare in quality on materials, construction and sound with the very best. It has an English sound, there are other makers in the UK who make guitars that look and sound a bit like this, such as Sobell, and Fylde. Brook do fancy guitars too with abalone inlays, beautiful (WOOD) bound fingerboard and headstock etc. and they are stunning, if a bit more expensive. However, their standard models are all special because of the quality of the timber, much of which is locally cut and not avaialable elsewhere. I wanted something special and this is it. What else did I like?, well I saw some sexy Santa Cruzes, special edition Martins, even a J200 but none had the beauty of this and it sounds as good as all of those, if a bit individual. I love it!