Furch Yellow Series GC-SC, made in Czech Republic 2019, natural gloss. Furch guitars enjoy a loyal following in Europe, but we seldom see them down here on the other other side of the globe. Founder František Furch started making guitars in 1981, despite the laws against private enterprise in communist Czechoslovakia. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the company kicked off in earnest and quickly gained a reputation for building some of the finest guitars out of Eastern Europe. The company is run by son of the founder Petr Furch these days, building around 9000 guitars per year with a staff of 70 based in Velké Němčice, around halfway between Prague and Vienna. Their line-up is grouped into series named after colours, with the Yellow Series being one notch shy of their top of the line offerings, selling for €2.5-3k. This one is made in 2019 from all solid sitka spruce and cocobolo. To score a guitar in that wood combo new today, you're up for more like €4.5k... that's a lot of Aussie dollarydoos. All that context aside, this is a very convincing guitar. The book matched spruce top shows off some beautiful detail in the tight, consistent grain, and Furch fine tune their tops by hand for maximum resonance. The back and sides are made of all solid Central American cocobolo, which is a dalbergia/rosewood genus timber that shares some visual and tonal similarities with it's cousin dalbergia nigra, or Brazilian rosewood. It's certainly visually striking, with beautiful colour variance and amazing details in the grain lines. The neck is classy too, with an ebony fretboard atop some sweet African mahogany. The sound is rich: snappy and sparkly like a Taylor, but with a depth and fullness all it's own. The midrange is complex and dry and the balance across strings and detailed dynamics are truly exemplary. The neck has a 45mm nut: 2-3mm wider than most steel strings, but carved to a comfy and not especially fat C on the back. It feels great, and if you find other steel strings a little cramped on the left hand, you'll love the extra room. This particular example was won in a competition by the previous owner, but hasn't seen more than a couple of hours of play since; it presents as basically brand new. The case is great too, Hiscox do great work. If you're after something a little different that's crazy classy, this is certainly worth a look... holy Furch, it's very good.

Model: Furch Yellow Series GC-SC
Made: Czech Republic, 2019
Serial: 86885
Finish: natural, Furch 'Full Pore' high gloss ultra thin lacquer 
Body: solid AA sitka spruce top, solid cocobolo back and sides, grand auditorium shape
Neck: African mahogany, ebony fretboard, 25.6" scale, 15.75" radius, 45mm nut, modern C shape
Weight: 2.305kg
Mods: none
Pickup: none
Accessories: Furch branded Hiscox 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 only. The back has very light scuffs in the middle. The sides have no major marks. The front has very light play wear around the sound hole only.
Overall: excellent condition (9.5/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 10/10, no visible wear