Ruphus -> Lester DeVoe guitar (Apr. 18 2011 1:45:35)
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I had communicated with Mr. DeVoe, thinking of joining his waiting list later in time. However, a while later when Tom Blackshear, as you know a very fine luthier himself, raved about a certain guitar Lester had taken to the Boston GFA, saying that it was the only one that spoke to him of all the guitars he had tried out there, and that this specimen could be of the best Lester ever made, I decided to inquire spontaneously. - Despite the fact that I had originally been after a spruce top blanca. Admiring Tom´s work, I trust his judge on subtleties a lot, and with no chance of pre-auditioning anyway he was the best taster I could have thought of. Lester made this specimen for himself, of his best materials, as he said. Built in 2008, with cedar top, IRW B&S, flamed cedar neck and Sloane tuners. Having been on that GFA as well, you can see Grisha playing that guitar here http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=715183923522&ref=mf , eventhough the audio in this recording won´t tell much. As it couldn´t be shipped directly to here, I had to wait for more than 8 months until it arrived a week ago. According to Lester it had seen only very little playing ( eventhough there is enough flab for me to see - impressingly accurately placed - finger tracks on the fretboard ) and not been broken in yet. So, when first taken out of its case, eventhough with a promissing growl to it, the guitar didn´t really overwhelm me right away. But I had learned my lesson about fallen asleep guitars and acclimatisation before. And after it had been tuned up and banged the hell out of it for hours the axe started coming to life hat first night, since then opening up further from day to day. Being of the rather firmly plucking kind, I was also annoyed in the first minutes when I found the strings from G to low E rattling prematurely. And it showed that there is a slight hump onn the fretboard that starts slim under the G string and expands downwards to the E string where it stretches from 11th to 13th fret. Frankly, my first thoughts were a bit like "What else could I have bought with such a cash ..." - To evaluate specifics in detail I made an extensive back and forth comparison with a Ramirez blanca from 1970. That one should serve as quite a benchmark in general terms. It is a highly responsive, feather weight construction with buttery pulsation, great balance and separation, and most remarkably with distinct upper registers which will keep up in volume evenly to the last frets. Its fundamentals are of depth yet short sustain, accompanied by relatively small measures of overtones, all contributing to separation and percussiveness. The sonical image resides somewhat midst traditionally dry, yet smooth colour and pristine modern rasp. A little bit throaty, nasal and dark, with a subtle touch of cigar box flair. The DeVoe comes in very different from that. These two in comparison made me fancy the Ramirez like a matured and recognized provincial dancer who´d be visited by her bloomed urban DeVoe niece. The R. leading the way with her slightly wrinkled appearance, but self-confident steps and pirouettes, conquering stage in a way that made you expect the follwing D. to inevitably pale. However, each time that I put the R. back on the stand, grabbing the D. with the conviction that it just couldn´t do same thing as well, I was in for a positive surprise. Still, sceptisism lasted for hours until the final impression gradually evolved. The reason for my sceptisism not only being the preceding earthy charme of the R., but the richness of the D. The ample sphere of her overtones being something you´d want for a classical guitar, however expect it unsuitable for flamenco as it should just mush the sound at fast arrays of notes. But to my surprise this is not how it showed to be. Not in the slightest. The fundamentals come through distinctively throughout, with each string yet clearly revealing its individual attack, notwithstanding how intense rasgueados and whirls be. The secret of the simultaneity miracle, as I assume, must be the outstanding harmony of the overtones to the fundamental. They are remarkably linear. Similar with the trebels, which the Ramirez excells with. Still, the D. wouldn´t stay behind, revealing the same substance of tone and eveness in volume up to the highest notes. Only with considerably more of sparkling overtones. ( At that I even discovered first time that the R. has a wolftone on the upper E strings 18th fret, whereas no dead note to be found on the Ds. fretboard.) The final aspect that I presumed the DeVoe to succumb was dynamics. However the D. performed up there with the R. Could be the dynamic range of the R. being a miniscule bit broader, however I am