Category Archives: acoustic guitars

Peavey Composer Parlor

May 13, 2012 — Leave a Comment

Peavey introduces the Composer Parlor Acoustic guitar

So the old stuff is getting used again… oh yeah I think that is what people call vintage these days. Do you remember the Parlor guitars? Those guitars used around 1895 until the 1950s? Yeah, those smaller-bodied guitars used by many blues and folk guitarists… now you know what I am talking about! Well, you know the brand Peavey right? They have introduced a really cool new series for their catalogue, the Composer Parlor Acoustic guitars – not the most aesthetically looking guitars for some, but who cares about the look if the sound is alright?

If you are a blues or folk guy or gal you will love these guitars unless you have a Gibson Gretsch or Stella parlor from 1920s in pristine condition.

Peavey designed and made the Composer Parlor series “for guitarists who want the tone and craftsmanship of a full-sized guitar with the comfort and playability of a Parlor guitar.”

The Peavey Composer is designed to a 24 ¾” parlor scale with amenities that guitarists of all stripes will appreciate. With a spruce laminate top and offset sound hole, the Composer produces a surprising amount of volume for its size, as well as clear, full-bodied acoustic tone and the natural playing comfort of a satin finish. A wide body cutaway scoop to the fifteenth fret provides access to the upper registers of the instrument.

What are the features?

  • Parlor style guitar
  • Spruce top
  • Rosewood bridge
  • Rosewood fingerboard
  • Eastern mahogany neck
  • 14 degree angled headstock
  • 24.75″ scale
  • 18 frets
  • Dovetail neck joint
  • Natural or Sunburst finishes
  • Weight packed: 6.61 lb (3kg)
  • Width packed: 14.175″ (36.0045 cm)
  • Height packed: 38.975″ (98.9965 cm)
  • Depth packed: 5.71″ (14.5034 cm)

The Composer Parlor comes in two different flavors; a Natural wood finish and a Sunburst finish, which is not that bad, I kind of like it and they are under the $200 price range! So yeah, very cheap yet high sound and building quality. Again, who cares about the look?

Check out this video from nepugo90 Youtube user using his Peavey Parlor guitar, fascinating, it makes want one!

Peavey Composer Parlor

Luis Tovar

Posted in gear | Tagged ,

Rod & Gab

May 4, 2012 — Leave a Comment

Acoustic guitar duo with Power, Rhythm and Speed!

I was very impressed when I first saw a video of this duo covering “Stairway to Heaven”, so impressed that I started digging around Youtube and found a very impressive Metallica cover of “Orion”, since then I simply fell in love with what these guys do! They are really a must seen!

rod and gab profile 300x229 Rod & Gab

Rodrigo y Gabriela, or Rod and Gab are a Mexican guitar duo that has become world famous in recent years. They are Rodrigo Sanchez (lead guitar) and Gabriela Quintero (rhythm guitar and percussion).

They have dedicated themselves to creating acoustic rock but his compositions are influenced by Latin music, flamenco and Middle Eastern music, while using rhythmic, harmonic and melodic resources from Hard rock and heavy metal, interesting isn’t it?

They started all in Mexico City where they played in a Thrash Metal band called Acid Earth. Apparently, neither Mexico nor the thrash metal band were giving them that “something” they were looking for, so they decided to make a small jump into Europe veins.

The duo established themselves in Dublin, Ireland after hearing that the city was particularly hospitable to foreign musicians and buskers. They began playing in some pubs and on the street to refine and improve their music. The leap on to the stage came when they supported Damien Rice performing at the Oxegen music festival. From that point they began touring in music festivals in the UK and all around Europe.

This powerful duo has 5 studio albums and three live recordings; the latest album was released last January, called Area 52, where a full band was implemented for the first time. And they also share mics on the studio with different musicians such as Anoushka Shankar, John Tempesta, Le Trio Joubran and many others.

I really want you to check out these guys, so have a listen and watch their performance of Metallica’s “Orion”:

And for the Classic Rockers out there, check out their version of “Stairway to Heaven” – Very impressive!

