Does anyone have any experience with Almansa guitars?

[Rosco NZ]

I am seriously considering a 457 in Cedar.

Rosco

[FrankHS]

Originally Posted by Rosco NZ

I am seriously considering a 457 in Cedar.

Rosco

I play cedar top Almanza 403, which is/was their cheapest solid top, ($300 new in 2000.) I'm sure the 457 is way superior. Coincidentally I just uploaded my first self-recordings today, using this guitar. It's been my main guitar for past 10 years, but need something bettter. Voiced very trebly, which is okay for recording if you can keep finger/fret slap minimized, and nail click down, which get picked up to an unfair degree, at least on my new recorder. Hope the link works below if ya'll care to listen to my covers of "Fisherman" (Kottke) and "If I Only Had a Brain" (E. Klugh.)

Sorry, not much help concerning the 457, but good luck! I believe almost any classical guitar has to be played, not purchased on reputation.

[Rosco NZ]

Hi Frank,

What a great sound and terrific playing, you have almost convinced me on that alone. Yes I realise that I have to play one first, I would have to order one in to see what they are like. The shop owner raves over them, but that could be a sales push. I have read good reports on them though. They did have a 434 in store but that sold pretty quick.
The 457 is just under 2 grand NZ, I dont know if we are meant to discuss pricing on this forum though. What make of strings are you using?
Rosco

[gj Michelob]

Originally Posted by FrankHS

I play cedar top Almanza 403, which is/was their cheapest solid top, ($300 new in 2000.) I'm sure the 457 is way superior. Coincidentally I just uploaded my first self-recordings today, using this guitar. It's been my main guitar for past 10 years, but need something bettter. Voiced very trebly, which is okay for recording if you can keep finger/fret slap minimized, and nail click down, which get picked up to an unfair degree, at least on my new recorder. Hope the link works below if ya'll care to listen to my covers of "Fisherman" (Kottke) and "If I Only Had a Brain" (E. Klugh.)

Sorry, not much help concerning the 457, but good luck! I believe almost any classical guitar has to be played, not purchased on reputation.

Very Very Nice, Frank, BRAVO !!!

[FrankHS]

Originally Posted by Rosco NZ

Hi Frank,

What make of strings are you using?
Rosco

Thanks for the kudos Rosco and gjMichelob!

The strings are just $2/set bulk sets I bought from StringsByMail (48 sets for bulk price.) Supposedly "Martins", but not notable enough for them to publish a style designation. On a $300 guitar I don't think it matters much, and I don't mind changing more often at $2/set. (Prolly higher price these days.)

[Rosco NZ]

I love it. Just goes to show you dont need a top of the line guitar to make top of the line music (although it helps). Its all in the fingers.

Rosco

[FrankHS]

Originally Posted by Rosco NZ

I love it. Just goes to show you dont need a top of the line guitar to make top of the line music (although it helps). Its all in the fingers.

Rosco

Agreed, and have to admit I derive a perverse pleasure when I (or anyone) proves you can get 90% of desired results by spending 40% of what popular guitar hype claims you "need." However, I'll be glad to achieve that extra 10% with better equipment. Some day...

[dosland]

I played several Almansas when I was shopping around for a classical guitar in Spain, and I was favorably impressed with some of the higher end models. The only issue with the smaller factory manufacturers from Spain is the consistency. The guitars that come out of the factory with no defects are fantastic, but some of the instruments that I played had minor issues, mostly with the finish. This was the case even with the "conservatory" models (the step above "student" and below "professional").

Having said all that, I'll never buy a classical guitar without first trying out all the Spanish ones I can get my hands on; there's simply no comparison (!) between those and the competition, at least when it comes to traditional classical guitars. Obviously, this will make a lot of people unhappy. But my quality-to-price scale refuses to let me even look at most of what passes as a classical guitar in the stores near where I live. So if you can actually try out the Almansa 457 or an Alhambra 7 or higher (you can get them all in cedar), do it. You'll probably have a REALLY nice guitar on your hands, and maybe you'll want to buy it!