Hartwood Sonata FXC-NT Guitar from Gear4Music-Review..It's SPECIAL!
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- Here's a review of a one of a new guitar range from Gear4music. This is the Hartwood Sonata FX Concert guitar in a natural finish. What's special about this guitar is that the FX stands for in-built effects which play within the guitar without the need to plug it in. The effects are delay or chorus which can be combined with reverb/no reverb. This works because the guitar has a small amp and speaker unit stuck to the inside of the guitar. When played through the jack the effects will play and you can also adjust the overall output volume, bass and treble balance.
It's a really beautiful guitar and even with the effects the tone is excellent. With the effects? It's quite stunning. The build is exceptional: solid Sitka spruce top, laminated flame maple back and sides, with maple and abalone binding. The front top of the lower bout is sloped for comfort and has three sound holes sitting opposite the FX speaker so you can achieve a good balance between the acoustic sound and the FX you're adding. It has a C-shaped maple neck and the fretboard and bridge are made of composite hardwood. The fretboard has an elegant leaf-stem wood inlay marking 1st, 3rd,5th, 9th 12 frets etc. The finish on the frets has to be seen to be believed. It comes with a rechargeable battery and a battery charger, an instruction book and the obligatory Allen key of course.
At £399 UK, (= 474 Euros or $483 US) it's not what I would call a budget guitar neither is it a high price guitar. But irrespective of the cost the guitar is exceptional! Well done Gear4 music who make two other size versions of this guitar with a choice of three finishes.
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Hi Rob, thanks for this video. Would love to hear the guitar without any effects. Thanks!
Dear Rob I wanted to know if you are happy with the tool so far. Too little information about the Guitar, you have solved the problem with the pickup. Thanks in advance!

Hi there, nice to hear from you and thanks for your question. I still think the Hartwood is a very nice and unusual guitar: unusual because of the in-built FX. The initial problem I had was the internal mini amp speaker that came loose. No problem with this one (yet?). A fellow guitarist came and played it and was instantly impressed and started testing other guitars with FX and he thought the Hartwood still won out. As to the Cort, I don’t know it at all it but it doesn’t it’s a different beast I think as it doesn’t seem to have the FX. Remember these don’t need to be plugged in. I also note the Cort is quite a bit more expensive. All I can say is that the Hartwood is a very well made and head turning guitar. It sounds really good without the FX being on and I do play it around the place. Also, you can buy it, try it and return to G4M if not happy with it. By the way, I am not paid by G4M to promote their own brands. Good luck!
All the best, Rob.
Hi Rob, so I finally bought the jumbo version. But as soon as I used the built-in effects, there was a cracking sound which I can only blame a faulty speaker. Having reached out to gear4music, they suggested I try a new guitar cable... seems like they don't understand what the problem is.. even after I have sent them the video! Still waiting for a resolution. Did you have to return the guitar to them?
Hi again. Sorry the Hartwood guitar is giving you trouble. They should be tested by G4M before sending out. I sent mine back when the internal amp fell off the back. I received a replacement fairly swiftly. I suggest you do the same and hope you get a good one. By the way, mine is still fine. I play it a lot especially at gigs. Good luck but it does take the edge off getting a new instrument.
All the best, Rob
I just bought 1 of this and have to say so good quality love it !!!!!
I just got the jumbo through the post 15 mins ago and had to come back to this review to say thanks and to let you know how much I already love it! The neck is so amazing to play. So comfortable and well proportioned. Bending is way easier than on my Tanghlewood GW4. I was in various guitar stores searching for something new two weeks ago. I tried guitars that were over double the price of this and none of which played quite like this one. So happy. It's such an amazing feeling picking up an instrument and feeling like you have owned it for years. The only thing I will say is that similar to yourself, the adhesive pads inside the guitar have started to come away. I am going to hold onto this guitar though and replace the pads when I change the strings. Thank you for your video and introducing me to my new favorite guitar!
So pleased to hear from you and to know you really like the guitar. You should let Gear4Music know that the internal amp is coming off. Mine’s still on so far but it could go any time Just this week, a guitarist friend of mine played the guitar and told me he went straight to the G4M web site. Not sure he bought one yet. One amusing thing he noticed was the “broken string” or the wavy stem of the vine on the finger board. You can expect similar comments “how can you play it with a broken string”. Funny!
