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  #1  
Old 04-22-2012, 02:30 PM
JohanEA JohanEA is offline
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Default Furch guitars, experiences and information

Hello AGF.

My name is Johan, and I've decided to visit Czech this august to purchase my very own Furch guitar. I'd love to hear your experiences with these guitars (Lowden gold series/Stonebridge/Furch and whatever guitars they've produced so far).
At my local guitarpusher I was warned that I would be stupid to buy a Furch instead of the Taylor guitars they had for sale. His sales argument was that when it became winter, a lot of guitars became damaged due to temperature differences and that Taylors bracings were enhanced so that this couldn't happen with their guitars.

I tried playing some of the Taylor guitars, but the ones in my price range (everything under 300 series) and I wasn't completely wow'ed, like I was the first time I tried a Furch vintage guitar. Has anyone else had the experience that their Furch guitars bracings just weren't strong enough due to poor design, or was that just his way of getting me to buy one of their guitars?

My plan is to visit Brno for a days visit, see their factory and try all their models in the showroom/store, and pretty much just play untill I found the one. I've mailed them for a pricelist, but are yet to receive one. Have anyone on the AGF forum made the trip to the factory, and seen their store? I'd love if you could tell me of your experiences in this topic, or even better mail me some pictures (if you have any) of the place.

Just to get you guys drooling, I've already chosen 2 models that I'll try out first :

Nr. 1 : http://furch.cz/?stranka=instrument&...t=22-blackline

nr. 2 : http://furch.cz/?stranka=instrument&instrument=23-sf

Thanks for the help,
Kind regards - Johan Andersen, Denmark.
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  #2  
Old 04-22-2012, 03:45 PM
pieterh pieterh is offline
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The dealer who wanted you to buy Taylor probably wanted you to buy Taylor...

Seriously, check my sig: a medium level Taylor and what I consider to be a medium high level Furch. Price wise the Furch was around two thirds that of the Taylor but is more or less equivalent in materials and quality to the Taylor 600 series - which are more than twice the price!

Build quality is amazing, and the little OM we have plays like a dream and sounds fantastic: bright and clear as you would expect from maple back and sides, yet with a warmth and depth from the beautiful spruce top. The Abalone inlaid "F" is very elegant as is the rosette.

I envy you being able to choose your own in Brno. Don't listen to anyone who compares them unfavourably to Taylor. I love Taylor guitars and adore mine, but in a blind test where manufacturer and price were unknown it would probably be impossible (even unnecessary) to isolate the Furch as the "cheaper" guitar.
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  #3  
Old 04-22-2012, 04:23 PM
gilles gilles is offline
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I smiled when I read this story!!

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...95&postcount=1
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  #4  
Old 04-22-2012, 04:36 PM
dchristo dchristo is offline
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johan, we have a forum member here from the Czech republic and owns a Furch guitar. he will be able to help you
he is gibbyprauge, he should be on here after while

good luck finding " the one "
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  #5  
Old 04-22-2012, 04:46 PM
paulchevin paulchevin is offline
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Hi Johan,

I fear that Pieter is correct - the dealer wanted you to buy the Taylor! Furch guitars are extremely well made and I've never heard any reports about problems with their bracing (or anything else for that matter).

I have owned a number of Furch guitars and in my experience they are invariably superior to a Taylor in the same price range. In fact, the UK's foremost Stonebridge dealer used to be a Taylor dealer as well but stopped selling them because the Stonebridge guitars were that much better! You also need to bear in mind that Taylors are quite expensive in Europe due to import duty!

Most guitarists "in the know" seem to think that it is the cedar/rosewood combination which is the best amongst the Furchs. I used to own a DS23CR, which was incredible - I only sold it because I get shoulder trouble when I play dreadnoughts regularly. I replaced it with a GS23CR, which is very popular amongst serious fingerstyle guitarists. It's a wonderful guitar and way better than any Taylor I've played to date.

As for the spruce topped Furchs, they tend to have a more "airy" quality to their tone, but they are still great guitars. I personally prefer the spruce/mahogany combination (I have a Stanford OM5M) , although I played a jumbo S23CF quite recently which was very impressive.

