My Trip to Jeff's Workshop

[cadam5150]

Hi All,

Indeed it is rare to build guitars for a living in Asia, let alone making it. Please allow me to share my trip journal, about a wonderful man, a luthier, Jeff Yong who is a self-taught luthier in Malaysia.

We were picked at some LRT station and straight to his workshop and very quickly we chatted a lot things regarding guitar construction ... especially the tradition fixations of certain guitar builders ... after hearing his thoughts on building guitars, I must say he is very forward thinking in this aspect. My sensing was he would not allow himself be bounded by certain paradigms in building guitar and also not afraid to challenge these boundaries that were once thought to be "unshakeable"... of course he shared his award winning experiences when one of his infamous Monkey Pod guitar beat 60 plus other hand-made guitars in a blind listening competition.

He was very generous about letting people in playing his guitars ... no $10 bucks cover charge, no need to inspect for scorpions belt, finger nails evaluation, etc ... nothing ... just play the guitars!

Here're some pictures for your viewing pleasure ...

Jeff getting an OM model made from ANGSANA tree ... yes these trees are of truck loads in Singapore and Malaysia ... when I saw the wood grains, I began to wonder why I got fixated to Brazilian Rosewood which is so far and scarce ...




Unbelievable ... the ANGSANA guitar's tone was as sweet as I have felt and heard ... I must say that the tone of his guitars is unique ... first it sounds very woody, it is very sweet, the sustain wasssssssss ... a joke from a guitarist that played Jeff's guitar during the blind listening competition ... the guitarist strummed a chord and it kept ringing, so he told the audience to go for lunch first, and it may stop ringing when they are back ... The tone wasn't in-your-face kind of forward, it was not shy as well ... so I can't say that it has a backward tone ... the closest description may be the tone is very cool ... NOT COLD NOT DARK... very hypnotizing and soothing tone that will keep you wanting for more ... in general the guitars he built carry such characteristics. Regarding the bass response, I have to be deaf to not hear it ... deep and stable, not excessively boomy and able to hold its depth even when played hard ... to me it sounded like an expensive speaker ...

Below is the award winning Monkey Pod



Below is the JJ Nara ... incidentally he is selling this piece.



His priceless collection



I could not remember what is the topwood of this piece ... but this was one of his early guitars where he experimented with different topwoods.



Below picture is Jeff playing a custom model he made for a Singaporean. Only three of such design he has made. He uses Malaysian Blackwood as the B/S.




The inlays are hand-made ... NO machine cut ...

As we talked about the importance of tuning the topplate to its correct stiffness, I asked him if it is possible to make a guitar using those really low cost wood, like plywood. Since it is about tuning the toplate ... theoretically it should be possible, right?

Immediately he showed his plywood guitar and the tone was amazingly sweet and the bass response was deep and punchy ... the bottom line, it sounded like a $4K plus guitar ...

If you got this far ... a big thank for reading the posting. May GOD bless this man abundantly and let his work benefit the guitar community here. Cheers.

[tkuane]

Hi Adam,

He is a very nice man. I visited him myself some time ago and I really like his overall attitude and approach to guitar building. Who can deny his guitars sound good when he won first place in the blind-listening competition? I really want to take his guitar building course!

[El Conquistador]

Glad to see Jeff is doing well after his terrible accident. Good for him
LC

[cadam5150]

Originally Posted by tkuane

Hi Adam,

He is a very nice man. I visited him myself some time ago and I really like his overall attitude and approach to guitar building. Who can deny his guitars sound good when he won first place in the blind-listening competition? I really want to take his guitar building course!

Hi tkuane,

Indeed the trip was fruitful and humbling to me. I heard he might go east to further develop his career. If you have been yearning to attend his guitar making course, hesitate not and get on with it. He mentioned the exhaustion he experienced after each guitar making course. Not sure how long more would he conduct such course. Hope you can materialize it...

[Hendra]

Hi Adam,

Which part of Malaysia where Jeff workshop is located. I might visit his workshop some time if I happen to be around. Those guitar are gorgeous. Feels like owning one some day.

[cadam5150]

Originally Posted by Hendra

Hi Adam,

Which part of Malaysia where Jeff workshop is located. I might visit his workshop some time if I happen to be around. Those guitar are gorgeous. Feels like owning one some day.

Hi Hendra,

PMed you the details. Hope you can find one.