T. Drew Heinonen "Olson" SJ - Cedar / Honduran RW - Build Thread - [PHOTOS REBUILT]

[Fsgeek]

Originally Posted by racman

At the risk of being too pedantic about this...I believe the only person who builds an Olson SJ would be Jim Olson. Others may build a similar design and spec though.

Notwithstanding all of the prior posts, it looks great and I am sure will be a wonderful "Olson-esque", Heinonen SJ guitar.

This is very true...
Having owned and played multiple Olsons, Applegate, Charis....
The Olsons have been consistently great guitars.... and most have very nice tonal bloom especially the cedar/BRW combo.

[SiliconValleySJ]

Originally Posted by Fsgeek

This is very true...
Having owned and played multiple Olsons, Applegate, Charis....
The Olsons have been consistently great guitars.... and most have very nice tonal bloom especially the cedar/BRW combo.

Ray--not too pedantic, I do think it's worth noting that Drew has his design differences from Jim, the primary ones being his build process order and his neck joint--bolt on neck v. dovetail. I should probably be more precise with my description.

Both--while I haven't played one of Drew's yet, I have reason to believe he is building the most Olson-like guitars at this point:

Bill Wise (Charis) was inspired by Jim, but Bill has also come up with his sound/tone based on his own designs that were a mix of Jim Olson and Del Langejans but leaning more toward Jim. (I couldn't complain about those 2 builders BTW as a huge Langejans fan, and this is according to Bill himself)

Brian Applegate was building more of a spec matched Olson-like SJ in the past, but as others on AGF have pointed out, Brian's modified the bracing pattern to achieve what he wanted tonally. I've played a couple and felt that he has something special going too--particularly with his spruce topped guitars.

Drew is still building the exact spec of Jim's tops (bracing, etc.) for now. I personally think he may evolve it over time as well, but I didn't ask so I can't be certain. Either way, as he's building the same spec top-wise and body size/dimensions today, I think it will be very Olson-like. I believe Alan (Korea dealer) has had similar experiences with Drew's guitars being closer to Jim's than any other builder. That was one of the reasons why I had discussions with Drew (and Drew with Jim) about whether he would do inlays with Olson doves--in case Drew became viewed as a producer of "cheap Olsons". That was not an easy decision for Drew and I'm not confident it'll be a standard option for him.

Fsgeek--that is also Drew's experience. I know Jim doesn't think there is a huge difference in tone between EIR and BRW, Drew did note to me that he could tell some--and he felt it based primarily on how reflective BRW was. That's a reason why my build with Drew is HRW--he felt it was the most reflective rosewood set in his stash--and that was important for the tonal qualities I discussed with him.

In summary, I am looking forward to my Olson-like SJ.

[SiliconValleySJ]

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Classic and classy, it'll be fun to hear your initial impressions as well as your thoughts after 6 months and a year as the guitar breaks in. And I know what you mean about it being fun to have a hand in the design process. I think that's one reason some of us went this way instead of spending time on racks of gear to find "the one." Enjoy!!

Thanks for the comments! I'll definitely have an extended review of this one.

[SiliconValleySJ]

Who ever thought choosing bridge pins would be difficult? I was originally planning buffalo horn with paua dot for aesthetics, but after seeing the options, I do dig the plain unbleached bone too. He's told me that he the tonal qualities of buffalo horn v. bone in pins is negligible if any difference at all, so it's more an aesthetic choice.

Drew is willing to throw in a set of what I choose plus a second set of what I like the next best no charge, but I do need to choose what will be installed by default. Waiting for a picture of the assembled guitar so I can see how they look before I make a final choice.

