Our smallest non-foldable Furch has just received a major vote of confidence. The Pioneer-ER a has been selected for Guitarist Magazine’s Gear of the Year issue (No. 532 / January, on sale Friday, 12 December) in the acoustic category. In their in-depth review (issue 530, also published on Guitar World), the guitar is praised as a compact travel companion with a big, confident voice: “If you’re heading off on holiday any time soon and want a guitar-shaped companion with a good pedigree, look no further.” The review also highlights “the sheer quality in terms of build, solid woods, and that huge sound.”
A travel‑size Furch with a full‑size voice
In their recent review (link), Guitarist took a close look at the Pioneer‑ER a and immediately highlighted what makes it special: a meticulously built, all‑solid travel guitar with an A‑grade Engelmann spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. The verdict calls it a “well built and superbly thought-through travel guitar” that’s “easily adjustable” and simply “sounds great.” They add that there’s “certainly none of that boxiness that you find with smaller instruments.”
That matches exactly what we had in mind when designing the Pioneer. We set out to build a guitar that feels at home everywhere – on the road, at home, in the studio and on stage – without compromising the tone and feel players normally expect from our full‑sized instruments.
Heaps of innovation inside a compact, short‑scale form
The Pioneer Series is built around the same key technologies you’ll find in our higher series:
- An individually voiced top soundboard for maximum response and note definition
- Our CNR System® Active neck construction, which automatically compensates for changes in humidity and lets you fine‑tune the action with a single screw
- A resonance‑enhancing Open‑Pore Finish that elevates the tonewoods’ natural resonance properties to a higher level and protects them while maintaining a purist tactile feel
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The Booster Soundport acoustic resonator on the upper bout, which reduces internal air pressure and helps the top move more freely for a stronger, fuller sound
In the words of the review, the result is an instrument where “it really does sound like you’re playing a much bigger-bodied guitar.” There’s plenty of tone‑rich volume on tap, with surprising bass and midrange presence for such a compact body. They conclude that they were “mightily impressed with the Pioneer” and that “everything here has been well thought through, from the rugged gigbag to the innovative facilities and, most importantly, the sound.”
Meet the whole Pioneer family
While the Pioneer‑ER a is the model featured in Guitarist’s Gear Of The Year issue, it’s part of a broader family of all‑solid short‑scale guitars that share the same body shape, 615 mm scale length and signature features. Each version offers its own tonal flavour:
- Pioneer‑ER a – Engelmann spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides for lush overtones, clear highs and a rich, piano‑like low end
- Pioneer‑CM a – Western red cedar top over African mahogany back and sides for a soft response, warmth and a slightly subdued attack, ideal for fingerstyle
- Pioneer‑EM a – Engelmann spruce top and African mahogany back and sides for a versatile, open and balanced tone, with a strong fundamental and clear mids
- Pioneer‑MM a – All‑mahogany construction that offers focused midrange, sweet compression and a very “woody” character ideal for Americana and blues
All Pioneer models share the same compact footprint that slips easily into overhead bins or the back seat, and all benefit from our voicing process, Booster Soundport and CNR System® Active neck.
For players who want something rarer still, the Pioneer family now also includes two exclusive cocobolo editions:
- Pioneer Exclusive‑LC a – Alpine spruce top, cocobolo back and sides
- Pioneer Exclusive‑EC a – Engelmann spruce top, cocobolo back and sides
These limited models combine the depth and sustain of the exotic tonewood cocobolo with the clarity and responsiveness of spruce, in the same compact Pioneer format.
Browse all Pioneer models in the Furch e‑shop
Dive deeper into Guitar World’s impressions of the Pioneer‑ER in the full review:
https://www.guitarworld.com/
