Does anyone have experience with the use of a guitar for cutting? In particular , any feedback about manufacturer, where to purchase, new vs. used, plastic base vs. metal. Comments about the pavoni brand would be helpful as well. Thanks-
updated by @elaine-hsieh: 04/18/15 03:14:24

I have a Dedy - an aluminum and stainless guitar from Germany. I have looked at the plastic based units - but the nicks you see in the plastic on the edges where the wires pass between the slots seem to me a spot where the wires might get caught and break. That being said - the plastic based units are still very substantial and should work well for many years.In the US Tomric ( www.tomric.com ) carries both the plastic and the Dedy (needs to be ordered) and in Canada Design and Realization carries the Dedy. ( www.dr.ca )


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www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

http://www.bakedeco.com is where I bought mine. The company also goes by the name of Kerekes and is based in Brooklyn, NY.

Thanks, is it the plastic base? Did you purchase the single or double? How long have you had it for and have you had any troubles with it in terms of maintenance or clean-up?

My guitar is a single with a metal base and three arms and I absolutely love it, especially considering the alternative of using a knife to cut ganache into perfect squares. I've had it for about four years and the only things I need to replace every once in awhile have been a couple of strings. I wipe the strings and base between each use with a paper towel, and once a week or so I clean it with soap and water. I've found that Dawn works best as it cuts through the fat in the chocolate. I did not buy the stand for it and keep the guitar on a full size sheet pan lined with parchment paper, which makes for easy clean up.

I just purchased a single Dedy guitar cutter from Design & Realization in Canada. From the pix online, it certainly looked like the Dedy, one that Kerry has recommended for some time. I verified with D&R that it is, in fact, a Dedy and it appears to be of absolutely excellent construction. The frames just arrived in a separate box, so I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. It's a beauty!

Thanks - I have been eyeing that one as well - did you have any troubles with the company in terms of how long it took to ship to you? I've ordered framing bars recently and it took about a month to 6 weeks.Also, I've seen your name pop up in another chocolate site - did you use to have a plastic base guitar cutter? If so, any thoughts?

Thank you for the all the helpful tips - do you know who the manufacturer is of your guitar? Is it very heavy?

No, this is my first guitar. Mine has an all metal base but it's surprisingly light.The cutter from D&R arrived pretty much when they said it would: 10-15 days after ordering (I chose the cheaper delivery option). The two boxes arrived at different times but no big deal.

My guitar is also a Dedy and was bought in 2004 from Kerekes for a little under $2,400, with 15 mm, 22.5, and 30 mm arms.

John DePaula - I seem to remember that you are located in the US. Were there any issues with D&R shipping from Canada?

No, no issues have surfaced so far. They offered me two shipping options:They are 2 box, the delivery charges by Mail are :1) Expedited = 170,60 $ us Delay : 10 to 15 daysOR 2) Express = 247,50 $ us Delay : 5 days (working days)I chose the cheaper option and it came, via USPS - Canada Post, as scheduled.

One of the challenges that many chocolatiers face is scaling up production. Maybe you started by hand and you're looking to grow but you're really not big enough yet to shell out $3000 or so (including shipping, etc) to purchase a guitar.On another thread I posted a link to a two-part silicon truffle mold. You put the two parts together, pipe in the center (e.g., ganache) scrape off the excess and let harden. Remove the centers and dip/enrobe.The same company offers a set of four molds to make centers in four other shapes. For some people this might be a comparatively inexpensive way to bridge the gap between cutting by hand and purchasing a guitar.


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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

And then, I noticed a 3% "Foreign Transaction Fee" from Chase. :-(

This is strange - I noticed Alana saying something similar when she purchased a book from a Canadian store. When I purchase from the US, my credit card charges me the exchange (which is padded a little to their advantage), but there is no added fee like this.


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www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

I got a double guitar from savy goiseau it's a nice one,very practical versus the single one,the quality is great very solid all metal.

I'd really like to get a guitar, as I do 4 slabbed varieities, but for the moment, I've found a cheaper alternative.In some of the kitchens I've worked, I've been spoiled by the Matfer cutting wheels. This is a device consisting of aprox. 30 s/s discs (sharp), threaded on a rod, with spacers between the discs and rolling pin style handles. The price for this was at last checking around $300, and I'm a cheap guy.What I found at the local dollar store was cheap pizza wheels so I bough a dozen and drilled out the rivet, made some 7/8" spacers from 1" plastic pipe, threaded the assembly onto a length of 3/8" threaded redi-rod, and made some handles for it.It works quite well for slabbed ganaches, and while it won't cut through slabbed cast caramel, it does mark them nicely. If I can find more pizza wheels I'll make some more in different sizes....

