used on a dreadnought (even though they
have similar strength properties), and the
result is a body that almost seems to float in
your hand and on your lap. Despite the fact
that it’s still a thick dreadnought, the Fat Lady
is incredibly comfortable to sit with and its
sense of balance between the headstock and
the body is perfect.
place that I had any quibbles with the instrument—the labels for the sliders were damn
near invisible in anything short of bright light,
and the conspicuous lack of an on-board tuner
seems like a major omission for such a well-designed system.
She Sings
For being such a light-feeling guitar, the Fat
Lady definitely sings like its name implies. This
acoustic is truly remarkable for the ground
it covers—everything from soft fingerpicking to good-time strumming comes through
clearly and with a well-balanced tonal range.
Everything seems to be in proportion here,
from the guitar’s crisp highs to its full-but-not-overpowering bottom-end, and it really
feels like each part of the instrument adds to
the greater whole in just the right amount.
The dreadnought body style and bracing give
the sound depth and body; the Queensland
maple body and neck provide shimmering
highs; the Bunya top gives this guitar just
the right amount of warmth (almost akin to a
cedar-topped acoustic, without the mushiness
at higher volumes or intensities). Perhaps even
more impressive is the guitar’s responsiveness; despite its size, this Fat Lady is nimble,
dynamic and brilliantly expressive at all points.
In terms of playability, the Fat Lady is certainly
playable, but you’ll likely want to spend a little
time dialing it in for your tastes. The guitar
comes strung with .012s and a medium setup
(.078" on the treble side and .098” on the
bass side), and the company’s website says, “It
is fully expected that specific settings are the
responsibility of the customer.” The 12" fingerboard radius, the medium C profile and 1
¾" nut width make this guitar extremely comfortable to play (although smaller hands might
struggle with lower position chording), while
a Graphtech TUSQ nut and Grover Rotomatic
tuners keep everything stable and in tune, no
matter how heavy-handed you get.
The Fat Lady’s electronics have been custom
built by Cole Clark to compliment the guitar’s
tonality, and I’m proud to report that they do
a hell of a job. The system is comprised of six
individual piezo sensors under the bridge and
a Face Brace transducer with three sensors
mounted under the soundboard. A unique
Blend slider on the guitar’s preamp allows
you to adjust the crossover point of where
the guitar’s high-end frequencies are captured from—moving the slider away from you
causes more of the bridge piezos’ high-end
to be amplified; pulling the slider towards
you causes the system to amplify more high-end from the sensors. It’s a fairly ingenious
and natural-sounding system that allows you
to really dial in the nature of your high-end—
the Face Brace provided the Fat Lady with
a little more “airiness”—although playing
through a Genz Benz Shenandoah Compak
300, I found the best sounds to be in the
central range of the slider, drawing equally
from both sources. The system does a great
job of bringing out the warmth and clarity of
the guitar, and the only time feedback was
an issue was at high volumes with the Face
Brace sensor fully engaged.
Rating...
5.0
ONTHEWeb
Head online to hear sound clips of
the Cole Clark Fat Lady 1AC
in action at
premierguitar.com
The Final Mojo
It’s safe to say that Cole Clark Guitars is
on to something here—the Fat Lady is one
of the finest acoustics you’ll encounter in
the sub-$2000 market, and the fact that it’s
made of more sustainable varieties of wood
is the cherry on top. It looks great, it plays
great and it sounds even better—what
more could you ask for?
Buy If...
you’re looking for a bright,
articulate acoustic you can feel
good about.
Skip If...
you’re a spruce fanatic.
The preamp interface itself is fairly pedestrian,
Blend function aside. It has a Volume slider,
and a 3-band EQ allowing you to dial in your
Highs, Mids and Lows. This was really the only
Cole Clark Guitars
MSRP $1540
coleclarkguitars.com