All the best
Rob
What a beautiful review of the guitar that I've been thinking of owning. I think I'll buy this now. Thanks
I have a lot of guitar and a lot of experience behind me. I've had all the major brands and frankly I have to say that I'm amazed by the perfect guitar. I was a bit skeptical at first, but in the six months that I've owned it, it's one of the guitars I play most often. I also have 2 Lag HyVibe so I know the system of Reverb and ifx integrated, except looper. This guitar has nothing to envy to other models I do not understand that it would not be better known on the market. The bedding is very good, guitar is very beautiful and very pleasant to play. It really is a huge surprise, congratulations to the designers. This model should be more widespread and known.
Hi N R, thanks for your interesting comment. I've seen these LAG guitars which have had very good reviews. In the UK, I know that Richards Guitars in Stratford hold a range of LAGs and I've seen them in the showroom there. They seem to be beautifully made instruments even without the FX. But I was a bit unclear whether your thoughts were about the LAG Hyibes or the Hartwood guitar that I reviewed? Whichever brand, I agree that these guitars should be better known. When people hear my guitar live they are immediately struck by its sound especially with the FX on but I don't think that they are going to go out and invest in one. I think they think that they are a bit gimmicky? So maybe when Martin, Taylor, L'Arrivee, Maton, Gibson etc start to sell them then things might change. These guitar makers must be looking at the technology and I think that Yamaha already sell a steel sting acoustic with a transducer to boost the sound and reverb. Also a recent development in the electric guitar world has been the introduction of the ElectroPhonic guitars. I might get one if I can save up enough money. Take a look but you probably know about them already. Anyway good to hear from you and all the best for 2023!
Rob
@@robrobson7101 Hello Rob, my post was about the HArtWoods. But I have a hyvibe nylon and a HyVibe 20. Both are very good, but as I tell you I have a preference, apart from the absence of Looper, a preference for the Atwood in terms of sorting. Violin. Thank you for this information on Stereophonics electrophonic, it looks very nice. There is also LAVA me 3, to try...All the best for you :)
Nice review! Just bought the black version of this guitar. Have a good feeling about it!!
HI Eilish, nice to hear from you. I think you''ll really like this guitar with its built in sound effects etc, I wish they'd put in a tuner too but I suppose it's easy to clip one on to the head. I nearly bought the black version myself but I really like the light wood version especially the flame maple sides and back. One of the amusing things I've found while gigging with this guitar is that several people have come up to me after and asked how I managed to play with a broken string? It had me puzzled first time but if you look at the stem of the "vine" on the fingerboard you can see how it looks like string! See if other people notice. with yours.
By the way, I looked at your channel and really like your songs. I guess you'll be showcasing your Hartwood soon? Anyway, I do hope you've copyrighted all your songs.
All the best
Rob
@robrobson7101 update : I'm going to have to get mine replaced because there is a mechanical buzzing coming from the pickup. When gear4music sent it out there was zero packaging and it arrived damaged I had to glue part of it back together and replace the screws in the guitar jack (I wanted to keep it because mine has a lovely green tinted finish) but I can't deal with the buzzing so unfortunately I'll have to get another one. Hoping this next one will be the perfect gigging guitar... It's so nice to play though one of the nicest guitars I've ever bought
I got the same comments about the fretboard string thing after reading your comment about it lol. Thank you Rob.
Or maybe they'll be able to repair it
Hi again Keith, OK I’ve sorted this problem for you. Thought it must be quite simple: you know, what goes in must come out! So, I found that the control buttons all pull out. Underneath each button is a metal collar. This has a screw thread. You’ll see that there are two little nicks on either side of each collar. You can unscrew the collars and then the underlying electronic circuit board can be removed. Looks like the thin bit of plastic surrounding the buttons may be held with adhesive but I didn’t want to go that far. Incidentally I made a little thin metal tool to fit the nicks in the collars which makes the unscrewing a doddle. I’m really shocked that G4M weren’t able to help you…takes my estimation of that company down quite a few rungs! Now to the question of who makes the preamp with an internal transducer. I think it’s a Chinese company(of course) who make a lot of fx pedals under the brand Ginean. I found a very similar system on sale through Alibaba. Had to search a bit. The shape of the outer unit is different and I think instead of an internal speaker it looks as if they are using an electromagnetic transducer that maybe transmits directly onto the guitar top or bottom. Not sure though. So I hope this helps. There are a few acoustic preamp fx systems around but they need to be linked to an acoustic amp.
