2019 Geronimo Mateos Audrey (Oil Finish)

Pros: Great tone, special character, looks great, it's a lifetime instrument

Cons: Long break-in time.

I have to give this a full five stars since it is the best gypsy jazz guitar I have ever owned and played. However, this is my first non-Asian gypsy jazz guitar so I am unable to compare this to other European and hand-made guitars. My first gypsy jazz guitar was a Gitane I had for a few years when I was a music student in college. Second was a Altamira M30D Antique. The gitane was terrible even though it looked the part. I found myself playing my archtop on every gig. The Altamira was good enough that it ended up being my primary instrument for most jazz gigs and was very versatile when it was paired with either k&ks for a natural tone or with a Krivo for a warm punchy tone. This kept me happy for about 3-4 years. I received the Audrey about a year ago and had to use my imagination of what it will sound like. It didn't have much to offer from the start but it was apparent this guitar needed many hrs of playing before it really opened up. I've owned high-end classical and archtop guitars and have learned the value of patience with these instruments. After a year, this guitar averaged 3 gigs and 2 evenings of practice a week so it's certainly aged a lot and the resulting tone is spectacular! This guitar has a special voice that is so velvety and punchy. It cuts through mixes well in the studio and live. The best aspect, in my opinion, are the dynamics. I did get to A/B this guitar with a few friend's guitars and learned the Audrey had a wider dynamic range than other popular names. I have a classical background so perhaps that's why this is so important to me but Geronimo Mateos certainly knew what he was doing. He also makes some good classical and flamenco instruments so I'm sure this is a well honed skill of his. The other important character of this instrument is that it is balanced(not in the beginning. No low end for the first 6 months). There aren't any sympathetic or structural resonance that cause certain notes to ring out louder than others. Also, if you really dig into this guitar there is a raspiness that's very cool. Everyone hears it and what a cool effect to have when playing on ballads. Visually it's stunning. The cedar top is cool and you can see a lot of hand-made character that makes ownership feel very special.

Submitted by: Adam on 03/28/2020 08:33:41 PM