Classic Spanish Guitar Keller JK-90

By César Berlanga in INSTRUMENTOS Y SONIDO PROFESIONAL

Dear friends,

today I have the pleasure to speak about a magnificent high class spanish guitar of, the JK-90 of Keller, and we are going to take a look at here piece by piece, so we don’t miss anything.

Global vision :

When I opened the guitar case of the JK-90 for the first time, the first thing I noticed were the generous fragrances of its noble woods, perfectly dried and seasoned with the exclusive affection and dedication of the luthiers of Keller. For all of us who are poetically addicted to the magic rituals around an acoustic instrument of this category, these fragrances are a promising appetizer for its still unknown sound.

After this moment of delight, I took her in my hands and I felt her as light and feminine, that I immediately started to tune her, and little by little I got some soft accords from her, and as I already assumed, the girl was so full of sound, that it was only necessary to provoke her a little so she could sing and cry at the tune of my spirit and my fingers. Without a doubt, the secret of her lightness lies in the refined system of varnishes and glues, applied in its craftsmanship.

The Head:

Is very elegant and solid, showing the K of Keller with a new system of inlay, totally exclusive of the manufacturer.

The Neck:

The JK-90 comes with a good saddle and nut of bone, so its sound expands perfectly and doesn’t shut down, as it sometimes occurs with the saddles and nuts of plastic, used in some of the guitars of lower categories. The neck is made of Honduras Cedar, with a reinforcement of ebony in the back; it’s a very comfortable piece, which without a doubt, allows to play long hours without tiring us.

The fingerboard :

Polished ebony and frets of alpaca, full of precision and smoothness form this piece.

The body:

The harmonic top is of canadian cedar, a wood which for me is one of the best, if you want a guitar with various sound abilities, whispering in some moments and screaming in others. Inside the harmonic top, the JK-90 has a solid and exclusive bracing which gives the top a higher resistance.

The soundhole:

The decoration of the soundhole of the JK-90 is magnificent and goes together with the rest of the decorations of the guitar.

The bridge:

Is gold plated and very smooth and at the same time highly precise, giving a great security avoiding the loosening and detuning of the strings.

The tact:

It’s touch is very soft and it’s precise and comfortable for any kind of music we want to play. The height of it’s strings in relation with the fingerboard is necessary, without being high or low.

The tuning:

Is excellent, and it’s quintaje is perfect, and this is without a doubt influenced by the perfect setting of the saddle and the nut and the precise distribution of the frets on the fingerboard.

The sound:

Even if at the beginning I told you a little bit about it’s magical sound, I think it’s worth to get a little bit deeper in this particular field. In my opinion, the guitar has got two types of sound. When we play her softly, interpreting for example a composition of Tarrega or a piece of brasilenian music, the JK-90 gives a round sound, but at the same time very crisp and delicate. But when we make her scream with a fast spanish falset, the JK-90 throws a stream of sound with a lot of potential, full of all kinds of nuances.

Let´s say, friends, the JK-90 is as if we had two guitars. I was recording with her in my proper studio loads of different musical styles and various temperaments and was not surprised when I noticed that her response nearly always was super-valid, and I dare to say this, because, besides being musician, I consider myself also producer, what gives me a very global concept of the instrument in musical productions. And I don’t let me take away for the the egocentric to just want to hear my proper instrument, "the guitar", without giving relevance to the other instruments of a determinant arrangement of any song.

The secret of the Keller-90 is, that she is noticed with strength and personality in an musical arrangement, even if we let her volume soft and in second place. One of these afternoons, recording with her in my studio, a friend who plays flamenco came by and you can believe, that he loved her, not to scratch and accompany the typical, that’s not exactly what the JK-90 was thought for, but to play a concert flamenco, full of humility and mystery, and he played some wonderful pieces for me, I never heard before. This friend couldn’t believe the price of this guitar, and I think he went, convinced, that it would cost a lot more money than I told him. And I don’t know, what he would have thought, if I would have told him, that in this price is also included the light guitarcase with a nice design.

Conclusion:

From my point of view as a guitarist with his career in the classic guitar, and also moving in various fields of music in general, I consider this guitar perfect for everything. For solo concerts, because she has a great sound, which will get nicely to the back of the audience, for recording in the studio, because it’s balance and sound compensation is perfect, and this is something very important, because, existing this compensation of the sound, we avoid the jumps an the adjustments of the volume, because in the JK-90, the volume from the first till the sixth is very compensated and none of the strings stays short or over another. This is something which many manufactures don’t take into account, maybe because of problems with the bridge or the necks, but it's’s clear, that we are talking about quality here.

And to finish, we just have to play her and enjoy her in the intimacy of our home, as her sound and possibilities will fill us with suggestions and discoveries, once again, where is a a good classic spanish guitar we can forget about any other type of guitar. I’m talking in the acoustic sense, not to disturb the guitarplayers of Heavy or Jazz or Pop, please.

Another thing...did you ever play some accords of heavy with a good spanish guitar with new strings ? Well, try it out because you will be surprised of the super-sound it can give you, without any kind of distortion, or something, the pure thing. Once again, I’m talking of a classic instrument, with all the weight this represents according to the humility and the respect for the music it is made for. But who is doubting, that it’s an instrument which, given its purity, obviously is applicable for all the good Music, in capital letters, and that its sound is so beautiful and particular, it enlarges and personalizes any style.

And now, you just have to go and try her out in your favorite music store and get your proper conclusions. Everybody knows the sound he want’s to find, the adjustment between the body of the guitar and our body, the ideal neck for our hand and the confidence a bridge of this or that characteristic can give us, and if the machineheads are secure, so, go on, to enjoy the JK-90.