aNueNue Alan Gogoll Travel Size Acoustic/Electric Natural Gloss 2017
aNueNue Alan Gogoll Travel Size, natural gloss, made in China 2017. This just might be the best sounding mini/travel/small size acoustic we've had through the shop in my memory. Launching in 2008, aNueNue are one of the biggest makers of mid-high end ukuleles in the world. The name is the Hawaiian word for rainbow; they're based out of Taiwan with a sister division in Honolulu. The brand diversified from ukes into guitars in 2015, launching their Bird Guitar design, and doing some work with legendary Tasmanian fingerstyle guitarist Alan Gogoll in the early days of promoting their new offerings. Alan has clocked up millions of streams and views of his gorgeous, intricate instrumental fingerstyle originals. He is known for inventing the Bell's Harmonic technique, which involves using the left hand to fret a note and create an artificial harmonic... it's clever stuff, and he can literally deliver 1000 harmonics in a minute (search the vid!). When Johnson and August Liao set out to build Alan a signature model, they took their excellent Bird Guitar shape, based on the plump curves of a red robin, and maxed out the details and wood selection. It's got an African mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, paired with a headstock sporting matching ebony and Hawaiian koa veneers. The body is made from all solid Swiss moon spruce on the top and some outrageously beautiful solid cocobolo on the back and sides. Moon spruce grows in the alpine regions of central Europe, and it's lighter but stronger than sitka and delivers a more rounded, warmer and earthier tone with more complex harmonics. Cocobolo is a rosewood genus timber from Central America, and it's very rare and valuable... if you want a Martin made with the stuff, you're up for A$10k+ new. The rosette and binding are carved from similarly rare Hawaiian koa. This travel size build enjoys the same insane specs as the full 'Bird' sized model, just with a trimmed down 34cm body and 24" scale neck: absolutely mental specs for a little wee guitar. It still has the wider 48mm nut size too, which will really suit some players looking for a wider string spacing to deliver fingerstyle lines on. It sounds remarkable: shimmering detail on the top end, an assured round low end with heaps of projection, balanced dry mids with superb clarity and a generous singing sustain. Alan's playing relies on harmonic content and lightning-quick articulation, and this delivers the goods despite the size. This example is an ex-demo model, hand numbered at number six; as best I'm aware there's less than ten of these anywhere in the world. It's had a couple of hours of play making some videos, but presents very close to brand new. If you're an Alan fan, or just looking for an extremely lush small body guitar with a comfy wide neck, this will absolutely put a smile on your dial.
Model: aNueNue #6 Alan Gogoll
Made: China, 2017
Finish: natural, thin gloss poly
Body: solid Swiss moon spruce top. solid cocobolo back and sides, 'Bird' body shape, parabolic brace structure, ebony bridge with buffalo bone saddle, Hawaiian koa binding and rosette, 340mm across, 105mm deep
Neck: African mahogany, ebony fretboard, 24" scale, 16" radius, 48mm nut, medium C shape carve
Weight: 1.815kg
Mods: none
Pickup: aNueNue Air Air under saddle + omni direction mic, with preamp
Accessories: aNueNue hard case
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has no major marks. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, very minor rub wear on the back only. The back has minor scuffs on the shoulders, the middle of the body and the elbow area. The sides have minor scuffs on the top shoulder and minor dimples on the the bottom corner The front has minor play wear on the shoulders.
Overall: excellent condition (9/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 9.5/10, minor wear only