Hello people,

I am looking for a small guitar, to produce small quantities of cremini, truffles and pâte de fruits. Does anyone have experience with the one from Martellato?

I have this one in mind: http://www.martellatoprofessional.com/en-GB/0/0/0/Double-cut-mini-guitar__p-33141-33174-33185-2304.aspx

I have to special order it, so I'd like to know if it's any good.

Thanks!

Does anyone have experience with the big Martellato guitars or their products in general? I don't know the reputation of the brand.

I have a Martellato full size double guitar and it's incredibly frustrating. I'm not sure if another brand would be better, but I know a large company who had a Dedy, sold theirs and cut by hand now.

Strings break all the time and you'll wreck your fingers trying to restring it with piano wire.  Cleaning it is a pain in the ass, something to consider if you need to wash between every recipe.

A guitar cutter should be a great thing and at some point I hope to try and work with it again, if I can hire a piano tuner to restring the frames.  In the meantime, I score with a caramel cutter and cut with a blade.

updated by @greg-gould: 07/19/17 11:28:29

Thanks a lot, Greg, for your insights. They are very helpful.

Can you tell me a bit more why the strings are so difficult to replace? Is it like tuning a guitar? This model is quite small (0,5m x 0,5m) and supposedly dishwasher safe.. I wonder if the strings will break as easily as the full size's longer strings.

I have a full-size Dedy. In about 30 uses, I have broken one string--and that was my fault, not the guitar's. It's not a pleasant job to replace a string, but it's not super-difficult. There is a  video  showing how to do it. My experience suggests that the strings are not so fragile; rather the whole issue is cutting the right ganache at the right time. By that I mean not trying to cut substances with chopped nuts or coconut or nibs, etc. and having the ganache at a consistency where it will cut cleanly but is not too firm. The time I broke a string was when I was cutting a gianduja layer--it firmed up faster than usual, and I wasn't paying close attention. With ganaches and gianduja, I watch it fairly closely until it begins to crystallize around the edges and gets that matte (rather than wet) look, and then I test around the edges of the slab (which I will eventually trim off anyway) by sticking a small knife repeatedly into the ganache. It's like testing many cakes--wait until the tester comes out almost clean. It may sound like a tedious process, but there are two things I can say definitively about a guitar: Once you break a string, you will be more careful in the future, and getting those perfect pieces with completely straight edges is very satisfying (and I don't think it is possible to duplicate that with a knife).

You might want to check out the  lengthy thread  on guitars on the eGullet forum. If I recall correctly, someone on that thread was planning to buy a small guitar, and people asked the poster to report on it, but there was never any more information provided.

I have a small Dedy - it's a beautiful thing! The large Dedy was as well - it's in use elsewhere these days. I know that one of the eGullet Matt's has a small Martellato and he has found it works well for what he does. The Martellato actually has a slightly larger bed than the Dedy so cuts more pieces for the size which is an advantage I'd say. It's not a double though.

The objection I have to the Martellato's is the plastic - I've seen some where the raised plastic edge gets splits in it - then it is the thing that catches then breaks the wires as they come down.

Changing a wire is tedious initially - you get better at it. But I have not broken a lot of them over time, by watching what I'm cutting as Jim mentions above. 

--
www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

Thanks @jim-dutton and @kerry for the extensive help. I am really starting to get a good view on the pro's and con's of guitars and this small one in particular. I would like to enquire just a bit further about the splitting of the plastic. Can you tell me more about it? How does the splitting occur?

I would mainly use the guitar for softer fillings, like fruit jelly, marshmallow and soft ganache.

The splitting happens when the wire cuts the plastic. Sometimes the wires get deflected in their decent and they can damage the plastic.

--
www.eztemper.com

www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

Thanks a lot, @kerry, that straightens it out.