Will you be kind enough to let me know how you get on? I feel like writing to G4M myself. All the very best
Rob
Hi Keith, I’ve found the very system for sale on AliExpress. It’s a Guitto GGP-02. You can google it. It costs £47.38 plus £5 to 6 shipping. It’s the whole works including the internal speaker, battery holder etc. you can get your guitar back as new and will have saved yourself some cash! Let me know if you get it. I may even buy one to fit to one of my other guitars. All the best Rob
@@robrobson7101 Wow, thank you so much! It's 3rd on my list - I've started repairing (mainly body damage) old guitars as a hobby. I'll let you know how I g
et on when I do.
Hello. I dont fully get why there is so much reverb added to the complete clip as it must affect hugely sound of the build in one which i assume is one of the goals of this clip. What is interesting me the most is how loud this effects are? I have tried Yamaha transacoustic guitars and with effects added they still have exactly same volume as guitar because they work on same principle (actuator adds vibrations to the guitar top which cause resonance) as guitar does. Do you have any real life comparison between Hartwood and other competitive applications such as LAGs Hyvibe or Yamahas transacoustic?
Same here. A lot of reverb throughout the vid...
I see this video is about a year old. How is the guitar doing now? Please I have it in my cart alongside a Cort Dc6. Which would you recommend?
Great Demo Sir ThX !!
Hi twoeagles19, I really appreciate your comment. Are you thinking of getting one? I notice that the price is shifting upwards quite quickly: I think by 25% since I bought mine. All the best, Rob
Lovely review. Is it still working without problems compared to the first example? I'm tempted to get one, only I'm drading the hassal of sending it back! Bloody Brxit makes it more difficult.
Hi Michael, nice to hear from you. Yes it's still OK and it's been "on the road" at several gigs. G4M obviously had my first one repaired as they had a returned one for sale at a reduced price not long after I returned mine. It's a really lovely guitar but one thing which is unexpected and amusing is that several guys hve asked me how i manage to play it with a broken string. "What"? I asked? Well it turns out that the curvy stem inlay in the fretboard looks like a broken string. Of course I just tell them that I'm such a good guitarist that I can just play on regardless!
Take a chance on one though I notice the price has increased with the latrst batch.
All the best and happy christmas
Rob
Good review by the way.
Hi Rob, you did a very nice video and I also like the melody you’re playing. I’m toying with the idea to buy one of these guitars. I read that there are flick switches through the sound hole to achieve further tonal adjustments. Since there is only one showroom in Germany that is located about 500 km from my hometown, I contacted the G4M support in order to get some help on this. They sent me a PDF File that shows different settings of the four switches. Can you confirm that there are such switches and did you eventually tried to change the sound with them?
Hi Gunther (sorry no umlaut!), nice to hear from you and thanks for the question. Oooh, I'd quite forgotten about this. So I looked in the guitar and yes in the top left of the printed circuit behind the control panel on the side is a small component with four (on/off) switches. So I think that answers your question? The manual describes how different combinations of switch positions cut different frequencies and by how many dbs. Probably, to change these while the strings are on you'd need a longish flat head screwdriver because the switches will not be easy reach with a finger. As you can guess, I've never felt the need to play with these switches as of course you can control bass and treble from the normal controls. So although it might be a nice facility to have, I doubt I'll try this (very unlike me, as a big fiddler with electronic things!).
This guitar is very nice, as I said. LAG guitars make a similar kind of guitar but it also has a looper but I'd always use an external looper that I can control with my foot. The LAGs look nice but I had another comment from a guy who has two LAG Hyvibe guitars and he says the Hartwood outshines them (and it's about half the price).
I play this guitar quite a lot at small gigs and I must tell you a funny story. Twice now people have come up to me and asked how I managed to play that guitar with a broken string! "What", I said! They both pointed at the fret board and thought that the really nice plant stalk inlay looked like a broken string (which it does, I guess). Next time, I'll just tell them I'm a genius (NOT!!!).
