In this issue, where we cover new guitars through our usual test benches, we come across a new jewel from the Alhambra organization. The word jewel isn't an undeserved literary flourish, since once again this company shows us its know-how through the instrument. Meticulous details and remarkably careful construction.

Let's remember that this company also deserves praise for its foray into acoustic guitars made in Spain. These are guitars that compete perfectly with well-known international brands at similar and much higher prices.

We also detect a spirit of innovation and constant research, which we guitarists can only be grateful for, since their developments keep delivering ever more polished and novel instruments without losing the artisan tradition that characterizes this company. Alhambra has worked on building acoustic guitar models with maple wood. The virtues of this tonewood are well known, for the look of its color and figure, as well as the particular qualities it brings to the sound, with more softness and sweetness.

As for these models, compared with others made by the company, the flamed maple guitars share all their other features with the instruments of Alhambra's 3 series, except for the top, which is always spruce, and the sides, which are Bubinga.

The flamed maple models are available in all versions, A-4, W-4, J-4 (Auditorium, Western, and Jumbo), with the same options.

Construction Materials and Finish
As I mentioned a little above, this instrument shares with its “sisters” (guitars made by Alhambra) a taste for refinement. Impeccable construction with carefully executed, perfectly completed cosmetic finishes. This is where you can detect this company's years of experience and tradition in guitar building. I especially like, as I've mentioned in other Alhambra guitar reviews, the impeccable look all their instruments give off: well-treated woods in construction and trim, with a magnificent finish.

As for the building materials, the quality of all the components shines. Woods prized by guitarists (among others) such as ebony, spruce, and, this time as the star guest, flamed maple. The grain of the sides and back is lighter than on models built with other woods.

The result is a solid, luxurious guitar with first-rate sonic qualities. Since we've already covered the construction characteristics of these guitars in previous issues, we'll skip repeating ourselves. You can read that information in previous ISP issues, as well as on www.ispmusica.com, by going to earlier reviews of Alhambra instruments.

To close the construction and finish section, let me mention the pickguard, almost imperceptible because of its transparent look, which protects the top from scratches due to wear or friction from the pick, etc...

The Sound
The color and timbre of this instrument surprised me. I've tried several of the maker's guitars, and until now I'd noticed something peculiar in their sound, which has changed on this guitar, at least to my ears. I detected a brighter, sharper sound, without becoming strident but with less opacity.

At first, and perhaps because I was used to playing other models, I missed some body in the solos, but as I tested over a longer period I found the instrument's sweet spot. To learn how the guitar responds, I first played it with no accompaniment at all. Solos, combinations of arpeggios with bass notes, and strumming. Again I detected that more open, crystalline result. Finally, I began recording guitars on various tracks to see how it blended with other instruments, and discovered that this reduction in body worked better for open rhythm guitars as the foundation of various songs.

I think, as always, it depends a great deal on your style and what you're looking for. In my case, I found the sounds of this Alhambra best suited to rhythms and arpeggios in instrumental contexts, with less density or body in single-string solos.

After spending a good while playing it, I came to two conclusions about its sound. The first is that the lack of density I perceived was basically a matter of habit, and in the end I wasn't sure whether I liked this sweeter, smoother sound better or the slightly darker, more muted sound of other Alhambra models.

In short, I think the instrument's sounds are very tempting, with a good balance and fitting blend among its strings. I found it an excellent guitar for almost all the applications in which I tested it.

Hardware, Tuning, and Intonation
In a plastic bag attached to the headstock with a rubber band, we find the (gold) pieces that hook onto the holes in the body provided for that purpose. Once the pieces are fitted to the instrument's body, the guitar is ready to be hung from a strap.

The headstock shape is the classic Alhambra one, lacquered in black. Gold-finished tuning machines of extreme precision. I found the tuner tension just right, striking an optimal balance between the stiffness needed for precise tuning and a soft movement that ultimately gives us comfort.

This is one of the areas I like most in this maker's instruments. The guitars, this maple A4 included, show impeccable intonation. At all times, you have the feeling of holding a well-tempered instrument. The worry and discomfort caused by the uncertainty of tuning drift stops being a problem if you play Alhambra guitars.

The Preamp
We already knew the Fishman Prefix Premium Blend. For those of you who haven't read about it, let me explain how it captures the instrument's sound. We have two pickup sources: the microphone inside the body, and the piezo under the strings at the bridge. The sound changes noticeably depending on which source we use. The pickup signal is somewhat more metallic with more attack, while the sound captured by the mic, located inside the body and peeking out through the side, is less strident and more diffuse.

Thanks to the preamp's slider, we can select, and even combine, which source we send to our amplification system. A slider that runs from the mic position to the pickup position. We can choose one of these, or find our own sweet spot between the two.

I like this preamp for the flexibility it offers when shaping the signal. It has a phase switch, the mic/pickup slider, and controls for treble, bass, frequency, contour, volume, and notch.

With these controls, you can completely change the final sound picked up by the amplification system. Make the guitar thicker, thinner, brighter, duller, with more attack, more smoothness... in short, you have more than efficient control to tailor the sound to your needs at any given moment. The plugged-in guitar's sound is very manageable, so we can emphasize the body for solos, fatten up the instrument for solo pieces, make it thinner for accompaniment, and play with a great diversity of sonic styles on acoustics.

I made several recordings in the studio. Takes captured by the pickup, by the internal mic, and also with the guitar unplugged through an external condenser microphone. From my point of view, the best results came from two-track takes. One of them recorded the line signal, once the preamp was adjusted the way I wanted. The second track captured the signal picked up by the condenser mic. Rather than achieving a perfect sound this way, what we got was a very usable take for further manipulation; that is, the amount of nuance both tracks captured allowed us, in the mix, to take the recorded Alhambra's sound to almost any extreme we wanted it to have.

The Tuner
I love this feature. Relatively recently, at a live show by our friend Jaco Abel, I heard a true line he addressed to the audience: “you know that we guitarists spend half our lives tuning and the other half playing out of tune.” How true that is, and how uncomfortable it is to play with a guitar that's out of tune. The preamp has a small but very effective tuner. When you pluck a string, the LED for the detected note lights up, and two small illuminated triangles tell us whether to tune up or down. Obviously, for experienced guitarists there's no need to look at the light, although the help is appreciated for quick tuning or a last-minute check before playing or recording. For less experienced guitarists, this kind of system is magic, since it helps you tune the guitar without headaches. Mind you, if you don't know how to tune yet and you already have this guitar, you've started out in grand style, because this is by no means a beginner's instrument. Naturally, this type of preamp can be installed in any other guitar.

Conclusions
Well, it isn't an extremely cheap guitar, although if you compare it with some other well-known brands, you may even think its price is more than reasonable. Especially if you consider that it's built with spruce, maple, and ebony, has a cutaway, a nifty preamp, and so on...

I find it a first-rate, professional guitar, perfectly finished, with very well-chosen building materials. As always, we've found that this company's guitars are very well finished and made with enthusiasm. Choosing an acoustic guitar is, in my view, complex. It depends on many factors, your needs and tastes, and so on... In any case, I believe this instrument is worth what it costs and is truly a first-rate guitar.