Takamine

104 Guitarist May 2009
NYLON-STRING ELECTRO ROUND–UP £440-£1,058
ELECTR0-ACOUSTICS
We like: Value for money
We dislike: ‘Chunky’ nut and
saddle
Guitarist says
: Excellent
basic instrument with
authentic sounds
We like: Rosewood tones
We dislike: Narrow string
spacing at bridge
Guitarist says: Ideal if you’re
a plectrum player rather than
a traditional fingerpicker
The Bottom Line The Bottom Line
This Admira marries a solid
cedar top with laminated
rosewood back and sides that
are well figured and book-
matched. There is single
carriage lining and black
purf ling to both the top and
bottom of the rims with a very
flowery transfer rosette around
the soundhole. Set on the ‘C’-
shaped mahogany neck, with
its pointed heel, is a rosewood
fingerboard with 19 medium
size frets. The headstock is
faced with rosewood laminate
and has a set of gold-plated
three-on-a-strip tuners with
pearloid buttons, while the
synthetic nut looks awkward
and is matched by the chunky
saddle on a ‘production line’
rosewood bridge. The electrics
are by Shadow – a Nano SHL99
Piezo undersaddle pickup is
powered by a FourPlus pre-
amp, which is set into the rim of
the front bout with four-band
EQ and shape switch, volume
and phase invert switch.
Sounds
With an ideal ‘classical’ bridge
spacing, the Virtuoso is an easy
and very forgiving player.
Unplugged it offers typically
warm Spanish colours in the
mids and lows, but with a
This Alhambra cutaway is
topped by solid German
spruce with cross-silking,
while the back and sides come
in figured Indian rosewood.
There is a single carriage-line
and wood purfling to the top
and bottom of the rims,
together with a central strip
between the book-matched
back. The transfer rosette
circles a larger soundhole – its
pattern is repeated on the tie
block to the rear of the
rosewood bridge. Cedar is used
for the neck, set on a scooped
neck block, and is reinforced
with an ebony strip. The
smooth ebony fingerboard
carries the 19 medium frets,
which are well-polished, while
at their head is a bone nut. The
headstock is faced with an
expertly cut piece of rosewood,
while to either side are the
decorative, gold-plated three-
on-a-strip tuners with ebony
buttons. A Fishman Prefix Pro
Blend system, with mic,
controls the undersaddle
Acoustic Matrix pickup.
Sounds
The 7PCWE2 has a narrow
string spacing at the bridge.
This makes fingerstyle
difficult for those used to a
higher register that is a touch
thin toned. Dynamics overall
are healthy. However, sonic
depth and body is limited and
there is a distinct timbral
edginess – particularly in the
lower register. That said,
articulation and separation is
good and harmonics pop out
cleanly across the full range.
The Shadow Four Plus
preamp seems underpowered,
but along with the Nano
undersaddle pick-up does a
good job at reproducing the
natural sonic character of the
Virtuoso. Clearly it is possible
to affect the balance through
EQ frequency adjustment and
bass, mid, treble and brilliance
slide settings, but it is
refreshing to find that an
untainted tone and timbre is
available. It is also good to see
a phase invert switch to
counteract possible feedback.
classical instrument, but more
comfortable for the rock ’n’ roll
or jazz player. Clearly Spanish
in character, there is a dryness
to the sound, but with depth
and width. Balance across the
range is exceptional, as is
articulation and separation,
while harmonics are easily
found and ring out true.
Plugged in, the Fishman
Prefix Pro Blend system proves
powerful with permutations
and sonic possibilities and more
than enough scope for raising
the ratios. Going through each
of the settings and EQ-ing to
preference produces
convincing ambient, mic
sounds, and we found that
setting the blend arm nearer to
mic than pickup gives the most
authentic ‘clean’ classical
sound. The notch-filter proves
to be an indispensable tool for
curtialing feedback.
Admira Virtuoso E £440 Alhambra 7PCWE2 £1,058
GIT315.rev_roundup 104 24/3/09 2:59:26 pm