Adam Black J-5 (NS) 48 Adam Black J-5 (NS) Adam Black J-5 (NS) Huw Price jumps into this jumbo with both feet. Can you afford to get your feet wet too? At this price point the J-5 could be more affordable than you thought at first glance. I don’t mind admitting that I did a double take when I pulled this one out of the box; in fact make that a triple or quadruple take. This guitar costs less than £150, but if it had a price tag three times greater I wouldn’t have even questioned it. This is one hell of a lot of guitar for the money, in every sense. The first thing that will strike you is the sheer size. This is a jumbo and then some. It’s a big old, round old shape too, more like a Maurer Prairie State or a Lowden than a pinched Gibson J200 or even a Guild. And the vast expanse of pale, tightly grained spruce is solid. Besides the laminated mahogany back and sides, it’s hard to identify any area where you’re expected to compromise. And don’t forget that laminated woods were always good enough for those old Guilds. You also get a set of cast Grover ‘kidney’ tuners, a compensated saddle and even a ring of abalone for the rosette. Otherwise, ornamentation is kept to a minimum, but the front and back benefit from thin, cream, plastic binding with a bit of extra pinstriping on top. Even the rosewood fingerboard is bound, and more solid rosewood is used for the bridge. One of the most surprising features is a traditional dovetail neck joint. We’re all used to seeing modern bolt-on necks, even on high-end guitars, but the J-5’s neck is only held on with glue. With a body this size there’s never any need to exaggerate the headstock. This is a comparatively small and plain affair with a small, gold Adam Black transfer over the matt black painted peghead face. The example sent to us was the NS model, which has a natural satin finish all over the body and neck. However, a natural gloss version is available, and for those who are partial to a ‘stroll in the country’ Brothers guitars could deliver the ‘boom’ and the ‘chugga’ they needed. However, most serious fingerpickers and flatpickers stuck with dreadnoughts and OM-type instruments because they were perceived to have greater tonal subtlety and balance. In other words, pushing the laws of physics in a quest for sheer volume always involves a trade-off in tone. And so it continued until a guitar maker in Northern Ireland, by the name of George Lowden, almost reinvented the jumbo acoustic. He showed that vast plates of spruce didn’t necessarily have to be driven hard to respond, and that a well- “This is one hell of a lot of guitar for the money, in every sense. The first thing that will strike you is the sheer size. This is a jumbo and then some” there’s even a Vintage Sunburst option. But so much for the looks; does it have the tone and playability to match? The answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’, but it all depends on what you want or expect from a jumbo acoustic. Throughout the first half of the 20th century steel-string guitars acquired ever deeper and wider bodies. Most of the development work was driven by the need for volume in the days before effective acoustic guitar amplification methods had been devised. In those days 18” wide ‘F’ hole jazz boxes pumped through the rhythm section, and country players found big Gibsons and Larson balanced mid range, sweet highs and deep but tight lows, could be achieved. Players cottoned on fast, and Lowden-style guitars are now commonly used as rhythm instruments in the folk idiom and by open-tuning fingerstylists like Pierre Bensusan. The reason I’ve dwelled on Lowden is that, despite the Adam Black J-5’s US styling, its sound has a distinctly Irish flavour. The J-5 undoubtedly produces a big sound, but at the same time it’s sweet, delicate and surprisingly complex. The top is really responsive and you can certainly feel the whole thing vibrating under your right arm as you play. I’m guessing the scalloped 49 Adam Black J-5 (NS) Adam Black J-5 (NS) Model: Adam Black J-5 Price: £149 Manufacturer: Adam Black Built in: Indonesia Body Size: Jumbo Woods used: Top: Spruce Back & sides: Laminated Mahogany Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Rosewood with small abalone dot inlays Frets (No. & size): 20 - medium Tuners: Grover Nut Width & Scale Length: 1 11/16” nut width 25 ½” scale Strings Fitted (Gauge & Brand) D’Addario EJ16 bronze light 012 Onboard Electronics: N/A Left handers? No Gig Bag/Case Included: No Jumbo sized - jumbo bargain Contact Details Rosetti Ltd Tel: 01376 550033 www.rosetti.co.uk www.myspace. com/adamblackguitars A physical presence to match its great value What we think Pros: Way exceeds what you would expect at this price point, like an OOO on steroids. Cons: Hard-pressed to fault this guitar. Overall: Solid top, quality tuners, great looks and effortless playability – what else could you ask for? ACOUSTIC RATING OUT OF FIVE “Single notes have a hint of nylonstring suppleness and there’s plenty of tonal variation depending on where you pluck the strings” bracing plays a big part in this. The bass end is particularly noteworthy. On smaller bodied guitars the low E can be a bit lightweight, and as you explore dropped tunings you often hear more of the upper harmonics than the actual fundamentals of the bass notes. But the J-5 seems to follow those notes all the way down without sounding boomy, almost like a very well integrated subwoofer has somehow been incorporated. At the other end of the frequency spectrum there’s not even a hint of new spruce harshness. Quite the contrary, in fact, because the J-5 sounds extremely refined. Single notes have a hint of nylon-string suppleness and there’s plenty of tonal variation depending on where you pluck the strings. As a rhythm instrument the J-5 pounds out the chords with real gusto, but it’s not exceptionally loud. You can smoothly comp jazz chords or chime away mixing fretted notes with open strings. Bluegrass-style flatpicking comes across well, but the attack of the bass notes could be accused of being slightly soft. Maybe a newer set of strings would help. Naturally the J-5 is ideally suited to open tunings too, and the design keeps the bass response solid and balanced all the way down to dropped C. Sometimes the bass end of acoustic guitars can sound a little hyped, which is a problem occasionally encountered with dreadnoughts. But the J-5 sounds more like an OOO with an extra octave at the bottom. Acoustic Ratings Exceptional Excellent Good Average Poor Verdict So I’m very impressed with the J-5’s playability, build quality and sound. The neck is fairly slim but still fat enough to give you some grip, and the feel is consistent from nut to joint. This example came with easy, buzz-free action, but there’s still plenty of upgrade potential if you feel inclined to fit a bone nut and bone saddle. You might even fit some new bridge pins while you’re at it. But all things considered this guitar offers incredible value for money. Huw Price 50