Personality highlight (2): Brother Andy Soh

Next up is brother Andy Soh. He is a certified busker under the NAC scheme for outdoor entertainers.

Andy's guitar of choice is the Claren Guitars MINI 1. This is a scaled down, single cutaway, electro acoustic which is a very comfortable & super playable instrument especially if you are always on the go. By the way, Andy is part owner of Claren Guitars which offer full solid acoustics mostly, at super prices. OK, I own one. If you have been following me for a while, you'd know that I have this constant struggle with acoustics. I have given up on many brand names out there that offer scaled down versions of their popular models because those are simply not to my liking due to set up & playability issues. I was pretty much done chasing this ideal until Andy himself reached out to me to check out his range of guitars & that was it. 

Andy is actively busking at the following venues: Holland Village, Tanglin Mall, City Square Mall, padestrian area outside Wisma Atria / Takashimaya SC. Please say HI or do one better by contributing generously. He also does private events (birthday parties, wedding receptions) if you are interested. Xmas is coming, so that office Xmas party can be a little special with a live performance, yes? Do reach out to him via his Instagram account: iamsohandy

Pics: NAC / Claren Guitars / Andy Soh

Selling: Claren Guitars 2M.st

Tough times ahead. Employment contract will terminate in a few weeks. Selling. Thanks for reading.

• Claren Guitars: 2M Standard (hard case included)
• Full solid (mahogany) construction, rosewood fretboard, okoume neck
• Electro-acoustic
• Scale length: 24.8"
• Self-collect @ CCK / Yew Tee mrt station
• Contact: email at left shoulder of this page
• No reservations / trades
• Price is final: $550

10 relief

Not really a big acoustic fan but I will re-visit the guitars that I like. While that happens, I usually will tweak the experience to suit my needs. In this case, it's the string gauge. I can't really play acoustics with anything thicker than 11s. We are aware that most of these instruments are equipped with 12s by default. My skin / fingertips are susceptible to wear & tear since chemo days so I have a set of 'wimpy' strings in my favoured acoustics. It's about addressing needs more than complying to conventional practices. Beginning to like the DRs for acoustics.

With 2m

An instrument with a certain brand name in a certain price bracket would be duly scrutinized before an acquisition takes place. The scrutiny becomes a wee bit more intense when the brand name is a little offbeat with a touch of local craftsmanship to taste. Folks, the guitar you see here is the Claren 2M.st flying the domestic flag in its manifestation. 

So here you go; a statement of introduction as well as clear intent of what the brand name is all about. When it comes to all things acoustic, I would be overwhelmed with indifference in most occasions, unless that guitar is worth my considerations regardless of its being. 

All Claren guitars are full solid instruments. Looking at the list price of the 2M.st, you'd be thinking if the instrument underwent multiple corner cuttings in order to be existing in this price bracket. I'm telling you up front, the hard case, tuners & electronics featured here are unmarked accessories to keep the price in check. To many of us, brandless items equal poor quality-performance but you'd be surprised how many well known instrument out there are equipped with semi-pathetic, nameless accessories & we fell for these brand names. The ones featured in all Claren guitars are downright respectable & take away nothing in terms of goodwill in every aspect.

How do I rate the 2M.st? I find the overall construction very impressive, especially the neck-body joint areas; all contact surfaces are sealed & we don't see this from the bigger brand names out there. The neck profile here is absolutely addictive & the neck per se is robust with imposing playability. Coming from a predominantly electric guitar player, I've to say it's simply addictive. The other splendid feature here is the instrument's scale length - 24.8". I deem this important for those of us who are not strum-inclined & are technical in our playing. Of course, again being up front, me being me, I don't find the body dimensions appealing to smaller framed players who wish to spend more time with the acoustic guitar but are unwilling to compromise tone. In this light, I'm forgiving in the embrace of overall playability & tone; I'm still in love with mahogany when it comes to acoustics. 

OK, not turning this into a personal gripe episode, the Claren instruments are definitely worth checking out especially for those who are desensitized with brand name supremacy (whatever this means) & prioritize playability / tone. With that said, buying a Claren means you have a firm intention of keeping the instrument, making it a personal embrace & not worrying about anything else. 

Visit Claren Guitars here: CLICK