Concierto DT

The Antonio Picado Concierto DT is a bold, unapologetically Spanish concert guitar with enormous reserves of colour and power. This example has a particularly extrovert character: deep, resonant basses, glossy bell-like trebles and an immediacy under the fingers.

The Concierto DT takes Picado’s concert platform in a more powerful direction than the standard Concierto. Its DT construction gives the sound greater weight and density, producing a broader, fuller presentation while retaining the unmistakable character of a cedar-topped Spanish guitar.

It is a natural match for the great Spanish repertoire. Passionate, lyrical works feel completely at home, with a sound steeped in the warmth of the Spanish tradition and its North African/flamenco influence.

This is a big-sounding guitar. The trebles are glossy and bell-like, with a rounded shape and buoyant response. Notes feel highly energised which gives melodic playing tremendous life.

Compared with the equivalent standard Concierto, the DT produces a fuller and more substantial sound. Where the standard model can be comparatively subtle and delicate, this guitar delivers great waves of sound when pushed.

The basses are exceptionally deep and resonant. There is real physical weight behind them, recalling something of the huge bass response associated with the best Paulino Bernabé guitars. Importantly, that power does not demand a heavy right hand. A soft touch is enough to produce a strong response, making the guitar particularly appealing to players who naturally play with a lighter attack.

Through all of this, the cedar character remains intact: warm, immediate and richly expressive rather than homogenised by the guitar’s additional power.

The neck is typical Picado: comfortably proportioned and conservative rather than aggressively slim, giving the left hand a familiar and reassuring feel.

The guitar has previously sustained a crack to the right-hand side of the soundboard, beginning just below the rosette and continuing into the lower bout. This has been professionally repaired by James Lister. The repair has restored the soundboard to a structurally sound condition, and we can detect no negative effect on either the tone or the responsiveness of the instrument.

For the player looking for a powerful cedar guitar with unmistakably Spanish character, this Concierto DT is particularly compelling. Its combination of effortless response, enormous bass depth and vivid, singing trebles makes it especially convincing in the Romantic Spanish repertoire, while its easy response means that considerable colour and volume remain available without forcing the instrument.