Product: Cuenca 30 Classical
Price Paid: 325 (Euro)
Submitted
02/02/2005
at
01:19pm
by
Roland
Email: a_roland at skynet<dot>be
Features
:
9
Handcrafted in Spain, classical body and neck, 2004 build, solid Cedar top, laminated mahogany sides and back, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard, no electronics. Simple but adequate tuning mechanisms, rosewood bridge, 12 frets to the body, smooth and even frets. With its glossy finish, it seems well protected against aggressive playing (if anyone should attempt to to that). The guitar comes fitted with D'Addario medium tension strings. The guitar seems a tad lightweight, but I guess that this contributes to the sound. Overall, the guitar looks as good as one can expect at the price . The instrument that I tried in the shop had a slightly bent neck (towards the fretboard), look from the body to the head along the neck before you buy and ask for a new one if necessary ( a good dealer should sell you a new instrument if asked). The instrument that I bought shows no sign of bending after weeks of playing.
Sound
:
10
Compaired it to its cheaper sibling, the model 10, it sounded more balanced, with more sustain and a much more classical tone. It's well worth the extra cash.
Overall, this guitar sounds better that one can expect from an instrument at this price point. It has an even balance, a natural "wooden" tone and a good sustain. Bass is good considering the price but the instrument exells in the mid and high notes.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
The finish is as good as one can expect. It has a properly bookmatched top, nice looking dark mahogany sides and back and solid rosewood protective edges. The glossy finish is applied evenly. The action is also very good, although the guitar has classical dimentions, it seems that the instrument plays itself when needed. Sliding over the frets goes very smooth, the higher notes are easy to play, notes higher than the twelfth fret are difficult to access however.
Reliability/Durability
:
8
The guitar is rather lightweight, so take care not to bump it. Use a hardshell case when travelling. The glossy finish (polyester?) should provide adequate protection against scratches.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
Never needed any.
Overall Rating
:
10
This guitar is certainly recomendable, if lost or stolen, I would certainly replace it. It has an authentic "classical" tone and it's easy to play an deven looks good. I currently play a Simon and Patrick model 6 Cedar with D'Adario lights (recently purchased as well) and a 30 jear old Flamenco guitar (Antonio Ariza) with high tension D'Addario strings. I've been playing for almost forty years and this instrument has renewed my interest to play classical music.
