Furch Guitars: Handmade Acoustic Innovation

František Furch began his guitar-building journey in socialist Czechoslovakia in 1981. Fuelled by the desire, ambition and necessity for high-quality acoustic guitars during a time when trading around the globe was near impossible. His goal was to craft a guitar that could rival even the most sought-after and well-known guitars from around the world and produce an instrument that provided the same shimmering tones, rich resonance and easy playability heard on countless records of the time. Today, Furch Guitars is one of the most prominent and highly regarded guitar manufacturers in the world. Lovingly handcrafted in the Czech Republic, Furch Guitars are renowned for their premium tonewood selection, expert craftsmanship and revolutionary designs and innovations such as their CNR Neck Reinforcement System and foldable travel acoustic guitars.

Innovation – The Key to Success

Furch has always been keen to always keep one foot pointing towards the future, always asking how things can be moved forward and how things can be developed. They love the core looks and tone of many of the classic acoustic models and brands, however wanted to build instruments that pushed these classic designs to their absolute maximum potential.

Starting from the ground up, they put every element of the most classic acoustic guitar designs under the microscope and truly deep-dived into what every part did, how it affected tone and what it did to the structural stability. It’s easy to forget that although guitars built in the ‘golden era’ are regarded by many as the ultimate examples of acoustic instruments and building, they were built during a period where many things were done by complete chance and a handful of trial and error. By using modern technology in partnership with modern precision engineering, we can in fact build instruments that push the boundaries of acoustic guitar building.

CNR Neck Reinforcement System

Perhaps the largest challenge that luthiers and acoustic instrument manufacturers have been tackling since day one is striking the perfect balance between strength and flexibility. Creating an instrument that’s rigid enough to withstand stable tension across the strings yet flexible enough to allow for fluid vibration and resonance has always been the ultimate goal in the quest for good tone. The Furch CNR Neck Reinforcement System drops tradition and takes things back to the drawing board, utilising modern materials, engineering, and science. The fully adjustable truss rod is encased within a carbon fibre enclosure, which provides superior rigidity and allows for more accurate and controllable adjustments up and down the entire length of the neck. In addition, a unique support casting made from a specially formulated alloy is placed within the neck heel, providing superior neck-to-body support, which allows for far less internal body support, resulting in more resonance throughout the body.

Improving things even further, the updated Furch CNR System Active takes Furch’s innovative ideas to the next level! By increasing the length of the L-shaped neck support structure by 60mm, Furch has been able to increase the strength and stability of the neck by 45%. This even further improves the overall neck stability and tonal transfer between the strings, neck and body. An expansion element has been placed in the heart of the CNR system to automatically counteract any possible neck movement caused by humidity and ensure that the neck stays exactly how you have set it to be. Finally Furch have developed a simple screw mechanism to quickly adjust at the overall string height without the need to modify the saddle!

Unique Foldable Travel Guitar Design

Another Furch innovation is building an acoustic guitar that can truly go anywhere! The revolutionary Little Jane foldable travel guitar is built for those who require a guitar made for freedom. Like all Furch guitars, the Little Jane is crafted from only premium solid wood, resulting in a highly portable travel guitar that sounds and responds in the same way many traditionally built guitars do. It’s dynamic, full sounding and musical and best of all, it easily and quickly stores away into its backpack-sized case with just a click of a lever at the neck heel and simply pulling the headstock away from the neck.  Its carbon-reinforced truss rod system ensures maximum stability even when stored away without tension.

Booster Soundport

One of the biggest and most well-known developments from Furch is their Booster Soundport. Scientifically engineered to not only create a more immersive playing experience for you as a player but also to unleash the full potential of the resonance and overall tone of the acoustic guitar.

It all started when Furch started to explore the idea that the size of the sound hole may have an impact on the tone and resonance of the guitar. They discovered that there was indeed a direct correlation between hole size and tone, and that actually there was an optimum size dependent on the overall size of the instrument. It was due to the build up of air pressure within the body, and thus, the ability for the soundboard to be able to move (resonate) freely.

