Is there any guitar custom extra hidebound than that of the flattop acoustic? It’s a kind issue by which an unconventional tonewood or an invisible change to the bracing could make an instrument if not revolutionary then at the very least noteworthy. 

So I discover it attention-grabbing that George Gruhn, one of many folks chargeable for preserving so lots of the most interesting examples of iconic guitar design, has beneath his personal model created an instrument that gives a rethink and a refresh of the steel-string acoustic’s core components. “You may compete on worth, on high quality, or on innovation,” Gruhn, proprietor of Gruhn Guitars in Nashville, advised me over the telephone. “We selected to compete on innovation.”

Based mostly on the Tacoma fashions that Gruhn designed again within the Nineties, the Versitar sequence deconstructs and reconstructs lots of the touchpoints of conventional flattop design, just like the neck joint, fret rely, bracing, soundhole place, and extra. Gruhn provides a wide selection of tonewood choices, from conventional—rosewood, mahogany, spruce, and cedar—to sustainable variations like black locust, walnut, ash, and others. Our take a look at guitar had a Western purple cedar soundboard and East Indian rosewood again and sides. I’m positive these woods affect the instrument’s particular person character, however the core idea is within the world structure, not the particular tonewoods, and that’s what we’ll discover on this evaluation. 

The Structure

Often, there’s one signature function or high quality—entry to the very best frets, timbral basis, and even worth—that stands as the primary speaking level for a brand new instrument. Right here, nevertheless, you could have a disappearing neck joint, which gives entry to a 22-fret fingerboard supported by a truss rod that extends all the size of the neck. You could have an offset soundhole and a high that has no break between the bridge and the fretboard—in impact between the fretboard and nut. That alone provides the Versitar a unique resonant platform than a typical flattop.

Visually, the obvious place to start is the physique form, with its single cutaway and teardrop-shaped offset soundhole within the higher bout. The form has an inviting and natural move. It’s each easy and hanging, and the cutaway’s smooth angle makes it look much less excessive, whereas additionally permitting upper-fret entry. 

The 25.5-inch–scale neck joins the physique on the Fifteenth fret by way of two furnishings bolts that couple with steel inserts, permitting the neck to be simply eliminated and repaired or changed with out stripping. On paper, a Fifteenth-fret joint doesn’t appear so totally different from the standard 14th-fret neck junction, however as a result of the Versitar neck has no heel, the online impact is electric-guitar-like entry to the higher reaches, akin to that of, say, a Fender Telecaster. 

The heelless neck joint doesn’t merely make it simpler to get your fingers above the twelfth fret; it additionally enables you to place your hand in positions the place you could have extra leverage to execute bends and vibrato. The one different acoustic devices I’ve performed with comparable entry have been thinlines which can be clearly designed to be extra electrical than acoustic. However the Versitar is a very resonant field that may fill a room. The neck entry opens up numerous inventive prospects for these of us who wish to play single-note lead traces with out plugging in—extra on that later.

The construct high quality on our take a look at mannequin was excellent but utilitarian, with a concentrate on tone and efficiency over ornament. The nitrocellulose lacquer end was extraordinarily skinny, and that got here throughout tactilely whereas additionally leaving the instrument free to vibrate. The darkish matte sunburst end was completely executed, highlighting the design’s flowing high quality, accentuated properly by herringbone purfling. 

The instrument had excellent intonation and low, buzz-free motion. The shortage of a heel actually made a distinction when enjoying, however it did take me a bit time to get used to not having one as a positional assist.

Dynamic and Timbral Vary

The Versitar was designed to ship constant tone throughout a large dynamic vary and supply the form of timbral variation based mostly on assault and picking-hand positioning that one would possibly count on from a very good classical guitar. Our take a look at guitar delivered on these targets. You may actually lay into the guitar with out getting it out of types, and in contrast to many devices, it doesn’t simply have one loud voice; you possibly can nonetheless sculpt it along with your assault.

Maybe it’s a byproduct of the heelless neck joint and lengthy truss rod, however the Versitar had very constant tone and maintain from low to excessive, as effectively. The place many guitars appear to lose overtones when you hit the heel, the Versitar stored delivering. All up and down the fretboard, the notice decays had been advanced and lengthy, with some pretty overtones rising on the finish.

Strumming with plectrums from mild to heavy introduced out a really wide selection of tonal colours. Even with an excellent mild choose, open chords acquired drown-out-the-singer loud once I put some muscle behind them, however the guitar by no means sounded clangy or uncontrolled. Hit an open G laborious and it’ll maintain till you get bored with listening to it decay. Apparently, play the identical chord with much less drive and also you don’t utterly remodel the timbral steadiness; the guitar stays very constant from quiet to loud.

