Raimundo 633E Spruce

I am Dutch, but I will write this review in English. Why? Because as many people as possible should be aware of this fantastic instrument an brand of guitars.

When unpacking the guitar I was amazed by the beauty of the stunning black and white ebony back and sides in combination with the cream white European spruce top. Incredibly beautiful and great craftmanship and workmanship. Each pattern of the black and white ebony is very different so you may be in for a surprise, my guitar really looks stunning.

The next moment of unpacking was one of slight disappointment since, unless the solid European spruce top, the back and sides appeared to be not solid but laminate. When contacting the manufacturer about this they confirmed this and told me the back and sides are a laminate of black and white ebony and bryna. I had never heard of the latter wood before but it is a tropical wood as well, probably from South America.

So what about the sound and playability?. What can I say... Incredible…, rich, full, deep, warm, bright, delicate, clear, intimate, loud, everything is there. And a joy to play as well, this guitar has everything and more! I have many guitars but for some kind of reason I can’t lay down this one and I keep on playing it.

Apparently the non-solid back and sides do not impair the sound in any way and the black and white ebony in combination with bryna both do a great job, smelling great as well!

The guitar sounds very good with the onboard fishman system. There’s also a mic inside so that you can blend the sound coming from the element underneath the bridge with that of the mike. Sounds great but still I prefer the pure sound of the guitar as it is, although of course the fishman system can be ideal on stage when used in a band setting.

The width of the nut is 50,5 mm which obviously is wider compared to a (usually 45 mm) steel string guitar, but the playability has nothing left to be desired. String action is low and I measured about 4 mm and 3 mm at the 12th fret for the low end high note E respectively.

So is there anything negative to say about this guitar? I’m afraid not… Or it must be that it doesn’t have a nice brand logo on the headstock, and it doesn’t have a serial number, so you can’t trace back the date when it was built. Another thing is that the soundhole of the guitar is elliptical in stead of circular which some people may not like or prefer.

The wood used in this guitar is extremely rare and I wonder how big the stock is at Raimundo guitars to be able to keep on making more of these wonderful instruments. For sure I am extremely happy with it and I will keep it as long as I live. The value for money you get with this guitar is just amazing and it can’t be beaten.