| Acoustic
Guitar Magazine review of the
Cervantes Milenia Concert Guitar
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Luthier and
guitarist Alejandro Cervantes learned his craft from his father
and is continuing a family tradition that began in 1955. Cervantes
now lives in California, and he maintains workshops in San Diego
as well as Tijuana, Mexico. Cervantes guitars have been available
through a US dealer network for several years (we reviewed the Hauser
PE model in July 2002), and we recently had a chance to check out
the Model L Milenia from the company’s Concert
Handsome Woods, French Polish
Cervantes chose a handsome set of woods for the instrument we received
for review, including an Engelmann spruce top, Indian rosewood back
and sides, ebony fingerboard, Peruvian cedar neck, and cocobolo
bridge. The guitar is well constructed and aesthetically pleasing.
Modern lattice bracing on the top and ladder bracing on the back
have been cleanly executed. In addition, the top has a beautiful
French-polish finish (a $300 option) that has been well applied
and highlights the detailing of the spruce.
The overall proportions are traditionally laid out for a classical
guitar, with a 650 mm scale length and standard string spacing.
The cleanly styled bridge has a 12-hole design for tying on the
strings with a steep break-angle over a 1/8-inch-thick saddle. Braided
edging is well applied to the tie block and ties in decoratively
with the design elements of the rosette. Additional light wood edging
at the binding of the back and sides (using sycamore, rosewood,
and cocobolo) stands out against the Indian rosewood, with an understated
decorative element at the bottom of the body, where all the corners
are perfectly mitered to meet unbroken at 90-degree angles. The
open-back tuning pegs are ornately designed and turn snugly and
smoothly.Full-Bodied, Muscular Tones
Overall, the Milenia is heavier than many other classical guitars,
especially in the neck, which seemed a bit cumbersome when I first
picked up the guitar. The guitar also came with fairly high action,
which, combined with its chunky neck, required some effort to get
used to. I prefer lower action, but I was pleasantly surprised by
the Milenia’s rich tonal palette, no doubt a result of the
higher action. Once I adjusted to the weight of the neck and its
proportions, I was able to produce full-bodied notes with tremendous
sustain and resonance. And the more I played, the richer it sounded.
This may have been because I became more comfortable with the guitar’s
setup or because the guitar opened up as I played it—probably
a bit of both. I was also pleased that this rich tone remained round
and full of life all the way up the neck, even past the 12th fret.
The basses were strong and rich, the mids present, and the trebles
supremely pleasing.
When I tried out some classical guitar repertoire on the Cervantes,
mostly by Llobet, Sor, and Bogdanovic, the guitar really shone as
a solo instrument, clearly happy in the environment for which it
was intended. The guitar possesses good tonal balance overall, including
the brightness of ponticello and the rich tone of tasto.
In a Latin-jazz context, single-note lines were consistently rich
and jazz harmonies sounded warm, although at times the midrange
felt slightly muddy, mostly due to the incredible sustain the guitar
produced. I also played the Cervantes in a Latin duo format with
a bass player, who kept commenting on the rich tones coming from
my guitar.
Studio Sonority
To see how the Milenia recorded, I was able to check it out in two
different studio settings. In one, the guitar was recorded with
a Shure small-diaphragm condenser microphone, and in the second,
with a large-diaphragm AKG 3000 C. In both instances, the guitar
performed beyond my expectations, highlighted by the effortless
task of producing a beautiful tone and the playability in different
neck positions. There were times when I had to consciously damp
the strings, surprised by its longer than expected sustain.
Tonal Treasure
Cervantes guitars are known for their rich tone and strong sustain,
and the Milenia is no exception. Its full, sonic voice will resonate
with me long after it leaves my clutches. This guitar would definitely
be an asset for any classical guitarist as well as a fingerstyle
player interested in the warmer tones of a nylon-string. The high
quality of construction and tonal depth makes the Cervantes a great
value for the money.
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Ruth Parry performs as a guitarist/vocalist throughout the San
Francisco Bay Area.
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