Despite learning on Dad's, I've never really had my own acoustic guitar, and I've always wanted something for the campfire and other no-power-available moments when music is still required.
For whatever strange reason, a guitar shop has recently opened up in Penshurst - the second shop of
Village Guitar. I had been meaning for a long time to drop in there, as I walk past most days (when not cycling) but never when they are actually open.
When I finally did, I was attracted to the
Cole Clark guitars. These are made in Melbourne from sustainable timbers, and get pretty amazing reviews all over the place. Lots of
famous artists play them, and after picking up one and having a bash I could see why.
So, when I noticed they were having a 25% off sale the following week, I ran out of excuses not to buy one. The particular model I selected, a
Fat Lady 2 AC that was on display, turned out to have a small but annoying manufacturing defect in the form of a buzz, but the guys in the shop and Cole Clark were very helpful in getting this fixed, and last night with Jersey Kerb, the guitar made a stunning debut.
The thing that has always annoyed me about electric-acoustic guitars is that the electric sound is crap. Really crap. I told this to the guys in the guitar shop, and they instantly told me to try the Cole Clark guitars. They all have at least
two pickups in the body of the guitar, and you can option them up to three. Balancing the sound between them, you can get some genuinely great acoustic sounds which have left everyone who has heard it very impressed.