The Singapore Guitar Show 2010

I just came back from an early morning private viewing of the Singapore Guitar Show. Shaking the cobwebs from my sleep deprived mind, I managed to mingle with some very nice people and I had the opportunity to try some pretty nice guitars.

Firstly I should mention that Karura Cases had a small booth there. This is a rare opportunity to take a look at one of their cases. At the moment they do not have a distributor in Singapore. This was the first time I tried one of their cases. I was very impressed.

The interior was well padded and the case looked extremely sturdy and well made. For those wondering, I found Karura Cases’s padding superior to that of my Hiscox Pro II case.

This compartment did NOT require a ruler to pry open.

The case appears to be air and water tight. It’s quite beautiful, and I would buy one if I was in the market for a USD$1,000 case.

A word of warning though, the latches are similar to those on heavy duty container cases. As a result, they need to be twisted before opening/closing. Unlike the Hiscox Pro II’s latches, it does not allow for fast and easy one-handed operation.

The feet of the case offer an interesting design.

If you missed them, you can still visit their website here.

I was also hoping to meet Sen, a local part-time guitar maker. Sorry buddy, looks like we’ll need to meet another time too.

Jeffrey Yong holding the guitar I tried.

I also met Jeffrey Yong and tried some of his classical guitars. Jeffery requires about 4 months to make a classical guitar. He could not comment on his waiting list though, so I have no idea how long delivery could take.

Jeffrey builds a modern classical guitar that features lattice bracing and Malaysian Blackwood backs and sides. His base price is $12,000 ringgit (about SGD$6,000). The model I played had a beveled edge on the lower bout to facilitate comfortable playing. It also featured a scoop cutaway on the upper bout.

Though his instruments use lattice bracing, they are not a Smallman-replicas. The top is thicker than a Smallman, amongst other differences.

Visesnut with both the guitars I tried.

I also meet Narongsak Visesnut, an up-and-coming classical guitar luthier from Thailand. I tried a spruce/maple Romanillos style guitar and a spruce/Siamese rosewood Torres style guitar.

Visesnut is a nice guy and with a base price of USD$2,000 he offers a competitively-price instrument.

You can e-mail him at visesnut@me.com. You can also call him at 6681-6685340. For those wondering, I preferred his spruce/maple model over the spruce/Siamese rosewood. His current waiting list is 2 ½ years. His website is here.

The local distributor for primeVibe was also there. primeVibe is an electronic device that attaches to your guitar and uses it like a speaker to break it in. Unlike the Tonerite, it doesn’t merely transfer vibrations to the instrument. It actually plays music and transfers the vibration from its mini speakers to the instrument’s top.

That’s not a miniature classical guitar that Hozen is holding.

As a result, it is not silent like the Tonerite. An interesting device, but I believe that there is no substitute for playing-in a guitar the old fashion way.

I was happy to see Hozen and the Maestro Guitar people there. But I was shocked that they didn’t bring any classical guitars with them!



It was nice to catch up with Hozen. I’ve known him for quite some time. I was there when Maestro Guitars was ‘born’ and I even ‘dragged’ my mentor Alex to try some of their guitars.

I was telling Hozen that he’s getting pretty good at making classical guitars. I have played a few of the classical guitars that Hozen has personally handmade over the years. I was quite taken by the Hauser model he made recently.

I’m quite proud of his flourishing skills in classical guitar lutherie. I was extremely disappointed that they didn’t have any classical guitars on display though. Aside from Tomas Music, I was expecting them to represent the local classical guitar scene. A pity.



Hozen told me that they will be making some changes to their classical guitar line soon. They will be making an announcement soon, so make sure you check their website regularly.

Before leaving, I went to the Tomas Music booth to try some guitars. I was surprised and elated to discover that Jessy and Thomas are expecting their first child. She is due sometime next month.

The Tomas Music booth is near the entrance

Thomas and his wife Jessy treated me warmly, and they placed some very nice guitars in my hands. I tried a Juan Hernandez ‘Maestro’ Guitar, the new Ramirez ‘Wine Series’ Guitar and Thomas also let me try his Paul Fischer Guitar.

All three instruments were excellent. Thomas’s Fischer was very responsive and remarkably easy to play. By the time I tried the Fischer, my hands were warmed up and it was easy to get a great sound out of the instrument.

The Juan Hernandez was really nice too, but not really my type of guitar.

I was surprised with how much I liked Ramirez ‘Wine Series’ Guitar. Despite the rather questionable marketing (guitars based on Spanish wine? Come on…), it was actually a pretty good guitar for the asking price (around SGD $3,500 if I recall correctly).

I was disappointed that Thomas did not bring any classical guitar books with him. I was looking to spend about $100 on classical guitar books but left empty handed.

I did manage to purchase a set of Luthier classical guitar strings from Thomas though. They retail for SGD$13.90.

Do note that Good Acoustics also has a booth there and they are offering the John Pearson armrests at a discounted price. If you’ve been holding out, now would be a good time to buy one.

The Singapore Guitar Show ends today at 6pm. It is held at Suntec Convention Centre Room 325-326. This is an excellent opportunity to try guitars from regional guitar makers like Jeffrey Yong and Narongsak Visesnut. One of the organizers also informed that there’s an Indonesian maker at the show this year. Unfortunately, I got so caught up playing guitars I missed him! Whoops!

Overall, I enjoyed the event immensely. I appreciate the organizers’ efforts in hosting this event.

However, I would like to see a greater classical guitar presence in the future. Maestro Guitar’s complete lack of a classical guitar showing is unfortunate. I was also disappointed that Thomas did not bring any classical guitar books.

Considering that these two entities are powerhouses in the local classical guitar scene, I would have liked to see stronger representation for classical guitarists from these two exhibitors.

I would like to thank Terrance and Jeremy for inviting me to this morning’s private pre-show viewing. I would also like to thanks Narongsak Visesnut, Jeffrey Yong, Thomas Liauw and his wife Jessy for the warmth and hospitality that was shown to me.

I felt like a kid in a candy store, and it was nice to have so many excellent classical guitars placed in my hands.

If you haven’t visited the Singapore Guitar Show, then hurry up lah! Ending soon you know? Kin!