The Versitar is especially delicate to adjustments in choose place and right-hand placement relative to the bridge or fretboard—all of which entry a unique shade of the instrument’s timbral palette. Variations in choose angle are particularly fertile. At one level, I positioned the choose near—however not fairly—a pinch-harmonic place on the A string; this introduced out a woody, percussive overtone that I don’t suppose I’d ever heard on a steel-string acoustic. 

As talked about above, the neck is quick and cozy and provides simple upper-fret entry. However simply as essential is the quick assault and distinct decay of every notice. A fast flurry doesn’t sound smeary or stringy. Switching from blues to nation to jazz, I used to be capable of finding the proper voice for every fashion. The quick neck makes the Versitar a good selection for lead enjoying, whether or not it’s quick runs, the place the articulation actually punches by, or in sustained melodic passages, the place the overtones actually blossom.

Fingerpicking actually showcases the Versitar’s harmonic complexity. The nail of the index finger and the pad of the thumb, a delicate bass notice with a tough snapped treble, a rolling trill—all of them deliver out one thing totally different. And throughout all methods, the notes are very wealthy in harmonics and overtones.

Dropping Down

In our dialog, Gruhn made a degree of telling me that the Versitar performs effectively with alternate tunings, even when dropped down as little as C. A take a look at in double dropped D (D A D G B D) bore this out, each when it comes to sound and really feel. The 25.5-inch scale helps preserve the string stress robust, and the readability of the low D was startling. It had loads of physique but in addition an unexpectedly articulate punch; not bassy, simply robust, like a baritone singer’s higher vary the place chest and head resonate collectively. The excessive D (first string) was additionally clear and strong and sounded in tune with out making me alter my assault. 

However the factor that grabbed my consideration essentially the most was the cohesiveness of the sound. Possibly it’s simply my notion, however most of my guitars appear to have one supreme tuning the place they arrive alive. The Versitar would possibly, too, however I didn’t hassle searching for it. What impressed me concerning the swap from customary to double dropped D is how constant the guitar sounded between the 2—robust, clear, and consonant.

Plugging In

The Versitar’s L.R. Baggs HiFi electronics are easy however work effectively and do a tremendous job of capturing the guitar’s tone, together with lots of the refined variations described above. Its two controls—quantity and tone—are hidden however simply accessed contained in the soundhole. Examined with a Phil Jones Bass X4 Nanobass combo and direct right into a Common Apollo interface, the Baggs provided loads of management with out overwhelming me with knobs and sliders. The electronics are very low noise and provide ample headroom to maintain up with the Versitar’s dynamic vary.

Gruhn says the instrument is meant for working professionals—“for play, not show,” as he places it—and, with its appears to be like and degree of consolation, it may discover a residence on many a stage. The truth that the electronics do such a very good job of capturing its studio-quality unplugged sound solely provides to its attraction.

The Backside Line

The Gruhn Versitar is a simple guitar to love and a difficult one to evaluation. Often, we concentrate on the tonewoods—the sweetness of mahogany, the facility of rosewood, the assault of maple, and so forth. These components do play a task right here as effectively, and I’m positive totally different woods will deliver out totally different points of the Versitar platform. 

But it surely’s that platform that tells the story. The neck joint and design of the highest, uninterrupted between the bridge and fretboard, set the inspiration for every part else. The truss rod helps all the neck, enhancing its consistency from low to excessive notes and thereby maximizing the sonic potential offered by the highest and bracing scheme. All of this makes for a really thrilling vary of prospects.

Gruhn Versitar Specs

BODY Versitar acoustic with cutaway; Fifteenth-fret neck junction; Western purple cedar high with modified A bracing and offset soundhole; East Indian rosewood again and sides; herringbone purfling; rosewood bridge with ebony bridge pins; satin nitrocellulose lacquer end with darkish sunburst high 

NECK Bolt-on mahogany; lengthy truss rod; 25.5″ scale size; 1-3/4″ bone nut; East Indian rosewood fretboard; 22 medium Jescar frets; nickel open-gear tuners; satin nitrocellulose lacquer end

OTHER L.R. Baggs HiFi electronics; D’Addario XS phosphor bronze mild strings (.012–.053); Gator softshell case; obtainable left-handed

MADE IN USA

PRICE $3,100 avenue

guitars.com/gruhn-versitar

This text initially appeared within the July/August 2024 problem of Acoustic Guitar journal.