Chartwell Guitar

2025 Darren Hippner

Woods:  Florida rosewood back and sides, spruce top,  Cuban mahogany neck, all French polished shellac.

Specs: 650mm scale, 53mm nut, 44mm string spacing at nut, 58mm at saddle. 3.5mm bass string height at 12th fret. Hard shell Silver Creek case. Solid, fan braced top, Van Gent tuners.

Condition: new

Comment: this guitar as one of Darren’s 50th anniversary edition of eight spruce top guitars, and I have to say it is his best guitar to come into my shop. Usually luthiers mark up a special edition but this guitar is ridiculously inexpensive, considering its qualities. Aesthetially, his workmanship is flawless and the fine looking rosette and extra bloodwood purfling add to the overall effect. The Florida rosewood looks very much like Bolivian rosewood and grows sustainably in Florida, being approximate to the equator, as is Bolivia.

The low string height and amply sized frets render the left hand efforts easy and the right hand can push the guitar like any quality luthier built instrument. Within minutes of my first play on it I knew it could hold its own against traditional guitars here that are three times the price. Color and nuance in the voice is right there. A fine choice for a serious student or professional’s practice guitar. There is another sister guitar on the way with a 640mm scale.