Rod & Gab

Luis Tovar

Posted in art, Artists, classical, Concerts, Rock | Tagged , , , , ,

CORT Earth Mini

May 4, 2012 — Leave a Comment

Are you after a Mini guitar? I am sure that if you are a traveller, these type of guitars are your best choice, and let’s be honest, even if you are not into travelling at all, having a mini guitar at home is cool, they have a really good size, they are cute looking and they have a good tone, well, not all of them. I think I have heard live two or maybe three minis in my whole life.

A Mini Maton, owned by Dan – member of the Jamorama team who might have some time later to review his guitar – and a Cort Earth Mini, both of these guitars have great tone. Perhaps the Maton could win the battle, but let’s talk about the Cort Earth mini first!

I heard that the Cort Earth mini is like a small acoustic jewel, it comes in the ¾ format, which basically means that they are ¾ of the normal guitar size; but what are these guitars good for?

I think they are good for carrying it with you anywhere you go, if you go out camping on the weekend, if you go to the beach at night, if you go to a mates place, even if you go to the toilet… yeah! Inspiration can come anywhere, you never know. And of course, they are great for kids, beginners or for small handed people.

Let’s see this particular Cort guitar. Cort is a well known brand worldwide and they do things good… they have a product for anyone’s budget, from their more simple and cheap series to their AS or EVL series.

This Cort Earth Mini comes well packed and it also comes with a gig bag (soft) which is great to keep this beauty always safe. It has a dovetail neck joint, body is ¾ sized with solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides. Neck is also Mahogany and the fretboard is rosewood as well as the bridge and the scale is 22 ¾”. Right! All good with the materials and specifications, what about the sound?

I am not an expert on mini guitars, however I can say that this guitar sounds good, I don’t think you’ll believe just how big a sound and how nice a sound that comes out of this mini. It has a great volume for its size, lacking of course of bass, but you were not expecting great low frequencies from a mini, were you?

The Cort Earth mini finishes are very minimalistic, it doesn’t have any designs or any particular finishes, it is more of a vintage looking acoustic guitar or as Cort’s people describe it: “vintage acoustics from the golden age of guitar building”.

What is cool about its finish is the feel of the wood, it does feel earthy, opened-pore, which is something that I really like on wood instruments, especially guitars. The fretboard is tiny and feels really really soft and nice, that is why this guitar could be a great guitar to start with for a beginner or a kid. A great thing this guitar has is black rubberized tuning pegs- not a must-have, but very comfortable if you think about it.

There are other brands making minis such as Martin, Taylor, Maton and many more, however the Cort Earth Mini is probably among the lowest priced in the market with great sound and good quality components, I would recommend it eyes closed – 100%! And it’s not like Cort is paying me for selling it.

Check this video and let me know what you think:

CORT Earth Mini

Luis Tovar

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Fender Elvis Kingman

March 23, 2012 — Leave a Comment

The only guitar fit for a King!

Who watched the movie Clambake? (1967) Perhaps not many of you did… I didn’t, but as soon as I found out about the new Fender Elvis Kingman guitar, I went straight to Youtube and found what Clambake was about!

newsletter35 gear elvis fenderpromo Fender Elvis Kingman

Fender built the King guitars for the first time back in 1963 as part of their “Wildwood series”, naming them Kingman in 1966 and then discontinued the line in 1971. Probably the main characteristic about these guitars was the same bolt-on neck design from their electric models, but for most people this wasn’t a good move as the guitar did not look “acoustic enough”. Besides that, some Fender people say that these guitars lacked tone and volume, which is never a good thing to say about a guitar.

I wasn’t there to see the first edition of the Fender Kingman guitar in the 60′s, but I think I would have been one of the many that did not like the lack of true acoustic looks. But that didn’t seem to put off the King of Rock ´N´Roll and my mother’s hero, Elvis Presley Despite what the critics said about the looks and lack of features on this guitar, he used a Kingman on the 1967 film “Clambake”. Nice one king!

