Classical guitar players, especially students, often face the daunting task of trying to find an instrument that fits their needs and budget. Professional players know that there are a number of luthiers throughout the U.S. and abroad making fantastic instruments. Reputable luthiers such as Richard Brune and Paul Jacobson will charge a significant price for making a customized, high-quality guitar; additionally, the buyer will likely have to wait several years for the finished instrument. Professional players may have the resources and time to acquire one of these fine instruments, but unfortunately the average player does not.
Therefore, most people are forced to find their instruments through more conventional avenues, such as a guitar shop. Unfortunately chain stores have a limited selection of classical guitars, and even when you find one, it is hard be sure of what you are buying. This month we had the opportunity to look at two guitars, at two different price points, both of which will fit the needs of the average classical guitarist.
Orpheus Valley Fiesta FCI was first able to get my hands on the Fiesta FC model from Orpheus Valley Guitars. The Fiesta FC is constructed with a solid Red cedar top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, Honduras cedar neck, Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, bone nut and saddle, and Gebr. van Gent machine heads. Judging by the grain, the cedar top appears to be a younger wood, but still good quality. The Indian rosewood back and sides appear outstanding and are well bonded. The Gebr. van Gent machine heads are decent, but slightly below the quality offered by models from Rodgers or Gotoh. Overall, it is well constructed with a standard fan bracing and dovetail neck joint.
How does it sound? The guitar has a very nice sound that is rich, warm and vibrant. The bass tones are loud and have a nice punch that is indicative of a cedar guitar. The treble tones are clear and definitive but not piercing or sharp. The third string, in particular, has a wonderful singing quality that is excellent for vibrato. The varying timbres are probably the most impressive feature of the Fiesta’s sound. Dolce (towards the fingerboard), normal (over the soundhole) and ponticello (towards the bridge) areas provide great contrasts from soft and warm to bright and punchy. I was very impressed with the guitar’s volume – the high-grade nitrocellulose finish allows for the sizeable volume while protecting its appearance. Overall, the Fiesta’s sound quality is outstanding for a guitar in this price range – improvements could be made by using ebony for the fingerboard, for example, but that would understandably drive up the cost.
Playing the guitar is a treat for the left hand because the fingerboard is set to a moderate scale of 650mm. With a nut width of 52mm, the string distance, between one another, is a perfect fit for the right hand fingers. I decided that the ultimate test of the right hand on this guitar would be Tarrega’s “Recuerdos de la Alhambra.” Tremolo is trouble-free for the index, middle and ring fingers while the thumb does not have to overstretch for moving bass lines. Needless to say, my fingers could flutter freely, and I was deeply impressed with the Fiesta’s easy playing and wonderfully full, warm sound.
In testing the left hand, I decided that Bach’s “Prelude” from Lute Suite No. 4 would be most suitable. Scale passages and long stretches were accomplished with ease, and the guitar fit wonderfully in both the upper and lower positions of the fingerboard. Lastly, the shape of the guitar’s body seemed to hug the left leg just right to create the perfect balance.
All things considered, the Fiesta FC is an excellent value for its price. The guitar lists at an amazing $895 retail and delivers a number of quality features. The construction of this instrument is outstanding, and the high quality materials used contribute to a sound quality well above what you’d expect to hear in this price range. It is difficult to find a similar instrument that delivers such a warm and vibrant sound, so don’t pass this up.
Buy if...
you are an intermediate student and an aspiring professional.
Skip if...
you are getting ready to play at Carnegie.
Rating...
MSRP $895 - Orpheus Valley Guitars - kremonausa.com |
Cordoba Custom Artist IndianWhile browsing classical guitars in stores I have run across a number of Cordoba guitars. The instruments range in price and style, but have a consistent quality that is reputable and trustworthy. I was recently given the opportunity to test one of their higher-end models, the Cordoba Custom Artist Indian.
The guitar consists of a beautiful selection of woods, including a Canadian cedar top, Indian rosewood back and sides and Madagascar rosewood headstock and bridge. In addition, they spared no expense with gold-plated Fustero tuning machines. Typically, two pieces of the tuning gears join to hold the string in tune. The Fustero gears meet with three pieces, and as a result, the player spends more time playing the guitar rather than tuning it. Looking deeper at the guitar’s construction I noticed the intricate and deliberate placing of each bracing inside the guitar. The bonding and placement of all the parts appear nearly flawless.
The final touch, arguably the most important, was their choice of a thick, heavy finish. It looks nice and protects like a lead shield, but it has significant consequences on the guitar’s sound and volume. The Cordoba’s sound is noticeably dampened by this decision in the choice of finish, although I understand why they chose it. French polish and other highend finishes have a tendency to wear off and leave a cloudy film. Regardless, I believe there could have been a moderate choice that does not compromise the sound as significantly. According to the company, a French polish option is available through custom order.
With both of those points said, the Custom Artist Indian has a good sound that will work well in a variety of genres. The style and design of this guitar screamed “Latin” to me, so I decided to give it the Brazilian test with Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Choros No. 1.” Each fermata that I played had a wonderful sustain. The vibrato wavered with intensity and individual notes sounded fantastic on all strings. I was a little disappointed when I strummed the opening chord and did not feel the punch that I expected, but nonetheless, this guitar produces a rich, unique tone that deserves praise.
My ultimate approval came after playing a Spanish piano tune called “Sevilla” by Isaac Albéniz. The guitar has a wonderful balance that ranges in sound and timbre. I felt that I could equally compete with a pianist in their range of color and sensitivity. Overall, the guitar has a great sound with the potential to be extraordinary. A thinner finish would undoubtedly increase the volume and tonal range of this instrument to make it an outstanding guitar.
Playing the Custom Artist Indian is a real delight. It boasts an overall scale of 650mm and a 52mm width at the nut. The shape of the body is made to balance its size, and it will fit comfortably for most players. While playing this guitar I noticed that difficult scale passages in “Sevilla” were quite easy and molded to the left hand beautifully. The right hand could move freely between the strings and struck them effectively. Slurs, hammer-ons and pull-offs were accomplished with ease on “Choros No. 1.” I felt that the fingerboard design was probably one of the greatest strengths of this guitar. The width of the fingerboard is narrow enough to prevent unnecessary stretches in the lower positions and broadens very slightly near the twelfth fret to make playing the upper positions effortless. As a result, the playability of this guitar is nearly perfect. Overall, Cordoba has developed an excellent guitar through the use of outstanding materials and detailed construction. While a couple of details keep this guitar from being professional-grade, on the whole you’ll get a lot of guitar for the price.
Buy if...
you are an advanced student looking for a guitar that will last your entire studies at the university.
Skip if...
you are planning to play in aprestigious venue or audition for the LA Guitar Quartet.
Rating...
MSRP $2699 - Cordoba Guitars - cordobaguitars.com |
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Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
In this episode, we’re celebrating the thrill of guitarmony, sick riffs, and driving 8th-note rhythms by talking about Judas Priest. Before getting ready for this episode, neither of your esteemed hosts had ever delved into the Priest discography beyond the rock-radio hits and Beavis and Butthead—though we’d both spent our time with Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Since so many of the GOATs hold the band in the highest of regard, we knew that K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton belonged on this list, so we embarked on a journey to find out why.
After hours of listening and watching, we’re happy to report that we get it. From their debut, 1974’s Rocka Rolla, through 1980’s British Steel, deep into the ’80s-production era with 1986’s Turbo, and through the speed-metal bravado of 1990’s Painkiller, plus live videos and records—the super-loud US Festival performance and the crushing Unleashed in the East record—we found a lot that we love.
