UK Retailers and Setups

sundance · November 2021

My first post on this forum so hello to everyone and thanks for letting me join.

I've been playing acoustic guitar for over 30 years and my good wife is letting me choose my first higher-end guitar for my 50th birthday which is in a couple of months. I'd appreciate some advice about what and where to buy with a budget of around £1k.

I play mostly folk songs, such as Paul Simon, Dylan, Nanci Griffith etc so I'm usually doing some kind of Travis-style fingerpicking. Never plug into an amp but I'm thinking I should get a guitar with a pickup just in case I need it one day.

My current guitar is a cedar-topped dreadnought (Simon & Patrick SP6) so I'm looking at slightly smaller bodied guitars for the new one. After a lot of thought, I have pretty much decided on either a Furch Blue, Yamaha FS5 (available in a few weeks apparently) or the Yamaha FSX5 (would have to wait until Feb at least). Would be very happy to hear any comments or suggestions about these, or any alternatives you think I should consider.

My main question, though, is about setups and UK retailers. I live on a remote island with no easy access to luthiers or guitar techs so I would really like the retailer to do a good setup before shipping it. I know Richard's Guitars promote this but what about the other UK stores? I have actually been offered a discount on the FS5 or FSX5 by PMT because of a previous sale which fell through. So, although they are not available for a while yet, I can get a decent price on these and love the look/sound of them from what I've watched online. I've never really heard of PMT so not sure how reliable they are and if they would do a good setup. Does anyone have experience of them and would you recommend them?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

DavidR · November 2021

Very pleased with FG5 which I have had since early Summer 2020. It shipped from Japan. It has matured well.

FS5 & FG5 are, as far as I can make out, FS3's and FG3's which have been made in China initially but then sent to Hamamatsu in Japan for finishing off/setup instead of just being marketed in Chinese post-production form. Hence the greater cost. This explains why they look virtually identical - mainly they are.

The FG5 is a very nice guitar in my opinion. It is a dreadnought of course (FG = Folk Guitar) as opposed to the smaller FS (Folk Small). The construction is very good. Mine needed only slight fiddling to lower the action at the bridge saddle to make it just right for me. Also brass bridge pins and Monel strings to suit my personal tone taste. It holds its tuning better than my Martin OM28.

Very pleased with it but then I love FG's. Since buying I have also bought the cheaper FG830. Also nice but tone less complex imho.

You would be welcome to try them out but I notice you are in Scotland and I'm in Essex!

Good Luck.

Mellish · November 2021

Some PMT stores do setups and some don't, so you'd need to check if the branch you have in mind does

GTC · November 2021

I have had some set-up shockers from stores who claim to to fully check the guitars and set them up before shipping - so, just because they say they do it doesn't necessarily mean they will do it well - or even at all.

In my experience, Peach guitars are pretty good in doing what you ask before shipping.

However, IMO, nothing beats getting a fine-tuned set-up by a trusted local luthier or technician. I do not know where you are in Scotland but you should find someone not too far away.

Mellish · November 2021

Totally agree with @GTC over a trusted luthier/tech. I thought I'd found a good tech and was with him for 5 years. Intonation wasn't spot-on but... Well, I thought that's just the way it was. I was young, just starting out, and I didn't know. Then I found a guy who blew that tech away and I've stayed with him for over 20 years

more · November 2021

Hello and welcome
I understand you live somewhere remote , so you might not be willing to travel far . Personally , I would not part with a grand for a guitar I had not played first. Also ,setting up a guitar is not too difficult . You don’t need many tools and everything you need to know is on the net.

Lewy · November 2021

more said:

You don’t need many tools and everything you need to know is on the net.

The trouble is that everything you need to know is on the net nestled amongst a tonne of stuff that you don't need to know or is just plain wrong!

@sundance Welcome to the forum! Yamahas have a pretty good reputation for out of the box playability unlike, say, Martins where they are kind of renowned for sending them out "roughed in" on the assumption that everyone will get a set up straight away anyway. So if I was you - taking your remoteness into account - and you're going for the Yamaha, I'd be tempted to get the deal from PMT, see if they can do a set up and then see what you get. It's either going to be fine or it's going to be easily fixable and if it's not, it can go back.

Given that you are remote, it certainly would pay dividends to get comfortable with making rudimentary adjustments to the truss rod and saddle rather than having to resort to luthiers for that.

sundance · November 2021

Thanks for all the replies.

I live on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles of Scotland so it's a whole day's journey involving a ferry to get to Inverness where, I am sure, there will be good guitar techs. Mainland trips happen now and again, though, so I would just have to fit a guitar setup around one of those whenever possible. From what you've said, I can totally understand that relying on the retailer to do a setup is probably not recommended so thanks for highlighting that point.

