Halcyon OM Build Thread

[thechoochlyman]

As some of you already know about, Ed Bond - of Tinker Guitars - is now offering his Halcyon Guitar Line, which starts at $999.

About six weeks ago, I got my name on the build list for a custom-ordered OM. He has been putting up some pics of the build on his facebook page the last few days. I will put up pics of the build here as it continues.

Here are the specs:
OM body, solid Mahogany Neck, Back, and Sides, with Lutz Spruce Top
Ebony bridge and fretboard
Rosewood faceplate
25.5" scale
Tusq nut, saddle, and pins
1.5" string spacing on 1 11/16" neck width
16-21" compound radius fretboard
Neck thickness of approx. .787" at 1st fret, and .905" at 10th.

[blaren]

Awesome.
Thanks for posting the build pics Chooch.

[thechoochlyman]

[thechoochlyman]

After some testing, we opted to go with tapered bracing as opposed to scalloped. Seems to be better suited for fingerstyle with more articulate mids.

[thechoochlyman]

[blaren]

What kind of binding and purfling ya gettin on that one Charlie? Hog/birch?

[thechoochlyman]

Hog binding, not sure about the purfling... just whatever the "standard issue" is, I suppose. You know Ed.

[thechoochlyman]

Finally got some new pics!

My guitar with an (almost) identical one. Not sure which is which.


My neck getting the fingerboard glued up.

[JamesTGS]

I had the opportunity to visit Ed in his workshop last month. He brought out a Halcyon that he just finished for Blue Dog and a Tinker. What amazing lively guitars. The Halcyon responded to both finger style and flat picking with perfect articulation. I had expected to feel that familiar compression that comes with brand new small body guitars but, the all mahogany build felt as if it had been played for years. Since then I have watched the Facebook page and followed your build. It is cool that he posts these workshop pictures but, maybe just a little bit evil of him too.

[blaren]

It's gonna be cool to watch and hear yours and RLouie's impressions of these.

James, I'm glad someone with your experience has got to play and describe a halcyon cause I've been raving about them for almost a year now.
It's reassuring (means my ears really DO work) to hear you describe the same things I hear.

He does do some extra things that seem relatively uncommon..things like the way he thicknesses tops, compound fb rads but MOST of his methods seem relatively standard. He used decent woods on the Halcyons but nothing AA or AAA or AAAA or Mastergrade blah blah blah etc etc etc.
I have a pretty lightly braced and forward shifted Adi over EIR AJ and a pretty "normal" 12 fret Lutz over SA Hog that Ed made me (the AJ was in July and the OOO in December). Both are, like I said, relatively normal. Nothing super crazy, just decently built guitars made of decent woods. Of course the buyer gets to decide on things like scale length, string spacing, rw or ebony board and bridge, and I guess the "allowable" wood choices kinda resemble what you can get on the Taylor 3 and 4 series..well I guess the 8 series too (rw?). He offers sitka, lutz, adi or cedar or hog tops and the B&S options are pretty much limited to hog, rw, primavera, or ovankol. Some of those options carry a wee upcharge...actually I think they all do these days except for sitka over Honduran Mahogany.
He uses Tusq for nuts and saddles and some grover looking tuners (that work and feel really nicely). They come strung with EXP PB lights.

So yeah...there isn't really anywhere I can see that he injects the mojo and magic voodoo that makes these things so awesome.
You have surely played, held, bought, and sold a LOT more guitars than I have James but I have owned a whole bunch in the past few years. I've also test-driven every guitar I could in stores...now I'm positive this is where your experience and knowledge that far outweighs mine, can intervene here and tell me what the heck is going on???
WHY do I think and truly believe that these two guitars (my two Halcyons) completely and easily blow AWAY pretty much every guitar I've EVER tried??

I've brought the AJ to several jams and places where there have been some very legit guitars...the shocking-est was in a hotel room after a gig where the host of the "after-party" had a Taylor Dave MAthers sig (like an 814 I think) and a SJ200TV or something...a nice expensive SJ. I kept getting stuck with the SJ cause NO ONE would let go of my AJ :-(

I also, while having the AJ at least, owned (still own this one) a Stonebridge G24SR and a Stanford PSRD20, both really great guitars. That Halcyons make those guitars (and just about every other guitar I've compared them to) sound like ...uhhh...I think Estebans is the brand we use around here to say CHEAP.

