Ask the Expert – Would you recommend a McPherson guitar?

Paula Gano asked Andy:

“I saw that you play McPherson Acoustic guitar.  I was thinking of getting one.  They are quite expensive.. and was wondering what you think of it.”

mcpherson-guitars

Andy replies: Yeah I really like it, mainly because it sounds very consistent with a capo all the way up the neck and never even slightly pulls sharp. So basically it sounds so much more ‘in tune’ than many other instruments I’ve played.

The guys at the Mcpherson work really hard with you to find the correct combinations of woods to get the sound you like, and it’s worth spending the time to work it out because the different combinations sound WAY different from each other.

I chose redwood for the top and rosewood for the back and sides as I want quite a deep sound with plenty of balance between strumming and finger style. If I was predominantly doing one or the other I’d probably choose differently but again the guys their can advise you.

If you’re not familiar with the general sounds of the classic combinations of woods used on guitars, do spend quite a while in a decent guitar shop and compare choices before you splash out on any bespoke model, but once you know what you want ordering a custom shop guitar like this can be like the difference between a tailor-made suit and an off the peg alternative.

I’ve written a few posts on this before. Checkout the buyers guide on a good quality acoustic guitar, and I also covered it in a newsletter article in 2007. I’ll dig that out and post it as a new post for you.

The McPherson staff are really helpful and are all Christians there so understand the worship thing well. I hope you find exactly what you are looking for.