Simon & Patrick Showcse Mahogany

Check out the web page for their specs - i would just be repeating them here. Does not have all the beautiful bindings and inlays etc but, it is hand made in Canada has nice select solid woods. Rosewood fingerboard/bridge, maple binding. I will give it a 9 because it has great build features.

I have been on a quest to find a solid wood dread but not willing to pay for a ??1700 for a Martin D28 or Gibson Hummingbird etc etc. I have played a lot of guitars lately and have compared them to the high end stuff like the examples above - which were my favourites for Rosewood and Mahogany. I tried a lot of Chinese, Japanese like makes - Takamine AN10,16,15 Freshman 400D, 500D, Wasburn D56sw, Guild GAD50. Never got to play the Aria AD80 but it sounded similar to some of these makes etc. The Tak AN10 was actually a great guitar and so was the 16 but i am glad i never walked out of the store, ending my journey. I had read good reviews about the Freshmans ??? that they blew away high end guitars, but when i played them they sounded a bit thin and metallic - like the sound of brand new strings (even though they weren't). They were different sounding than a D28 etc I would say not better though ??? very good projection on them! I think Taylors can sound like this also - quite tinny sounding. But, it is only my opinion - a lot of people love Taylors! I played other brands as well Lakewood, Blueridge and a few others. The Blueridges were nice but they were lacking something and i played those for a few hours. Before i was about to give up on my quest i was given the S&P and after a few strums i knew it was a contender. This guitar had been sitting in the shop for ages and they had dropped the price on it! I swapped back and fourth between the Hummingbird, the D28 and the S&P. Now the S&P had old strings on it and it sounded a little dull here and there but i could tell it was the strings. Don't get me wrong it was up there with the other two in a big way even with old strings. It sounded like the Gibby in a lot of ways - the woodyness/dark sound you get from the Mahog etc but it had this crystalness to it like the D28. The bass was not as prominent as the 28 but after playing it a while you learn how to get the bottom end out of it. It was such a joy to play! The notes ring out with such carity and sustain but it has the whole woody dark vibe as well. I would say its strength was in the mids and highs ??? you have to push the bass a little. Believe me after breaking in the new strings at home it is like i have some beautiful aspects of both guitars in one guitar - more of the Gibby (not quite as dark which is a bit of a bummer) but a little of the 28 thrown in as well. I compared this guitar to the Martin D16, 18 Gibson WM-45 (like j-45) and to my ears it sounded so much better! It is perfect for me. I think in time i will look at the Rosewood and see how that goes - will most probably be inspired to buy it! To be very honest though ??? If money was no object to me I would have walked out with the Martin and the Gibson but seeing as I wanted to spend ??500 ??? 800 this was a great buy! I play flat pick most of the time and a little fingerpicking.

The action is good on this guitar. There is room to take it down a little but I am in no rush - I will wait till I have found the perfect string guage for it then go from there. The neck is comfortable for me. It is more of a D shape which I like ??? similar to the Takamines. I found the Washburn far too thin for my liking. I like to be able to feel it in my hand. It does not have not have a gloss finish though, it has a hand sanded and satin finish but it does not seem to affect my playing, and I actually quite like it. I prefer ebony for the fingerboard but the rosewood does the job. The nut width seems good to me - not too thin so my fingers are all squashed together! I like the frets on it ??? similar to the Martin easy to glide up and down the board. The GAD50 had jumbo frets which I disliked straight away ??? feels like your fingers are doing a ???driving over ruts on a bumby road??? thing. It could do with a pick guard. I will get one put on ??? mostly for looks for me. The GAD had a clear one on it which I really hate. Better to have none so you can put your own on. The finish all looks pretty straight to me ??? no glue or runs anywhere. The only thing I did find was the nut was not completely flush on the sides of the neck with the fingerboard ??? a fraction of a ridge, that???s being fairly picky thus will give it a 9 ??? I have seen a lot worse, at least it is sitting square!

The guitar is fairly light but seems solid enough to take a few knocks should it happen. Don???t expect the rigidity of the Gibson Hummingbird ??? this guitar is put together quite differently. It has gold hardware which I dislike so I am going to get some silver Grovers. The tuners are fine however ??? stays in tune and is easy to tweak. I hate it when you tune a guitar and it takes ages to find the sweet spot with the tuners! I can really give this thing a hard strumming and it doesn???t feel like its going to shatter and I can???t here anything sounding like it shouldn???t be played that hard. It loves to be driven hard as well as soft. I guess time will tell it is going to be a durable guitar. I would give it a 10 if it had decent grovers and a pick guard.

I haven???t needed to deal with customer support yet. It does have a years warranty on it though.

I think overall this guitar is a great buy. I generally like Rosewood guitars but I am really happy with this it is a real joy to play ??? it doesn???t have fancy bells and whistles it just has a great feel and a lovely sound. I will probably buy a Rosewood version as well so I can have a variety of sound. If it was lost and I did not have lots of money to throw around I would surely buy again! There are a few brands I did not get to check out like Larrivee, Breedlove, Seagull and more. For the price I am content with my new best kept secret!