Sound - If you've never played a cedar and walnut guitar before, you should do your best to find one. It's a wood combination that, when it's well done, is so full of character that it's hard to go back to a generic guitar again. But at the same time, as with any wood combination, that character manifests itself in a number of ways. The Fylde Alchemist is a shop favorite around here, and in many ways it is the guitar that has to our ears defined the cedar/walnut guitar: rich and chunky, not too strident or boomy, with round, ringing notes all the way up the scale.

Besides Fylde, though, very few builders make a habit out of producing a lot of cedar and walnut guitars. Dermot Mcilroy is one such builder, and to hear this guitar, you'd think he's been making them his entire life. The sound is big, warm, and resonant. It does indeed maintain that cedar/walnut character, but as with so many of Dermot's other guitars, he has succeeded in opening it up, making it just a bit brighter and airier. This makes this wood combo--and this guitar--much more versatile.

After playing a number of these, it is becoming clear that this is the hallmark of Dermot's guitars: A clear UK tonal pedigree, combined with tonewood selections that give the guitars plenty of character, but braced and finished such that these features color the tone without overwhelming it.

Finish - If you dig around Shoreline's website, you'll find that most of the descriptions of the guitars we sell focus on tone and playability. I don't normally devote a lot of space to all the details about each guitar's finish because, ultimately, although the looks of a guitar can add to the joy of owning one, if it's all looks and no personality, it makes an unsatisfying partner.

So when we find a guitar like Dermot's (or a Northwood, or Fylde, etc.) that sounds fantastic and looks great to boot, well, we're ecstatic. You can see in this closeup of the A25 that he includes a nice ringed abalone rosette (as he does on every guitar). But what really sets Dermot apart from anyone else in his price range, and certainly from most other builders, is his flair for gorgeous tonewoods and binding woods. From the pearwood and sycamore body bindings to the rosewood or walnut fretboard bindings, these are some finely-appointed instruments.

As far as tonewoods go, the first A30 we sold had a spruce top that had an elegant, lightly-twisting bearclaw running down the bookmatched sides. Needless to say, a top like that is rarity on a $2000 guitar. Consider that this A25 I'm spotlighting is also only $2000, and yet look at the wonderful slab of walnut on the back. Although the straight grain is attractive enough, you can also catch hints of a light cross-grain flame in the walnut--it almost reminds you of flamed koa or blackwood.

Summary - If guitars could reproduce, then I'd swear that the Mcilroy A25 is the offspring of the Northwood MJ and the Fylde Alchemist. It has the warm, ringing resonance of the MJ to go along with just a hint of the UK-born cedar/walnut tone of the Alchemist. Throw in the awesome sustain and spectacular tonewoods and binding woods, and this is one killer guitar. And it really does cost only $2000. Amazing. I recommend it without reservation.