certain that to be changing rather soon. After all the D. is just being played in while the R. had the time to ripen for over 40 years. After a night of concentrated comparison the DeVoe emerged as a true gem. She basically has a similar base of tone like the R., only that all of her notes from trebles down to the basses are crowned with metallic shimmer; not standing behind the smooth percussiveness of her vintage aunt at all and on top of it surrounded with floating clouds of sparkle. In the end she left the R. behind almost as if the R. was kind of sluggish and blund, which is a weird kind of association when you listen to the old lady solely. As mentioned initially, I actually was after a rather different sort of flamenca. Feather weight, mighty hollow and almost brittle, which the DeVoe is not. ( It still is in the light weight category, but at the lower end of it.) - And I know where to find such, should I be crazy enough to go for yet another flamenca in the future. - I never understood why Paco de Lucia did not stick to that blanca featured in those kitchen videos from the sixties, but chose to go with Conde negras. Anyway, in his arsenal of guitars he seems to have at least one specimen with a beautifully hollow and crisp tone which to my taste leaves nothing to be desired. Yet, now I can see why he despite of owning such perfect flamenco instruments got himself some of Lester´s builds still. Guitars of a characteristic that might not be exactly "mui flamenco" but maybe "belleza flamenco" or so. Another shade that deserves its untraditional place in the genre. A type not that grimly maybe, but flirting. Allowing cascades of percussive notes, yet with a singing tail to everything. Velvet from ground up, yet not short of metallic verve when your nails brush over the strings. This seems a kind of guitar that holds something special to its own. Albeit, not necessarily before all visually. I can see that the polishing buff must have been carrying one or two motes ( beside of tiny dangs and scratches on top and back that exhibition demo instruments [ yet sans discount |0P ] might show ); the rosette is premade etc. But Lester won´t conceal ( in conversation ) that cosmetics are not what he wants to overly concentrate on. He obviously prefers to focus on construction. It must have been what provided the very remarkable harmonic consistence of overtones to fundamentals with this guitar and other of above mentioned features. I also would had embraced a couple 100 grams less ( though admittedly uncertain whether less material would still allow substance of tone as given ), and wished the pulsation was a bit softer. But I expect the latter to losen up still as we go. Also could I do with a tad more of specicific personality ( like my Rodriguez has plenty of, or the Mangore ), but as Mr. DeVoe mentions himself, his guitars come from the shop rather neutral and take shape yet with the characteristics of the player. Obviously even his cedar tops, as I fancy in view of the instruments development in just the past days. Lester also mentioned that recording engineers like his guitars, which I had actually forgotten, but came to think of it myself while experiencing the basses which don´t boom eventhough deep and punchy. I don´t even mind the fretboards hump anymore, for the fundamental note actually keeps coming through yet when you enter the rattling state. Also one seems to adjusts unconsciously to it, challenged to be more targeted with hitting the strings. For my individual specs the necks round could had been a bit more shaved off at the regions approximate to the fretboards edge. But that´s personal demand anyway. What the Sloanes are concerned, this must now be the third or fourth boutique production that tempts me to recommend Klaus Scheller mechanics to anyone who is thinking of obtaining precision gears for his guitarra. - In summry, this is a beautiful little treasure that I love to think of how she lies so greatly fit into her case ( not too lose, not too tight besides, and evenly supported under the neck / with no levering ), waiting for to be taken out as a beautiful urban niece of racy provincial dancers. Stuffed so abundantly, yet waiting for you to imprint your individual temper. - And you waiting for the time of day when you open that lid and let the woods odor greet you warmly. Unlike with my initial swayings: If I had to let go either the Ramirez or the DeVoe, the latter would defintily be the one to stay with mio. Lester is about to retire* and I think it has been a good idea to grab one of his. ( Disclaimer: Lester is NOT retiring. I had misunderstood him!) My sincere greatfulness to Tom Blackshear, Mr. DeVoe and friends of mine who all went out of their way to help me get my hands on this one! [:)] Ruphus
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