Enjoy your trip to Brno....... and hopefully you will come away with a wonderful guitar!

Paul
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  #6  
Old 04-22-2012, 07:21 PM
Grenvilleter Grenvilleter is offline
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[QUOTE=JohanEA;3016696]Hello AGF.


At my local guitarpusher I was warned that I would be stupid to buy a Furch instead of the Taylor guitars they had for sale. His sales argument was that when it became winter, a lot of guitars became damaged due to temperature differences and that Taylors bracings were enhanced so that this couldn't happen with their guitars.

---------------------------------


Did this salesman wear white shoes and belt to match?

This deserves a place in the most silly sales pitches thread.

Run...fast...don't look back!

Furch are very high quality instruments and any wooden acoustic instrument will warp/split/crack if not kept in reasonable climatic conditions.
Taylors included.
In Denmark, you will get much more guitar in a Furch than a Taylor for the money spent.
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Old 04-23-2012, 04:30 AM
stonebridgian stonebridgian is offline
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I agree with everything said above. They are superb, absolutely superb. Since I acquired my two stonebridge's I have virtually cured my GAS. I cannot find anything comparable below £4000. And I don't think that is just me. Put 'stonebridge' into the search box here on AGF and count the negative comments you find. They will be pretty rare, I promise you. You can see my models below Ive had them both for about 2 years now. No complaints..... only worship! Enjoy your trip, I envy you.

Cheers

Ian
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  #8  
Old 04-23-2012, 05:51 AM
GibbyPrague GibbyPrague is offline
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Why thank you Dave for the warm introduction.

Yes to all above. Furch guitars are a little gem, Collings quality for Taylor 300 series pricing.

They are as hand made as they can be, use very light bracing which provides a very responsive tone.

Their dreads and OM's are based on the Martin blueprint, but offer much better balance and resonsiveness IMO. The GA's are a bit more Taylorish in tone.

When you are in Brno visit the showroom in the centre of old town square, they will have all the models there. You will be staggered by the tone and the pricing. Their top of the range aged sitka top/ EIR dreads go for around 1300 Euro brand new when bought locally. There is no gimmick here, the cost of labour simply is about a third of what it is when produced in the US, and passed on to the customer when bought locally.

Enjoy, and that dealer that told you all the baloney I would run from .... he's absolutely full of it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dchristo View Post
johan, we have a forum member here from the Czech republic and owns a Furch guitar. he will be able to help you
he is gibbyprauge, he should be on here after while

good luck finding " the one "
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  #9  
Old 04-23-2012, 06:20 AM
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US labor costs? Yeah, but would also love to know how much the cost of "putting together" and sending out "Wood and Steel" raises Taylor prices. Got 4 copies recently all in one shot...don't even own a Taylor anymore.
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  #10  
Old 04-23-2012, 12:35 PM
Oilrunner Oilrunner is offline
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Hi Johan

I have a Furch D32SM (dread, spruce/mahogany). It's a fantastic guitar, excellent built quality with an amazing sound. At least in my ears

I also have a Taylor GC8 and a Martin HD28V. When it comes to the quality of the guitars I would say they are equal. Of course they sound different due to different builders and different tonewoods etc, but the Furch sounds really really good!

Living in Sweden with a dry climate during winters means that I have to take care of the guitars and my chosen way is by using the Humidipaks. You will also need to protect your guitar, but you will not need to take more care of a Furch than say a Taylor.

The only thing that is not as good with the Furch is the case. Both the case for the Martin and the one for the Taylor are superior. They feel more protecting than the Furch case. The Humidipaks will also dry out quicker in the Furch case.

I am planning to go to Brno, but likely not until next year. I contacted them for a price list but I just got some price indications as response.

Enjoy the guitars and the beer once you are in Brno!!
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  #11  
Old 04-23-2012, 01:54 PM
TunoMatic TunoMatic is offline
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I own two Furch Guitars and one Martin guitar. Let me just say that all three are great guitars. But when it comes down to it, the guitars i play most is the two Furch guitars (one Dreadnough and one OM). I prefer the sound in the Furch. And thats how it goes..some prefer martin-sound, som the taylor sound etc.

