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Review of a classical guitar by DK Classical Guitars UK:
Jaroslav Mach guitars have all the qualities we would expect in a concert guitar.
It is very easy to utilise the colours and dynamics and there is plenty of volume.
David Kinnear, proprietor of DK Classical Guitars.
You can hear a sound sample of a 2016 Classical concert guitar here.
Review of a classical concert guitar by Charis Guitar Japan
A Mach Concert guitar has a good balance with a strong and loud volume.
A concert guitar with a bright, lively and clear sound. A sound sample here.
Kenji Takaya – Proprietor of Charis Guitar
Review by GENDAI GUITAR MAGAZINE (Japan) in the April 2019 issue:
“Now let’s talk about the sound of the MACH guitar. First of all, it has a rich volume and a crystal clear tone”. View GENDAI article here. A sound sample of this guitar here.
Recent TFOA (The Fellowship Of Accoustics) blog entry: click here
JAROSLAV MACH GUITARS IN JAPAN!
We’re big fans of Jaroslav Mach guitars, and they seem to be catching on all over the world! In an issue of the Japanese Gendai Guitar, Jaroslav was interviewed and they spoke very highly of his guitars.
We’ve been selling Jaroslav’s guitars for years now and he has a close relation to our shop. When he told us he had been interviewed by the Japanese Gendai Guitar Magazine, of course we were excited. We were lucky enough to receive the English translation and thought it might be nice to share it with you, Enjoy!
Translated article in Gendai Magazine:
In this issue, we are going to cover guitars that are not well known yet in Japan for this guitar introduction section.
This time, it is the guitar by Jaroslav Mach from the Czech Republic.
Mach in association with sonic speed, it is also Ernst Mach.
It seems that it comes from an Austrian scholar.
We can see the word Holland on the label, but Jaroslav Mach is Czech.
He was born in 1950 in the Czech Republic (it was Czechoslovakia at the time).
In 1968, he moved to Holland.
He began the guitar making as a self-taught from 1975.
However, in 1989, he gave it up to take up another occupation.
In 2012, he returned to his native country the Czech Republic and resumed guitar making to respond to the demand from his old clients.
Apart from classical guitars, we can find a Modern OM (Martin’s orchestra model) which is a steel-string acoustic guitar and a 10-string guitar with nylon strings on his website.
It seems that know-how developed in building both the nylon-string and the steel-string guitar was implemented, the round-shaped body is the same throughout (Modern OM’s neck-to-body joint is located at the 14th fret).
We can find a reference to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (aka Washington convention in Japan) on another page of the website on which he specifies the avoidance of the use of regulated rosewood types.
He uses Wenge from Africa instead of so-called jacarandá (Brazilian rosewood) or Central and South American rosewood.
He claims that the sound is similar to the jacarandá guitar.
It is a dense hardwood with characteristic fine striped grain.
Despite this new direction, he opposes to the trendy double-top and lattice bracing.
He says that extreme pursuit for the volume causes detriment to the tonal quality.
As the transparent photo above shows, he employs the fan bracing with nine braces. He says that he took it from Ignacio Fleta’s structure.
His only employing spruce for the top avoiding western red cedar would be a traditional aspect of his.
As for strings, he recommends nylon strings over carbon ones.
He says that normal tension is appropriate, although hard tension also suits to make the sound brighter.
“As for the tuners, he uses Swiss-made Schertler’s single unit.
It has plain oval plates with an 18:1 gear ratio, ebony knobs, and black rollers, which is rare in Japan.
They feel very smooth and luxurious”.
Now, let’s talk about the sound of Mach guitar.
First of all, it has a rich volume and crystal clear tone.
I wonder if it is a German sound rather than a Spanish one.
The guitar in the photo was made as a response to the request of a client who needed a more direct and loud sound.
It was made of the Sitka spruce (common in steel-string acoustic guitars), and the sides have a double layer.
I was told that, in the end, this guitar was not sold to the client because of a financial issue.
Normally, he uses spruce from Austria for the top which is aged more than 30 years combined with single-wood sides.
By making the guitar lighter, I imagine that its sound will be more similar to a traditional one.
Review of a classical guitar by The Fellowship Of Accoustics;
Jaroslav Mach’s guitars are exquisitely built from the very best materials, resulting in powerful sounding instruments.
The first impression when playing a Mach guitar is that it has a big and bold round and loud tone, rich and deep. The basses are strong with that certain persisting depth and clarity only heard in the very best guitars.
A colourful scheme of tones with the typical clarity, depth and volume only heard in the best Spanish guitars.
A Mach guitar offers a wide range of tone colour variations with impressive power and projection and great substance.
These guitars are an outstanding value, and live up to their wonderful looks and use of materials.
You can hear a short sound sample of a Classical concert guitar here.
Review of Jaroslav Mach’s Modern OM, Meistergitarre Steelstring by The Fellowship Of Accoustics:
You can hear a short sound sample of the Modern OM at this link
Mach’s guitars are offering the utmost highest quality at a very competitive Price.
Competitive because his guitars easily stand the test against big names like Ryan, Olson, Sergei de Jonge, Froggy Bottom and for instance Goodall guitars.
This guitar is the first ever steel string we received from this masterbuilder and it has made a lasting impression on us. The tonal quality reminds us of Sergei de Jonge guitars. Typical a versatile guitar with impressive fingerstyle qualities
It features 35-year aged East Indian Rosewood back and sides, nicely grained and topped of with a nicely aged Sitka spruce top. The inside of the guitar has been varnished, a feature which is often seen in nylon-stringed instruments but not so often seen in Steel Stringed guitars. Other features include Indian Rosewood bindings with maple purflings, rosewood headstock overlay, beautifully fashioned ebony/abalone/green rosette and Schaller Davinci tuners.
The true quality of this instrument however is not in it’s impeccable craftsmanship and eye for detail but in it’s truly unique sound, with a great projection, bright and very rich mid and high end and a very balanced articulate low end.
A true masterbuilt instrument.