The musician blends a Red Series, an Indigo Series and a uniquely-engineered travel guitar, all from the innovative Czech builder
Czech Republic-based Furch Guitars unveiled its color line of acoustics several years back, consisting of seven models – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet – as well as the customizable Rainbow Series, all made of the highest-grade premium tonewoods and constructed using high-precision manufacturing.
The color line offers a massive range of features and options, and in an attempt to wrap our heads around some of what’s on offer, we hooked up guitar ace Pete Thorn with not one, not two, but three new Furch models.
“I generally don’t do unboxing videos,” Pete admits. “I think they’re kind of weird. But today I’m going to make an exception.”
(Image credit: Furch Guitars)
While Pete assumed he would only be looking at two Furch models, he notices a third “mystery box.” When he opens it he pulls out a Furch t-shirt and…something else.
“This is different and exciting and really interesting,” he says of what turns out to be a Furch Little Jane travel guitar. “I thought it was a backpack. This is so cool.”
He quickly assembles the foldable guitar, and within minutes is strumming and picking away.
As for the full-sized Furch models in his possession? First up is a top-of-the-line Red Series, a “beautiful, top-quality, first-class instrument,” he says. The guitar boasts an Alpine spruce top and cocobolo back and sides, as well as koa and abalone binding. The Full-Pore High-Gloss Finish, meanwhile, “is unbelievable,” Pete says. “It’s absolutely like a mirror. It shines like a jewel.”
(Image credit: Furch Guitars)
Next up is an Indigo Series model, which boasts a cedar top and African mahogany back and sides, as well as an LR Baggs electronics system. “The first thing I noticed is there’s no bracing,” Pete says. “How do they do that? The back is slightly arched, which increases strength and stability so you don’t actually need the bracing.”
But enough about looks and construction. “Let’s get the microphone out and fire up the DAW and let’s make some music,” Pete says.
And make music he does, first playing the same piece on each guitar to highlight their differences in tone, and then creating an original song by layering all three guitars on top of one another.
The Red Series model, he says, “is the biggest sounding guitar out of all three. It’s got a beautiful clear articulate top end with lots of clear attack.”
(Image credit: Furch Guitars)
The Indigo, meanwhile, “sounds really, really balanced. A terrific-sounding guitar, especially when we factor in the price point.”
As for the travel model? “The guitar is so cool,” Pete says. “Just a brilliant little piece of design.”
Pete’s synopsis? “It’s pretty rare to get three guitars, pull them out of boxes, and they’re all set up, they don’t buzz, they play terrific and there’s no signs anywhere of quality issues or anything like that. “I’m just really, really impressed with these guitars.
“They’re really special, well-made and terrific-sounding instruments. And that’s no b.s.”
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