So James, WHAT is it that is making me (and people I know) think that these relativly "normal" Halcyons so awesome???
I sincerely just don't GET it. He doesnt do stuff that much differently than the big 3 or the big 5 or the medium 17.. I mean he does have a ton of experience since he is the PM at one of those big5 producers...but still, I just don't get it and I feel kinda stupid.
Every chance I get, I put one of my Halcyons into the hands of a guitar player and they all have the same reaction as I do...they won't put it down and they can't take the :-O off of their faces.

So James, as far as you can tell, WHAT makes the Halcyons so ****ed GOOD? OR...are they even "so ****ed good"? Is it just me? Well me and my friends? Did I send the Emperor out naked but now even I am seeing his fabulous outfit??

Confused and, even a little worried. Am I losing my hearing or just my mind?
And I mean they sound better than EVERY guitar...not just guitars at the same ($999) pricepoint...hey maybe THAT'S what's wrong.
Oh oh...never thought of this. I never really DID compare it to guitars in the same pricerange (under $1K or so). MAYBE this is just how relatively inexpensive guitars sound? Maybe my pallette is just "tuned" (tonedeaf) to hear and prefer cheap sounding guitars instead of maybe the more refined and subdued/subtle "expensive" voices of the "better" guitars??
If that is the case I feel like I just won the lottery. I'll always be happy with cheap (sounding) guitars.
You know...one of my faves in just about every guitar store I rifled through seemed to always be the low-end Larrivees (didnt ever really try a high end Larry)..so...maybe I AM just a cheap guitar date?

But no...you heard it too though James...so ok now I'm back to square 1 again. WHY???
WHY are these Halcyons seemingly so good and competitive...even compared to guitars that cost 5 times + as much?

Oh oh...how old are you James? Is it possible that you are just suffering from the exact same hearing loss as I am? Well if that's the case, I guess I'll be bidding against YOU on eBay trying to win all those Estebans and Fender acoustic guitars :-(

But seriously James...am I losing my mind or hearing? WHAT is it that makes the Halcyons sound so ...ummmm...you say "mature"..I say confusingly awesome?
HELP!!!
big3..or the big 5 or the medium 17

[JamesTGS]

I think that the early buyers of Halcyon are in for a treat. Ed seems to have that feel and ear which allows him to cut right. He has the time to put in on these that most people charge more for. I doubt he will be able to do this forever but, right now he is willing to work really hard for less to build his business. Remember sweat equity? It is something craftsmen have to do.

You did hit on a theory I have in the electric world. Total wingnut idea with no scientific merit. I am 43 and have owned at least 20 "this is THE one" amps in the last 25 years. I think that we burn out frequencies out and this may be why some sounds get to be old to us and we move on. ......?

Anyhow I was really impressed with the short time I spent with Ed and his guitars. I really like the fact builders can show daily progress to the world via social media. I will do what I can in life to support them. It makes me happy.

[blaren]

Well James, you sound like a great and knowledgeable guy. You know what that means right? Your store is for sure a great plact to buy gear.

I totally agree and have been saying it since I got my first Halcyon.
I just can't see him offering these indefinitely..at least not at these prices if he wants to eath anything other than Kraft Dinner and weiners. Hey...maybe he loves KD and bullets but...
Sure enough, when I got the AJ there wasnt much that carried an upcharge. Now everything except Sitka and Mahogany carry an upcharge (hey like I said..COMPLETELY understandable and expected and warranted). Now that adi topped, rw B&S AJ with ebony FB and Bridge would cost closer to $1500 than to $999.
The 12fret OOO I got with Lutz over quilted Honduran hog with ebony (for $999) would now cost well over $1200 instead of, again...$999.
The 6 week waits I had to endure (oh the humanity lol) in wait...is now more than 6 MONTHS.

