Ayers ACS

I was loaned a new DSM which is their dreadnought sized guitar. The

Ayers ACS particular model has sitka spruce top, mahogany sides and back, and abalone perfling. Its beautifully built and LOUD. The neck is even wide for finger picking and a stretch. Can't imagine the Luthier in Ho Chi Minh City using his thumb to cover the bass on an F chord. So, great guitar for a big handed person. and yes, each one built by one luthier. amazing to find at the price which I understand to be around $1K dollars. So, if you're looking for an incredibly well built and great sounding solid wood handmade guitar from Vietnam ...oh, and you have big hands, go borrow one yourself

Ayers ACS - Ayers guitars are designed by one of Australia's top luthiers, Gerard Gilet, and built, under supervision, in Vietnam. If you think that this compromises quality of construction forget it - these instruments are a class act in the intermediate price range.

The ACS is a cutaway auditotium-sized purely acoustic guitar (no built in pick-up or controls) costing in the region of £400, and I have reviewed it in the light of this - i.e. I have not compared it to the high-end instruments or exotics.

The appearance is plain on this model. Some people may object to the absence of any fret inlays on the face of the finger board, but when I'm playing I can only see the side dots anyway, so I do not regard this as a handicap. Fancier models are available at a higher price, but I prefer my budget to be all spent on tone and quality of construction, and I have always regarded lack of ostentatious decoration a sign of true class.

The fret board is reasonably wide (45mm at the nut) with reasonable string spacing (57mm at the saddle) facilitating finger style playing, but ease of general playing is not handicapped by this width due to the beautifully designed neck profile.

I would have no problem recommending this model to anybody.