Furch?

Tannin · September 2023

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

Smellyfingers · September 2023

Tannin said:

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

I guess I was thinking Lowden or Atkin in the UK.

Tannin · September 2023

Lowden are known worldwide as a quality mid-size maker. You can buy Lowdens in Auckland or Yokohama or Melbourne or Madrid or San Francisco I shouldn't think anybody outside the UK ever heard of Atkin. Well, apart from me and a few others of my ilk, but I'm a nerd.

But in the UK, sure. Aitkin seems to be quite well known and I don't recall anybody having a bad word to say about them.

Still both are minnows compared to Furch, which has become a major worldwide player.

BigPaulie · September 2023

Smellyfingers said:

Tannin said:

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

I guess I was thinking Lowden or Atkin in the UK.

Lowden are an Irish brand. Not British. ,;-p

Dave_Mc · September 2023

BigPaulie said:

Smellyfingers said:

Tannin said:

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

I guess I was thinking Lowden or Atkin in the UK.

Lowden are an Irish brand. Not British. ,;-p

Northern Ireland I think.

Dave_Mc · September 2023

BigPaulie said:
If you're going to Richard's try a Dowina as well.

Yeah definitely.

guitarjack66 · September 2023

Dave_Mc said:

BigPaulie said:

Smellyfingers said:

Tannin said:

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

I guess I was thinking Lowden or Atkin in the UK.

Lowden are an Irish brand. Not British. ,;-p

Northern Ireland I think.

UK brand then.

guitarjack66 · September 2023

BigPaulie said:

Smellyfingers said:

Tannin said:

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

I guess I was thinking Lowden or Atkin in the UK.

Lowden are an Irish brand. Not British. ,;-p.

Slightly off topic but I was in Frailers the other day and saw a couple of Lowdens. Despite it being overpriced,even the Ed Sheeran model looked nice. I didnt pick any up to play though.

Dave_Mc · September 2023

guitarjack66 said:

Dave_Mc said:

BigPaulie said:

Smellyfingers said:

Tannin said:

Smellyfingers said:
Maybe because they don’t have the wide name recognition of the big American(or British) brands their used values can be a bargain.

British brands? Name recognition?

I guess I was thinking Lowden or Atkin in the UK.

Lowden are an Irish brand. Not British. ,;-p

Northern Ireland I think.

UK brand then.

I don't think there's an adjective "UK-ish", lol, British is usually used even though technically NI isn't in GB but is in the UK as you rightly point out. Of course if he (Lowden, I mean) wants to be Irish he's allowed to be Irish too, which is absolutely fine- I was just (slightly) taking issue with @BigPaulie acting like @Smellyfingers was silly for thinking they're British. It's not silly- they are if you want them to be, kind of thing.

I could be wrong, but I'm assuming they pay UK tax, for example.

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/NI054467

Registered on Companies House...

Littlejonny · September 2023

Hi OP here…I made the journey to Richards Guitars today and spent a couple of hours playing on guitars. So many beautiful guitars in there - absolutely fantastic. Customer service was amazing as well.

All the guitars were lovely - the Dowinas look great but were a little bass-light.. The Audens were the opposite - really warm and deep, but slightly subdued and compressed. The Furch guitars I tried blew my head off though. I’ve never played a cedar topped steel string before and I’m loved it.

I genuinely couldn’t decide between a Blue GC CM and a Yellow GC CR. The former was 999 and the latter 1800 (lowest price he could do). It seems the Blue was exceptionally good for the price but there was an extra 5% more silkiness and bass to the Yellow.

They had a beautiful second hand Lowden for 2800 that I felt was comparable to these guitars, albeit slightly louder and with a pingy frequency in the upper mids that I think I’d get annoyed with eventually.

It was so good of them to let me spend the time trying them out. I went in with an open mind and I was impressed with all the guitars. The Eastmans were really impressive as well. I was close to choosing the AC222ce, but the Furch’s were clearly a step up.

Now to complicate matters there’s a Stonebridge G23-CR in guitarguitar for 849! I could save 1K…and I’ve just checked YouTube vids on these and they sound like the Yellow series to my ears.

what would you do?

tomjax · September 2023

G23-CR all the way... It's the same guitar, just new naming convention.

drofluf · September 2023

Did you notice that the Stonebridge has had a headstock break? That would put me off, illogical as it’s possibly stronger than before but it would always niggle me. If you can afford it I’d go for the Yellow it may “only” be 5% better but I’d probably always consider the Blue to be second best.