Now coming back to the present, 2012, The Fender team, as part of the Artist Design Series, have introduced the totally new Fender Elvis Kingman. Does it lack sound or tone? Of course not! Does it look more acoustic? Well, if you don’t mind having a Fender Stratocaster headstock on your acoustic guitar, then yes, it looks more acoustic. I am not a big fan of electric headstocks on acoustic guitars, but perhaps it’s just a matter of getting used to it.

Fender kept the Wildwood finish – backs and sides were made from randomly dyed Beechwood achieved by injecting dye into the living trees before being harvested. The guitar features Presley’s signature on the front of the headstock as well as a solid spruce top, maple neck, 20 fret Rosewood fingerboard with block position inlays and a bone nut. The guitar is finished in a natural gloss and comes fitted with Fender Dura Tone Coated 80/20 strings. And a Fender guitar wouldn’t be complete without classic Fender machine heads.

The price is in the low-medium range for an acoustic guitar, but it could vary depending where you get it from $350 to $450 -which is pretty reasonable for a piece of history. Overall, it’s easy on the eye, has a great tone, a warm sound, is extremely playable and it has a unique look! I think that if you were or still are an Elvis fan you should check it out, I know my mum would!

Cheers to all!

Fender Elvis Kingman

Luis Tovar

Posted in Artists, buying guitars, folk, gear | Tagged , , , ,

Crafter MoonLight Rose Acoustic Guitar

March 23, 2012 — 2 Comments

Love at first sight!

Do you believe in love at first sight? If you don’t, I have something here that will change your mind and might get your mouth-watering or perhaps hands-watering… The Crafter MoonLight Rose 30th Anniversary, which unfortunately has been discontinued. But for those who’ve seen or heard this guitar or had the pleasure of playing one, keep an eye on eBay and together let’s hope and pray that someone is willing to let theirs go.

For techos out there, here’s a run down of the specs that make this guitar what it is:

  • Body Style: Grand Auditorium Cutaway
  • Top: Solid Engelmann Spruce
  • Back & Sides: Rosewood
  • Bracing: T-brace
  • Neck: Mahogany
  • Fretboard: Indian Rosewood
  • No. of Frets: 23
  • Machine Heads: Deluxe Gold Tuners with Mushroom buttons
  • Bridge: Indian Rosewood
  • Electronics: New LR-T Pro(Tuner) Preamp with L.R.Baggs Element Pick-up
  • Strings: D´Addario EXP 11 Light

Unique Feautures:

  • Dovetail Neck Joint
  • Moonlight Position Marks
  • New Crafter Bridge Pin

 

This is not your typical guitar, and for those of you who are in the “I don’t like Crafter” camp, the Moonlight is well worth another look, because this is not a typical Crafter!

Aesthetically this guitar could not be better. It is absolutely stunning and if looks could kill, Crafter would be in big trouble. Yes people, I know and I freely admit it, I am in love with this Crafter!

Next big important question before marriage: So, does it sound as good as it looks? the answer is a resounding YES! The sound is very “sweet” but full bodied with a defined response, probably what most of you are looking for in a new guitar.

And what about feel?
This is the most controversial factor, but let me tell you, this guitar also feels as good as it looks. No doubt about it. Probably the only possible con…if you could call it that, is it being a little bit heavier compared to similar models, but nothing major and something you’ll get used to and will suit the guitarist who wants to know they’re actually holding a guitar.

Conclusions:
A beautifully constructed guitar with a shattering, full-bodied sound. It sounds like a more expensive guitar – so how much is this one? From the Crafter site, this guitar costs $1099 USD. Not expensive at all specially for what you could get and let me tell you, this guitar sounds, looks and feels way better than some other guitars above the $1,500+ range.

But, as I said before, this is discontinued, it was a limited edition, but let’s be positive about seeing
some on eBay or any other online market soon. If you find one, don’t keep the link for yourself!

Check the sound of this amazing guitar on the following video:

Crafter MoonLight Rose Acoustic Guitar

Posted by Luis

Posted in art, buying guitars, gear | Tagged , ,
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