By Pablo Kahayan in Guitarras y Bajos magazine Año 1 No. 2

I’ve seen many guitars of this manufacturer and in all his models is notable a great professionalism and experience. Today it was the turn of the Admira 2000-FI to go through this test, and as we expected, she didn’t disappoint us. So, let me tell you what I’ve seen and heard when I tested her.

NECK

We are told by the manufacturer, thath the neck is made of one piece of sipowood. A wood which reminds me of mahagony because of it’s grain and colour. The neck, in his form, size and thickness, is what we would call normal, with a thickness of 22 mm and a width of 57 mm at the 5th fret.

The fingerboard is of rosewood with a considerable thickness, which gives the neck a great stability. It has 19 frets including the last one which is cut in two parts, in-between is a part of the soundhole of the instrument. The frets are laid in perfectly, which avoids scratching. The heel is made with the same wood as the neck and has reduced measurements which makes reaching the last frets much easier.

The head with it’s particular aesthetics is typical for the Admira guitars. It has gold plated machine heads with pegs of mother of pearl imitation and is working very smooth and precise, allowing a good tuning. A very slim layer of rosewood embellishes the front side of the head. The saddle is of bone and I think that the height on which it holds the strings could be a little bit lower, so the strings would be closer to the fingerboard.

BODY

The top of the instrument is made out of two slim parts of solid cedar, something the manufacturer is pointing out with a little sticker on the head which says "solid top" because the use of solid wood is something to keep in mind, when we choose any acoustic instrument. The top is mainly responsible for the generation of the sound in an instrument of that kind. A top of plywood, as it is seen in many instruments isn’t comparable with a top of solid wood.

The union of the two pieces is made very good and nearly not notable. The rose around the soundhole has a nice floral design, and even if we have to remark that it has some small imperfections; this aspect is just aesthetical. A band of black wood and maplewood, very good laid in, surrounds the whole guitar and gives her a very elegant touch. The sides and the back are made of rosewood, a wood with a very good resonance and very nice aesthetic.

The back is constructed in two pieces, united with a thin band of maplewood, which is perfectly set. The varnish which covers the whole guitar is perfectly applied and polished; the quantity and the quality of the varnish applied on an acoustic instrument is fundamental for the sound and I think that on this guitar they took good care of that.

The bridge is made of rosewood, covered with unpolished varnish. On the bridge is set the nut of bone under which the piezoelectric is placed, about this we will talk later. The bracing inside of the guitar is made of german fir and it is responsible for stabilizing and strengthening the sound of the top and also gives the necessary rigidity. Some reinforcements have been pasted with too much glue, leaving some of it at the borders, which could have been removed for a better aesthetic.

ELECTRONIC

One of the important features of this guitar is not just the fact that it’s equipped with an amplifying system, but also the great quality of it. The brand of the system is the prestigious Fishman and the model is the Prefix Pro. The capturing system is a piezoelectric which is placed under the nut of the bridge. The producer tells us that it’s made with layers of polymer, giving a very natural sound.

The rectangular preamp is located on the upper side of the guitar. It contains the battery to which we can access through a curious little opening. The preamp has got the following controls: volume, a 3-band equalizer with +/- 12dB, which affects the bass, the medium, the treble and the brilliance and a very effective control for the phase to stop feedbacks - changing the phase of the micro, according to the amplifying system, a "notch" control (which is just a band of parametric equalization which allows us to seek or stop the frequency which produces the feedback) and finally, a LED for the battery.

SOUND AND MANAGEABILITY

The sound is the most important thing this instrument possesses. A good volume, balance in the basses and trebles and a very sweet timbre. These aspects are also maintained by plugging her in, thanks to the great quality of the piezoelectric system. The width of the body supports the great volume in all the registers of the instrument. Even if it’s an instrument of classic orientation, it adapts perfectly to any style like the bossa nova or the flamenco. Thanks to the amplifying system one can get a great volume before undesired feedbacks occur, also giving the possibility to use it with a battery, without fear of descending volume.

The guitar is very comfortable to play and has a good tension of the strings. A little detail to improve is the height of the strings, which, without being excessive, could be improved by lowering the saddle and the nut. That’s something which should be done by a luthier because these types of adjustments need a lot of precision. If not, there could be problems of disbalancing the volume between the strings. The jack for he output is placed in the center of the union of the sides and can also be used as plug for the electricity.

CONCLUSION

The main virtue of the Admira 2000-FI is her sound, acoustic or amplified. The good selection of the quality woods make her really attractive, even if some imperfections in the unions take some of the quality points away; but we shouldn’t forget that this firm manufactures other models of higher quality and with higher prizes than this one. So the relation of prize/quality is excellent. A guitar for all the musical styles and hard to relate with amateurs or professionals because she adapts perfectly to both of them.