Tannin · September 2023

I'm with @drofluf. It's a beautiful guitar - I'm assuming this is the one: https://rguitars.co.uk/products/furch-yellow-series-g-cr-c - and the combination of cedar and rosewood is a heavenly match.

TheBigDipper · September 2023

Littlejonny said:

<snip>
Now to complicate matters there’s a Stonebridge G23-CR in guitarguitar for 849! I could save 1K…and I’ve just checked YouTube vids on these and they sound like the Yellow series to my ears.

what would you do?

If you can afford it, buy the one you liked the most and get with playing and enjoying it. To bastardise a quote by Benjamin Franklin...

"You'll regret not purchasing the one you held in your hands and liked the most long after the sweetness of getting a bargain is forgotten - and by then, someone else will be playing the guitar you could have been playing"

:-)

Littlejonny · September 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wds8h43Ogo0

oof - listen to that!

WBT2079 · September 2023

TheBigDipper said:

Littlejonny said:

<snip>
Now to complicate matters there’s a Stonebridge G23-CR in guitarguitar for 849! I could save 1K…and I’ve just checked YouTube vids on these and they sound like the Yellow series to my ears.

what would you do.

Is that the pre-owned one? It doesn’t matter to some people, but it has had a headstock break. Professionally repaired and covered by 12 month warranty. But would also explain the lower price.

Soupman · September 2023

Hmm. I'd be wary of a headstock break. If it's fallen that heavily it could have loosened braces too. I'm all for buying good pre-loved (wow, the language they use to spruce up the sound of the phrase 'second-hand' these days!).

@Littlejonny it does sound amazing in that video clip.
Mind you, I think if you put some strings across an IKEA wardrobe Al Petteway would make it sound good!

Before covid I went to Forsythe's in Manchester with a friend as he wanted to try a Furch and that was the nearest dealership. Tried a few before deciding. I can't remember the model though. They are nice guitars, I liked them a lot.
Happy agonising!

chromatuna · September 2023

Glad you liked the Furches. I posted earlier in this thread but I am back home now and have looked up the model of mine and it’s a yellow G-CR. I don’t find their model designations very memorable but I still love the guitar three years on. The only thing that let’s it down is the person playing

Littlejonny · September 2023

Oooh. Has the finish aged a bit? One thing I’m not keen on is the tawny look of the cedar on the new ones.

Littlejonny · September 2023

Does anyone here own a Furch Blue cedar?

Littlejonny · September 2023

Also, I should say that on playing all the guitars I could get my hands on, the (Taylor inspired?) GA shape was the best for me…it has almost the bass of a dread but responds quicker.

chromatuna · September 2023

Well it was brand new when that pic was taken, I think it’s still pretty much the same colour now though. Yes, lots of low end. It’s just BIG sounding for want of a better word, and balanced too. I play it finger style and once I have warmed up don’t have any trouble getting the whole thing to sing nicely. Someone used the word compressed to describe the Martins they tried in comparison and that was kind of my experience, not to diss them but this was what I liked on the day.

Littlejonny · September 2023

OK, he offered me the one with the fancy inlays https://rguitars.co.uk/products/furch-yellow-series-g-cr-c for 1800, so maybe I could get this for even less https://rguitars.co.uk/products/furch-yellow-plus-series-g-cr-grand-auditorium-cedar-rosewood?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Google+CPC&variant=7310333673507&sfdr_ptcid=23354_100_332316444&sfdr_hash=f71649440a067ce4e2453bc572af4d9e&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkP_audrCgQMV2evtCh2V-gZVEAQYCSABEgJaHfD_BwE

then it's be a no brainer ... I think. They're closed today and tomorrow, but I'll find out on Tuesday!

Tannin · September 2023

Littlejonny said:

Oooh. Has the finish aged a bit? One thing I’m not keen on is the tawny look of the cedar on the new ones.

Cedar does that. Perfectly natural, nothing to be done about it.

However, Spruce does it too. Possibly European and perhaps Englemann do it a little more slowly than other spruces (or possibly not) but yellowing of a crisp white top is as inevitable as hardening of the arteries and (if certain parties here are to be believed) getting dangly bollocks.

Essentially, light-colored timbers darken as they age. Dark-coloured timbers grow lighter. Fact of life.