Options here are bone with paua dot, bone, buffalo horn with paua dot, and buffalo horn:

[SiliconValleySJ]

Now getting awfully close. Final sanding and buffing of the finish is done, so it's nice and shiny now. Some final assembly happened last couple of days. Bridge being glued on:



Neck waiting for the frets to join the fun:



The gold EVO frets waiting for their new home:



And the frets installed and living in their new home in nice full profile shots of the front and back:



Now I just need to choose bridge pins, end pin, and whether I want a strap button installed. After that it should be here in 2-3 weeks as I'm asking Drew to keep the guitar in tension a bit longer than his normal waiting period as my work schedule is crazy--I won't be able to really give this baby a fair test drive until mid month!

[SiliconValleySJ]

Here were the bridge pin options as they would truly look. First up, buffalo horn with paua dot:



Next up, bone with paua dot:



And last, but not least, plain bone:



Ended up going with buffalo horn with paua as primary as I think it matches the rest of the guitar themes the best. And my second option is going to be plain bone--I love how the creamy bone color looks. Drew is allowing me to have both--he'll throw the backup pins in the case.

Due to my crazy work schedule, I need to take delivery in 2 weeks rather than next week. Looking forward to it much!

[Jobe]

Good choice on the pins I think. Look, I know you are busy so as a favor I will be happy to take delivery next week. You don't have to thank me.

[TomB'sox]

Great choice, I agree 100%

[JoeCharter]

Yes good choice on the bridge pins. Guitar looks fantastic.

[SiliconValleySJ]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

Great choice, I agree 100%

Originally Posted by JoeCharter

Yes good choice on the bridge pins. Guitar looks fantastic.

Thanks Mau and Tom. It is more beautiful than I expected. I know I'm not supposed to judge a guitar by looks primarily, but it's hard not to.

Originally Posted by Jobe

Good choice on the pins I think. Look, I know you are busy so as a favor I will be happy to take delivery next week. You don't have to thank me.

Jobe, haha, if you're local you're welcome to come and play it anytime!

[SiliconValleySJ]

It's now strung up and just needs to have a truss rod cover installed, as well as a few details below.

We're working on a pickguard shape. I'm starting to think this clear pickguard shape (will be more clear when glued on) might be too traditional:



Debating if I want a plain teardrop or a Taylor/Langejans style sharper shape. I think the sharper shape could work well because of the Florentine cutaway. Just not sure if it will detract from everything else though.

Also need to figure out what sort of strap button if any. I'm not planning this as an external/gigging guitar, but also wanted to be practical and not to worry about it in the future. Drew has 3 options--rosewood, ebony, and gold strap buttons, in order.



At first I thought I wanted gold, but the ebony looks nice too. This one I need to sleep on.

And finally, the case was as expected:



Pretty much there. Final accessories, a dial in right before shipping in 2 weeks, and good to go!

Drew is very understated in how he describes things, but believes the tone is very sweet and he hopes it's what I'm looking for. He thinks this is one of those that is hard to let go to its waiting owner. (That's true of many for him, but he said this one is one of the top)

Hopefully I'll also have some of his studio shots next week to share with all.

[Fsgeek]

Looking good....

[SiliconValleySJ]

Originally Posted by Fsgeek

Looking good....

Thanks! Can't wait for it to arrive next week. We did have a snafu with the case--it wasn't a perfect fit for the guitar body, so Drew had to send that back. He's going to send it in a pre-fit SJ case he has in stock, then get the redone case shipped to me. After that I ship the pre-fit case back prepaid. He wanted to make sure his customer service here was excellent.

I'm now just trying to pick a final pickguard shape. Of course it's clear so it won't show all that much, but here are my options. The traditional, which I showed earlier; large tear drop; OM tear drop; and Taylor style:



The traditional and the Taylor cover more of the soundboard (matching the waist curve well), and I thought I would like the Taylor edges matching the Florentine cutaway... now I'm not so sure. I originally asked for the Taylor and large tear drop, Drew provided the other two. I told him I wouldn't like the OM tear drop, but it's grown on me quite a bit.

Need to decide soon. What do folks here think?

[jmagill]

+1 for the OM teardrop. Less is more.

[TomB'sox]

FWIW from me, but I like the large teardrop and then the OM...as you say, it is clear and will barely show....