Thanks again and hope this has helped you with your decision.
All the best and a very happy New Year
Rob
@@robrobson7101 Hello Rob, thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate that. I think I'll buy the guitar because it meets some criteria that I imagine for my next guitar. All the best for you in the new year, too
Hello very beautiful guitar you have but what is the weigh of this guitar ? il like very lightweight guitar Thank you
Hi mimitch18, nice to hear from you and thanks for the question. It weighs just over 2.5 Kilos. So it's heavier than quite a lot of concert size steel string acoustic guitars but of course that's because it has a small internal speaker which creates the reverb, chorus from a preamp. So maybe it's not for you but what I will say is that it is a beautiful guitar (and I notice that it's going up in price quite quickly at Gear4 music (UK)). As an alternative you could look at LAG guitars or a Yamaha trans-acoustic but I'm not sure what they weigh. Hope you find what you're looking for if not the Hartwood. All the best, Rob.
Thank you very much !@@robrobson7101
Nice sounds Rob, very nice.
Hi again John, yes it's a very nice sounding guitar. Don't think the video quite does justice to it though it was recorded on good stereo pair microphones. I didn't do a recording through the output jack but it sounds even better through that and then you can adjust the bass and treble balance. Great guitar providing the sound unit doesn't drop off with this one!!!
They've made five each of three models each and in three different finishes. The thin line model ("not so thinline really") has the main sound hole in the top of the upper bout I notice. Overall the finish is incredible and now I'm wondering what the other Hartwood guitars are like. Maybe I can get Gear4music to send me another acoustic one to review. If they all have frets finished like the Sonata then they're being built in a very good Chinese factory.
NIce to hear from you again
All the best
Rob
Thanks
Hi,hice review,have any info on battery life (playing time from full charge )dont see any online info on it or option to buy a backup ,
always worry about guitars that don't use standard batteries .
Hi, nice to hear from you and thanks for the question. I haven't tested these batteries till they fail but it seems like they last quite a few hours before recharging needed. The batteries are quite big and only 3V. They're certainly enough for a 2 hr gig. I did buy some replacements however which I found easily online and I keep them with me if I'm playing out somewhere. So hope this eases your worries. It's a really great guitar.
I've searched everywhere with no luck. Perhaps you know - how can I remove the pre-amp without damaging the body? It seems flush, with no clips, clasps, screws etc - neither inside nor out.
Hi Keith, not tried to remove the preamp in this. I’ll have a look and let you know but failing that you could contact Gear4 Music. Question: why do you want to remove it?
Best wishes to you for 2024
Rob
@@robrobson7101 Hi. Gear4music apologised and said that they do not have the information, not even any specs! Useful eh. ! I am getting no output from the guitar, I've checked everything else and can only access the back of the circuit board while it is inside the guitar. Have a great new year.
@@keithbloomfield8112 hi again.We’ll that’s really bad of Gear4 Music. They should go find out!! Ok I’ll take a look and let you know but if you can’t get it out not sure I’ll be able to. Will G4M send you a replacement preamp if that’s the problem and if you could get it out?
@@robrobson7101 Hi, I bought it at a discount because of the dead pre-amp - £190. If I can't fix it, I still love the guitar and it's well worth what I paid for it. Amazingly, I also cannot find a replacement pre-amp anywhere - just other brands with less features and don't fit..
Hi, nice presentation on the guitar. i buy one like this one but black.... I find a big challenge when I plug into the mixer or stage speaker system. I have a few guitars and other traditional electroacoustic for example Ymaha no problem at all but with this one Hardwood a needs lots of work with know to adjust sound and still conflicts between the mic and speaker and guitar... a belief this small speaker inside when by inside microphone make sound , then by cable go to speaker or mixer when is other delay or reverb and is like double signal? do any one cross similar situation? thank you for any suggestions
Hi Pez, thanks for this really interesting comment. I did gave a different problem when I was playing with a house pa system but the bass was too high coming via the line input so I had to cut the bass a lot. I didn't notice any other problem but I was wondering if you could try to get the same problem if you test it with your own mic and amp set ups? It seems like you're saying you hetting some kind of feedback. What if you turn all the FX to zero on the FX panel. Just a thought. What if you put in a sound hole cover? That might help?
Let me onow what you find please.
