Garrison Guitars G40-LCE

I own an alvaro classical cutaway 4000e with fishman prefix
a jaoquin garcia hand made concert classical guitar from malaga spain
roland ac-60 amp boss pedals and stuff. been trying to sell it for a while now but they are not liked in ireland. I wish I'd asked if there was a "self destructo with cash back" feature on the guitar.
I it were stolen I'd laugh. and buy something else. it sounds crap, the bridge saddle is too high to let the action down to what I like, (I'm not that fussy )the pick-up has so little to work with that it really isn't that versatile. I compared it to a few guitars but I think I must've had my head stuck quite a long way up my bum, also I think my ears have learned how to listen. the neck does fell nice and has a nice profile but thats not enough to compensate. I wish it had anything that would help me sell it.

I ordered this guitar in January of 2003, but since it is left handed, it had to be made from scratch, so I got it right after it came off the production line. These guitars are made in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. It has 20 frets, SOLID Englemann spruce top, SOLID Mahogany back and sides, and SOLID Mahogany neck, as well as Rosewood fingerboard and bridge. I ordered it with the factory installed pickup and pre-amp, the Fishman Prefix, which has controls for Bass, Contour, Treble, Frequency, and Volume. It comes with a high-gloss top, with satin finished back and sides, which are not stained because the mahogany already looks beautiful, and a nice looking tortoise shell pickguard, much nicer looking than the black ones on other models. Every Garrison guitars is made entirely out of SOLID wood, all models are currently dreadnought bodied, the Buzz Fieten tuning system, and all have the Griffiths active bracing system, a fiberglass composite bracing system, which is supposed to add strength and carry vibrations better because it is all one piece. The cutaway allows pretty good access to frets above the 12th, but reaching higher than about 16th it starts to get a bit tricky. I love the tuners, which are Garrison individual 24K gold-plated. Garrison machines the necks of their guitars using a CNC machine, resulting is a SUPER smooth and even neck, and as I said earlier is made of mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard. These guitars come with a Garrison hardshell case, and are factory equipped with D'Addario EXP16's, arguably the best guitars string in the world right now. Garrison has abandoned their old laser-etched rosettes, which didn't look all that good, last year, and my G40 now has a handsome diamond pattern wood inlay. The only thing that I would have wanted changed is maybe a factory install strap pin on the neck, but I understand a lot of people don't, and it only takes a couple minutes at the shop, so it's not a big deal at all.

While I was a bit dissapointed at first when I took it home, after a couple hours of playing it seemed to loosen up and I am willing to bet money that you won't find another guitar that sounds as good as this does for anywhere NEAR the price these go for. If strumming the sound is loud and full, amazing to put it in one word. If you're into fingerstyle, it sounds even better, but plays pretty quiet when finger picking. The ALL SOLID wood construction of these guitars sure adds to the sound, and their innovative bracing system seems to work extremely nicely, the sustain and tone is undbelievable. Plugged in, the guitar sounds just as good. I play it through a Yamaha DG-100 212 amp, and it sounds really good, but I imagine it would sound even better through an actuall acoustic amp or plugged directly into the sound board at church. Because of the englemann spruce top, it naturally produces a full, bright sound. I wouldn't change anything about the sound of this guitar.

This guitar came completely ready to play from the factory, the action is set up very nicely, and because of the Buzz Fieten tuning system, the intonation is PERFECT up and down the neck. While being made, the top of the guitar was dinged with a tool underneath the strings near the bridge. The ding is hardly noticable, and Garrison wouldn't even send it to me unless I wanted it. They offered me another 20% off of the guitar if I wanted it like that, or they could put another one through production as fast as they could. I took the 20% off, no fussing there. The only other problem was that when the pickup was installed at the factory, the soldered connections were just barely touching, so the pickup kept shorting out, but this was easily fixed at the shop. Everything else was precise and perfect, the finish was perfect too. I have to give them a 9 because of the pickup, but everything else made up for it.

I have only had this guitar for two weeks, but so far it looks very reliable. I have played live with it only once so far, and it did awesome, I'd play without a backup before even thinking twice. Everything on this guitar is made with top quality components, and is put together exceptionally, the finish looks wonderful, I shouldn't have any problems, I love it.

These guys were AWESOME!!!!! I can't emphasize enough with words how good they were to deal with! Here's the story. Back in August, I had ordered a Seagull, and was told it would be here in December, but somehow my order got cancelled and the guitar was sold to some other shop. That was Seagull's only chance, and in the 6 months that I had waited for it to come I discovered Garrison on the internet. I phoned Skaha Sound in Penticton (if you're anywhere near the Okanagan Valley in BC, GO THERE, THEY ARE AWESOME). Anyways, Garrison told me they could have a G40-LCE here in 5 weeks, so I ordered one. Skaha Sound knocked off almost $600 from retail price, so it was quite cheaper. Although it took 2 1/2 months for the guitar to get, here due to a number of factory problems, it was worth it! I personally emailed Garrison inquiring about my guitar since it was long overdue, and always got a response the same day I emailed them. Their customer service representative was EXTREMELY friendly, even sending pictures of the ding on the top asking if I still wanted it, or to wait for another one. They offered me an additional 20% discount on the guitar because of the dings, and(This is IMPRESSIVE) even went so far as to ship it via FedEX Express(overnight shipping) all the way across Canada to BC, which is obviously pretty expensive for something the size of a guitar and waying quite a bit. Upon arrival, I opened case and they had also sent me a Garrison mug and keychain. These guys show A LOT of interest in the satisfaction of their customers! Would definetely buy another Garrison if mine was lost or stolen. I'd give these guys a 15 out of ten if I could.

I gaurantee you won't be unsatisfied if you buy a Garrison, and for the price they are going for, who wouldn't buy one? This is my first acoustic guitar purchase, and wouldn't think before buying another Garrison if it were lost or stolen. I also have a lefty Fender American Stratocaster, and play both through a Yamaha DG-100 212 amp. I'm only 17, so it took a long time working at minimum wage to save up to purchase this, but was well worth the wait! The only thing I hate about it is that I can't stop playing it! I compared it with some high end Taylors, Corts, and Seagulls, it beat them all in sound and price.