Colin Keefe
Spruce/Santos Concert Guitar Review
Colin Keefe is one of the most experienced classical guitar makers in the UK and we’re immensely proud to be able to offer his latest concert guitar for sale.
His latest model features his trademark bear claw spruce soundboard; not just a pretty piece of tone wood, but selected specifically for it’s tonal qualities. He has paired this with the equally eye catching bi-tonal Santos Rosewood back and sides. Although the aesthetics of a guitar don’t affect the tone in any way, it’s really lovely when woods as beautiful as these can be utilised on an instrument. Imagine picking this wonderful instrument up every day and admiring it before enjoying the world of spectacular tonal colours this instrument has to offer.
Like all of Colin’s classical guitars, this model has been constructed using traditional fan bracing at the core of it’s design. Colin has refined his own strut and support pattern geared towards making the guitar sing and sustain in the higher registers. This is something that a lot of guitars really struggle to achieve and it’s amazing how effective his design is in remedying this issue.
The treble strings sing with an immense sweetness that is suggestive of a guitar that has been ‘played in’ over many years. Being a brand new spruce top, this sweet and mellow tone will only mature and get better with age. I’d really love to hear it in a few years time, but I imagine this guitar will have been snapped up by one lucky customer long before then!
If you’re going to have a treble strong guitar, it needs to be countered by a good bass too otherwise the tone will feel imbalanced. Colin has voiced his bass to perfection, giving the player plenty of tight and defined bass notes in the lower register of the guitar. The attack and definition from the bass strings reminds me of the type you can achieve on a good steel string guitar. There is an immediacy to the response of the bass notes when played and there is very little muddiness to the sound. This works in perfect harmony with the treble strings to create a tone that is both well defined and eloquent.
To demonstrate the clarity, definition and poise of this guitar, I chose to record a little excerpt of Francisco Tarrega’s ‘Capricho Arabe’; an evocative piece of music with soaring, expressive melodies, set against a persistent bass line and richly voiced harmony. I think the way each part can be heard as it’s own distinct voice is a real testament to Colin’s fine craftsmanship. This guitar does everything a good classical guitar should do and it does it extremely well.
This is a guitar that will only improve with age, which is astonishing to think, given how great it sounds already!
Buy This Guitar
This guitar is available to buy exclusively from Classical Guitar Academy.
If you’d like to try this guitar for yourself, please get in touch to book an appointment. Virtual appointments are available for international customers who are unable to visit us in person.
You can also purchase the guitar direct from our website.
