Chartwell Guitar

2022 Rafał Turkowiak 630 scale

Woods: figured Madagascar rosewood with sapwood highlight back and sides. Western red cedar over cedar double top. Laminated back. Maple/sycamore neck. Oil finish throughout.

Specs: 633mm scale, 50mm nut, 42 mm string spacing at nut, 55mm at saddle. 3.75mm bass string height, 12th fret. Custom hard shell case, raised fingerboard, 12 hole tie block, Baltic amber rosette and filigree.

Condition: as new

Comment: Rafał Turkowiak is a Polish luthier who works with his sons and daughter in law. He has built since the 1980’s but his line of guitars today is as unique as any in the classical marketplace. From a hollow neck (with its own sound port) to a sigmoidal butt joint, to the chamfered arm rest and undersized saddle (to reduce restricting the top vibration) and his grid bracing system, Rafal is pushing traditional understandings about guitar design.

The result is a consistently powerful instrument with a deep bass resonance. His voicing is warm, breathy, upbeat. What I like to call a happy guitar. A great dance partner that requires less of the player than most other guitars. To put it another way, it makes intermediate players like me better and more inspired to play well.

This guitar is just a few months old. I suspect the short scale was not quite what the consignor of the guitar was looking for. It is ideal for folks with smaller hands, for whom a 650 scale is too much. And, after an hour of playing, this guitar is equally as loud as any of his 650 products, which have recently passed through the shop. Four of the last six guitars I have sold have been Turkowiaks, mostly because they sell themselves.

The video was recorded by the former owner.