Gordon-Smith Graduate 60, 998 (hand-crafted in Britain)
Status: SOLD
Pictures
1 Body & neck from above 2 Body from above (just look at that top!) 3 Body, pot area 4 Body, pot area from another angle 5 Nick on side of body
This beautifully-aged Graduate has a mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard and a thick mahogany body. The
body is capped with a gorgeous deep flamed maple top finished in a glossy transparent honey colour and
the rest of the guitar has a clear satin finish. It's one of those finishes that seems to
change colour, depth and texture depending on how the light hits it. The mahogany part of the body
is about 4cm thick and the top is about 1cm thick at the edges. As a 10 year old instrument
this guitar is not in A1 cosmetic condition. It has a couple of finish blemishes and there
are indications of some very minor surface damage or a possible manufacturing flaw between the top and
bottom pots, but these don't show unless the light lands in the right way. I've tried to catch
these in the photos, but they were so hard to capture that I didn't have much luck.
Like my Gypsy, this Graduate offers a superb range of sounds. Unusually for a guitar fitted with Gibson-style
three-way pickup selector, though, some very interesting tones are available with the pickup
selector in the middle (both) postion, especially when the front volume control is reduced a little.
At times it almost sounds as though a wah-wah pedal is being used. Very nice.
Sustain on this guitar is incredible. Held notes seem to go on forever and some juicy feedback can be
called up with not a lot of effort if that's what you want.
Graduates list for £849 basic. Grab yourself a bargain and get this
one for less than £400.