Gropp Concert Model Classical Guitar in Curled Maple and Spruce Serial 881
The Concert model featured here was sold to a customer in California in November 2007. These are the notes we kept on the guitar in the all too short time we had it.
The first thing you notice is just how light this instrument is - the centre of gravity is in the heel of the neck rather than somewhere in the upper body. The next thing you notice is that this is not a quiet instrument: somehow the volume has not been reduced in proportion to the lightness of the materials used.
And then, in case you hadn't noticed it first, you gasp at just how beautiful this guitar is. The maple is wonderful, the bindings/purflings are bold against the blonde background, and the oval soundhole with its simple decorative ring instead of the normally elaborate rosette seems absolutely natural and not an understatement at all.
When playing two things really struck me -
- How clear was the separation of voices in any kind of polyphonic piece
- How responsive was the instrument to changes in dynamics in one's playing
The soundboard is in well-matured solid spruce - with a slight red blush in its cheeks at the lower bout. The instrument is finished in french polish. The fingerboard has a very slight curve to facilitate barre chords and the neck has discrete position markers at frets 5 and 7. And yes, in true Gropp attention to detail, the screw heads on the machine heads all line up in a perfect vertical!!
| Luthier | Armin Gropp |
| Model | Concert Model |
| Month / Year of construction |
July 2007 |
| Serial number | 881 |
|
Back Wood / Age |
Curled Maple / app. 50 years |
|
Sides Wood / Age |
Curled Maple / app. 50 years |
| Soundboard Wood / Age | Solid Spruce / app. 30 years |
| Soundboard grade | 1 a (for Concert models) |
|
Soundhole |
Oval |
| Binding / purfling | Strips: Indian rosewood / Maple / coloured Maple |
| Rosette | Plain, oval Strip-soundhole: Indian rosewood / Maple / coloured Maple |
| Finish | French polish |
| Fingerboard wood | Ebony |
| Fingerboard | Slightly curved |
| Bridge saddle construction | Two part |
| Bridge wood | Indian rosewood |
|
Bridge |
12-hole tie-block. |
| Neck wood | Mahogany / Ebony |
| Neck to body join | Spanish style |
| Head stock | Carved in the Gropp style for Concert models |
| Head wood | Mahogany |
| Head veneer | Curled Maple |
| Tuners | "Rubner", Germany, Brass standard model |
| Position markers | Discreet makers at frets 5 and 7 |
| Scale length | 650mm |
| Number of frets | 20 |
| Neck width at nut | 52.5mm |
| Neck width at 12th fret | 62.5mm |
| Body widths (upper bout / waist / lower bout) | |
| Body depth | Varies (arched back) |
| Case | Hard hand-made case included |
| Strings maker / type | Savarez / Corum / New Cristal, high tension |
The Gropps produce their Concert and Artist models in a range of materials and to various specifications. Please call for prices and availability.
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