UK Retailers and Setups

Mellish

@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

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

sundance

@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

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

@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

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

bertie

@sundance ;

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

sev112

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

@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

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. 

bertie

Lewy said:

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. 

TBH,  ive not read it, at all.......................... and yes that is a tad low -  we have a de-humidifier running during the day,  at 50% our cottage can shoot to 60% without issue during the winter  -  and they're talking about using a HUMIDIFIER to raise it to 40%   -  TBH Ive always read on "US" based forums that they ahve more issue with being too dry, rather than too humid

me Furch is kept in its case, in a different upstairs room  - never had an issue with it (touch wood)

Greatape

bertie said:

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)

Also Kev Chilcott and a bit later, Fat Norman (RIP)

bertie

Greatape said:

bertie said:

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)

Also Kev Chilcott and a bit later, Fat Norman (RIP)

who was the guy that worked at Bill's  had the tache and "curly" hair  ? 

Snags

FWIW I've got a Furch (G32CRC so the older model numbers). As it happens it came from Richard's, but that in and of itself means nothing.

Played great in the shop, and they fitted a Fishman Matrix Blend then shipped it on later. When it arrived I needed to give it a minor truss rod tweak to stop the G buzzing slightly.

Came with a little branded baggy containing a few spare frets, and some other gumf. Don't think there was a COA.

It lives in a house which I now know maintains around 49% humidity (Mrs Snags just got a new gadget that's heading for the greenhouse) and it still sounds absolutely fine. Whenever I play it at various open mics someone always comments how good it sounds (the guitar, not my playing!) and at one a mate always used to nick it in preference to using his own guitar, which was hardly a cheapo one itself.

Obviously the G23 is a bit further up the range, but not massively, so I suspect you'll be just fine with it. And don't stress about the humidity guidance

bertie

@sundance ;

what news ? 

Greatape

bertie said:

Greatape said:

bertie said:

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)

Also Kev Chilcott and a bit later, Fat Norman (RIP)

who was the guy that worked at Bill's  had the tache and "curly" hair  ? 

Hmmm dunno. I only really went there a few times and I dealt with a younger hippy guy. 

An odd place that didn't move with the times. But I kind of miss it. 

TINMAN82

I think this whole topic is a double edge sword. I’m firmly of the opinion that a lot of the big retailers (especially nowadays with mainly online sales) do very little in the way of genuine setup, despite their claims and adverts.

That said, I’m also aware of one big retailer who are very fastidious about tweaking every guitar but whose tech feels the need to lower acoustic guitar action to heights traditionally reserved for electric shredder guitars. Unfortunately by the time an acoustic saddle is shaved that far it’s already too late.

sundance

bertie said:

@sundance ;;;

what news ? 

Been a wee while since my last visit to this thread but I am pleased to report some exciting updates!

With Christmas and New Year getting in the way, it took a wee while for the guitars to be setup, checked over, dispatched and delivered.  To be fair to Richard's Guitars, they kept me informed and wanted to make sure that everything was done properly rather than rushing them out to me, so I was happy to wait.

The great news is that both guitars arrived yesterday, just in time for my big birthday which is tomorrow! 

I tried the Furch (Blue OM CM) first because I still had the memory of the previous Furch in my head and wanted to see how this one compared.  Wow, what a difference a good setup makes!  This one was so much more resonant, much nicer to play and felt like how I had imagined a Furch should be. I was very impressed.

Then I tried the Eastman (E6OM-TC).  Well, this is also a fantastic instrument which plays beautifully and sounds great. I knew right away this would be a tough decision!

However, after playing just about everything I know on both guitars, comparing their sound, their playability and simply how they made me feel, there is a clear winner...the Eastman!

If I hadn't had the chance to play these in advance, I would probably have chosen the Furch.  I prefer the idea of a Czech-made instrument rather than one made in China. I like the look of the open-pore finish (although I think both are beautiful in their own way) and I thought I would prefer cedar over spruce.

But, there is no doubt in my mind that the Eastman is more resonant and more full-sounding.  I hear beautiful overtones that makes it seem that more is going on than just the notes I am plucking.  The song that really clinched it for me was the Simon & Garfunkel version of Scarborough Fair...even with one single guitar, I felt like there were harmonies and multiple layers overlapping that seemed magical. I didn't feel that with the Furch, although it is still a great guitar. Also, the Furch sounds similar to my cedar-topped dreadnaught whereas the Eastman gives me something different. It still sounds mellow but there is an additional clarity which the Furch doesn't quite have.  The Eastman comes with a very nice hard case too

I've never played any guitars that were setup so well as these two, it makes playing so much more enjoyable. I even found myself using keys and chords which I tended to avoid because I found them difficult previously.  Hopefully this will allow me to play new material and give me a lot more pleasure from playing guitar.  It's been a long process but I'm so happy with the outcome!

Here they both are:

Mellish

Glad it's worked out. Happy birthday for tomorrow btw. Easy on the cake  

bertie

Mellish said:

Glad it's worked out. Happy birthday for tomorrow btw. Easy on the cake  

^^  this