This review book is printed with FSC™ COC certified paper and eco-friendly soy ink. PMKMW2202 Worldwide Magazine Reviews Printed in Taiwan ©2012 Walden Guitars PMKM-W2202 & Artist/Owner Testimonials waldenguitars.com My Music. My World. My Choice. A day with Walden It's 9 a.m. at the biggest pub in Estonia, in the biggest summer resort in the country, but it's raining, the room is filled with harmonicas and lederhosen, we've been driving since 6 o'clock, and the coffee machine is broken. Our harmonica festival shows aren't scheduled to start before the evening but our harpist has insisted on entering the competition; Indrek's jittery and I'm sleepy, yet he walks away with silver. A fellow musician points to my T550 and says: "The bass lines were pre-recorded, right?" "Nah, just me and my Walden." Dennis, the American whom we're to back that evening, is still recovering from a late night, so we're off for pancakes in the rain. Ten hours later Dennis and I are on the concert hall stage with my guitar partner Martin, winging it in front of TV cameras and trying to look as worried as the black-tie audience. "I learned a new song tonight," Dennis brags backstage. "We learned two," I shoot back. "Well, I'll have two more for you tomorrow," he grins. A grey-haired gentleman in an impeccably white suit walks up and says,"Thank you very much! My wife insisted that I tell you: your playing Photo: Leif Laaksonen on that slow blues was so beautiful, it brought tears to our eyes... " It's Friday night and there are five more shows to do with Indrek and Dennis. On Sunday, Steve's flying in from London and we hit the road. A s l o n g a s t h e y fi x t h a t c o f f e e m a c h i n e . Andres Roots Walden Estonia Artist Andresroots.com Music reflects your life, Artist & Owner Reviews so does your guitar SupraNatura G3000 58 SupraNatura G2070 60 SupraNatura G3030CEQ 62 CONTENTS SupraNatura G1070CEQ 64 SupraNatura N2030 66 Worldwide Magazine Reviews Natura G740CE 68 Natura G730 70 Jonathan Lee interview by Violão Pro Magazine (Brazil) 10 Natura G630CE 72 Industry Profile: Jonathan Lee interview by Australian Magazine Natura G570 Family 74 (Australia) 16 Natura D550 76 Jonathan Lee: Walden’s Main Man by Mixdown Magazine (Australia) 18 Natura T550 Travel Guitar 78 Madera CD4041-CERT Review by Vintage Guitar Magazine (USA) 22 Natura O550 Ochestra Model 80 Madera CG4041-CERT Review by Acoustic Guitar Magazine (USA) 24 Natura D552 82 Madera CD4040-CERT Review by Acoustic Guitar Magazine (USA) 26 Madera CD4040-CERT Review by Guitar Buyer Magazine (UK) 28 SupraNatura D2040 by Australian Musician (Australia) 30 Natura G740CE Review by Guitar Player (Brazil) 32 Natura G730 named Best Fingerpicker by Guitar & Bass (UK) 34 Natura D710 Review by Guitar World (USA) 36 Natura G630CE Review by Australian Guitar (Australia) 38 Natura G570TB Review by Acoustic Guitar Magazine (USA) 40 Natura O550 Review by Australian Guitar (Australia) 42 Natura T550 Review by Acoustic Guitar Magazine (USA) 44 Concorda CG2000CEQ Review by Australian Magazine (Australia) 46 Concorda CG600CE Review by Acoustic Magazine (UK) 48 Natura N730 Classical Nylon Review by Acoustic Magazine (UK) 50 My Music. My World. My Choice Elementary School Charity Event "Getting kids into real music! So much fun! Forgot how much energy kids have!" Joe Brooks Singer Songwritter in UK & USA Joebrooks.com Photo: Shane Fabila The following pages contain Walden guitar reviews from 17 of the world’s most prestigious music magazines, including the highly respected Acoustic Guitar Magazine, published in USA. “What does the world truly think about Walden Guitars?” One can now easily Worldwide Magazine Reviews find out by reading these unsolicited perspectives by guitar and music industry experts. Scan the QR code with your smartphone to read magazine reviews. waldenguitars.com My Music. My World. My Choice. 6 7 waldenguitars.com My Music. My World. My Choice. 8 9 WALDEN GUITARS: An American Dream Manufactured in China By Daniel Neves and Miguel De Laet for Violão Pro (Brazil) Sep 2009 Are all Chinese guitars created equal? Be careful with the answer. Many have preconceived notions about products originating from Asian countries without checking into it further. Violão PRO talked with Jonathan Lee, one of the ones responsible for the development of Walden guitars, on the development of Asian manufacturing, the reasons for manufacturing in China, and on environmental and social responsibility. THE FACTORY Tell us a little about yourself and how Walden Guitars was born. I am currently the Division Manager of the Fretted Instrument Division at KHS Musical Instruments. KHS, a musical instrument manufacturer for over 75 years, is the sole staff members speak Chinese, overcoming owner of the Walden Guitars brand and the language and cultural barriers to