All the best, Rob
@@robrobson7101 thank you for the replay. yes if I cat of FX or a few others like echo or bass yes then it looks ok but then my sound from the guitar is loud then by cable ... then no effect come out so what is the point have all delay or reverb if I can't used with amp....
@@Piotr_Zeleski I think the real point of this guitar is to have the effects when playing without amplification. But there must be a way to dial in the fx with a sound system. I sometimes play in a place where there's a sound engineer and I think he'd be able to sort it. Next time I go there, I'll take the Sonata and use the fx. And I wonder what it would be like to have the guitar miked up with say a needle mic and the FX on? Why don't you mail Gear4Music and see what they say.
@@robrobson7101 I did and then said maybe is faulty and offered to take it back, but do not have stock to replace so offered a replacement for some other brand one...
@@Piotr_Zeleski I think I would have taken a replacement if they were offering one of their Hartwood Sonata FXs because now you'll never know if it's faulty or it's a prblem with all of the range which I feel must be a solution which allows the FX to be used with a PA system. I think I would try a soundhole cover because it may be an acoustic feedback issue just as I think the bass problem I had was.
What do you think?
R
Do the bass and treble controls make any difference to the acoustic sound
HI NW, nice to hear from you and thanks for your question. No, the bass/treble and volume controls don't have any effect until the guitar is plugged in and the preamp turned on. I'm still playing this guitar a lot as the effects really lift the acoustic sound. Here's an amusing story about this guitar. Several times when I've played it in gigs, people (guitarists, mainly) ask me how I manage to play it with a broken string. "What?", I reply "I don't have a broken string". They are looking at the fretboard and see the inlay which portrays a long thin curvy stem with a few leaf shapes . And yes, the inlay really does look like a broken string. But then they ask about the little sound holes in the upper part of the lower bout and notice the controls too. It's nice to talk to people about the guitar. It's a real beauty!
All the best
Rob
Sir that inlay is doing some stuff to me. I want one.
Yes nice inlay, just one of the many nice things about this guitar. If you want one, it seems Gear4music haven't had many made. There are three models each in three finishes. Think they made 5 of each so that makes a total of 45. Not many but maybe they're testing the market. Think they'll be making more and they might be tempted to push up the price. By the way, I have no link to Gear4music to promote their in-house instruments. Just my totally honest independent views. I have 2 other steel string acoustic guitars under the Gear4music brand both not available now but really good and probably still worth reviewing. Must do it one day.
All the best
Rob
Can u tell me the battery type please
HI, sorry to have been a while replying. The guitar takes a 3.7 volt battery. You can get rechargeable ones. I have several rated at 2700 mW hrs. Seems good. Seem to last a long time. Hope this helps. All the best, Rob
It's a 3.7 Volt battery: rechargeable and has a capacity of ~2700 mW hrs. Hope this helps. All the best, Rob
I have a libretto. Outshines most acoustics I own including Martin's and Gibson's. Clear, with loads of bottom end. This to me sounds very thin.
Hi Danny, thanks for the comment. I'm thinking that Gear4Music have found one or more really good manufacturers for their Hartwood guitars. I guess all their acoustics are made in one place. Do you think the great sound you're finding with the Libretto is just the double top build itself or just the overall body, build and strings? The double top is an interesting innovation but not widely employed yet. I wonder if it will become more common. I was thinking that the Hartwood Villanelle cutaway electroacoustic guitar might also be good as it has a solid Engleman Spruce top.. By the way, when you look at your guitar, have the fret ends been rounded as on my Sonata? When you say at the end of your comment that "This sounds to me very thin", do you mean my Sonata?
All the best and good to hear from you.
Happy New Year
Rob
Wonder if it severe on battery
Hi Francis, thanks for the question. It uses a 18650 Li-Ion 3.7 rechargeable battery. I wasn't sure about the quality of the unlabelled battery provided though it seemed fine. Nevertheless I bought 4 branded replacements and a multicharger for ~£13. The batteries I bought are 3500mAh. I think they'll have a good life, certainly well over the 2 hrs I was busking the other day and it didn't take much recharging. Thanks for the kind comment about the review. It's hard to do justice to this fine instrument.
All the best
Rob
@@robrobson7101 Thanks for the extra information, appreciate it.