When it comes to quality i would say they are all off high quality. I live in a country where the winter is a problem for every guitar. The heating inside is dangerous to a guitar but the simple trick is to keep it in the case with a humidifier inside. That goes for both the Marin and the two Furch's. I bet that would be the same with a taylor.

I have not problems reccomending a Furch Guitar, but then again i have no problems reccomending a Martin either. It depends on what sound you like. However, I don't think you have to worry about the quality.
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  #12  
Old 04-23-2012, 02:58 PM
JohanEA JohanEA is offline
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Thank you for the replies everyone - I'm overwhelmed that I've gotten so many replies. You made me a lot wiser I'm glad to hear that there was no need to worry about the bracings of the furch guitars.

I've had the chance to try a Furch OOM34SR guitar today(one of my colleagues friends went by our store today, so I had a quick go at it. amazing sound from such a small parlour).

I'm totally keen on going to Brno now - I'm planning to gather a few guitar interested friends, and have a great trip to the factory/store.

I have a question though - since I'm from Europe and buying the guitar in europe, I don't have to pay taxes when bringing it to denmark.. that's fine

However I'm wondering if you've got any specific advices for me when bringing the guitar back home. I'll do my best to convince(even pay) so that I can get the guitar with me as hand-luggage into the plane, but are there any specific things i should be aware of, could the pressure(g-force from being high in the air) damage the guitar in anyway, or the air/humidity level on the plane?

It would be such a shame to return to Denmark, only to discover that the guitar is broken.

@Pieterh - Thanks for the words, I've seen a lot of times that people will say their newly acquired guitar is better than anything they've ever owned. I even experienced it myself, that once you've gotten used to the guitar and aren't hypnotized by the brand new guitar first then you'll be able to make a neutral judgement on your guitar. It seems that you've got a lot of great guitars to compare the Furch with so I'm glad you shared your qualified opinion. And I'll have to agree with you, that the Furch logo together with the ebony on headstock gives the guitar character and a very unique look.

@Gilles - Thanks for the link - It's always a joy to read about people who have the passion and are lucky to find just the "one". I've had the problem back in the days that I've saved for an economic model, but always wanted a more highend guitar - that resulted in me never being very happy with the purchases that I made, always thinking "If only I saved a little longer I could have had ... instead". I've learned my lesson now, and luckily I was employed by a store selling Musical Instruments shortly after my graduation from Gymnasium(college).

@Dchristo - Thanks for the info, I'm sure I'll find "the one" when I'm sitting the showroom.

@Paulchevin - Iøve heard the sotry about the UK Dealer changing from Taylors to Stonebridge. It's great to hear about companies that are aware and cares so much about their customers so that they want to provide the best possible product, and not just the one they can make the most of. I'm very excited to try the Cedar/Rosewood guitars - I haven't really seen this combination before, mostly with the other brands I've encountered it is Cedar/Mahogany or Spruce/Rosewood. It will be great to give the guitars a listen – I’m also very excited to try the S23SF, I love the look of the flamed maple sides paired with the Honduras mahogany neck and black headstock.

@Grenvilleter – I don’t really get the joke with the white belt and shoes – care to explain it? (Never heard that one before, so now I’m curious  ) I know that winter is rough to the instruments, so it’s common sense that the guitars will become damaged. The same if you tie the guitar to your car and drag it alongside the road – it’s pretty much common sense that it will become damaged (or as some might say, “relic’ed”). The salesman in the store said that 9/10 Furch and other (in his words) “no name brands (not Martin/Taylor/Gibson) had poorly designed bracings, and therefore was not a safe investment.

@Stonebridgian – Thanks for the reply, judging from your name you’re quite fund of the Stonebridge guitars I assume I’ve always heard that “You can’t cure GAS” – but I guess I was wrong  By the way I simply love the Aged Spruce tops on the Furch guitars, had the joy of seeing a OOM34SR today – the feel, sound and look of the aged top is just breath taking. Feels like you’re stading with a guitar guitar that’s +50 years old in your hands.

