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I've been busy with work recently and thus not much time to practice or participate much on the foro. As you know, I have the left wrist issue (improved after the operation, but still not 100% normal) and I've always complained that my hands were very strong/large/stretchy, etc. - whatever it is you want to call it, i.e. I have a bit of trouble with scale length guitars that are 660-ish or even 650 with difficult material. I also wanted to try out a "negra" and something with electronics built-in just for fun in case I wanted to perform somewhere without a hassle or spending much money. I decided to buy this instrument:
They had a sale on Amazon yesterday for some reason, and I bought it with the gig-bag for about $620 (new, not used). It arrived quite fast, just one day after - despite me doing the two-day shipping. But anyway, I don't want to ramble too much.
The idea is that I want to play everything with capos high up from now on, or at least on the second fret (but more so higher up - at least in warm up). I wanted the cutaway because I've always suffered trying to play stuff high up on the neck with a standard guitar body shape (without a cutaway). I wanted to see how things will go with a cutaway and me trying to play almost everything with a capo at least up to 3 or 4 perhaps, and maybe tune down a whole step so that when I'm capoed on 2, it will still sound "standard" in tuning. Anyway, it's all part of an experiment. I also wanted to have a "negra" (and I use quotation marks because this is a $600 guitar after all, so I won't expect it to be a Deutsch or Culpepper, but it will serve its purpose I hope until I get to that point) to see how that works.
So for all the above reasons, I bought this instrument because that is the only/best one I could find in this price range and with the above specs. Also nice about this is the dimensions, having a narrower neck and 650 scale, with the cutaway. You can find the exact specs on the Cordoba website.
I made a recording to just show you what this things sounds like. My PC lost it for some reason and the video froze several times during the recording without me noticing it (some crap programs were updating and using CPU and slowed the video recording software down). So I had to cut up the video a bit and try to sync the parts I was able to, so it's not perfect. I uploaded a raw audio file, and the video has my usual editing done (reverb, compression, some EQ, "mastering", the usual stuff...). The raw file is a bit soft so you need to pump up the volume a bit.
Sorry about my playing which is uber-sucky (more than usual ) because of lack of practice and memory lapses, and because I did this just impromptu in one take...
I hope this helps in case someone is ever considering buying this instrument. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. But then again, I like guitars so much that I enjoy playing nearly any instrument, so I am sure some people are going to say this is a piece of crap guitar (probably comparing it to some elite instruments, or even comparing it to something cheaper and still saying I have no ears and that is sounds like rubbish, but still...). I think this might be of some use to a couple of folks who are on a budget and want something that is alright and works...
About the guitar itself - I think it is comfortable to play. The action for golpes with index finger above the basses (capirote or whatever you want to call it) is not as good as my Sanchis. The Sanchis is perfectly setup and plays like butter. The pulsation on the Sanchis is uber leet, but that of the GK Studio Negra is really not bad. And it stays in tune amazingly well despite the strings being new and me having just played it for 1 hour. I think the intonation up the neck is surprisingly good too, so for the purpose of the cutaway, I think it does its job nicely.
Have a listen, have a look-see, and feel free to chime in if you would like to.
Raw audio on YouTube (likely quality changed due to YouTube compression, but just in case someone can't use MediaFire) over here: (raise the volume of your speakers to hear this well)
Edited VIDEO over here: (volume should be louder here)
The YouTube stuff will probably need an hour or two to be fully uploaded and processed. The files are 30 minutes or so long, so be careful. (actual video I uploaded to YouTube was about 2.23 GB in size)
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
RE: GK Studio Negra - review (in reply to rombsix)
I went to Guitar Center the other day, and strangely, about half of their nylon-stringed guitars were flamenco, and about half of them were GK Studios. They didn't seem to offer much that my old Cordoba Gipsy King didn't. The old FCWEs were $1500 or so and these GKs are $700ish--that difference in cost will probably be reflected in certain aspects of build quality and fit and finish. I do wonder if their new pickup is better.
RE: GK Studio Negra - review (in reply to rombsix)
NashvillePlayer: Thanks my friend. If I decide to play somewhere, I'll let you know.
Kalo: Glad you enjoyed the playing. I'm planning on buying an amp and effects pedal soon.
Miguel de Maria: I wouldn't be able to compare as I haven't tried the models you mentioned. But I like the instrument so far acoustically.
avimuno: I noticed their Reyes model. No information about it yet though, so I guess it's not available yet.
LucianoGhosn: Thanks Vicente!
By the way - I tried doing what I was planning on doing (tuning down a whole step, and capoing up on 2 so that the "pitch/tuning" remains standard, but the neck becomes "shorter"), and I think I can live with the result. The low E string became buzzy and all the strings felt loose (reminiscent of the feel/sound of Carlos Montoya where you would feel that his strings are flopping/slapping all over the place), but it made stretches easier for the left hand and if I want to play along with stuff that is in standard tuning, I still could without having to raise the pitch of the stuff I was playing along with. It's not a perfect solution, but it seems somewhat feasible. I'll keep experimenting of course...
Also, it feels nice to have easy access to the higher frets. I feel like my left hand is more free now.
I´ve checked this guitar at the Frankfurt Music Show. For its price around 3.500 € it is a good flamenca. It is called Reyes but it´s truly not a Reyes. I´m convinced that no one is able to copy a Reyes instead of Reyes himself.
Posts: 141
Joined: Nov. 29 2012
From: San Francisco
RE: GK Studio Negra - review (in reply to rombsix)
Rombsix,
Your video was highly inspirational. So much, that I went to GC and purchased a blanca version. Sure, it's no comparison to a Culpepper, but it does the job of a gigging guitar without having to spend too much. It sounds great amplified with minimal feedback and best of all, because of the price, I am worry-free of dents, scratches, scrapes, chips, cracks, etc.
RE: GK Studio Negra - review (in reply to rombsix)
quote:
ORIGINAL: rombsix
God damn! **** YouTube and **** Vicente! I should never have played his ****!
I'm going to have to delete this soon then... Get it while it's hot.
Nava the girlfriend of my brother used a soundtrack of John Lennon in one of her youtube posts. It was banned as well for the reasons explained in above youtube notification. So my brother (who happens to be an outstanding musician and multi instrumentalist) re-recorded the song, playing all the instruments himself using his outstanding record equipments and wide collection of instruments. Since the original musicians had a slightly different style of playing and he wanted the exact sound of the original he studied/recorded the original tracks note by note, copying every little detail. With the exception of the voice of John Lennon his version was more then a match with way better audio quality and upgraded from mono to full stereo. Serves them right.
ps, enjoyed your sound check.
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) because of lack of practice and memory lapses, and because I did this just impromptu in one take... 
**** YouTube and **** Vicente! I should never have played his ****! 
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