Here are some nice words from guitarist Dan Jones about our guitars. We were lucky enough to meet up with hime recently whilst he was touring in rural France and took him some guitars to try out. If you like to see the videos we took click here!
​
​
​
In July 2018 I undertook a 10-date series of concerts in the Dordogne, France. As I pass my time between Scotland and France, travelling with guitars is complex, but I am fortunate enough to have befriended a number of luthiers in the area who have been kind enough to allow me to borrow guitars in France.
​
I met Dan Jarvis at a concert in Lusignac and he was kind enough to bring along two of his instruments to the village of Eygurande where I was performing a few days later.
​
Firstly, I tried a beautiful spruce-top instrument. It was extremely light to handle and also very comfortable to play benefiting from an exceptionally low ‘action’. The trebles were particularly beautiful and I took great pleasure in the bell-like qualities of these. The instrument had excellent balance and on overall clarity which allowed the harmonic progression to be communicated – something which is very important to me. Dan kindly allowed me to use the guitar within my programme and I decided to play a number of my arrangements of Celtic music with this instrument. The delicacy and transparency of the texture was highly effective and made a fabulous contrast to the more dense and ‘masculine’ sound of the other instrument I’d borrowed. I can imagine that a player moving between steel-strung and nylon-strung guitars would find the touch of this guitar very familiar.
​
Dan also brought a cedar-top instrument. This had a far more ‘punchy’ sound and was a more rasping, aggressive instrument – almost like a fusion between a classical and a flamenco guitar. I was performing the Malats ‘Serenata Espanola’ in my programme and ‘Asturias’ by Albeniz. This guitar would have been ideal for the interpretation of these works but I decided against it as I needed more time to adjust to the guitar (I was already playing two relatively unfamiliar instruments). It would be fantastic for anyone playing music requiring volume and ‘punch’. I play in a four-piece band with accordion, double bass and violin and I have no doubt that his guitar would cut through such a texture. The guitar had power, projection and plenty of attitude! It was, like its spruce ‘sister’ an absolute joy to play physically-speaking.
I have found Dan’s guitars to be instruments of character, class and beauty. I am indeed fortunate to have been allowed to play them in a concert setting.
​
Dan Jones
​
August 2018
​