Question for Furch/Stonebridge owners

[rule18]

Originally Posted by Aimelie

Thank you.

Yes, it was set at about 60% mic/40% pickup.

Thanks for that!

[OddManOut]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

I’ve been intrigued with the brand and I’ve heard so many good things. What other manufacturer would you say its tone compares to. Is it more of a Taylor vibe, Martin or something else?

Closer to Taylor, but still quite different. Furchs have a fairly modern sound, but are built more lightly, are more responsive, and have a warmer tone than Taylors. The Furchs I've played are/were not super punchy...there's a certain softness to them which is part of the Furch sound. The build quality is amazing. I found bone pins and saddle to replace ebony and Tusq brightened thing up a bit.


They vary between individuals-as do all guitars. See my descriptions below. Get sound samples if you can. Amazing guitars for the price...find one you like and you'll be happy.



The Furchs I had:


G-20 (Stonebridge, bought used) and Blue G-CM. Both mahogany/cedar. The Blue G was big, open warm and woody. The G-20 was a bit tighter sounding, but in the same ballpark. Lots of tonal character leaning toward Irish guitars. The G body has a big bass response with ergonomics similar to an OM. I sold the G-20 to buy the Blue G. I sold the Blue G to pay off a custom build. GAS.



Vintage 1 OM-SR: Sitka/EIR. The warmest EIR guitar I've played. Great for chord work, a bit less string separation and overall volume/projection than I generally like. A very rich voice. Nice guitar for more intimate settings. Didn't bond with it.



Furch I tried but returned:


Blue Plus GC-SW: Sitka/Walnut. Lightly built, responsive, thin sounding. It had a nice overtone bed, but lacked low end and depth. I think walnut is a wood builders have to build with carefully. A production build/voicing formula which works well with rosewood and mahogany will not necessarily work well with a rift-sawn set of walnut.


Furch Keeper:



Green OM-SR: Sitka/EIR. A far more punchy and aggressive guitar than the Vintage 1 OM...just what I was looking for in a sitka/EIR OM. It still has a nice softness to the bass...nice overtones. I really dig this guitar.



This exact guitar:

[jamison162]

Originally Posted by OddManOut

Closer to Taylor, but still quite different. Furchs have a fairly modern sound, but are built more lightly, are more responsive, and have a warmer tone than Taylors. The Furchs I've played are/were not super punchy...there's a certain softness to them which is part of the Furch sound.

I agree. Just posted similar comments on another thread. I think some of the brightness can be toned down if they were to build with bone nut/saddle. Probably be more balanced overall based on my experience swapping same in many guitars. Here's my post:

"For discussion sake, I just purchased a new Furch Vintage 3 OM-SR and currently also own a Larrivee OM-40R. So far, I'm not impressed with the Furch tone wise. Quality craftsmanship and tonewoods, yes. Beautiful OM style guitar, but I need to play it in a little more.

It just doesn't have the fullness or projection my Larrivee has. It's thinner sounding and brighter for sure...more Taylor-esque if you will. I'm not sure if, or how much, the Tusq nut and saddle have to do with it vs. the bone on the Larrivee. In fact, I'm really surprised Furch does not offer bone nuts/saddles at all as far as custom options go....at least as far as I've been able to tell.

Not to dissuade you; just adding my experience thus far. I'll post any worthy updates in the next day or two.

https://reverb.com/item/39254465-fur...ra-model-91767"

[HogsNRoses]

I think that Furch has a wonderful bluegrass quality, and I'd put their bigger models closer to Martin than Taylor.

I have a couple D24s, which is the old model somewhere between yellow and orange. The 12 string came from Prague, and I remember taking the taxi from the airport and hearing "This Land is Your Land" and other folk/bluegrass songs on the radio. That set the tone for the rest of my trip.

At the Furch store in Prague, I got to try six different 12 string guitars. Each 12 string came off the wall with perfect intonation and stayed in perfect intonation while I tried them out (over quite a few hours). Furch uses a unique design for the neck and 12 string bridge, and it works.

Sound-wise, each guitar sounded like the character of the wood. Cedar was warm; sitka was bright; walnut was deep, bright, and quick; mahogany was lively; and EIR was just like a Martin EIR. I picked the 12 string that was my favorite sound-wise, but it was the hardest to play and had a buzz on the low E if I plucked too hard. Both problems are fixed now. I've played a few outdoor gigs, and both D24s stay in tune and sound great. Under the same conditions, my other guitars would give me fits.

One poster said their bridge pins and tuners are plastic. I've only seen Furch use ebony, which I suppose could be mistaken for plastic.

Neither of my guitars came with a barn door pickup, and I had better luck with a Lyric than an Anthem or K&K type. The domestic (Czech) guitars don't come with a pickup. Export guitars are more likely to come with a barn door.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

I’ve been intrigued with the brand and I’ve heard so many good things. What other manufacturer would you say its tone compares to. Is it more of a Taylor vibe, Martin or something else?

Its more like a Taylor. My Furch shipped with Elixir lights which made the guitar too bright for my tastes. I put on D'Addario EJ17s and I liked the tone better than the Elixirs, but the guitar isn't as mellow as I had hoped. Then again though, its had nothing but new strings on it since it got here.

I have to admit it isn't exactly what I had hoped for.

