La Patrie Guitar, Presentation QI

I love this guitar. I love the La Patrie guitars.For me, they are so playable. And they sound so sweet.I acquired this one, the Presentation QI, and another one, the La Patrie Hybrid CW, at the same time.The Presentation QI is solid rosewood back and sides. (You can tell the ones that have solid sides, because they have side braces inside.) The Hybrid is solid mahogany back, and sides too, I believe.The Presentation is more gutteral, more viceral. You hear each string individually if you strum it.The Hybrid, with the mahogany, has more body to the sound, but is surprisingly sweet and penetrating for a mahogany guitar.I bought the Presentation new here from Amazon, and the Hybrid used, elsewhere.If I had to keep just one of them up, I don't know what I'd do.I was hesitant to order a guitar (the Presentation) online and, in fact, it turned out that the packaging was, indeed, very flimsy.Despite this, the guitar arrived in perfect condition.I LOVE IT.I've wanted this guitar for a long time.Truly bell tone quality, helped by solid rosewood back AND sides. It vibrates like a living thing.It has great sustain and projection.The fretboard is so dark, I wondered if it were possibly ebony, even though I know the specs.These La Patries are very high quality instruments. I like them much better than Cordobas I've tried. The only thing I've tried that compares is a Kremona I've tried in a shop.I like everything about it: No varnish on the fantastically comfortable neck. No high gloss on the body.

At first I was skeptical about purchasing a musical instrument without testing it, but I trusted that Amazon's return policy would help if needed. I tried other La Patrie guitars at a local store, but they only carried 2 models and were much more expensive, plus the one I tried had some blemishes on the bridge. When I showed it to the sales person he just replied "that's all we have, take it or leave it". Obviously I left it, and I'm very glad. The workmanship on the guitar I received was excellent, very low action and good tone. It still does not sound as nice as my old guitar, but then again I have a solid cedar top that's been curing for over 15 years. At any rate, this guitar comes close to my old guitar and it's a lot easier to play because of the very low action. I recommend this guitar to anyone wanting a warm/mellow tone. This type of guitar sounds better with bossanova/jazz/samba. Because of the cedar top and rosewood back/sides the sound is deep and soft. Also keep in mind that this is the same people that make the Godin brand guitars. The built-in tuner is a plus and works like a charm, I have not tried it through an amplifier yet though.

First off, the Presentation QI is really a beautifully built, nice sounding guitar especially for the cost. I doubt you could find another North American manufactured guitar even remotely close to the price. Very nice projection, great factory action, stayed in tune very well and I even loved the sound plugged in to my Crate Gunnison acoustic amp. Overall quality was really nice.Unfortunately mine arrived with two hairline cracks in the cedar top on the lower bout. Since Amazon was out of stock of the item I attempted to contact La Patrie directly. The guitar is manufactured by a company called Guitabec located in both Canada and the US. After two weeks of emails going unanswered I was forced to just return the instrument for a refund.Had the guitar had no issues I would have been very satisfied with the instrument. Been playing acoustic steel strings for 25 years and this was my first classical guitar purchase. Was much better quality, set up and sound than anything I played close to that price range in my local music stores.Guitar for the price is 4.5/5 starsCompany customer service would be a 0/5 stars.

I've been shopping for a classical guitar for about 3 months and decided to get this guitar because of the following reasons.1. built-in tuner, pick up.2. 800-years-old cedar top.3. well built neck.This guitar does not have the booming sound you get from Cordoba. Some people prefer that kind of sound, but I prefer less booming and clean sound that this guitar produces.One warning about the guitar: When I received, I had buzzing noise coming from around the saddle area of the body. I was afraid something was lose and it might require an expensive repair job. it turned out that the buzzing noise was coming from the washer and nut that connects the electric amp cable at the end of the body.so if you are experiencing the similar problem, try to get into the guitar body and tighten the nut. it will make a huge difference!

I've had my presentation for several years and the more I play it the more I love it. I have four other nice classical guitars, including a Breedlove and Cordoba, but the La Patre is my go to guitar. The quality is outstanding and the price is reasonable. Do your self a favor and get a presentation. You won't regret it.