Guitar!

So, my much-awaited Alan Carruth-built classical guitar arrived today, and, boy, howdy, it is a humdinger!

Those of you who recall seeing me post on this before, please bear with me while I gush a bit:

The guitar has a cedar top, with back and sides of Osage Orange. This is a "trash" wood that Alan says works as a drop-in for rosewood -- sounding, somewhere, he says, between Brazilian and Indian. Freshly cut, it has a pumpkin color to it, darkening eventually toward brown.

One of the biggest advantages of such a wood as Osage Orange is that it doesn't start the meter running anywhere near the cost of Brazilian rosewood.

Um. Anyway, the guitar got here, I tuned it up, and it -- not to put to fine a point on it -- is outstanding. It's pretty basic, the only decoration being a small inlaid owl Alan uses for his logo, on the headstock. Sloane tuners.

I have been fortunate enough, even though I'm not a good player, to lay hands on some very good classical guitars, and Alan's is the equal of any of them, and at considerably less cost.

From time to time, Alan posts in the music newsgroups, regarding various instruments. He really seems to have a handle on the theory -- he can talk the talk.

And I'm here to tell you, he can also walk the walk.

Once the strings settle in and I have a chance to fool around with it, I'll record something and put it up on my SoundClick page.

This one will be traveling with me. If I have to leave it behind, it will be stored somewhere as secure as Fort Knox ...

Sure makes up for the case not getting here, yee-haw it does ...

(Clicking or double-clicking on the pictures will make them larger -- least it does on Firefox's browser.)