Takamine

106 Guitarist May 2009
NYLON-STRING ELECTRO ROUND–UP £440-£1,058
ELECTR0-ACOUSTICS
Admira Virtuoso E
PRICE: £440
ORIGIN: Spain
BODY: Solid cedar, laminated
rosewood back and sides
NECK: African mahogany, 650mm
scale, 52mm nut
FINGERBOARD: 19-fret rosewood
TUNERS: Classic gold-plated three-
on-a-strip with pearloid buttons
BRIDGE/SPACING:
Rosewood/56.5mm
ELECTRICS: Shadow Four Plus
pre-amp with Nanoflex pickup. Four-
band equaliser with bass, mid, treble &
brilliance together with EQ-shape
button and phase invert switch
OPTIONS: No
FINISH: Gloss natural (as reviewed)
Barnes & Mullins 01691 652449
www.bandm.co.uk
Test results
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Alhambra 7PCWE2
PRICE: £1,058
ORIGIN: Spain
BODY: Solid German spruce, solid
Indian rosewood back and sides
NECK: Cedar w/ebony reinforcement,
650mm scale, 50mm nut
FINGERBOARD: 19-fret ebony
TUNERS: Classic gold-plated three-
on-a-strip with ebony buttons
BRIDGE/SPACING:
Rosewood/52mm
ELECTRICS: Fishman Prefix Pro Blend
preamp with Acoustic Matrix
undersaddle pickup. Master volume &
blend controls, shelving style bass &
treble plus semi-parametric ‘Contour’
EQ. Phase switch and adjustable notch
filter
OPTIONS: Pick guard, matt finish
LEFT HANDERS: Ye s
FINISH: Gloss natural (as reviewed)
Classical Guitars Plus
01363 881174
www.classical-guitars-plus.co.uk
Test results
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Orpheus Valley
Solea
PRICE: £950
ORIGIN: Bulgaria
BODY: Solid red cedar, solid cocobolo
back and sides
NECK: Honduran cedar, 650mm scale,
51mm nut
FINGERBOARD: 19-fret ebony
TUNERS: Classic gold-plated three-
on-a-strip ebonite buttons
BRIDGE/SPACING: Ebony/58.5mm
ELECTRICS: MiSi Acoustic Trio
preamp with LR Baggs undersaddle
acoustic guitar pickup
OPTIONS: Made to order instrument.
Nitro satin finish
LEFT HANDERS: Ye s
FINISH: Nitro-cellulose gloss natural
(as reviewed)
Sandarac 01787 238350
www.sandarac.co.uk
Test results
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Takamine TC132SC
PRICE: £980
ORIGIN: Japan
BODY: Solid cedar with solid rosewood
back and sides
NECK: Mahogany, 650mm scale,
50mm nut
FINGERBOARD: 19-fret rosewood
TUNERS: Classic gold-plated three-
on-a-strip pearloid buttons
BRIDGE/SPACING:
Rosewood/58mm
ELECTRICS: Takamine CTP-2 Cool
Tube Pre-amp with Palathetic pickup,
chromatic tuner, graphic EQ (bass, mid
& treble) plus rotary knob for semi-
parametric EQ mid-range. ‘Cool Tube’
rotary knob for tonal control +
auxiliary input jack and volume for
extra pickup
OPTIONS: No
LEFT HANDERS: No
FINISH: Gloss natural (as reviewed)
Fender GBI 01342 331700
Test results
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
The Rivals
Cutaway
The Camps 600 (£895) has
a cedar top, rosewood back &
sides and Fishman Prefix Pro
Blend. The Almansa 435E
(£1,250) spec as Camps.
Full Body
The Strunal 477H Electro
(£240) has a cedar top and
Shadow Four Plus system.
The Raimundo 120E (£725)
has cedar top and Fishman
Classic Four system.
The Verdict
In the classical market, you
usually get what you pay for.
However, as always, there will
be those that are, well, just
remarkably good value for
money. The Admira is one such
instrument. It may not have the
depth and richness of tone of its
more expensive counterparts,
but it does have that Spanish
vibe, it’s well balanced and is in
our opinion an ideal
introduction to the nylon
electro – definitely our credit
crunch choice too.
If you’re looking to mix it
with an electric set-up, then
the Alhambra is an excellent
‘crossover’ instrument, with its
slightly narrower nut and
narrower string spacing at the
bridge making it an easier
transition for electric players
who are more used to plectrums
than fingers. This instrument
also has a beautiful mellow
Spanish voice, which can be
enhanced by the Fishman
Prefix Pro Blend electrics.
The Takamine is one of the
easiest classical players that
we’ve encountered but it carries
less weight as an acoustic
instrument, with the treble
being particularly weak.
Plugged in, however, it comes to
life. But this reviewer found the
Cool Tube preamp system
seemed to want to add its own
colouring at the expense of the
guitar’s natural tone.
Perhaps the most interesting
of all these instruments is the
Solea, hence its Guitarist
Choice award, although at
double the price of the Admira
it’s a more serious purchase.
Sound-wise its more Germanic
than Spanish, with its bright
attack and full middle, but its
MiSi preamp really impresses.
Not only does it come closest of
all on review to translating the
natural acoustic sound of the
instrument but it’s also a very
eco-friendly and easy way to
power up a preamp and play for
up to 16 hours.
A Headway Shire King 60
Acoustic amp was used in this
test with EQ levels centred with
a flat response.
GIT315.rev_roundup 106 24/3/09 2:59:30 pm