With many of their guitars taking inspiration from the classic models from the ‘golden era’ of guitar making, it was important to Furch that they found a way to introduce this idea without dramatically changing the overall appearance of the guitar. They found that the air pressure could be reduced with the introduction of six parallel linear openings on the side of the guitar’s body. This in turn acted like an additional sound hole for the player, creating a more realistic and fuller sound for the musician. Overall, the guitars featuring a Booster Soundport were clearer with more note definition and clarity, louder and overall much more resonant.

The Furch Range

In its simplest form, all Furch Guitars fall into 3 core ranges… Travel Guitars, Colour Series and their Vintage lineup. All guitars from their more affordable Travel Guitars all the way to the premium Colour Series are lovingly handcrafted in the Czech Republic and all are made using premium all-solid tonewoods. All models except for the foldable Little Jane models features their CNR neck reinforcement system.

Furch Travel Guitars

The Travel guitars come in 2 series, the Pioneer, and Little Jane (LJ) Series.

Pioneer Series

• Compact body design, ideal for travel and portability.
• Handcrafted with solid tonewood.
• Booster Soundport for increased clarity, dynamics and projection.
• CNR neck reinforcement system.

Little Jane (LJ) Series

• Unique detachable neck and headstock design which packs into a small backpack-sized gig bag.
• Fully solid wood construction resulting in a surprisingly full and resonant sound for its size.
• Perfect for traveling musicians who don’t want to compromise on tone.

Colour Series

The Colour Series stands as Furchs standard range of acoustic guitars covering everything from workhorse instruments all the way to fully-customisable premium acoustics guaranteed to turn every head.

Furch Violet Series Guitars

• Workhorse instruments to suit nearly every budget.
• Fully solid tonewood construction.
• Built with tone and playability in mind, the Violet Series feature open-pore finishes for a natural playing experience.
• Deluxe model features Bevel Duo comfort edges.

Furch Blue Series Guitars

• Built with carefully selected tonewoods like red cedar or Sitka Spruce tops paired with African Mahogany or Walnut.
• Performance model features Bevel Duo comfort edges and Booster Soundport.
• Improved resonance and projection in addition to upgraded aesthetics and refinements when compared to the Violet series.

Green Series

• Stunning gloss tops.
• Upgraded aesthetics and binding.

Furch Yellow Series Guitars

• Uses AAA-grade solid-tops like Western Red Cedar or Sitka Spruce with Indian Rosewood back and sides.
• Full-Pore High-Gloss Finish for improved resonance.
• A truly professional grade, handcrafted acoustic.

Red Series

• The Pinnacle of Furch’s standard line-up – the absolute best of the best!

Rainbow Series

• Fully customisable, built-to-order instruments. If you can dream it, they can make it!

Furch Vintage Series Guitars

The Furch Vintage Series blends classic looks with modern precision, using all-solid woods and vintage-style finishes.

Vintage Pure

• Built with carefully selected AA all-solid tonewoods.
• Open-pore finishes for a natural playing experience.

Vintage 1

• Built with carefully selected AA all-solid tonewoods.
• Vintage full-pore finishes for classic looks, improved tone and effortless playability.

Vintage 2

• Built with carefully selected AA all-solid tonewoods.
• Vintage full-pore finishes for classic looks, improved tone and effortless playability.
• Vintage-inspired aesthetics and binding

Vintage 3

• Built with carefully selected premium AAA all-solid tonewoods.
• Vintage full-pore finishes for classic looks, improved tone and effortless playability.
• Upgraded vintage-inspired aesthetics and binding

See it for Yourself!

All our Furch acoustic guitars are proudly displayed within our Acoustic Guitar Lounge in our store in Guildford, Surrey. We know the importance of getting hands on with any instrument before you buy and our team are always happy to show and talk you through the range in addition to answering any questions you may have.

More Info

• Shop all Furch guitars at Andertons Music Co.
• Andertons Ultimate Guide to Acoustic Guitars
• Acoustic Guitars: Solid Tops VS. Laminate Tops
• Shop all Acoustic Guitars at Andertons Music Co.