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olp007 -> Loriente Carmen (Oct. 30 2010 22:08:43)
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I placed this post on Delcamp.us, but thought I would share in this forum as well.
I could not pass up the Guitar Salon deals on e - b a y. They're selling their old stock Loriente Carmens for about $750 - 850 US (depending on the bidding) with a hard case and shipped for $39 to anywhere in the US. I picked mine up for $830 plus shipping. It sat at my parents home in Florida for about 3 months before a trip took me close to home, and allowed me to pick it up and bring it back to Canada.
And before I continue, I bought a brand new Loriente Clarita back in March which I really like, so I was drawn to the Carmen from my Clarita experience.
My first impression when I opened the case was the smell of the wood. It's either the Cypress or the Cedar neck, but it was unbelievably strong. Here are my overall observations and construction details:
1) The overall finish is Very Good, though there are some imperfections (which I will list later)
2) The body's width near the bridge and neck is actually a bit wider (by about 5 mm) compared to the Clarita
3) The action at both the high and low E is about 3mm. The Clarita's action is about 3.8 - 4.0 mm.
4) It has a solid spruce top and solid cypress sides/back with ebony fingerboard, cedar neck, and rosewood purfling/binding.
5) The spruce soundboard is not as tightly grained as in the Clarita, especially near the sides
6) The guitar bears the original Antonio Loriente name and has NO truss rod (the new Claritas have a truss rod)
7) Similar to other comments here and on the web, the detail with the binding/purfling and the rosette is not as good as in the Clarita. The maker did not align the binding at the bottom of the guitar perfectly on center to the two-piece soundboard joint
9) The rosette's outer edge is slightly smudged near the bass strings
10) The tuners seem to be the same Gotoh tuners in the Loriente line, but they have the perloid buttons, and the brass is satin (not polished bright)
11) The inside is actually finished better than my Clarita. My Clarita has some glue marks and wood splinters from where they cut and did not fully clean the joint. The Carmen has NO glue marks or wood splinters
12) This Carmen has the SAME rosette as the Clarita. This is interesting, because all of the pictures on the e - b a y post showed the Carmen rosette
13) I really like the sound. I find it a bit easier to play than the Clarita. I have only been playing flamenco pieces (Juan Martin's book starting at Grade 0) in the past year, but I could tell a difference with the sound. I took the guitar to my instructor who commented with words like "it's very bright, raspy, and definitely has a growl to it". This is what I was looking for and hearing, so my ear must be getting better.
Overall, I am very happy with the purchase...my only regret was not upgrading to the Humicase.
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