The Gold Standard and the Chinese Copy

• 12:59 AM
• JimmyDee

John Williams and his Smallman

Some people put Bream at the top, while others prefer Williams. Personally, I much prefer Bream's passionate playing and delightful character. But he mostly played conventional instruments, made by highly skilled master builders. To get a high quality sound from instruments like that takes patience, wise selection and a budget far, far beyond my reach.

However, Williams uses Smallman guitars and since their design has become something of a revolution in the world of guitars, the Chinese economic boom has resulted in good quality copied instruments that have a similar sound.

One day when I'm rich and famous (or far more likely, when I'm old and have decided that there won't be anything better to spend my modest savings on), I would love to get a high quality European instrument chosen with care, insight and an expert hand. But for now, I'm far from an expert, so I chose instead to get a decent guitar capable of a good clean sound that is at least nominally capable of the same type of tone produced by John Williams.

For me, that was my Chinese replicant.

My Replica (with Hannabach Golds)	The real deal. A genuine Smallman.

Lattice bracing

The Good:

Yes, it does indeed have the same crisp, tight sound that you might hear on a typical recording of John Williams. When I was trying to learn Asturias Leyenda, I listened to it on YouTube many times, but never really came even close to resembling the sound (the grand location it was recorded in probably didn't do me any favors). But with this guitar, it can indeed have that same precise, clean, bell-like tone.

The Smallman is often described as having lots of clean volume, well defined bass and mids and shimmery highs. This guitar absolutely does that. To be fair, it probably doesn't do it as well as the genuine article, but it's still pretty darned respectable. It can be gentle or brusque, crisp or smooth. Playing anything between the 9th and 15th frets is jaw-dropping. Sympathetic resonance goes on for ages and the harmonic overtones are rich and sweet.

It might not be worth $20,000-50,000 USD, but it's certainly head and shoulders above any guitar I've ever played (up to around $4000 in the shops).

The Bad:
It lacks the fit and polish of an experienced, top level guitar builder. Heck, the fret finishing is worse than on my ~$100 "Valencia" and it is actually one of the more difficult classical guitars to play that I've ever tried. I've had the action adjusted twice at the shop and it is susceptible to fret buzz and just isn't low enough for quick playing beyond the 7th fret. Tall frets also make it easy for the fingers to slide or roll off the string - worse if your hands are sweaty. I often keep thinking that I want to lower all the frets around 0.5mm, but I don't have the experience to make that much of a costly decision, so I choose to just deal with it and try to adapt. I'm sure it will benefit my playing in the end anyhow.

This is all splitting hairs though. This is a factory made guitar and it is really nice absolutely everywhere. There are zero cosmetic flaws and it sounds really, really good.

Endangered Brazillian Rosewood on the real deal. Mine only has Indian Rosewood.

The Ugly:
Well this is certainly an overstatement. I was already nitpicking just to find something "bad" about it. So a more fair subtitle would probably be "The Slightly-Less-Than-Stunning-Beauty". Maybe a bit like complaining that Cindy Crawford's eyelashes are a different number on each eye or that the Italian leather in the Ferrari you just bought tends to make your legs sweat in the summer.

The sound of this guitar is very well suited to Williams. It could never really be said to be 'warm' and its personality is at best a little distant. I'm going to try some Hannabach Golds on it to see if that warms it up, but I don't really expect much. It's a bit like using fine crystal instead of normal plates and cups. It can sound like it belongs in a concert hall, but it's not the tool you would choose to tell a story of love, passion, betrayal or sorrow. It is all about performance and playing something that 'sounds nice'.

If you want to play for emotional impact, it's probably not the best choice.

Looks good. Sounds good. Win-win.

Since my playing style tends to be heavy on emotion bordering on the cliche and low on 'pristine perfection', I have never found a strong emotional connection to the instrument, nor to the music being played. On the contrary, it has been a fantastic tool for me to help calm my emotions and focus on a mentally challenging task.

At the height of my proficiency with the Koyunbaba Suite, I have actually been so moved by the music played on my cheap "Valencia" that I was actually brought to tears in the third movement and could not bring myself to play it again for months (ok, so that probably had something to do with the loss of my grandmother and the fact that the last time I spoke, she had no energy to converse, so I played it to her over the phone while on the other side of the planet). On the flipside, in one of my darker moments battling a severe depressive episode in the middle of the night, I put the light on and amidst roiling emotional turmoil, I was able to sit down and force myself to play Villa Lobos Etude number 1 a few times until I calmed down and regained control.

It's a great guitar. Worth every penny and many more. It might not be like an old, trusted friend, but it's a fantastic tool for making music.