MusicRadar Verdict
A brilliantly playable and good looking classical guitar for an incredible price.
Pros
- +
Solid cedar soundboard. Magnificent tone.
Cons
- -
Nothing.
MusicRadar's got your back
We don't normally cover classical guitars, but when a brand like Francisco Bros turns up on our shores, it's our downright duty to share it with you.
The guitars are being brought in by sole importers Highly Strung, and at first strum they compare very favourably against similarly priced instruments.
The B40 model we have here features a solid cedar soundboard, solid rosewood side and a laminated rosewood back.
If you're revisiting your classical guitar beginnings, or are looking for a nylon string guitar for recording, the Francisco Bros guitars could be just the instrument you've been looking for.
Sounds
The B40 has a wonderful broad tone with bold bass and sweet, sustaining highs. We couldn't believe just how good this guitar sounded.
In terms of playability, Francisco Bros has managed to produce an instrument that plays well straight from the box and chords comfortably right up the neck.
The comfortable neck, gold-plated machines, traditional slipper heel construction, ebony fingerboard and simple decoration make the B40 an attractive proposition.
For this sort of money you'd be hard pushed to find a better sounding, more comfortable playing classical guitar.
The build quality is truly impressive and the tone will have you double-checking the price tag trying to figure out why the instrument is so cheap.
Our advice is to get in there quick before someone realises they've made a mistake! As a classy extra voice for your collection, just £240 for this beautiful guitar is a steal. We reckon we'll be seeing a lot more from this maker in the future.
Guitarist is the longest established UK guitar magazine, offering gear reviews, artist interviews, techniques lessons and loads more, in print, on tablet and on smartphones Digital: http://bit.ly/GuitaristiOS If you love guitars, you'll love Guitarist. Find us in print, on Newsstand for iPad, iPhone and other digital readers
“Each toy is designed in house and rigorously tested by our dogs on staff”: Schecter has a treat for the player who doesn’t mind a squeak or two and some bark in the mix
“They haven’t agreed on anything for 20 years”: How Ice-T got Roger Waters and David Gilmour’s go ahead for Body Count’s Comfortably Numb cover
“Beyoncé does not make mistakes. She does, however, make some counterintuitive choices - and this song includes a few of them”: The flawed genius of pop's biggest anthems, from Hey Jude to Hey Ya!