LAG S200PE parlour - discontinued but worth looking for
Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 2:22 pm
In previous posts elsewhere in this forum, I have made mention of the LAG S200PE (GLA200PE) parlour guitar, so I thought I'd revisit a review I wrote for a separate forum some years ago to update it, add to it and post it here.
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This guitar was originally part of the LAG 'Four Seasons' series which has now been discontinued in favour of the newer Tramontane series. For a long time, this new range did not contain a parlour guitar although one has now been added – the T77PE. I bought my S200PE in mid 2008 so, at the time of writing this review, I have owned and played it for 7 years.
Being a parlour guitar, you don't expect the projection or resonance of a full-bodied guitar, let alone a jumbo, but for its size, the 200PE produces an acoustically loud bright sound with enough bass to satisfy. The guitar is equally suited to finger-picking and plectrum lead. Strumming isn't quite so effective as the treble tends to get a bit lost and overall definition can be a tad muddy unless you make a conscious effort to avoid striking the 6th string. Plectrum strums sound better than fingertip strums - but chords picked cleanly when fingerpicking do sound very good. Being a traditionally styled and size for a parlour guitar, it is extremely comfortable to play if you want to sit back in your armchair and noodle away to your heart’s content.
String attachment is of the through-bridge type with no pins. This has thus far caused no problems. Restringing is ultra-easy. The bridge-to-body attachment is strengthened by the use of two small bolts which also attach the under-saddle pickup. The bolt-heads are covered. When bought in 2008, the action was pleasingly low, but not ultra-low. There were no fret buzzes and this hasn't changed since it was bought. These days I tune the guitar one and a half tones down to C# F# B E G# c# and there are still no buzzes. I usually use a Shubb capo and even at the 9th fret, there are still no signs of buzz or rattle. The neck profile is extremely comfortable but the strap button as fitted to the heel is in a slightly uncomfortable place if you like playing up to or beyond the 12th fret. The guitar is so light that I use a narrow 1” strap attached at the heel and via a ‘hanger strap’ at the headstock..
As regards reliability and tuning stability I have absolutely no nits to pick. The guitar came fitted with Elixir strings and tuning is fantastically stable. I can't even recall the last time I had to adjust tuning by more than a tiny tweak of the firm, geared, enclosed tuners. This is one of 2 guitars that I have on a stand in rooms of my house, so it gets played pretty well every day.
The other main component to describe is the rather unusual active Studio LAG pre-amp system. This provides 5 untweakable settings - and therein lies both a good idea and a feature that can take some getting used to if you’re the type of player who likes to tweak their EQ settings on their guitar. The 5 presets are described as exemplifying these tonal ‘soundscapes’ -
1 - Natural folk
2 - Bluesey / Studio
3 - Rhythm
4 - Fingerstyle
5 - Jazz
The idea is to provide the player with 5 distinctive settings to make it easy to switch quickly and cleanly. The assumption is that players only need these settings and are happy to accept them as-is. Any tweaking has to be done either via whatever in-line FX modeling unit you are using and/or at the amp. At best, the settings will be what you want. Next best, they come close and give you a starting point for tweaking at the amp. At worst, they need to be significantly tweaked to give you the sound that YOU want. This is definitely a feature of the instrument that you would be best advised to test before buying – although that is now harder to do since the guitar is rarely seen in shops. The new Tramontane is fitted with a Piezo NanoFlex under saddle pickup and uses LAG’s own DirectLag Plus preamp. Reviews have generally been good although a few complaints have appeared concerning the quality of finish on a few instruments.
For the record, then, the basic specification of the S200PE are as follows -
Style --- Parlour
Top --- Spruce
Back --- Sapelli
Sides --- Sapelli
Binding ---Rosewood / Maple
Neck --- Mahogany
Fingerboard --- Indian Rosewood
Position markers --- Side of neck only
Trussrod --- 2-way
Nut --- Nu-Bone 42mm
Nut string spacing --- 36mm
Saddle string spacing --- 53mm
Saddle --- Nu-Bone 72mm
Frets --- 20
Scale --- 650mm
Joins body at --- 14th fret
Strings --- Elixir 12s
Tuners --- Lag Hi-Precision with Ivorine Buttons
Pins --- No – through the bridge
Pre-amp --- Shadow 4-Plus Pickup and active Preamp (5 presets)
Finish & colour --- Satin / Natural
There are several demos and performances on Youtube. The first is by the person who owned the shop from where and from whom I bought the guitar back in 2008.
BAROQUE AND ROLL demo by Paul Del Nevo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-7ZKlq2UFw
Demo of LAG GLA 200PE Parlour Guitar by Martin Robertson (acoustic and electro)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrkHCwr-DXc
My own demo with slideshow and details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Ji2zvJRjw
NANOFLEX DEMO by myself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRv7p5zUpmI
BLUES by rhytmiker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owV0WjecNAU
HEY JOE by 83boner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYSh4h4aNA
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal Cover by Andy Muss (Strumming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLVj18h9754
Libertines - Cant Stand Me Now - Acoustic Cover by Andy Muss (Strumming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5FPFc5aO8
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This guitar was originally part of the LAG 'Four Seasons' series which has now been discontinued in favour of the newer Tramontane series. For a long time, this new range did not contain a parlour guitar although one has now been added – the T77PE. I bought my S200PE in mid 2008 so, at the time of writing this review, I have owned and played it for 7 years.