Edward:Please post a photo of your home-made cutting wheel for us to admire!:: Clay


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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

A coupla years ago I got a guitar (the plastic base one) and it is okay. I sure wish I would have read this before and held out for the Dedy! But the one I have works okay, except that several of the strings are broken from early on and the replacement wire bought through places like chefrubber is very expensive. From what I can figure out, it is some kind of stainless steel wire. Can anyone tell me if it is something special, or where I might be able to find such wire? I read the word "Inox wire" related to it, does that mean anything to anyone?

Hi Sarah,'Inox' just means 'stainless-steel.' I will check around to see who might have some replacement wire. I'd shop more at Chef Rubber but WOW their prices are super-high...Cheers,J

I can't believe the site just ate my reply...First of all, I think that any hobby store e.g. Michaels, will probably carry s/s wire that you could use to fix your guitar.Places that sell guitars, e.g. bakedeco.com, must also sell it but I wasn't able to locate it on their site after a quick search.Chef Rubber's claim that "This wire is better then [sic] what came on your cutter originally" must be true because HOLY COW! 200' for $500! You could probably build another guitar for $500...Check out Design and Realization . Their site is a bit clunky, you can't search and you can't link to a particular page, but select ' Guitar for Chocolate and Candies ' on the left-side navigation bar and scroll down until you see 'Wire for guitar.' US$37.35 for 295' will fill the bill nicely.
updated by @john-depaula: 09/14/15 20:35:32

Wow, Thanks. Yes, the chefrubber thing nearly gave me a heart attack. I like a lot of their products but agree that they are costly. I will check out D & R. That is more in the price range I was thinking, that is for sure!THanks for the info. Are you having fun with your new cutter? Did you survive the holidays intact? I loved the snow but it did put a bit of a crimp on business at the shop...Happy new year,s

I love the new cutter. It's going to make my work faster and improve precision - can't ask for more than that! The snow definitely impacted my business, too. Had to delay (or even cancel) getting out some last orders but what can you do when it's not even possible to get the car out of the driveway.

But I do love how beautiful it is when it snows.

I also recently bought a Dedy with four frames directly for the producer and I LOVE it!Corresponded via email. Wired the money to a German bank account. Had to pick it up at the U.S. customs office at the airport. I wasn't expecting that. Found out because the cutter cost was over $500 I SHOULD have gotten a "bond". Not sure what that was about but customs was nice about it and let me take the cutter without a bond (as long as I promised to get one NEXT time). Cost $2500 US ($1680 EUR) in Sept. 2008. It's a big investment but the accuracy and efficiency is immeasurable. Really makes a difference in a professional look. Funny, the pictures I have posted on The Chocolate Life are of truffles I made before I bought the cutter.

Yes, the Dedy is a high quality chocolate guitar, and in my opinion the best out there. Save yourself the hassel of dealing with Customs, required bonds, etc. We do this for you and provide product support as well -- plus, offer it at a better price. You can't go wrong! -- For additonal information, see www.tcfsales.com or call toll free: 877-777-6982 or 316.636.4443.

TCF Sales (aka The Chocolate Fountain) also provides chocolate guitar stainless steel wire, and distributes Design & Realisation products, as well as other popular chocolate equipment in the U.S. and abroad. --DR used to mfg. a chocolate guitar but currently they do not. -- Regards.

I just joined this forum and was reading throught this thread. I bought my guitar directly from Prefamac (in Belgium) back in 2001. Paid about $1000 (US) incl shipping for a guitar w/ 3 frames. It is all stainless steel (no plastic base) I am sure it is more expensive now with the exchange rate and all, but maybe worth a shot.Also, in regards to replacement wire, I recommend checking out Grainger. We bought a spool of stainless steel wire for about $50.00. They have a bunch of different thicknesses we ended up buying a slightly thicker and more durable wire than what had come with the guitar. I don't think I have broken a string in like 4-6 months...Good luck.

Jason,What gauge wire did you buy?


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www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

Can't remember (and i threw away the box it came in). Basically, I took in a piece of the wire that came with the guitar and they measured the gauge at the Grainger store. I then bumped it up a bit for a slightly thicker wire. It's nice because we can use the guitar to cut caramels without breaking any strings.

I searched for Grainger online - and found a site that carries s/s wire but it's for a musical instrument. Is that the same wire?

Yup, that's it.

I'm impressed that you can cut caramel without breaking wires - is there any difference with the larger gauge wire cutting ganches or Pates de Fruit?


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www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

No, there is no difference in cutting ganache vs. pate de fruit vs. caramel, they all cut very clean. However, our caramels are pretty soft, so it's never really an issue. We also use the guitar to cut praline and other bon-bons that contain chopped nuts and we will occasionally break a string, but not often.About 80% of our products are cut on the guitar, as we mostly do enrobed pieces v. molded. It really is an indispensible tool, I couldn't function w/o it....

A search for "wire" at the Grainger site turns up the following: Grainger wire search (3 pages of results) .If anyone has more info about wire thickness, we could go from there.