Excerpt from Guitarist Review
This is the dreadnought where Farida pushes the boat out in all respects. For starters, its construction is all-solid Engelmann spruce/rosewood, the nonlaminated nature of the rims indicated internally by the anticipated vertical reinforcing pieces. The quality of the rosewood looks very good, with nearstraight graining and an even colour, ditto the Engelmann top. Cosmetics leave no doubt that this is the flagship model.
The top features abalone for the soundhole rosette and purfling, while the binding back and front is maple – also used for the heel cap and to edge the fingerboard. The back carries a discreet three-ply centre strip of maple and dark wood or fi bre. Up on the rosewood fingerboard, out go the D16’s dot markers and in comes a variegated mother-of-pearl snowflake array, very similar to Martin’s early D-45 style.
This theme is echoed with a snowflake inlay on either tip of the bridge. Completing this handsomely deluxe treatment is a very tidy all-over gloss lacquering and a decent set of gold tuners with Grover-like buttons. The mahogany neck – this time a one-piece length plus heel – deepens slightly more towards the heel turn than the D16’s, but is otherwise virtually identical in dimensions, profile and string spacing. The only real difference in grip is the gloss rather than satin finish, and that’s really neither here nor there.
The fret ends feel slicker than the cheaper dreadnought’s, and their tops are smoothing up nicely after some initial bending scratchiness. The system powering the D62AN is Fishman’s Onboard Aura. This is quite a selling point in itself since, as far as this writer is aware, the only other manufacturers presently offering it as original equipment are Martin and another American maker, Composite Acoustics – both on considerably more expensive guitars.
In addition to being a conventional piezo-linked preamp including three-band EQ, phase reverse and tuner, the Onboard Aura provides six blendable sound images, created from recordings using various mics and positionings and converted into digital algorithms. On those relevant Martins, for example, a key aspect is that the images are recorded from an identical model of the instrument, so one assumes that Farida submitted a D62 to Fishman to create the images that are loaded here.
Space precludes regurgitating the Onboard Aura’s 17-page manual – and you’ll definitely need to mug up on it at first – but via slider tweaking and button pushing, the sound images can be edited for EQ and phase, quickly and easily stored via a play/edit switch and, if desired, wiped to default to the factory settings. Additionally, the preamp has switchable anti-feedback, essentially an auto frequency search and- destroy facility. It was initially reluctant to perform its magic – maybe we got the button-pressing order wrong! – but did the job on second attempt.
SOUNDS:
The D62AN earns equal acoustic plaudits to the D16N. The sound, again, is willing, exuberant and easy breathing and, practically speaking, the only tonal difference is a subtly more forward mid-range. This doesn’t mar the sound, rather just enhances its projection. Powered up, the Onboard Aura is an impressive piece of kit. Unlike many blender systems – particularly real mic-based ones – you don’t need to approach blending with such caution, and depending on how the respective images are EQ’d it’s feasible to apply fairly high ratios of image to piezo without the sounds becoming unduly swirly-edged or unpleasantly squawksome. It is fair to say that the most realistic and dulcet added ambience is achieved up to around the 50/50 mark, but in the meantime you’ll enjoy the extended scope for experimentation as much as you’ll appreciate the overall sonic quality.
SUMMARY
The D62AN especially punches above its price, courtesy of its Onboard Aura, offering the performance potential (and luxury looks) to be a real choice buy.
Review by Jim Chapman and Roger Newell that appeared in Guitarist Magazine November 2006 issue
Download the full review in Guitarist Magazine here
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