Being a parlour guitar, you don't expect the projection or resonance of a full-bodied guitar, let alone a jumbo, but for its size, the 200PE produces an acoustically loud bright sound with enough bass to satisfy. The guitar is equally suited to finger-picking and plectrum lead. Strumming isn't quite so effective as the treble tends to get a bit lost and overall definition can be a tad muddy unless you make a conscious effort to avoid striking the 6th string. Plectrum strums sound better than fingertip strums - but chords picked cleanly when fingerpicking do sound very good. Being a traditionally styled and size for a parlour guitar, it is extremely comfortable to play if you want to sit back in your armchair and noodle away to your heart’s content.
String attachment is of the through-bridge type with no pins. This has thus far caused no problems. Restringing is ultra-easy. The bridge-to-body attachment is strengthened by the use of two small bolts which also attach the under-saddle pickup. The bolt-heads are covered. When bought in 2008, the action was pleasingly low, but not ultra-low. There were no fret buzzes and this hasn't changed since it was bought. These days I tune the guitar one and a half tones down to C# F# B E G# c# and there are still no buzzes. I usually use a Shubb capo and even at the 9th fret, there are still no signs of buzz or rattle. The neck profile is extremely comfortable but the strap button as fitted to the heel is in a slightly uncomfortable place if you like playing up to or beyond the 12th fret. The guitar is so light that I use a narrow 1” strap attached at the heel and via a ‘hanger strap’ at the headstock..
As regards reliability and tuning stability I have absolutely no nits to pick. The guitar came fitted with Elixir strings and tuning is fantastically stable. I can't even recall the last time I had to adjust tuning by more than a tiny tweak of the firm, geared, enclosed tuners. This is one of 2 guitars that I have on a stand in rooms of my house, so it gets played pretty well every day.
The other main component to describe is the rather unusual active Studio LAG pre-amp system. This provides 5 untweakable settings - and therein lies both a good idea and a feature that can take some getting used to if you’re the type of player who likes to tweak their EQ settings on their guitar. The 5 presets are described as exemplifying these tonal ‘soundscapes’ -
1 - Natural folk
2 - Bluesey / Studio
3 - Rhythm
4 - Fingerstyle
5 - Jazz
The idea is to provide the player with 5 distinctive settings to make it easy to switch quickly and cleanly. The assumption is that players only need these settings and are happy to accept them as-is. Any tweaking has to be done either via whatever in-line FX modeling unit you are using and/or at the amp. At best, the settings will be what you want. Next best, they come close and give you a starting point for tweaking at the amp. At worst, they need to be significantly tweaked to give you the sound that YOU want. This is definitely a feature of the instrument that you would be best advised to test before buying – although that is now harder to do since the guitar is rarely seen in shops. The new Tramontane is fitted with a Piezo NanoFlex under saddle pickup and uses LAG’s own DirectLag Plus preamp. Reviews have generally been good although a few complaints have appeared concerning the quality of finish on a few instruments.
For the record, then, the basic specification of the S200PE are as follows -
Style --- Parlour
Top --- Spruce
Back --- Sapelli
Sides --- Sapelli
Binding ---Rosewood / Maple
Neck --- Mahogany
Fingerboard --- Indian Rosewood
Position markers --- Side of neck only
Trussrod --- 2-way
Nut --- Nu-Bone 42mm
Nut string spacing --- 36mm
Saddle string spacing --- 53mm
Saddle --- Nu-Bone 72mm
Frets --- 20
Scale --- 650mm
Joins body at --- 14th fret
Strings --- Elixir 12s
Tuners --- Lag Hi-Precision with Ivorine Buttons
Pins --- No – through the bridge
Pre-amp --- Shadow 4-Plus Pickup and active Preamp (5 presets)
Finish & colour --- Satin / Natural
There are several demos and performances on Youtube. The first is by the person who owned the shop from where and from whom I bought the guitar back in 2008.
BAROQUE AND ROLL demo by Paul Del Nevo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-7ZKlq2UFw
Demo of LAG GLA 200PE Parlour Guitar by Martin Robertson (acoustic and electro)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrkHCwr-DXc
My own demo with slideshow and details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Ji2zvJRjw
NANOFLEX DEMO by myself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRv7p5zUpmI
BLUES by rhytmiker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owV0WjecNAU
HEY JOE by 83boner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxYSh4h4aNA
Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal Cover by Andy Muss (Strumming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLVj18h9754
Libertines - Cant Stand Me Now - Acoustic Cover by Andy Muss (Strumming)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN5FPFc5aO8