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2. guitar

Terry Pack DPS L_GL.indd 60
23/11/2011 13:05
GEAR Terry Pack SJRS £1,699
PRICE: £1,699
Terry Pack SJRS
The former distributor of Turner guitars has turned over
a new leaf and developed a new feature-packed guitar.
“This guitar
represents
very good
value indeed.
It is sonically
compelling and
offers a great
package...”
Woods Used
The handmade SJRS
has Indian rosewood
back and sides with
beautiful padauk
binding. The neck is
1 piece mahongany
and has an ebony
fingerboard while the
top is premium
AAA stika
spruce.
H
aving distributed
guitars for many
years, Terry Pack,
well known in the
guitar industry for formerly
distributing the Turner guitar
range, made the decision to up
the ante and produce something
handmade and more than just a
little different. A lot of testing and
tweaking has given birth to a new
instrument, some of the features
of which you would never expect
to be included at this price point.
How has this been possible?
upper Venetian-style cutaway
area. Many guitars will command
an upcharge of hundreds of
pounds for these high-spec
upgrade features, whereas here
it is standard within the existing
asking price. Impressively, it has
been cleanly executed and touts
an eye-popping padauk binding.
The ‘SJ’ in the acronym relates
to its small jumbo proportions
and the ‘R’ denotes the Indian
rosewood back and sides, and
the final ‘S’, the spruce top. The
spruce itself has been particularly
specified to high standards of
AAA grading and even, wide
spacing of the grain – a favourite
detail of Mr Pack. Other
accoutrements include a generous
ebony slab for the fingerboard
and ebony bridge, which is inlaid
on both wings. Again, this inlay
feature would normally demand a
custom shop upcharge from some
makers, but here it is standard.
The ebony theme is completed
Build Quality
The guitar is handmade in
Vietnam in a workshop, with
little more than just 80 people
responsible for the daily
operations and production of this
instrument – and the quality of
build is hard to knock. So what
makes this something different?
The first thing that grabs you is
the fact that at this price point
you would not normally expect
to see a guitar with so much
labour having been poured into
the construction of bevelled
contouring, both on the lower
bouts, making for a comfortable
armrest, and also within the
JANUARY 2012 acoustic magazine 51
Terry Pack DPS L_GL.indd 61
23/11/2011 13:05
GEAR Terry Pack SJrS £1,699
Terry Pack
SJRS
What We Think
Visit www.acousticmagazine.com
for all the latest guitar reviews
Pros: Handmade and quality
controlled, no retail markup, bevelled
body and cutaway with hard case
and Baggs system.
What did our test results reveal?
Technical Specification
Manufacturer: Terry Pack
Model: SJRS
Retail Price: £1,699.00 w/ case
Body Size: Small Jumbo
Made In: Vietnam
Top: AAA Wide grain Sitka Spruce
Back and Sides: Indian Rosewood
Neck: 1 piece mahogany
Fingerboard: Ebony
Binding: Padauck
Frets: 20
Tuners: Gotoh professional
Nut Width (mm): 45mm
Scale Length (mm): 25.5”
Onboard Electronics: (Optional, LR
Baggs, Headway or similar)
Left Handers: Not yet
Gig Bag/Case Included: Terry Pack
Hard Case
Contact Details
Tel: 01253 798370
Mob: 07970 111404
terry@terrypackguitars.com or
terrence.pack@btconnect.com
with the gold-plated Gotoh
machine heads and these are
proudly seated on cleanly finished
matching rosewood headstock
veneers, both front and back.
Each guitar is set up by hand
here in the UK and comes with a
lifetime warranty and the offer of
an annual set-up from Blackpoolbased Terry. At the time of going
to print, these guitars will be
available directly from Terry
Pack Guitars and are not
available in the shops, so there is
Cons: Perhaps not as loud a
fingerpicker as you may hope for
unplugged.
Overall: A surprisingly excellent
guitar in its own right with attractive
personality in tone and aesthetics.
Rosewood headstock and Gotoh tuners
Offset strap button at the heel
“This guitar will naturally age
well and mature the more time
you spend with it.”
some saving to be had thanks to
a reduction in the need to
increase profit margins. What a
great way to maximise the power
of your pound!
The SJRS houses a single-piece
mahogany neck which is low, slim
and C-like in the profile at low
registers, and then progressively
makes the most subtle tapered
thickness increase up the board.
The action is also well set up
and balanced for both heavier
strumming and fingerpicking at a
medium height.
Sound Quality
This model is fitted out with
an LR Baggs Element Active
transducer system and single
volume control discreetly
situated inside the soundhole.
You can choose other brands,
but for this guitar, and thus far,
the choice has been made for
an apparent string balance and
equal output from the guitar’s
frequency range. Much of this
is also critically down to an
expertly fitted and seated saddle
within the slot – something not
to be taken for granted when
purchasing your electro-acoustic.
The end block and neck block,
as well as the internal ribbon, are
all made of mahogany, and when
mixed with the spruce binding
all contribute well to a snappy
and responsive attack from the
sound table. Admittedly, the
newness of the spruce needs
time to open out and lose some
of its hardness, but within a
short period of time you can
appreciate the clarity. This guitar
will naturally age well and mature
the more time you spend with
it, and its defining characteristic
is that of good balance, which is
made all the more fun due to the
comfort of playing it.
Conclusion
There really is little to dislike
about this guitar, save perhaps
the offset strap button at the
heel, which may bother you
when playing at the highest
registers if you trail your thumb
back up the neck. But overall,
this guitar represents very good
value indeed. It is sonically
compelling and offers a great
package, including an excellent
arched hard case, great aftersales support and an ergonomic
comfort uncommonly seen
at this price. Much thought
has gone into this product,
right down to the optional
scratchplate. One to consider
before you part with your hardearned.
Russell Welton
Acoustic Test Results
Our ratings explained
5 Stars: Superb, Almost faultless.
4 Stars: Excellent, Hard to beat.
3 Stars: Good, covers all bases well.
2 or 1 Stars: Below average, poor.
Rating out of five
How well did this guitar fare?
Build Quality
Sound Quality
Value for Money
52 acoUSTic magaziNe JaNUary 2012
Terry Pack DPS L_GL.indd 62
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