Back/sides
Scale
Tuners
Finishing
Condition
Playability
Origin
Current status
Personal comment
: South AmericanRosewood
: 650mm
: Gotoh(??)
: French Polish
: new
: great
: Philippine
: personal collection
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What a big luck and blessing I had at the end of 2004, to encounter guitars crafted by Mr Armando Derecho,
the great luthier in the Philippine. I heard it live in Ueno hall during the famous Tokyo Guitar
International Competition 2004, played by a semifinalist from Manila, Joseph.
To shorten the story, I met Mr Derecho personally in Manila, and after testing several available guitars at his workshop, I bought 2 guitars. This particular guitar has a traditional 7 fan bracing structure. The top is cedar (quite thick) and the back/sides are made from some kind of rosewood from Brazil, but not Jacaranda. Mr Derecho humbly told me that he made this guitar based on a Sakurai guitar that he personally owns, but after comparing his Sakurai and this guitar, I told him honestly that this guitar has exceeded his Sakurai in every way. |
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The power of this particular Derecho guitar is very big. The projection was not tested yet,
some friends believe the projection is good.
The sound overall has the character of spruce sound, which could only be found in
cedar guitars like Fleta or Velazquez.
The trebles of the guitar are deep, punchy but ringing sweetly and brilliantly.
The basses,the part that I like most, are very powerful, punchy, and indeed clear. Both trebles and basses have
long sustains, especially the latter one.
The neck is small, resulting a good playability for the left hand. The craftmanship of this guitar is no exception like other Derechos. Very detailed and tidy. The wood grain of the back/sides holds its own beauty to eyes. Only the finishing (French polish) is not done quite neatly, and many people think the headshape is a little bit dull. Mr. Derecho humbly took these feedbacks. Later he told me that he had created a more beautiful headshape in his next guitars. Mr Derecho is one of the raising star from South East Asian countries. In his country he's considered the best luthier, but I would say he's the best even throughout South East Asia, and followed tightly by the famous Thailand luthier, Mr.Viroon Songbundit, who is also a friend of mine. |
