Duke Student F Cut – Forget What You Think You Know About Laminated Guitars

I am becoming more and more excited about Duke guitars, and the Duke Student F Cut is a perfect example of why.

First of all, let me get the elephant in the room out of the way!  I need to start with something that, on paper, really doesn't explain what I hear when I play this guitar!!

It has laminated rosewood back and sides.

You simply would never guess - and frankly, now I have played this guitar and a couple of steel string samples, I can confidently say Stan from Dowina was right, that 90% of the tone of a guitar comes from the top, combined with build technique, knowledge and experience.   Clearly whoever is making Duke guitars know exactly what they are doing.

Normally, when I see laminated back and sides, I have a fairly good idea of what I'm going to hear. You can still get a perfectly nice sounding guitar, of course, but there are certain qualities that I generally associate with a really good solid-wood instrument – clarity, sustain, note separation, harmonic detail and, perhaps most importantly, that wonderful sense of drive and responsiveness beneath your fingers.

The Duke Student F Cut has all of these.

And I genuinely don't quite understand how they are doing it.

It reminds me of the old Stonebridge guitars

This isn't actually the first time I've experienced this.

Many years ago, when Furch guitars were sold in the UK under the Stonebridge name, I remember coming across some of their laminated back and side models and having exactly the same reaction.

They sounded far, far better than I believed a laminated guitar had any right to sound.

There was still perhaps a hint of less fullness and complexity - maybe -  compared with their equivalent all-solid instruments, but the important ingredients were there – beautiful clarity, wonderful sustain, excellent note definition and that lovely sense of energy and drive that makes a guitar feel alive.

And that's exactly what the Duke Student F Cut has reminded me of and each and every Duke I have had the pleasure of trying has had me so excited to show my next customer!

I don't know whether Duke are employing some particular construction technique that achieves a similar result, and I certainly wouldn't pretend to know their secrets! But whatever they are doing, they have managed to produce a guitar whose specification simply doesn't prepare you for what comes out of it.

And then there's that Swiss Alpine spruce top...

I was saying about Stan (He owns Dowina guitars - originally a violin maker and has the most fascinating insights into woods and their use in guitar building) and his view that 90% of the tone of a guitar comes from the top.

Well in this case we are talking about the high grade Swiss Alpine Spruce.

So rather than compromising the soundboard due to its mid range price point, Duke have given the Student F Cut a solid Swiss Alpine spruce top, voiced precisely to get the maxium tone possible.

That's coupled with East Indian rosewood back and sides, a Cedro neck reinforced with rosewood, East Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and real bone for both the nut and saddle.

The scale is a traditional 650mm with a 52mm nut, so this is a proper full-size classical guitar rather than a crossover masquerading as one (but they also produce the most wonderful cross over instrument with all solid woods.... ohhhh my)

The cutaway simply gives you much easier access into the upper register.

Duke fit Savarez strings as standard - Considered a benchmark string for classical players, but of course we can set the guitar with whatever string you personally want.

Every Duke Student F Cut is finalised and optimised by guitar builders in Tübingen, Germany before it is released for sale.

That, to me, begins to explain why Duke guitars consistently seem to punch so ridiculously far above what their specifications and prices might lead you to expect.

Please don't judge this guitar by the word "laminated"

If you have followed me for any length of time, you'll know I have always encouraged people to buy guitars with their ears and their hands, rather than from a specification sheet.

The Duke Student F Cut may be one of the best examples I've encountered of why.

Think clarity separation & sustain :)

You hear a beautifully controlled, articulate classical voice with a surprising amount of energy behind the note.

And most importantly, you get that wonderful sensation that the guitar is actually responding to what you're putting into it.

That is something I simply don't expect from the vast majority of laminated guitars or guitars at this price which almost without question can feel very "commercial/mass produced" in nature.

The more Duke guitars I play, the more excited I am becoming about the brand and yes, its still early days for me but am proud to be saying first in the UK - and putting my reputation behind the statement that you cannot find a better guitar for the money.

The Duke Student F Cut sounds absolutely exquisite and spoils anyone with such a budget - or even someone with a much higher budget frankly.

Duke Student F Cut – Specification

Key Features

• Solid Swiss Alpine spruce top
• East Indian rosewood back and sides
• Traditional 650mm classical scale
• Traditional 52mm nut width
• Bone nut and saddle
• Cedro neck with rosewood reinforcement
• East Indian rosewood fingerboard, bridge and binding
• Elegant high-gloss finish
• Upper-fret access courtesy of the cutaway
• Quality Savarez strings
• Individually finalised and optimised in Tübingen, Germany