[random works]

I have had a cedar/EIR 00 size guitar from a builder in Minnesota, since 2008; wonderful guitar with great volume, balance, etc. etc. I also have a spruce koa ‘custom shop’ Takamine. I was thinking about another small body guitar and was leaning toward spruce/mahogany then I realized koa and mahogany might sound too much alike. Thanks to this forum and lots of Internet research, I decided maple might give me a different sound. I saw the bjuilder had a flamed big leaf maple and European spruce 00 for sale so I took the plunge and crossed my fingers.

I have had it for less than a week and it’s kicking me back in my chair. I knew the sound quality/volume I could expect from the 00 model based on the cedar/rosewood model, and I knew I could play for hours without shoulder pain. It does have a wide neck with a really shallow C profile and is a 12 fretter with no position markers on the fingerboard, only on the side.

It has curly koa binding, a pinless koa bridge, rock maple neck , abalone rosette, and more importantly it has the most beautiful and clear tone…clearest sound of any guitar I have put my hands on.

The sound as best as I can describe it: fundamentals are the main thing you get but with lots of sustain so, you hear every note, but the sustain gives it a ring that almost makes you think you are hearing the beauty of overtones. Trebles are clear and very strong, sounds like I have mediums instead of light gauge strings. The mids have lots of authority and the bass is not boomy at all, but is plenty clear and loud. With all this going on, I don’t hear any lack of headroom. I flatpicked it and found it as you would expect, with more volume than I will ever need and still clear.

This one has a total response to fingerstyle, balanced no matter where you play it. It is a good all around guitar. I keep playing my other guitars, then picking this one up to make sure it is not the ‘honeymoon’ effect’. At this point it looks like the honeymoon will just keep on going

A fingerstyle player ( a really good one) came over and played it for a while then asked if he thought he could get one like mine built. He has a great ear for quality and has gone through some very nice guitars, currently has a couple of very nice ones, but is not a forum kind of guy. He is reserved and hearing him say this confirmed what I was already hearing. He was considering adding another small shop build until he played this one.

I tried to upload some photos of my guitar from the builder’s site I had copied and pasted to Word on my computer, but Photobucket won’t work with them so I will have to get my wife’s digital camera and give it a try, unless someone can tell me what I might be doing wrong.


If you have considered adding another guitar to your stable and have not tried maple back and sides, it is worth a look around. I had no idea maple could possibly yield such achingly clear and beautiful sounds.

I am not promoting a guitar builder here. If you want the builder’s site or want more details, pm me.

It helps also that I have week off from work right now. 