In the end, everything fades to beige.

A bit like the Rolling Stones, really.

Littlejonny · September 2023

Tannin said:

Littlejonny said:

Oooh. Has the finish aged a bit? One thing I’m not keen on is the tawny look of the cedar on the new ones.

Cedar does that. Perfectly natural, nothing to be done about it.

However, Spruce does it too. Possibly European and perhaps Englemann do it a little more slowly than other spruces (or possibly not) but yellowing of a crisp white top is as inevitable as hardening of the arteries and (if certain parties here are to be believed) getting dangly bollocks.

Essentially, light-colored timbers darken as they age. Dark-coloured timbers grow lighter. Fact of life.

In the end, everything fades to beige.

A bit like the Rolling Stones, really.

Littlejonny · September 2023

Sorry - I tried to reply…Tannin you misread my post - I like the orangey colour they turn and was hoping the new ones would do the same

Dave_Mc · September 2023

Littlejonny said:

Hi OP here…I made the journey to Richards Guitars today and spent a couple of hours playing on guitars. So many beautiful guitars in there - absolutely fantastic. Customer service was amazing as well.

All the guitars were lovely - the Dowinas look great but were a little bass-light.. The Audens were the opposite - really warm and deep, but slightly subdued and compressed. The Furch guitars I tried blew my head off though. I’ve never played a cedar topped steel string before and I’m loved it.

I genuinely couldn’t decide between a Blue GC CM and a Yellow GC CR. The former was 999 and the latter 1800 (lowest price he could do). It seems the Blue was exceptionally good for the price but there was an extra 5% more silkiness and bass to the Yellow.

They had a beautiful second hand Lowden for 2800 that I felt was comparable to these guitars, albeit slightly louder and with a pingy frequency in the upper mids that I think I’d get annoyed with eventually.

It was so good of them to let me spend the time trying them out. I went in with an open mind and I was impressed with all the guitars. The Eastmans were really impressive as well. I was close to choosing the AC222ce, but the Furch’s were clearly a step up.

Now to complicate matters there’s a Stonebridge G23-CR in guitarguitar for 849! I could save 1K…and I’ve just checked YouTube vids on these and they sound like the Yellow series to my ears.

what would you do?

Glad you had fun

I've never been able to try them head-to-head but I do get the feeling that Dowinas (based on, er, my one example) are a bit more "modern" than Furches.

I really can't advise what you should do- I'm indecisive enough about my own guitars!

EDIT: Also what @Tannin said about the colours of the top woods- cedar is probably a bit more orangey than most spruces even from the get-go as well. Though I'd say it's more important to pick based on the tone... spruce (apart maybe from European and Engelmann as @Tannin said) will probably get to a similar colour eventually too.

guitarjack66 · September 2023

Tannin said:

Littlejonny said:

Oooh. Has the finish aged a bit? One thing I’m not keen on is the tawny look of the cedar on the new ones.

Cedar does that. Perfectly natural, nothing to be done about it.

However, Spruce does it too. Possibly European and perhaps Englemann do it a little more slowly than other spruces (or possibly not) but yellowing of a crisp white top is as inevitable as hardening of the arteries and (if certain parties here are to be believed) getting dangly bollocks.

Essentially, light-colored timbers darken as they age. Dark-coloured timbers grow lighter. Fact of life.

In the end, everything fades to beige.

A bit like the Rolling Stones, really.

Thanks for the info...on the dangly bollocks. You've saved me a doctor's visit.

Rog · September 2023

Hi Little Johnny, I have a Furch GC CR Rainbow, which is more or less the same spec as the Yellow with a few tweaks and custom options. You are probably aware that Stonebridge is effectively the same manufacturer. When I was sourcing my guitar I checked a number of YT videos and reviews and seemed that the GC CR (either Furch or Stonebridge) was one of their most popular models and used by some very accomplished players, which is why I bought mine. For what my opinion is worth I would go with the Stonebridge provided you are happy with the condition sound and playability. You can always sell it a less of a loss if you don't like it, but I am sure that you will not be disappointed. They are great value and very well made.

Littlejonny · September 2023

Thanks Rog that’s encouraging - I’ve found a G23-CR in Exeter that’s 1250. It’s a 2011.

Does anyone here know when Furch started using the UV cured finish? If it has that, I’ll buy it.

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