NEW Philip Woodfield ‘Grand Concert ll’ Spruce/lattice braced

Top: Spruce/Lattice Braced
Back and sides: 5000 year old ‘bog oak’ ( that is not a typo!)
Scale: 650mm
Origin: England
Sold, but I have a new one arriving late 2023! Usual wait several years, please contact me now for deposit details.

Visiting Phil one time in England, he welcomed me into his home which is cozy and warm, and back to his shop where we chatted guitars. Here you get a feel for some of the reasons why his guitars sounds so amazing, and clear, and powerful, yet somehow intimate and welcoming at the same time. They are in a word, just like the builder. Phil is energetic and bright and dedicated to his art, but also warm and friendly and somehow ‘familiar’. And one could describe his guitars, perhaps not surprisingly, in the same way. Energetic yet familiar and welcoming.

I have been selling the best lattice guitars for nearly 30 years and was a fan of them long before they became as popular as they are now. In all those years I have been asked, as I am about double tops, or fan braced guitars, ‘of all the lattice guitars you play what is your favorite Cedar lattice? What is your favorite Spruce lattice?’. Well it is a tough choice because I love both Cedar and Spruce guitars by both these builders, but if I was forced to choose it would be this: Cedar lattice: Jim Redgate hands down. Spruce lattice: Philip Woodfield 100%.

I particularly am fond of Philips Grand Concert ll model, where as you can see in the photos here, the bass side of the fingerboard looks just like a traditional guitar, while the treble side has a meaningful elevation that allows it to play nearly like a cutaway. Phil is able also, as in this guitar, to retain a certain elegant ‘woody’ character to his lattice guitar, which in my experience is particularly challenging with Spruce/lattice guitars. Phil has it dialed in perfectly. He really loves and knows Spruce, and it shows.

This guitar plays effortlessly, has robust power and projection, the kind of dynamic range that attracted Maestro Scott Tennant to acquire his Woodfield “Natalie” from me and play it for years, taking it, according to Scott, ‘around the world several times with me’, and tops it off with clear focuses basses and clear singing trebles. And its Spruce, so the joy is always, they just get better and better.

Scott Tennant could play any guitar he wants, and has, but it is his Woodfield that he has been touring and recording with ever since he picked up from me here in Santa Barbara several years ago. By the way we all wish Scott the absolute best of luck now that he has branched out on his own from the LAGQ. Scott is one of the nicest and most talented folks I have had the pleasure of working with and I am excited to see what he chooses to do next.