Tales from the Tanglewood

• 8:46 AM
• JimmyDee

After receiving an unexpected scholarship bonus after my first year in University, I received a cheque for around $300 USD. With it, I purchased a Koa Pili Koko from a shop in Hawaii. It was a nice little instrument with a strange design decision. Instead of using a plastic saddle as many companies do, they used a rosewood saddle, which fairly quickly expanded in the humidity of Taiwan, splitting the bridge.

In my effort to get a new bridge placed, the ukulele got delayed for months and the guitar shop owner was eager to make it up to me.

As a result, when he got a pair of dealer's special guitars direct from the factory, he offered one to me at whatever price I wanted. I was not familiar with the brand, but it sure sounded nice. Fantastic separation of notes, sweet trebles and bass that feels like a punch in the chest.

So I paid $350 for it. And when I got home, I googled it and my jaw hit the floor. Prices showed up between $1300 and $1550 USD. Alright.
TW1000-SR-CE-H. Top of the line flagship model. Engelmann Spruce top. Indian Rosewood sides and back.

It's surprisingly heavy and I suspect that the woods chosen are not actually the highest grade wood in the batch as advertised - especially with a few imperfections in the top and finish, but it's still an excellent guitar.

Also, the original spec indicates a Fishman Sonitone, but it did not have a pickup. I had saved enough money on the initial buy, so I splurged and installed a Fishman Ellipse system. Piezo under the saddle and internal mic inside the body.

Since installing the pickup, the tone has suffered a little. It sounds a little stifled, has lost a good chunk of the bass resonance and the guitar picked up a couple of wolf notes. The Fishman representative for Taiwan did the install for me and I paid extra for that, but it did lose a bit of the punch and glisten that it had before, so it's a bit of a disappointment. Still, as time goes on, the guitar does seem to improve in sound quality.

Having a guitar with the pickup is fun and gives me a chance to explore some different styles and the Fishman blender