@Gibbyprague – I’ll make sure to visit the showroom – and not leave until I’ve tried every single guitar By the way, now that I’m speaking to a native Czech, I was wondering if there’s anything else you can recommend that I see, now that I’m in Brno? And do you have any general tips/advices to a tourist visiting Czech for the first time? I’m also very glad that Furch and Czech generally can provide me with such well built instruments for a reasonable price – one of the main reasons beside the quality and sound that I’ve chosen to buy a Furch guitar is to support the “European economy”, how silly that may sound, I think it is important to not just throw your money after a guitar produced in Asia, but to support Europe(especially now in times of Recession) I see no reason why I shouldn’t use that extra bit of money and travel down and see under exactly what conditions my instrument is made under.

@Oilrunner – Thanks for the info regarding the Furch. While I’ll use the case provided for returning the guitar to Denmark, my plan is to purchase a TRIC case from Godin(http://seagullguitars.com/triccase.html ) I’ve only heard good things about these, and my workplace (www.musikinstrumenter.net / www.best2music.se ) just got an arrangement with the Danish supplier of Godin products., so I’ll be able to get these for a good price. The problem however is that I don´t know which guitar I’ll up with (D/OM/GA etc.) so I can’t buy one before my trip. I’m glad to hear you’re considering the trip as well, om du är intresserad då kan jag skicka billder från mit besök i affären och värkstedet til din mejl – and I’ll post pictures for the rest of you guys on AGF as well, since you’ve been so kind to reply to my topic. How many products did you get a price indication of? I’d love to know which ones you got info on, as I’ve only been able to receive info of the price on the G23CR - I haven’t received a reply with a pricelist yet.

@Tunomatic – Thanks for the info. Is it the Durango D40 with Cedar top and mahogany laminate sides? I’ve tried one of those in another local guitar shop, and it just was pleasantly booming. It was a very loud and good sounding dread, and affordable as well. Thanks for the tip on the Humidipaks – I’ll make sure to buy a load of those.

Wow that was quite a lot of text – once again thanks for the replies, it’s pleasant to see the amount of replies I’ve got 

Last edited by JohanEA; 04-23-2012 at 03:08 PM. Reason: Highlighted the names, so it was easier to read.
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Old 04-23-2012, 03:20 PM
TunoMatic TunoMatic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohanEA View Post

@Tunomatic – Thanks for the info. Is it the Durango D40 with Cedar top and mahogany laminate sides? I’ve tried one of those in another local guitar shop, and it just was pleasantly booming. It was a very loud and good sounding dread, and affordable as well. Thanks for the tip on the Humidipaks – I’ll make sure to buy a load of those.

Wow that was quite a lot of text – once again thanks for the replies, it’s pleasant to see the amount of replies I’ve got 
Yeah its a Durango D40. It was an impulse buy. I was looking for and OM guitar but it sounded great. So i bought it and then waited a little before i bought the OM33. I tested out the OOM 34 and it sounded great as well, but felt the om33 was a notch in front when it comes to my preference.
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Old 04-23-2012, 03:27 PM
cactus21 cactus21 is offline
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I used to own a Stonebridge OM34 SR. The richness and responsiveness was amazing. I live in the Northeast US so winters are very dry. This guitar showed no signs of dryness over 3 winters. I would say that they were pretty well built. I heard the same thing when I bought it but it could have been that scare tactic to keep you from buying a lot of guitar at a cheaper price.

Fantastic guitars at a great price point. It was as good of a guitar as a Webber that I owned. Plus the cost new was a bit more than half.

Good luck.
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Old 04-23-2012, 04:35 PM
bjsfolly bjsfolly is offline
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I am going to Germany to visit my nephew for Octoberfest and had already planned see Vienna and Prague. Sounds like my souvenir has been decided. Does Czech Republic have VAT? The company should be able to ship competently I assume to escape Vat.?
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