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Long time forum lurker, first time poster :-) Anyway I thought the time was right to create my account and share some photos of my new Shelton-Farretta Blanca!
Some specs: - premium grade Caucasian spruce top, - premium grade Mediterranean cypress back and sides, - Spanish Cedar neck, - Gabon ebony fingerboard, - Rosewood bindings, overlay, and bridge, - 52mm nut, 60mm saddle spacing, 660mm scale.
The sound of the guitar is absolutely wonderful. The notes have a strong, loud attack that quickly decay into an excellent sustain. It's very pleasing to the ear. I once read their flamenco guitars described as "having that old, classic flamenco sound", and I think I have to agree. The guitar is loud, of course, and rich in harmonics, with deep authoritative basses and trebles that react nicely depending on how you pick at them. The sound is well balanced. The guitar is very "energetic"; it vibrates more enthusiastically than other guitars I've played. Overall, I'm really impressed with its acoustics. It's also very light.
The setup of the guitar is spot-on and the result is a flamenco guitar that is very satisfying to play. The action is nice and low, but not too buzzy. It'll buzz quite nicely when played hard, though :) . The neck is super comfy in my medium-to-large sized hands; it feels just right in terms of profile and thickness. The strings sit close to the soundboard. The intonation is on the money; the guitar is quite easy to tune and plays in tune nicely everywhere along the fret board (which is much more than I can say about my Ramirez R4....).
Visually, the guitar is beautiful. The woods used are of excellent quality, in particular the top, which has a remarkably uniform color and pattern to it. I like the contrast of the colorful rosette and the dark rosewood bindings against the pale spruce and cypress; the finish is clear which I prefer since I like the natural wood colors.
When I contacted Mr. Shelton about purchasing a guitar, it so happened that they were just completing a pair of Blancas at a new price level of $2,000 US, and that these 2 guitars represented the basic end of a new price structure for their Blanca guitar, the difference between the basic and higher end versions lying in the ornamentation (purfling, decorative line beneath the overlay, so on). So I eventually decided to purchase this one (the other one is very similar except for the rosette). The price included a nice Gator hard case.
My expectations were exceeded with this guitar. There really isn't anything about it that I don't like. I'm very happy with it and would wholeheartedly recommend this model to anyone in the market for a Blanca in this price range. They are also very nice people to deal with, and respond quickly and thoroughly to emails.
RE: My new Shelton-Farretta Blanca (in reply to JuanDaBomb)
rombsix: Thanks! It looks even nicer in person
tmock: Thanks, man! It really does play well. I actually had the choice of button style, since I contacted them just before the tuners were to be installed So long as it had black buttons, I said! I also like the headstock; it's a good modern touch, I think.
GuitarVlog: I don't believe the $2000 price is even on their website yet. I don't know precisely when they started telling people, but I contacted them about a month ago, and took delivery of it last week. I do know they have another one ready to go; it's practically this one's twin except for the rosette.
RE: My new Shelton-Farretta Blanca (in reply to JuanDaBomb)
quote:
Amazing looking guitar!
Agreed! It looks beautiful, and I like the headstock very much, but my first feeling about it's pike was - when its gonna chip down?!?! Anyway, congrats, it's surely going to give You great times playing it!
Posts: 797
Joined: Jun. 1 2010
From: Halifax, Nova Scotia
RE: My new Shelton-Farretta Blanca (in reply to JuanDaBomb)
Juan - welcome to the foro, and thanks for sharing this review - looks and sounds like a very nice guitar, especially for that kind of money. And once again, we're hearing raves about the playability of these guitars. I think we're rather lucky as players when luthiers of this level offer less ornamented guitars for a discounted price.
Hope to hear a soundclip of this one sometime - btw I dig the avatar
RE: My new Shelton-Farretta Blanca (in reply to JuanDaBomb)
Thanks guys!
beno: I think you'd have to give it a pretty good sideways whack to break the tip. Seems pretty sturdy.
ralexander: Thanks for the warm welcome! I agree with what you say, about being lucky as players. It does feel like a privilege. I tend to believe there is a fairly good market for a guitar like this. For myself, it fit the bill quite well.
HeavyWood: Yeah, I thought she'd make a good back drop to the photo! I think it looks nice.
About an audio clip, unfortunately I don't have any recording equipment, nor would I know how to do it although I could probably figure it out. Plus, my playing probably wouldn't do the guitar much justice. I'll see if I can figure something out.
RE: My new Shelton-Farretta Blanca (in reply to JuanDaBomb)
Wow! What a beautiful guitar. She looks wonderful. I may have to look into that. Recently, I found a 1975 Shelton-Farretta that I'm having refretted and a new saddle. But she still plays wonderfully and has a very traditional flamenco sound. They're nice guitars.
RE: My new Shelton-Farretta Blanca (in reply to Michael1917)
Hey, that's pretty cool! I actually saw one on eBay not too long ago, it was a 197-something, I don't exactly remember which year. Yours wouldn't happen to be that one, would it?
Printable Version
I'll see if I can figure something out.
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