Yesterday, after a long meeting with Sukaimi Sukri, an advertising buddy of mine, I went down to Maestro Guitars to procure some supplies.
My exceptionally long meeting had caused me to miss school. But it was an important meeting and I don’t get the opportunity to meet with Sukaimi often, so I decided to skip school to discuss business with him.
As I waited for Yi Hui, I managed to spend some time with the Maestro Protege.
About a year ago, I tried a Maestro Protege. I did not like it. What a difference a year makes.
The Maestro Protege is Maestro Guitar’s top-end classical model (as of April 2010). The Maestro Protege I tried a year ago sounded lifeless and it had a closed-off sound.
This piece I tried was a much better effort. It was a spruce top with respectable volume, separation and clarity.
I played some Tarrega (Recuerdos de Alhambra and Gran Valse) on it and it responded well. At $1999, I thought it was a decent buy.
The Maestro Guitar company has put in a better effort with this classical guitar. I just hope that they can build guitars with better consistency. During my time spent with Maestro Guitars,I have discovered that the quality of sound can vary greatly between guitars of the same model.
I look forward to what they produce in the future. My only fear is that they will stop developing new models for their classical guitar line. After all, steel-stringed acoustic guitars generally sell better than classical guitars.
