We were offered the opportunity to present one of young maker Colby Horton's guitars and jumped on it...and am I ever glad we did! A few minutes with this guitar will have you reading and re-reading the label inside...#18? #18?! This is only the 18th Horton guitar made?! The luthier's craft is not an easy one and there are always many things to learn at any experience level, but Colby has shown himself to be a quick study. Aside from a couple very minor aesthetic blemishes, this guitar compares favorably with instruments from much more distinguished (and expensive!) makers. Where to start? The body style Colby chose for this one is the grand auditorium size so popular among fingerstyle players for its dreadnought-like bass with a more comfortable waist. The woods are traditional, but the Indian Rosewood set chosen for the back and sides is a rarely seen figured example. And the best part of all, the tone...lively, resonant, bright, with a robust but not woody bass response and good clarity throughout. Lots of sustain and responsive enough to be a go-to fingerstyle guitar with plenty of headroom for the times when you just need to whip out a pick. The back set has some imperfections and mineral deposits to go along with its wild character and there is a small repaired finish check in the back.
Those of you who watch the site regularly will have noted that this guitar was listed here previously but took a brief hiatus. While I loved (and continue to love!) the tone, I felt the playability could be improved. Colby elected to go the full nine yards to ensure the future owner would be thrilled and did a complete neck set and setup to restore the action to perfect with a full saddle. This new, fully-warrantied guitar is ready to go to a player who can appreciate the value that an up-and-coming maker's work offers. If this guitar is any indication of the kind of work Colby Horton will be putting his name on, I predict big things for Horton Guitars in the next five years!
With the various wood and appointment upgrades, this guitar should be $3300 at Colby's current prices. Because of the very minor repair work and the aforementioned aesthetic blemishes, we are able to offer this guitar at a much lower price. |
