A little while ago we acquired a very special guitar by Stuart Christie; a concert model based on Julian Bream’s 1973 José Romanillos guitar. It was a pretty little guitar that was meticulously appointed with the most intricate rosette (based on a Daniel Friedrich guitar, if memory serves) and a gorgeous French polish finish to enhance the lustre of this fine guitar. The slender body and comfortable neck shape made sitting down to play this guitar an absolute dream.
When he came to deliver his guitar, Stuart spoke with me at length about the smaller body shape and the positive impact this has on the tone and projection. He described, in great detail, how he establishes the thickness of each soundboard based on physics, before fine tuning with further tests towards the end of the building process. There is an impressive amount of detail in the planning, and then at every step along the way. The result is stunning instrument that just feels ‘right’ in the hands, and that delivers the most gorgeous and expressive tone. The magic is in the subtlety and unquantifiable musicality of the tone, not just the volume and boldness at which this guitar is capable of singing.
Needless to say, that first José Romanillos inspired model didn’t last very long in our studio before one lucky customer snapped it up. Then came covid lockdown, and Stuart returned to his previous medical profession to help our with the national vaccination programme. This put a halt on guitar building and we’ve been waiting patiently ever since for the arrival of our next José Romanillos inspired model based on the same specification as that lovely little guitar we had all those years ago.
The moment has arrived
This week we finally took delivery of Stuart Christie’s latest guitar, based on the same plans that José Romanillos used to build Julian Bream’s famous guitar back in 1973, with a little bit of Christie magic, of course.
This guitar is every inch as special as the previous one. I’ve enjoyed playing this fine guitar and getting to know it’s capabilities. The same comfort and playability coupled with that familiarly expressive tone and dynamic responsiveness are like wonderful old friends. You sometimes get concert guitars that deliver on most fronts, but come with a slight compromise, be it the neck shape, the comfort, the dynamic range or just the general ‘feel’.
This guitar by Stuart Christie is the complete package. I simply cannot fault any part of it. Stuart is a self professed perfectionist, and this guitar is the proof.
Check out this video of Kia Robeson playing Stuart Christie’s guitar at the Royal Greenwich Guitar Festival in 2021.
