NGD- Leviora fan-fret

[Kray Van Kirk]

Hi everyone~

I've actually had this for a few months now but haven't had the chance to post the pictures.

The guitar is a Leviora fan-fret, unfinished steel-string. I decided to skip the finish partially for price, and partially for aesthetics. Thomas Strieker, the luthier who built it for me, had a number of questions on my preferred architecture that I confess I could not answer, so many of the specs are his pre-sets.

The instrument came with a Hiscox Pro II case, and I asked to have a K&K Ultrapure installed as well.

I really like CF guitars, and I've been playing a pair of Rainsongs for years (AWS1000, WS3000), which have been the only guitars I owned.

The Leviora is highly sensitive and responsive, and has enormous volume, probably twice that of the AWS1000. The frets are larger than I have played before, meaning less pressure is required to fret the string, but I am still acclimating to that new dynamic and it has been a definite challenge. The beveled arm-rest is nice, and I really love the bayonet bridge, allowing strings to just be hooked under as opposed to threaded or pinned. The neck is a bit wider than I am used to, which also is requiring a little extra stretching, but makes for precision playing.

One thing that is different about the Leviora is the construction. The back, sides, and top are all distinct pieces joined together like a traditional wooden instrument. I'll be very interested to see how that affects any changes in tone as the years go by (it may have no effect at all). The neck joint is adjustable through an interior bolt, but that's beyond my pay grade.

The tone, volume, richness and everything else have made this a remarkable guitar to play. It will be some months yet before I really feel like I have it under control - it's a bit of a roaring dragon. But I am definitely loving it! Thomas has never built a 12-string and we've talked about it a few times; I'll be extremely interested to play the results of that experiment!!

Frets - 21 medium
Tuners - Gotoh 510 gold medium
Bridge Saddle - Bone
Scale Length - E1 630mm E6 675mm
Neck Width - 46mm at nut
Body length - 19 1/2" (496mm)
Body width (lower bout) - 15 3/8" (390mm)
Body width (upper bout) - 11 1/2" (295mm)
Body depth (lower bout) - 4 3/8" (112mm)

[SpruceTop]

Congratulations and what an interesting-looking guitar! Looks like a unidirectional top on it. Have you played plugged-in? If so, do you find the K&K UltraPure enables fairly high volumes before feedback? Thanks.

[steelvibe]

If I could get away with posting less than 4 letters I would just say...

NICE!!

[ac]

REALLY nice!

What's the nut width?

[Kray Van Kirk]

Lessee... yes, the top is unidirectional, and that likely accounts for some of the rich tone. The AWS1000 also has (to my ear) a richer tone than most Rainsongs, likely due to the hybrid glass top, but it is exceeded by the Leviora.

I love the K&K. I've not cranked it up to see at what level I get feedback, but I've played a few shows with it and it handles really well.

Nut width is 46 mm. I notice it when I have some fingering near the nut that need some speed, but it also translates to an easier time in general with finger placement and precision.

One thing I plan to do when I get down to Seattle next is go sit in Dusty Strings with this thing and compare it to everything else in there in terms of sound as well as playability. It reminds me of a Lowden or a Goodall, but the body is a tad shallower.

[douglasfan1]

Looks that really attractive. I like the bridge design. Is it easy to change strings with that? Will the ball end of strings comes out from the bridge when tighten it?

[Kray Van Kirk]

I've not had that happen yet, douglas. I've tried seven or eight different sets of strings to find the right tension and tone, and they all switch out faster than ever. That's another reason I'd love to have Thomas build a 12-string - in addition to the tone and playability and everything else, changing strings would be SO much easier than with bridge pins.

[douglasfan1]

I think it comes with Elixir string, am I correct?
So you've tried different brand of strings for your leviora guitar, right? May I ask which one do you think is the best for yours?

[tdq]

I had one of these for a week back when MacNichol did roadtrips. It was an amazing sounding guitar - the sound just leapt out at the slightest touch. While not an audio feature, I really liked the bayonet system for easy string changes, too, and the bevel was very comfortable. I wonder what changes Thomas has made since then, it was a few years ago now. I found it didn't suit all my playing styles but for delicate fingerstyle it was magical.

[Kray Van Kirk]

It comes with Elixir strings, yes. I confess I've not tried all the string sets out there, partially because I've played Elixirs for so long I am completely ignorant about the wider selections and their relative tonal qualities, other than I what I read on AGF. I definitely prefer medium gauge strings on this guitar, and the tone and sound from the Elixir Nanoweb and a Canadian-made Wyre brand endorsed by Pierre Bensusan have been my favorites. Next time I am in Canada I may stock up on those.

If anyone has any other suggestions for other string brands that have worked well on their CF guitars, please chime in!

tdq- I missed the Leviora road trip out of MacNichol, and so I ordered this one without having played one before. I'm curious as to your playing style and what you found didn't work on that instrument. I have found I need a curved slide to match the curvature of the fretboard (or maybe I am just a lousy slide player, which I find highly likely!). Thomas has changed the neck joint around - now there is no heel block.

[mbrohl]

Wow, that's one gorgeous guitar.

[tdq]

Originally Posted by Kray Van Kirk

tdq- I missed the Leviora road trip out of MacNichol, and so I ordered this one without having played one before. I'm curious as to your playing style and what you found didn't work on that instrument. I have found I need a curved slide to match the curvature of the fretboard (or maybe I am just a lousy slide player, which I find highly likely!). Thomas has changed the neck joint around - now there is no heel block.

Hi KRay - if I was playing stuff like Pierre Bensusan or Tony MacManus (I wish!) this would be a great guitar. I mostly play more rootsy stuff and jazz standards so I actually found the guitar too rich for this style, I mostly need something a bit "flatter" and mid-rangy with not much sustain. I also play a fair bit of slide and the fan frets didn't lend it to this in my opinion. Of course, in an ideal world I'd have this as well as my other guitars I do like a wide nut though! Not sure what the one I played had.

So, some obligatory samples?

[Kray Van Kirk]

tdq - that makes sense in terms of playing styles. The slide is still presenting some issues, but largely due to needing a thicker and heavier slide (plus, as I said, I'm a lousy slide player). The resonance does require a bit more attention to damping or muting strings so that the whole thing doesn't become noisy. But I do love the rich tone and it fits the majority of what I play.

I'm working on getting a brief little video done about the guitar with a little snippet, but as I do not own a cell phone or video camera and my daughter has recently moved out (she who has the digital stuff!), it will take a wee bit longer. :-p

[douglasfan1]

Did you guys stick with the bone saddle? Have you tried the obbligato saddle? They claim that can improve the sound just like a wood guitar, but can't find any other information...

[J.R. Rogers]

Congrats! What a beauty... I'd love to try that. Really like the arm bevel that they did. Black buttons on the tuners too. That top almost looks like quilted maple.

JR