Of course I predicted all of this..or more like...I couldnt see him staying in business UNLESS he "adjusted" his pricepoints but I thought the higher prices and longer waits would have happened sooner.
I mean seriously...at $999...after paying for materials and parts, power, rent, wages and his own time....he can't be making hardly anything off the Halcyons.
I've owned businesses before and I appreciate what you have to do to get your name out there. These "recession friendly" custom one-ofs will, very soon (probably shortly after you get a half dozen into your store so people can try them) make Halcyon a heard-of and known name.
Maybe THEN he will spring the trap and raise prices substantially and hopefully, he'll become very successful and make some serious (ly deserved) money/profit.
I KNOW that day is coming and that is another reason that I'm working on the design of Halcyon #3.
My crystal ball is saying that Halcyon prices will rise a little more followed by longer wait times and then finally, the inevitable END of the Halcyon brand completely to be replaced by his higher end brand...the Tinker brand.

BUT...my EARS tell me (cause Ed put the words into them lol) that pretty soon the base price of the Halcyons will increase but that the "standard", non-upcharge wood options will be more. So maybe something like (I'm guessing) $1500 base price but with available wood choices like primavera, bocote, ovankol, EIR, walnut ??????? ETC???? for B&S and maybe Lutz, hog, sitka, or cedar as "standard" available topwoods?? And no upcharge for ebony fb&b??

That's my guess anyway and if/when that DOES happen, the Halcyons will STILL be the very best acoustic guitar bargain out there.

Hopefully James, you get a bunch in soon and they all sell in the first week and that you have to start taking names. Hopefully you can make more from them than Ed does and you can continue to carry more and more of them in the future. I think you really should try to work-out some sort of exclusivity with Ed as far as the US market goes. You should be the USA distributor of the Halcyon and Tinker brands...before someone else does. Watch-out for them pesky LA Guitar Sales guys cause they are kind of in the "know" too. Well kind of. They HAD a used Tinker in the store but of course..it SOLD pretty quickly.

ANYWAY...can't wait to see the batch you get-in, what your take is on them and, how fast they sell and how quickly (they told two friends and THEY told two friends and THEY...) the log of backorders explodes.

Did I mention that I LOVE my Halcyon guitars? lol
I think (so far) that my #3 is going to be a 13fret dread with a black walnut B&S, ebony fb&b, and this time I think I might go with the full scale length (25.5). My other two are 25" scales so maybe time for a bit of a different feel. Also, since it's probably gonna be a dread (mainly a strummer), maybe I'll get this one with a 1-11/16" nutwidth and maybe his standard neck profile.

Well...have a great day James and I can't wait to see all your new Halcyons and hear your take on them.

[Dru Edwards]

I'm looking forward to see the completed build and then read a NGD thread. I hope these guitars make it here to the East coast so I can try one. I've read lots of positive reviews here over the past year or so.

thechoochlyman: How long are you expecting the complete build to take, including the up front wait time to when it is in your hands? ... And Congrats!

[blaren]

Dru,
Chuck can reply for himself of course but I havent been able to find him today so...
Wait times for a HAlcyon used to be 6-8weeks from deposit to delivery. Things are getting a little backlogged over at the Halcyon plant lately though I think.
I THINK Chooch is nearing the 3 month mark on his? It's SO close to being ready though...my guess would be ..finished by Tuesday?

I wouldn't wait to see Halcyons in stores of the US East Coast though. IF any ever DO make it to a store on that side, I'd imagine they'd be sold faster than you could say "It's me Dru, I'm coming right down to test one out".
That reason and because I think he's building a bach of 6 for a West Coast store (in the USA)...as WELL as all the customer orders he has, backorders from BlueDog Guitars...well yeah...I wouldnt hold my East Coast breath. He's one luthier in a small shop with one apprentice. No CNC machinery, no automated anything. Just old school building one at a time by hand to the customers specs (YES, for under a grand...I know right?).

So, imagining that pricepoints remain static for a few more months and the growth of the Halcyon name continuing to expand at this relatively slow rate
(all he can do is try to keep-up to demand), if you ordered ONE for yourself today, my guess (it's only a wild guess) is that you should expect to receive your finished guitar sometime around Christmas of 2013.
Waiting until there are Halcyons in Eastern Seaboard American stores...well...if you're that good at holding your breath maybe you should consider a carreer in Free Diving.

