Isaac Jang joins The North American Guitar

[Ben Montague]

It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that Isaac Jang Guitars will be joining our exclusive roster of luthiers here at The North American Guitar in London.

There is an inspiring wave of new young luthier talent coming through the ranks at the moment and rising star Isaac Jang is definitely at the forefront of that movement.

At only 30 years old, Isaac is already being hailed as one of the finest up and coming luthiers on the block by the likes of master luthier Jason Kostal (Kostal Guitars), Rudy Pensa of Rudy's Music and Paul Heumiller of Dream Guitars. An inspiring, polite and gentle guy, Isaac builds instruments that make your heart melt when you pick them up and play.



I first had the pleasure of meeting Isaac at The Holy Grail Guitar show in Berlin back in 2016. I had already seen some images of his work online and heard of this young guy from Korea (now based in LA, California) everyone was talking about. The buzz around the show reminded me of the attention our dear friend and TNAG luthier Ted Åstrand received the first year he exhibited at the show two years earlier.



As I headed over to his table to say hello and introduce myself, Isaac was just running to the concert room with his friend and guitarist Adam Miller (again who I had not met yet), for a demo concert, where Adam would be putting his OM in Italian Spruce & Cocobolo through its paces in front of an audience of buyers, collectors, and peers. Huddling in a back room waiting for the doors to open for Isaac's spot, Adam began to warm up in preparation for the concert and I began to fall in love with the guitar he was playing!

"May I..."? I asked Adam (sheepishly ... definitely not wanting to play in front of this John Mayer reincarnation).

"Of course man.." Adam replied in his usual laid back Aussie tone.

Looking at Isaac’s work in detail under the unforgiving lights in this hotel conference room and play it away from the noise of the HG show proved everything everyone had been talking about. This guy is the real deal.



Isaac’s guitars have this wonderful balance of modern luthier meets traditional inspiration. His guitars are light and beautifully created, with a smooth sleek line to them, almost like something one would see from a high-end car manufacturer or watchmaker. The level of detail that goes into his builds is just extraordinary, from his binding work, beautiful shoulder bevels, through to his inlay design, the guitar will take your breath away.



Tonally, having now had the pleasure of playing two of Isaac’s guitars, both with the same wood configuration, is something to behold first hand. An incredibly articulate and sophisticated sound, with a depth that is hard to describe. Both the OMs I had the pleasure of playing had a gorgeous and highly figured Cocobolo back and sides, which projected fantastic trebles and a seemingly endless sustain.



But who is Isaac Jang?

Inspired to play the guitar at 14 years old after seeing Tommy Emmanuel play ‘Amazing Grace’, his eyes were opened to the art of fingerstyle music. From that point onward, his fascination and passion for acoustic guitar sound intensified and eventually led me him to the path of lutherie.

Isaac was born in S. Korea, and moved to Los Angeles in 1999. Upon graduating from the Galloup School of Lutherie in 2007, Isaac started an apprenticeship with his most admired mentor, Kathy Wingert. Along with his apprenticeship, Isaac also repaired and restored many types of stringed instruments under Fred Walecki at Westwood Music.



His stay at Westwood Music also opened up new doors for him and enabled him to form a lasting friendship with Santa Cruz Guitar Company. Isaac began to work for the SCGC's warranty service where Richard Hoover (one of the godfathers of handmade guitars), generously took him in his shop for a crash course on all things guitar. Serving as his mentor, he taught Isaac his techniques and methods in guitar making and repairing and solidified his love of lutherie and the wonderful community that surrounds it.

After the Holy Grail Guitar show back in 2016, Isaac and I became good friends and regularly spoke about what he was working on and I often spent most of my time praising his work that I had seen scattered across my Facebook feed.

I am currently in California for the Winter NAMM show where I am incredibly excited to not only catch up with my good friend but also take delivery of our very first Isaac Jang Instrument. An Orchestra Model – NAMM 2018 Presentation in Italian Spruce and phenomenal special Cocobolo with a Flamed Koa binding.



Isaac Jang Guitars OM acoustic guitar in Italian Spruce & Cocobolo

Model: Orchestra Model – NAMM 2018 Presentation
Top Wood: Italian Spruce
Rosette: Simple & Elegant Koa Bound Soundhole
Back & Sides: Special Cocobolo
Back Strip: Custom Koa
Binding: Flamed Koa
Endpiece: Boxed Flamed Koa Neck : Honduran Mahogany
Dovetail Neck Joint
Position Marker: MOP Side Dots
Nut: Bone
Fingerboard: Bound Ebony, 16”-20” Compound radius Bridge: Ebony
Head Plate: Ebony/ Cocobolo with Koa accent
Back Head Plate: Cocobolo
Heel Cap: Flamed Koa
Cutaway: Non-cutaway shoulder bevel
Ergonomics: Subtle Manzer Wedge
Body Joint: 14 Fret
Total Frets: 20
Saddle: 20” Radius/Compensated Bone
Bridge Pins: Ebony with Paua Dot
Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Tuners: Gotoh 510 H.A.P.A. Gold/Ebonoid Pickguard: Clear
Nut Width: 1 3/4”
String Spacing at Saddle: 2 1/4”
Scale Length: 25.4”
Case: Custom Mainstage Case

For more information on Isaac Jang Guitars and this stunning OM Cocobolo please contact us on [email protected] or call on +44 (0) 207 835 5597.

[Diamondave]

I'm blown away by every instrument I get to play of Isaac's...!!! Nice to see they are making it over to the UK... smart move