my first gypsy guitar!

HennoxLane

Hi,

Well, I just wanted to give some of you guys a heads up on my recent trip to Palm Guitars in Amsterdam, it was quite a long way "just" for a guitar, but I've managed to find one to my liking, finally!

I tried a lot of different ones, but the one that clearly stood out was this guitar specially made for Palm, an Altamira model from Hanson Luthier, with solid rosewood back and sides, solid spruce top, all wood bindings and a curved top and back. The neck seems quite narrow and rather square than round, which is a bit odd at first, but after playing it for a while it's really convenient actually. It's got an ebony fretboard, which looks very beautiful and plays great.

I've got to make some adjustments though, the action is a tiny bit too high and I've still got to fix the bridge to make my octaves add up, but nothing really difficult.

here's a picture: (well, I was tired and didn't want to take out the camera to shoot a descent one, but you get the idea )



I'll post a vid soon, which should give you an idea of the sound.

Overall I am really happy with the sound, it's really warm and crispy... a real revelation compared to my simon&patrick sunburst folk!


also, special thanks to the guys here on the forum, I wouldn't have found out about palm guitars if it weren't for you guys! Also, thanks to Jazzdawg, for a whole lot of tips on how to choose a good model!

grtz

HennoxLane

So, here's a vid on youtube:

JazzDawg

Congrats on the new guitar. The new vid is nice. The guitar seems to have a really dry tone, which lets the notes of that etude ring out. Good job. Best of luck with it (the guitar)!!! Look forward to seeing more, I know you are well on your way, even before getting this guitar - but when you have an instrument that speaks to you, it allows you an extra edge, yes?

frater

I've tried several Altamira guitars. They are made in China but are just great: nice woods , clean craftmanship and an attention to details (see the felt in the tailpiece and the lightly squared neck) that are just surprising in a guitar so cheap. I like particularly the model with mahogany solid back and a walnut neck... a very fine guitar.

HennoxLane

indeed they are great. Although not all of them, I tried a d-hole model, but that one sounded wày too wet and full of reverb. Allmost a too thick sound, you know?

In any case this model really compared well against a hand crafted instrument, which I couldn't afford anyway , I feel like I've made a great choice, let's hope i keep feeling that way