Owner review of the De Cascia Sylvia Cedar double top

[Carbonius]

I have owned this guitar for over a year now and am very confident in posting this review. This will be a VERY in depth review of the De Cascia Sylvia Cedar double top that I proudly own. I got one of the best De Cascia offered. I told Paul (company owner) I did not want to spend years finding a good guitar and fighting for tone. He said that is what I would get with the double top. He was right!

Full Specs:
• Concert classical Double top model
• Canadian cedar/cedar
• All wood lattice bracing
• 650mm scale length with 52mm nut width
• Solid Indian rosewood back & sides
• Brace-less arched back
• African mahogany neck
• Raised ebony fingerboard (curve-away top)
• Extended fretboard on treble side
• Arm rest that only touches top edge
• Sound port with cover
• Rubner tuning machines
• French Polish top, lacquer finish back and sides
• Custom double arched hard shell case included

Then there’s all the “case candy” that Paul added:
• 2 Oasis humidifiers
• Oasis temperature / humidity gauge
• High quality polishing cloth.
• Extra strings, both carbon & plastic in both hard and normal tension!

My review:
First off things first. Paul, owner and founder of De Cascia guitars, is great! I emailed him a lot and eventually phoned him as it can take days to have a simple conversation by email. Over the phone he actually played a couple of guitars for me. The tone was not great over the phone, I was not expecting that. I wanted to hear string volume balance, intonation and also sustain. As many know, there are issues with the volume and tonal changes from the D to G string. There are also issues with volume balance when playing higher fretted notes with open strings. Both guitars sounded great to me, Paul is a great player! I went ahead with the purchase.

This was ordering in this in winter, just below freezing. Paul said it was fine to ship since it wasn’t too cold yet (as in -30). Still, he took every precaution. He put 2 Oasis humidifiers in the case and then wrapped it in many layers of plastic to trap in humidity. That was then in a sealed box with a lot of protective foam and peanuts. I unwrapped it so that the case was exposed, then let it acclimatize over a 24 hour period.

Upon opening it, unfortunately the first thing I noticed was some sloppy work at both the saddle and nut slots. The cuts were rough and cosmetically were not what I was expecting. The fretboard was odd, with many very tine swirly marks. I now think these are from an oscillating palm sander. I had the exact same marks appear on some furniture that I was refinishing. These were not that easy to see, have to be quite close. It’s just not something that I was accustomed to.

HOWEVER... it played very well. In fact, the tone shocked me!! 2 weeks before I had bought a $500 classical that had good intonation. However it just sounded like a $20 plastic toy next to my Sylvia. I took back "the toy" a few days after I got this!

My Sylvia has great string to string balance. I've only played it with carbon strings so far and I love them. I don't notice the D to G volume issue at all. The tonal difference from wound to unwound is subtle. Good volume as you work up the neck, no problem playing parts past the 8th fret with open notes ringing. It's balanced, I don’t find notes that are weak or notes that overwhelm others. Warm tone if I want it, more cutting tone if I want it, soft, loud, really whatever I want! Best intonation and play-ability I found on any classical I’ve played.

I grew out my nails and played that way for a bit, fabulous tone that way. However I have a lot of projects on the go and had some scary incidents as big chunks of nail got snagged. I cut all my nails back and just play closer to the bridge. It still has amazing tone that way. I played a 6 string bass for 10+ years, so I’m used to playing without nails. But back to De Cascia…

At first I thought the intonation was off. However that was mainly me! I am used to 13 gauge steel string guitars, so my hand was squeezing WAY too hard. I have to concentrate to keep a loose grip. No intonation is perfect, that does not exist on this earth (no matter what people say). However the intonation of my Sylvia is VERY good. I have "perfect relative pitch" so I am extra picky.

I was inspecting the Lattice bracing one day shortly after I received it and got a shock. 2 short sections of the braces had come loose! I talked to Paul and he agreed to an inspection. The luthier confirmed that these had come loose but that it was an easy fix. Paul said it must have been Canada Post, that the temperature and humidity could have also weakened things. I've been a courier, I’ve seen how reckless (STUPID) people can be. The luthier said it was no problem to glue it up. Paul was great and said he would pay for it all. I sent him pictures and the written estimate, he immediately sent the money (before repairs were done). That’s service!

I also spoke with Paul about the cosmetic issues. He said I wasn't understanding the point of this guitar. His intention was to offer students high quality instruments at reasonable prices. It is high quality and the price is VERY reasonable. It is about a $2K guitar with features only found on guitars that are $4K+ range. In fact, most like the Sylvia are in the $7K+ range. However I still told Paul that it would not take much more time at all to have this all done cleaner. An extra 10 minutes of care while cutting the slots would have gone a long way. Paul has Canadians do the final setup. He said he would adjust what they do, have them slow down.

The luthier set me at ease with the cosmetic issues. He also cleaned them up for me. He said that it was a very good guitar and was shocked to hear what I paid for it. He confirmed by measuring that the nut and saddle were right where they should be. He was also quite surprised to see a fully compensated saddle, as many classical guitars do not have that.

I took the guitar to my dad who is a pianist and singer and who has loved good music his entire life. I played a song for him and he was so moved that he wept. Part of that is me of course. However the playability allowed me to play unhindered and the tone/volume gave me a palette to work with.

= The double action truss rod is FABULOUS! =

In summer I got another scare. The neck slightly back bowed. I loosened the truss rod all the way, but it wasn't enough. I emailed Paul and he said to take it to a luthier. My luthier asked if it had a double action truss rod ... I didn't know. He said it was easy to find out and just kept turning it in the looser direction. In 2 minutes it was all good again. My luthier didn’t even charge me for his time. Now I make those slight adjustments twice a year.

The top of mine has a slopped top for better upper fret access (see pics at bottom, more in link to Sylvia). The sound-port is awesome, giving a fuller sound to the listener with no loss of volume out front. In fact, some tests on Tim McKnights webpage show that a properly placed port INCREASES overall volume. Paul also included a nicely fitting wooden plug that has a foam gasket so there is no rattling when used. The armrest is also awesome. It only touches the guitar on the edge (where the kerfing would be). It feels great under your arm but also allows the top to vibrate freely. At first I didn’t like how the armrest is matte looking. However this is a HUGE benefit. I forgot how bad glossier tops can feel under a bare forearm.

In closing Paul stands behind his guitars, I have no regrets! I can pick up this wonderful guitar and get inspiring tones in seconds. I hope De Cascia guitars get more and more recognition.

Some internet links and such (none are affiliated with me in any way):

http://www.decasciaguitars.com/produ...ar-double-top/

http://www.grandsalondeguitare.com/





Picture is stock from the web, but identical to mine.