Yes, I should learn to do basic adjustments myself so maybe I'll try this on my old guitar after doing some research. It's never really been setup properly so could probably use some tweaking. I'm not too bad at working with my hands but I just wouldn't want to go straight into experimenting on a brand new £1k guitar for my first attempts!

As for which guitar to choose, I'm really on the fence between the Furch and the Yamaha. I started out with intentions of getting another cedar-topped guitar and I loved the elegant beauty of the Furchs. There's just something about the Yamahas though that makes me think they will suit the sort of folk music I like to play, and maybe having a spruce to complement my existing cedar makes sense. I've looked at so many reviews, videos and forums about these guitars and I'm still undecided!

Mellish · November 2021

It would be great if you could put off your choice of guitar until you could try some in a store, as someone said above. I get the location issue but it's hard to decide which guitar without trying them first. But I hope it goes well

LukePalmer · November 2021

Yamaha London in Wardour St have a fantastic in house luthier who will set the guitar up to your requirements before shipping.

BillDL · November 2021

My Mother's church minister is from Lewis. His name is Murdo Macdonald. You might know him

.
That's a Scottish in-joke folks. Murdo is a very popular name in those parts, as is Macdonald.

Mattharrier · November 2021

I can only add that I bought a guitar from Richard's; although mine is electric, I would assume they do the same job with acoustics, and I'm very pleased with the set up I got.

I'm a relative beginner so I'm not after anything fancy with how my guitars are set up so possibly if you want something a bit more specific YMMV, but the service I've had from Richard's has been great.

sundance · November 2021

After much more deliberation, I have finally decided on a Furch Blue G CM LR Baggs SPE and my very generous wife has just placed the order. Fortunately it is in stock and should arrive soon. We ordered it from Project Music whom I called to discuss setup options etc so I am hopeful that they will provide good customer service.

I've read so many good things about Furch guitars and although I love the look of the Yamahas too, I am sure I won't be disappointed with my choice.

Thanks for all the help. I will be sure to post a NGD thread with photos when the time comes.

Shadow · November 2021

sundance said:

After much more deliberation, I have finally decided on a Furch Blue G CM LR Baggs SPE and my very generous wife has just placed the order. Fortunately it is in stock and should arrive soon. We ordered it from Project Music whom I called to discuss setup options etc so I am hopeful that they will provide good customer service.

I've read so many good things about Furch guitars and although I love the look of the Yamahas too, I am sure I won't be disappointed with my choice.

Thanks for all the help. I will be sure to post a NGD thread with photos when the time comes.

I received a guitar from Project Music yesterday, a Martin 00-X2E so only half the value of the guitar you're getting, but it came setup really well with the ideal low action for my fingerstyle.

Winny_Pooh · November 2021

Furch is a good call. You might only need to adjust the neck a tiny bit and the rest should be fine unless it feels too stiff with your regular gauge strings.

bertie · December 2021

Shadow said:
I received a guitar from Project Music yesterday,

PM in Execeter ?

=============================================================================================

@sundance - as a Furch owner, I reckon you made a good choice, mine came set up by them with a date/name certificate - for me it played superb "out of the box"

sundance · December 2021

Thanks, it's reassuring to hear the positive comments about Furch and Project Music. Can't wait to receive the guitar!

Shadow · December 2021

bertie said:

Shadow said:
I received a guitar from Project Music yesterday,

PM in Execeter ?

=============================================================================================

@sundance - as a Furch owner, I reckon you made a good choice, mine came set up by them with a date/name certificate - for me it played superb "out of the box"

Yes, Exeter.

bertie · December 2021

Shadow said:
Yes, Exeter.

ahh, gods county - I "think" one of my old school mates son works there..............(dont ask me his name

) I remember back when the only good shop was Bill Greenhalgh - (there was Minns and a place in Sidwell St. - I bought a Yamaha dread there in about 1984)

sundance · December 2021

So, the Furch arrived yesterday and first impressions are that it looks beautiful.

Haven't had time to play it much yet but my initial feeling was that it sounds really great. It didn't feel as buttery smooth to play as I maybe hoped so might need to consider if it needs any tweaking. The action at the 12th fret could possibly be lower, but I haven't measured it yet. Having said that, I definitely noticed the benefit of the wider nut compared to my Simon & Patrick SP6 and found more space for my fretting hand.

Was slightly disappointed not to receive a certificate of authenticity, or any paperwork at all. Is that normal? Managed to find the battery compartment and figure out how to use the tuner on the LR Baggs pickup but would have expected some sort of instructions.

Technically I'm not supposed to play the guitar until mid January when I have a big birthday but might manage to sneak a few minutes now and again while the wife is out

bertie · December 2021

the "certificate" was folded up in the accessory compartment thingy in the hard case, from the factory setup not the "reseller" it was back in 2016 tho - I only had it a month or so before I f*cked my arm (the first time) - couldnt play for 6 months !!