operating produces Walden guitars in Lilan, China in China are furthermore minimized. It also (located nearby Beijing). All Walden guitars facilitates the international distribution of all are made at the Walden shop. Previous to other KHS brands: Mapex Drums, Jupiter becoming the Division Manager, I was the Band Instruments, Hercules Stands and Research and Development Manager as well Majestic Percussion. The KHS factories are as the Marketing Manager for Walden. Walden all nearby and this allows for products to be THE MARKET Guitars originated as a collaboration between combined into the same shipment, better How to associate quality and price? Although benefits are realized in terms of labor CFox Guitars, a company I helped found, and servicing the needs of our customers. Today, With a background in handmade guitars, and overhead expenses, the material cost-to- KHS. Original designs and specifications were we manufacture somewhere around 50 finding the balance point between quality and quality ratio becomes a critical consideration created in consultation with CFox Guitars. thousand instruments per year. price has been one of the greatest challenges when creating instruments in the $300 to for me. When building guitars that sell for $1,500 range. A good example to illustrate Why manufacture in China? around 3,000 US dollars and above, I could this: When building hand made guitars, the There are many reasons why building afford to work with the highest grade materials cost of a Sitka spruce soundboard and back- guitars in China was a natural choice for that offered ideal tonal, visual and stability side set of Indian Rosewood, before any Walden. With lower average labor rates than Scan this QR with your characteristics. Woods that are perfectly woodworking has begun, is already well above elsewhere, it allows for the creation of a high smartphone to read this quarter-sawn, each piece hand selected. our distributor’s wholesale price for some article in the original quality instrument with far greater affordability. Providing instruments at Walden’s competitive completed Walden models! Portugese. Chinese history has a rich and deep cultural prices presents numerous conflicts from a and artistic tradition which also aids their luthier’s point of view. ability to appreciate some of the finer points of guitar making. KHS Musical Instruments, is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. Since all My Music. My World. My Choice. 10 waldenguitars.com 11 In fact, the price of some tuning machines the elements of the guitar building process originating from Africa or South & Central we used at CFox were greater than the cost that are critical to producing quality stable, America. Fingerboards and bridges are Indian of the completed Walden. How do you create excellent sounding guitars. Knowing what we Rosewood and Ebony imported from India and a guitar that even comes close to a fine absolutely can not compromise and knowing S.E. Asia. handmade guitar when you can’t come close what we must to create instruments at this to affording the materials required to make an price level. In our four broad departments: THE CRAFT instrument of this kind? We and other Asian Parts Fabrication, Body-Neck Assembly, Here in Brazil we find some luthiers manufacturers simply can not afford to use Finish, and Setup, each process has its own looking for alternatives in other species these materials and have to work with lower jig, machine fixture or mold that ensures the to substitute traditional woods in the grade, lower cost materials. The challenge consistency of result. Most work is done by manufacture of instruments. Do you then becomes ensuring that the materials hand with recognizable standard woodworking believe that can also occur in the industry? used can satisfy the sonic, visual and machines such as table saws, jointers, A difficulty arises though when the balance stability requirements to create valid musical routers, band saws, etc. Some automated of stability and sonority must be considered. instruments. “What can be sacrificed? machines are used when either a better result The woods traditionally used, were chosen What can be compromised? What can not? can ensue, such as a fingerboard fret-slotting for these reasons. Choosing replacement Where is the line between acceptable and machine, or when an operation is too laborious materials on the basis that they happen to unacceptable?” These become the difficult for an employee. be sustainably grown simply does not work. questions to answer in our quest to create A good example comes from experiments legitimate musical instruments and not just we have conducted using Bamboo. It’s so “guitar shaped objects.” common these days for eco-friendly flooring, it’s hard, and grows like a weed. However, in our tests, it had horrible tonality.