Dru, if I were you, I'd start dreaming of your perfect guitar and then get your deposit en route right away.
Just supposing you didnt fall in LOVE with it (can't see that happening), you could flip it. I have 2 Halcyons.
I was offered $1500 for my AJ before it was finished and I was offered $1800 for it about 2 days after I got it.
You would have NO PROBLEM selling your HAlcyon for considerably more than you paid for it....even IF the Halcyons are still available at $999.
A lot of people dont want to wait up to a year for a new guitar so are happy to pay a premium for one NOW. And even if they have nothing but time, only a FOOL would not offer you $1500 for your Halcyon. Even if that fool has a deposit in on a Halcyon already.

So order one and hope you don't like it. When it arrives and you arent floored by it, sell it and use the proceeds and profit to buy something else. (AINT GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! I propmise).

Or Dru, maybe one day there WILL be Halcyons available all up and down the East Coast but it won't be anytime soon. Not this year, probably not in 2014...well..unless he realizes that by expanding, automating, hiring staff..he can pump-out the Halcyons by the hundreds...which probably will/might happen. When that day comes though, those $1600 Halcyons will be awesome but the Grail Halcyons will be the old original ones that were made by Ed himself...by HAND...to YOUR specs...back when they were only $999!

Dru, maybe you can have MY slot. I'm about to commission a third Halcyon for myself (before it's too late). I'm thinking of a 13 fret dread with black walnut B&S and either a Sitka, Adi or Lutz top. Figured Koa binding, purfling, and rosette, ebony fb and bridge, maybe full scale this time (25.5") and maybe with a narrower strummer's nuntwidth of 1-11/16 instead of the other two Halcyons I have that sport 25" scales and 1-3/4" nuts.
Not sure if I'm gonna go with scalloped, tapered, parabolic, or some goofy combination of all 3. Whatever bracing carve I go with, I'm thinking adi bracing maybe.

I WAS going to ship a deposit in a couple weeks with hopes of getting it started at the end of this month (May) but I might hold-off a bit more. Festival gigs start on May 11th and once that happens it's hair straight back and non-stop. I'm thinking now that I might wait till fall for Halcyon #3 so...
Send Ed an email or FB message and tell him to watch for your deposit and in the meantime...start dreaming of what your new Halcyon guitar is gonna look like, be made of, and sound like.
That should give you like 4 months-ish to come up with the balance (the other half of the $999 price) before your guitar ships.

OR...wait till they appear for sale on the East Coast in abundance. I predict you will be waiting for a very very very very very loooooong time. In fact...I just consulted my crystal ball and asked when they would be available for sale on the East Coast.
It just laughed at me.
Then it said...if you're just waiting so that you can try before you buy...well...that is nearly impossible. You just can't try a custom build that you came up with until...after it exists.
That's the one potential problem with buying custom built (for you) guitars. Rule #1 that states...TRY before you BUY...doesnt apply to customs.

The good news is that..a $999 Halcyon is worth at least TWICE that so you would NEVER have a problem selling one at a profit.
If you ask me, the gamble is more than worth the risk. To me it's a WIN WIN.
If you love the guitar you WIN. If you don't LOVE it, you can sell it for more than you paid (guaranted...maybe even to ME) and still WIN.

To quote a very stable and wise man:
Winning! lmao

Dru, talk to Ed and get that crazy Halcyon started.
What are you thinking? Dread? Smallbody? Shortscale? Standard? Exotic woods? All hog? All Primavera? Bocote Back and sides? Ovankol? EIR? Honduran hog? Sitka top? Adi? Lutz? Cedar?
The sky is almost the limit and yes...you can get...for example, a 12fret dread with Lutz Spruce top with Honduran hog B&S, ebony or rw board and bridge (and btw, his boards come with a compound radius!!), shortscaled ( or long), your favorite nutwidth, tuners, wood binding, purfling and rosette etc etc etc....for UNDER a THOUSAND BUCKS!
fine print: plus shipping and a case.

If when you receive it and (probably impossible but) don't like it, SELL it at a profit. BOOM. No harm no foul...only profit that you can use towards a cookie-cutter guitar like a Taylor, Gibby or Martin.
The way I see it, You simply can't LOSE...unless you wait until your favorite East Coast store carries Halcyons...cause honestly, not only can I not see that happening in the near future, I just can't see it EVERY happening.
So there IS, I suppose, a way for you to LOSE when getting a Halcyon and that is to just wait for them.
My 2 million cents.

[robj144]

Nice looking guitar.

Blaren: you're a man of few words.