NGD - Electro Classical Guitar by SANDI (Turkish Luthier)

GTC

Here's another belated NGD from me. I was intrigued by an eBay listing for a handmade thin-body electro-acoustic classical guitar from a renowned father and son Turkish luthiers, Cankaya Music (http://www.cankayamuzikevi.com/ ) run by Saadettin  and Bahadir Sandi.

The listing was for around £500 including postage. I enquired if they would consider doing a left-handed model and they said they could - but it would take four weeks and would cost about £40 more. So - I took the risk and went for it.

Throughout the build process, communication from Bahadir Sandi has been exemplary - with fast and helpful answers to my questions and photographic progress updates. Half-way through I realised that there was no form of neck strengthening (e.g. truss rod or carbon fibre rod). I mentioned my concerns as I generally like to use extra hard tension strings on narrow-body electro-acoustic nylon strung guitars. They said they did not think this would cause a problem but were happy to put in a truss rod for me. When I asked how much this would cost, Bahadir said it would cost nothing - it was their gift!

I received the guitar last week. It was finished bang on schedule. Shipping from Turkey to the UK also takes around 15 days (which I was advised of in advance) - and I had to pay a customs handling charge of £28. It came extremely well packed and in a simple but effective handmade rectangular case.

Photos of the guitar are included below:


The top is spruce, the back and sides are Ayous (also known as Obeche or Abechi), with a hornbeam bolt-on neck. Ayous is a light but strong tropical hardwood which has a rather bland appearance. It has therefore been painted (in this case a dark maroon colour, although they also do black as standard). The fretboard is ebony. I do not know what the tuning machines are but they look and feel quality. The electronics are Fishman Presys+.

The acoustic sound out of the box was really surprising - full, bright and balanced with a surprising volume for a thin body. It plays really nicely too with a very good action. I'm looking forward to changing the strings and fine tuning the set up to my preferences. Plugged in, it performs very well.

There weren't any side fretboard markers - Bahadir said they didn't usually put these on their classical guitars but would consider doing so in the future. It is worth noting that they also do a fretless version. There were also a couple of very minor scratches on the body and sides  - but these are very minor and will easily rub out.

Overall a fantastic purchase from a really helpful luthier - a risk I'm pleased I took. Below I've included a couple more photos to show the unpainted body and neck - and master luthier Saadettin Sandi holding the finished guitar.

ToneControl

what's the nut width?

Is the fingerboard flat?

demo youtube videos are out of tune and not well played, you are you getting on, what's it the equivalent of for sound and quality?

GTC

ToneControl said:

what's the nut width?

Is the fingerboard flat?

demo youtube videos are out of tune and not well played, you are you getting on, what's it the equivalent of for sound and quality?

52mm nut width, flat fingerboard, standard classical neck profile. The demo videos are played by one of the luthiers, Bahadir Sandi. I've seen worse (like the ones for that Calido latticed brace guitar which I'm sure is a lot better than the videos). I can't think of a direct comparison for the tone. It is fuller than you would expect from a narrow body but not as rounded as a full-size. Acoustically it is much louder, more balanced than a Godin and is at least as good tonally as my old Carvin. The build quality is generally very good but I would say the finishing is only average.

ToneControl

how are you getting on with the guitar now?

GTC

I sold it - nothing wrong with it, a very nice guitar but it wasn't getting played. I have just taken delivery of A MOOV classical travel guitar from Greece - quite a different concept. Built to my spec - left-handed, 640mm scale length and 50mm nut width. I'm really looking forward to trying it out when I get some spare time - hopefully over the weekend.