[Wrighty]

Interesting comments here. I have owned three, two cedar and one spruce top. They all shared a common tonality that I would describe as bright but articulate and that lends itself to finger style playing and various tunings. They project well but need a solid attack if they are to sound full as opposed to a little thin. Strings help shape this to a degree. I really liked all of mine but ultimately and unexpectedly it was the spruce top I kept longest as it warmed up and was clear and balanced. For me, OM is their sweet spot with G size a close second.

[Tadpole]

I have a Furch Violet Sy which is a bare bones (with LR Baggs) dreadnaught. It has a laminated mahogany curved back without bracing, something like the Guilds. It has a satin finish and a very nice spruce top.

Mine is new and not broken in. I find it to be warm, not as warm as my Martins, but not bright and jangly. I am still experimenting with strings. It isn't particularly loud, which I actually prefer. If you hit it hard it will deliver tons of volume without breakup.
It is built with meticulous attention to detail- clean as a whistle. I like the neck- sort of like a Martin mod. low oval, but more full, without being bulky. Overall it is a well-made, very solid, easy playing guitar.

[jcpharm]

Furch Red G-LC (alpine spruce/cocobolo) here. the givens are wonderful craftsmanship and articulate tone (whether you like the tone is up to each person). i took Shadowfox's advice and restrung with Elixir 80/20s (came with Elixir PB lights) and it really teased the tone out with more clarity which is what i was looking for. i installed an LR Baggs anthem which has added considerable weight to it but still plays and sounds well. i would put it between Martin and Taylor slightly leaning towards the Taylor side, but as others have said, different. almost has a tone like it's come thru an amp (less woody?) which is good for clarity and fingerpicking but not sure it blends as well during strumming compared to others (not bad, but not ideal - by comparison, i feel my 000-28 strum sounds ideal to me).

TL;DR: great craftsmanship/value for price, strings matter, my particular version excels in finger/flatpicking and less so for strumming.

[OddManOut]

One More Thought:

Furchs are production guitars. They sort wood sets for cosmetics. The build quality is impeccable and they have a top voicing method. In my view the voicing gives a better chance of getting a good sounding guitar (whatever that is to the buyer) as compared to competing brands. Sorting wood for cosmetics gives no assurance that a higher end model will sound better. A clean top can be heavy/floppy/dull sounding, a top with asymmetric grain features can be light/stiff/ring like a bell.

The Vintage 1 OM-SR I had was a very different sounding guitar than the Green OM-SR I now have, even though they are the same level guitar w/ the same grade woods (with traditional vs modern cosmetics).

[letterk]

I own a Red Master's Choice Gc-SR SPA. I've also played a Blue, Yellow, and Orange back to back. The Orange was a spruce top, not cedar as most Oranges. Generally closer to Taylor than Martin in tone. Meaning they lean on the brighter side. But the tone is far more complex and interesting. The saying I've heard many times is "It's what I wanted Taylor to sound like." I A/B'd it with a friends Taylor 814ce and the Furch won hands down. My friend agreed. And his 814ce is a very nice example of that model. Just something special about the tone. Love the necks on Furch. Super comfortable and easy to play.

[gt5litre]

I have a Vintage 1 Dread SR I bought last year. I paid 1700 and it was built as well as other bits costing in excess of $3000. I did replace the tuners with Hipshot, but those are simply a personal preference of mine.

Also, one of the best neck systems ever devised IMO. The quality of the fingerboard wood selection and execution along with the fretwork by the factory is beyond compare.

Brent

[rule18]

Originally Posted by letterk

I own a Red Master's Choice Gc-SR SPA. I've also played a Blue, Yellow, and Orange back to back. The Orange was a spruce top, not cedar as most Oranges. Generally closer to Taylor than Martin in tone. Meaning they lean on the brighter side. But the tone is far more complex and interesting. The saying I've heard many times is "It's what I wanted Taylor to sound like." I A/B'd it with a friends Taylor 814ce and the Furch won hands down. My friend agreed. And his 814ce is a very nice example of that model. Just something special about the tone. Love the necks on Furch. Super comfortable and easy to play.

One note, Yellows are typically made with Cedar tops, Oranges are typically Sitka.

[Aimelie]

Originally Posted by gt5litre

I have a Vintage 1 Dread SR I bought last year. I paid 1700 and it was built as well as other bits costing in excess of $3000. I did replace the tuners with Hipshot, but those are simply a personal preference of mine.

Also, one of the best neck systems ever devised IMO. The quality of the fingerboard wood selection and execution along with the fretwork by the factory is beyond compare.

Brent

This is an excellent remark and bears repeating. Their CNR system really instills confidence for the long term, but also (and I think I read it here on this forum) it might even have a tuning fork effect concerning resonance and the lightly braced Furch tops and their sensitivity.

That said, I freely admit I’m still in the honeymoon phase with my Yellow, so enthralled I am and shall be for the immediate future ...

[gt5litre]

BTW... my Furch is a little rolled mellow on the topps. I also find the bass full but not as boomy as I find in a Martin HD-28. I also love the midrange tones and the balance nicely with the lows. I have owned several Martins the most expensive being a D-18 Vintage reissue about a decade ago. I do not miss it since to my ears the midrange was

[TBman]

Actually my cedar Furch sounds almost exactly like my spruce Larrivee.

Here's a link to a comparison I did yesterday:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=613567