Fylde Alexander

You can check the full spec of the Fylde Alexander at www.fyldeguitars.com. My Alexander has exactly the spec listed there. It's handmade by Fylde of Penrith in England's Lake District. Purchased in August 2003 from Hanks in Denmark Street, London. Supplied with a Hiscox Liteflite case, which isn't an exact fit but with a couple of T-shirts for padding works well.

Remarkably rich resonant sound. I compared it to various similarly priced (and some more expensive) instruments in Hanks, including Gibson, Larivee, Maton and Taylor. To me it sounded best in particular for its rich, well-projected sound and perfect intonation all along the fingerboard. My interest is principally blues, however, I imagine that the Alexander is a great all-rounder.

When I bought this guitar I was an absolute beginner and I really liked the easy playability of the action and consistency across the fingerboard. The set-up was perfect and, 5 years on, remains perfect. The woods are perfectly matched; it has a wonderfully understated appearance. There were a couple of very minor dings on the soundboard, probably caused while on display in the guitar shop; I received a discount because of this.

The Alexander is very solidly made and dependable. I haven't gigged with it, but would have every confidence in it in performance. While living in New York City for a couple of years, due I think to the humidity/air conditioning, a superficial crack appeared in the finish along the grain of the wood on the soundboard (about 3 inches long). This doesn't affect the sound and can only been seen close-up.

I've had no need to have any work done to the Alexander in the 5 years I've owned it. I've phoned Fylde a couple of times with questions and have each time spoken with Roger Bucknall the owner and founder of Fylde, who was very helpful.

I started learning guitar 5 years ago when I purchased the Alexander. I now also have a Gibson Nighthawk, Fender 62 re-issue Strat and National Resolectric. If I lost the Alexander I would get another! In particular, its rich sound and open, musical tone are outstanding. Even considerably more expensive guitars in Hanks didn't match the Fylde; it's really good value for money. Also, it looks great! I'm so impressed that I'm considering getting another Fylde instrument.

My guitar was made on 2005 in the UK at the Fylde workshop. It has

- 14 frets clear
- Solid Cedar top
- Brazilian Rosewood back and sides.
- 5 piece laminate neck made up of Mahogany, yew and black boxwood.
- 629 Scale lenght
- Gold Gotoh 510 tuners.
- Oval soundhole
- 43mm and Nut.

The guitar was brought second hand, but never played, form a shop in worthing. Given that i traded two guitars in the price i payed makes this a great buy and the features are amazing.

I play finger style, Martin Simpson style, Bert Jansch, Nic Jones etc... so Celtic finger style in open tunings. The separation, the audible difference from string to string is stunning, and for the first time i can truly emote when i play. The bass notes offer a rich grandness and the trebles a sparkle that i have only ever heard from a Sobell before.
In Cadd9 and DADGAD the tone improves and the bass fills out even more without braking up. The guitar is a 'bulldozer' as a friend put it.
The sound is further helped by the perfect intonation across the finger board. Roger's use of zero frets has been criticized as an ';easy way to set the action' but it works and how it works.

The action is very soft. I play with D'Addario EXP19's and the action allows for easy pull offs and hammers without the sound breaking up. The finish is also perfect in what i think is Nitro. There are one or two small spears in the finish on on shoulder.

The laminate neck is almost indestructible as i found out at the fldye workshop. And the finish is also very tough so i would guess the durability to be very good.

Roger is one of the more 'involved' builders. He always seems to have time for people and always replies to emails in great, great depth.

The guitar has as good a sound as a MS Sobell that i played. It is a different sound but not weaker.
The sound compared to my other handmade guitars is far superior. I also played it next to Martins and Lowdens and the Richness of sound far suppased even the Lowden.