Review by Tony Barber

I visited the Birmingham guitar show with my daughter in late Feb.  I was prepared to buy a new guitar if the right one should present itself but it was not a priority.  When I came across Cassidy guitars I was immediately impressed with the quality of the instruments on display.  I was soon talking to Simon Cassidy who was prepared to answer all of my questions and never put any pressure on me to make a purchase.  What he didn’t know was that I had the spec in mind of a guitar that was two and a half times the price of what I eventually bought.  The Cassidy Winston exceeded this spec on virtually every aspect.  Don’t take my word for it, just look at the spec on the Cassidy website.

It wasn’t long before the Winston, without the tree of life, was in my hands.  I think that I knew immediately that it was not going back on display.  The noise of the exhibition was making the guitar resonate in my hands as Simon took me to the acoustic room (a quiet place to try out the acoustics guitars).  It is difficult to assess an instrument in these conditions.  Unless the instrument in question is of the highest possible standard.

The workmanship and quality of materials used on these guitars is as good as you will find anywhere.  This guitar is a work of art.  However, this all becomes irrelevant the moment you begin to play it.  Even as a relative newcomer to the guitar, the sound that can be generated by this instrument is outstanding.  Having read numerous reviews and visited many guitar shops trying much more expensive instruments I finally understand what is meant when people say they can’t put an instrument down.  When played quietly or when pushed the sound is something to behold.  I have to put this down to the set-up which the guitar received from Simon Cassidy.

Finally, I had a few questions post sale.  I cannot speak highly enough of how these questions were fielded by Simon Cassidy.  He exudes integrity and offered the best aftersales service I have ever experienced.  I am not sure that many guitar shops would have a telephone conversation with customers once they had the money in their hands.  As a result I am keeping the guitar in tip top condition and I am sure it will outlive me.  I won’t need another high spec acoustic guitar but I know who I would recommend to anybody who does.