4 Seasons Guitar Project and 4 Somogyis

[Fsgeek]

Fredell XS, Kostal Jumbo, Kraut 12 fret Mod D, Ogino OM


The inspiration to my project, my Somogyis... all have Euro spruce top and Brazilian rosewood back and sides

[CoolerKing]

-wow-wow-blink-

[gstar]

Wow. Are you also a talented player? Not that it has any bearing on the beauty of your collection, but what an amazing bonus it would be to have those instruments and also be able to coax the most out of them. I personally could not.

[billgennaro]

Fsgeek,

Any chance you can elaborate a bit on the differences/similarities between the Somogyis and the two by Kostal and Kraut? I have played dozen of Ervin's guitars but only one of each from Jason and Ray. I'd be interested in hearing about the tonal differences between the master's and the apprentice's builds if you're up to it.

Also, it looks to me that you have 2 Mod D's and 2 OM's of Ervin's. What's your reasoning behind having duplicate guitars (not judging, just interested)?

BTW, that's a fairly unbelievable collection you've got there. I'd almost pay you money just to sit down and audition them.

[Fsgeek]

Originally Posted by gstar

Wow. Are you also a talented player? Not that it has any bearing on the beauty of your collection, but what an amazing bonus it would be to have those instruments and also be able to coax the most out of them. I personally could not.

I can play.. but I am average at best.
I enjoy playing world class instruments as it makes me sound and play better

[Fsgeek]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

Fsgeek,

Any chance you can elaborate a bit on the differences/similarities between the Somogyis and the two by Kostal and Kraut? I have played dozen of Ervin's guitars but only one of each from Jason and Ray. I'd be interested in hearing about the tonal differences between the master's and the apprentice's builds if you're up to it.

Also, it looks to me that you have 2 Mod D's and 2 OM's of Ervin's. What's your reasoning behind having duplicate guitars (not judging, just interested)?

BTW, that's a fairly unbelievable collection you've got there. I'd almost pay you money just to sit down and audition them.

Hi Bill,

I have a thread designated for the Kraut, Kostal, Fredell and Ogino.
Most of Ervin's apprentices are 80-90% close to the sound his guitars.
The remaining 10-20% makes Ervin's different. And its very much appreciable.

I have played more than 15 Somogyis from different decades. IMHO the best ones in terms of tone are from the mid 90's to the early 00'. The classic Dreads from the early 80's did not appeal to me...
The more recent ones have better fit and finish, lighter and have gorgeous tone woods.

I got some of the Somogyis from trades, and I will sell one Mod D and one OM... The Oms are 2 serial numbers apart and are tonally identical. Both are among the best guitars I have played.

You should visit me, I have more goodies... a Walker, Traugott, Greenfield, B and H, Olson, Ryan etc... Catch is I live in the far east haha

[ericcsong]

Originally Posted by Fsgeek

You should visit me, I have more goodies... a Walker, Traugott, Greenfield, B and H, Olson, Ryan etc... Catch is I live in the far east haha

Dave, am I invited too? love the pics! love the guitars even more!

[billgennaro]

Originally Posted by Fsgeek

Hi Bill,

I have a thread designated for the Kraut, Kostal, Fredell and Ogino.
Most of Ervin's apprentices are 80-90% close to the sound his guitars.
The remaining 10-20% makes Ervin's different. And its very much appreciable.

I have played more than 15 Somogyis from different decades. IMHO the best ones in terms of tone are from the mid 90's to the early 00'. The classic Dreads from the early 80's did not appeal to me...
The more recent ones have better fit and finish, lighter and have gorgeous tone woods.

I got some of the Somogyis from trades, and I will sell one Mod D and one OM... The Oms are 2 serial numbers apart and are tonally identical. Both are among the best guitars I have played.

You should visit me, I have more goodies... a Walker, Traugott, Greenfield, B and H, Olson, Ryan etc... Catch is I live in the far east haha

Next time I'm in the Far East I'll swing by! And might I say that I am completely envious of your collection. What model Walker do you have?

As a side note, I have an '85 Somogyi Mod D and I can agree with you that it does not sound quite like his later builds. However, Ervin did some retro-voicing on it for me and now it suits me perfectly. Amazing what removing a little wood from the bracing can do.

I figured that the Kraut and Kostal would be about 80% similar to a Somogyi. Only makes sense since Ervin taught them how he builds. It'll be interesting to hear how their guitars evolve throughout the next 20 years or so.

[ukejon]

Wow, stunning line up.

[Fsgeek]

Originally Posted by ericcsong

Dave, am I invited too? love the pics! love the guitars even more!

Surely Eric, if ever you fly to Korea, you should take another flight lol.
BTW, I might visit Seoul next year... Ill head to woodsound again haha

[Fsgeek]

Originally Posted by billgennaro

Next time I'm in the Far East I'll swing by! And might I say that I am completely envious of your collection. What model Walker do you have?

The Walker is a SJ w bearclaw Sitka and African blackwood b/s.

From the Somogyis you play what are your thoughts? w/c era do you like best?
The best one I have played was a worn out 97' Jumbo... I wasnt able to buy it, bc my wife was with me during that time and it was very expensive. Looking back, I shouldve bought it lol...

[MBE]

Wow, that collection made my heart skip a beat.

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

The question is - if there was a fire and you could only run out holding two cases - which ones would you pick?

[steveh]

Where do you live?
I want to visit your house when you're out...
I'll need somewhere to park my van...

Cheers,
Steve

[Billy Boy]

Stunning...absolutely stunning!

[JoeCharter]

Originally Posted by ericcsong

Dave, am I invited too? love the pics! love the guitars even more!

Me too...

Love the twin OMs... Beautiful collection, Dave.