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#1
10-27-2009, 02:08 PM
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Edwinson FC .75 Falcon
Introducing the Edwinson Falcon   This amazing little guitar arrived earlier this month and has quickly become one my favorites. I've spent many late night hours playing and recording with this guitar. It's very hard to put down because it's so comfortable for me to play. Crafted by Luthier Stephen Sheriff, the Edwinson Falcon FC .75 bears a scale length of only 22.875". This makes for a guitar that is much more comfortable to play for those with smaller hands. The body size and choice of cutaway also add to the balance of this instrument. The body is made of West African Shedua, a close cousin to Bubinga. Tonally, it's very similar to Koa or good mahogany. The top is Alaskan Yellow Cedar, which is actually a Cypress, very closely related to the rare and expensive Port Orford variety. The fingerboard, bridge, and bindings are Nigerian Ebony and the neck is White Limba. The guitar is finished with McFadden's Nitrocellulose lacquer. Under the hood, the guitar is fitted with a K&K Pure Western Mini passive rig, which is a great sounding pickup! I mix this pickup along with a large diaphragm condensor mic set just a few inches from the front of the guitar, pointed toward the neck/body joint and I've been able to record a very rich/full sound using this configuration. The guitar seems to reside naturally at concert pitch in standard tuning. The shorter scale (22.875") doesn't call for it to be tuned up to F or G, and tuning at standard makes it really easy to play. I've tuned this with drop-D tuning and it plays fine. The guitar also sounds great tuned up to F. The guitar came standard with D'Addario 12's, which feel more like 11's or even 10's due to the shorter scale. The neck uses a double-action truss rod, accessible through the soundhole. It's a very finely threaded truss rod which requires more turns than other rods to affect an adjustment. One full turn with this rod is about the same as 1/4 turn on most two-way rods. Steve prefers these truss rods because you can really fine tune them. Construction and attention to detail are exceptional on this guitar... they are difficult to capture in pictures. Steve builds his guitar tops with a 25' radius so it is gently domed in side profile. This adds much strength and stability over years of constant string pull. The back is also radiused to 15'. The top braces on this guitar are arranged in a hybrid fan pattern. The back is actually braced in an X-pattern similar to the bracing you normally see on a guitar top. Another interesting feature in the construction of this guitar is the guitar's bridge plate. Here, Steve uses a very thin rosewood / carbon fiber laminated plate, radiused perfectly to the top. This provides extra rigidity and strength, and prevents the ball-ends of the strings from ever pulling through the bridge plate - saving a costly repair down the road. Tonally, the guitar has incredible sustain and a beautiful tone that is difficult to describe. Open, airy, 'pianistic'. One thing is certain, a lot of time was spent on the details of this guitar to create an instrument with a very memorable voice. I've been recording with this guitar and I hope to have some sound clips available soon. Stay tuned.... Until Edwinson Guitars has a website available, here's a link to a dealer with some background information and a few guitars available: http://www.guitaremporium.com/edson.htm Edit 12-13-2009: Steve now has a website: http://www.edwinsonguitar.com    JR 
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#2
10-27-2009, 02:17 PM
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JR -
Great looking guitar with wonderful build specs. The shorter scale would be a very nice option to have. Especially for some of those "jazz chords" that normally require some real "finger gymnastics" to hit correctly. It looks like a real beauty -- I can only imagine that it must sound terrific also. Thanks for sharing those pics with us. All the best, Bill AKA "Taylorplayer"
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Will
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#3
10-27-2009, 02:18 PM
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hmmmm......strange Robb at GE has never mentioned these instruments to me. I'm always asking him about anythign he has with 1 13/16 nuts, and most of the ones he has in stock are that width.
Nice looking instrument, and from your description, sounds like a tonal envelope I'd like as well. 
__________________
"One small heart, and a great big soul that's driving"
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#4
10-28-2009, 09:24 AM
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Thanks! I hear that Steve has three more of these guitars in the works, with different body woods.
JR Quote:
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#5
10-28-2009, 09:43 AM
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Wow...another luthier that I have never heard of before. So is this a "Collings-priced" guitar, an "Olsen-priced" guitar, or a "Ryan-priced" guitar? Just wondering so I can predict the relative "goodness" of this guitar. I mean, if it's a 10, 20, or even a 30 thousand dollar guitar, IT MUST BE good right?
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--------------------------------- "If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me..." -William Johnson --------------------------------- '09 Martin D35 '08 Taylor 816ce '73 Yamaha FG700 '09 Chuck Gilbert Dread C/M
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#6
10-28-2009, 11:00 AM
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Quote:
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"Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest." --Paul Simon
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#7
10-28-2009, 11:09 AM
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Beautiful JR! I like the color aesthetics -- the dark binding, the color of the neck contrasting but complementary to the body and side colors.
Very nice! Phil
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Paragon RW/Macassar Ebony Baritone Rainsong S OM1100-N2 Woolson LS RW/30s African mahogany LG 12 Baranik LS RW/"tree" mahogany OO Baranik Blue Spruce/"tree" mahogany OM Boswell RW/koa OO Baranik Retreux Parlour Adi/Pumaquiro Baranik Blue Spruce/Coco Meridian "Geo" Baranik Blue Spruce/Kingwood OO Woolson T13 RW/Walnut SIG
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#8
10-28-2009, 05:18 PM
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I'm new here
Thanks to all for the kind comments on the Falcon guitar. I'm Steve, designer and builder of Edwinson guitars. I've been flying under the radar as a guitar maker for almost ten years now. I've been waaaay behind the curve with my computer literacy; but thanks to JR's provenance in buying the first Falcon, I was able to buy a brand new iMac. I am working feverishly to build my first website right now. It should be ready to launch in about two weeks. I'll post an announcement on AGF as soon as it flies.
The site will be loaded with lots of photos, and very detailed text on models, design philosophy, etc. And I am really looking forward to being a frequent participant on AGF. What a fabulous resource for all of us stringheads, eh? Thanks, JR! -steve
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#9
10-28-2009, 06:17 PM
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Quote:
Welcome to the AGF! There are some great people here: players, luthiers, and collectors alike. It's good to have you here and I look forward to seeing your website.
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Guitar-less 
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#11
10-28-2009, 10:26 PM
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JR
Thanks for posting the info and pictures. This is a very interesting guitar, and the ones on the website are quite nice as well. This is one of those "make a note of this guy" thanks again-please post some sound of the Falcon when you can daryl
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#12
11-03-2009, 04:39 PM
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Quote:
JR
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#13
11-28-2009, 06:14 PM
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Hi Steve !
Welcome to AGF...The Falcon is a really nice looking guitar, just amazing..  Pm Sent Best Regards
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#15
12-05-2009, 03:32 PM
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JR,
Thanks for sharing the photos and the background on this lovely guitar. Congratulations on a beauty! - Glenn
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