Little & Large

Available only through a select range of Takamine dealers, the company’s Collectors’ Series represents a special-edition run of hand-crafted instruments that have been fashioned by a small and select team of skilled luthiers. We count seven models in the current series, which ranges from the two you see here through to the nylon-string H8SS (£1,549), the dreadnought-sized CP5DCO-AD (£2,199), right up to the most opulent member of the magnificent seven, the abalone-encrusted Gifu-Cho NEX (£2,599). As you can see from the prices shown here, Takamine hasn’t aimed this particular series at hedge fund managers and their like, but is quietly offering up some premium limited-edition models that will appeal to the everyman budget. Good on ’em, we say.

In many ways, our two models couldn’t be more different. The CP771MC-SB is a cutaway electro-acoustic OM, which leans towards dreadnought dimensions