Mellish · December 2021

@Sundance. I'm sure you'll love it. No paperwork? I don't know if that's normal for that brand. Others will though. And if you need it set up, I know a good tech, as I'm sure many others here do

,

bertie · December 2021

@sundance ; - how are you getting on with it now ?

sundance · December 2021

@bertie Well, thankfully I was able to spend some time with the Furch because, after playing it for a while, I noticed a couple of issues with the setup.

I felt it sounded a bit muted, not nearly as resonant as I'd expected. I was also concerned about the saddle being quite low and, worst of all, was getting frequent fret buzzing.

I called Project Music, followed their advice about adding relief via truss rod adjustments, but couldn't get rid of the buzzing or the muted sound. I also found out from the serial number that the guitar was built in April 2020 so I did wonder where it had been for the last 20 months.

Eventually I wasn't really satisfied with the guitar or the service from the retailer so I decided to return it.

I then called Richard's Guitars and spoke with Richard himself who was extremely helpful. He reassured me that Furchs should sound amazing if setup correctly and, after checking what they had in stock, suggested sending me a Furch Blue OM CM AND an Eastman E6OM-TC. I will (hopefully) keep one and send the other back.

This is a terrific gesture and I'm really excited about having 2 guitars to compare. I had already been interested in the Eastman so to get the chance to compare with the Furch is great. I am very impressed with the attention to detail shown by Richard's and am confident it will be setup well.

It's a lesson learned. I knew Richard's had a good reputation for quality control and customer service so I should have gone to them first. The sale and return with Project Music has lost us about £90 in shipping costs but obviously I couldn't keep a £1k guitar that I wasn't happy with.

Will hopefully receive the 2 guitars from Richard's within the next week or so and then begins the fun of choosing between them!

Lewy · December 2021

sundance said:

I felt it sounded a bit muted, not nearly as resonant as I'd expected. I was also concerned about the saddle being quite low and, worst of all, was getting frequent fret buzzing.

I called Project Music, followed their advice about adding relief via truss rod adjustments, but couldn't get rid of the buzzing or the muted sound. I also found out from the serial number that the guitar was built in April 2020 so I did wonder where it had been for the last 20 months.

That's a shame. I'd suspect that it spent it's 20 months in an overly humid environment, which would give the muted sound, and then the resulting excess bellying of the top would explain why someone lowered the saddle a lot, so the geometry will be off. My understanding is that Furch are lightly braced so would be more susceptible to humidity issues.

bertie · December 2021

@sundance ;;

that's a real shame, but good to hear you're getting great service from Richard's - the Cedar / Mahog is a great combo on smaller bodies - IMHO anyway (sure someone will disagree...........) Ive never played/heard a thermo top, be interesting to hear your views on the Eastman

Ive got the discontinued OM 33 SR -
https://stageshop.hu/en/acoustic-guitars/furch-guitar/furch-discontinued/furch-om33-sr-acoustic-guitar

bertie · December 2021

oh and keep us up to date with how its going.........................

bertie · December 2021

@sundance ;

hey mate - here's what I got with mine - (bit late but hey ho)

Image: https://scontent-lcy1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/269605496_10227304569341771_6283437750029748398_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=CPOatKoufbAAX9lNlr9&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-1.xx&oh=00_AT-CiCcWOafOh1DnaskoZ0FOVuF9HsUL7_eyn-jikJmqdA&oe=61C4BCC3

Image: https://scontent-lcy1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/269683655_10227304570501800_6303386018180603667_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-5&_nc_sid=0debeb&_nc_ohc=ErmTFl0kMGgAX9eZ85h&_nc_ht=scontent-lcy1-1.xx&oh=00_AT-WE0RXifJuMGeYyaIw5S10HoRZzOgwuXQ7JmiPn_pUtg&oe=61C54CA1

sev112 · December 2021

Very good useful document from a manufacturer

but wow, to be kept within 35% to 40% humidity - that’s quite low, and pretty difficult to that level of precisiom

sundance · December 2021

@bertie Thanks for sharing that - it's just the kind of document I would have hoped to receive with a new Furch.

I will definitely keep you updated - still waiting to receive the two guitars from Richards. My understanding is that they are currently in the queue for setup in their workshop so it's looking likely that I won't get them until after Christmas. This is fine...yes, I'm impatiently waiting to try them out but I'd rather they were setup properly this time!

Lewy · December 2021

sev112 said:

Very good useful document from a manufacturer

but wow, to be kept within 35% to 40% humidity - that’s quite low, and pretty difficult to that level of precisiom

That's the lowest range I've seen a maker recommend ... it's usually 45%-50% quoted, sometimes 45% - 55%. I'd have to have a dehumidifier running near enough 24/7 to maintain 35% - 40% RH.

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