It should be delivered today, unless I miss the UPS guy during lunch. I'm excited to play it!

I received the guitar yesterday and played it for about 3 hours last night in a variety of tunings. It's barely 3 weeks old, of course, so things are likely to evolve over the coming months and years. It's a wonderfully expressive instrument, with tremendous sensitivity to touch, particularly in the trebles and mids. I play with a pretty heavy hand, and the guitar responds to even the most aggressive pick attack without flubbing out or distorting. As I would expect, it handles tunings down to open C like a champ. If you want, this guitar can be very loud, which is something I like in just about any guitar. Maybe it's unsophisticated of me, but I like to play loud and I like guitars that have tons of volume at the ready.

The emphasis on this guitar is clearly in the treble and mids, where it has exceptional power, dynamics, and a lovely, melodic voice. True to the vintage Martin aesthetic, the emphasis is on the fundamental. Overtones are present but subdued. They add color and character rather than competing with or overwhelming the fundamental. As with my other guitars, I value the relative emphasis on the fundamental. It works well for what I do. The clarity also demands precision and good technique on my end (although I have neither).

Highs and mids have a crystalline, glassy quality to them, though they're rounded enough on the attack that the tone is not ice-picky. A product of the rosewood, I would expect. The mids emphasis and focus was a little bit of a surprise to me, as I usual experience a slight scooping of the mids with rosewood. The mid-response character is more like a glassy version of mahogany. This character is focused and powerful, and the result seems to be great projection rather than a sound that envelopes the player.

The bass content is more subdued compared to my other guitars, leaving the mids and trebles to shine while the bass notes hover a bit below the surface. Or maybe it's just that the mids, upper mids, and trebles are so explosive.

My 000-12, by way of comparison, has a MUCH different sound, though both are clearly rooted in the vintage Martin sound. The 000-12 has a much greater emphasis on the low end, and the resulting sound is a "big guitar" tone that envelopes the player. The 000-12 (which has a mahogany back) produces a rounder tone that is more even through the attack, where the OM has a faster attack and a more "immediate" tone. My Brondel A-2 sits somewhere between these two instruments. The Brondel has a surprisingly big bass, given that it's footprint is similar to my OM. It's more of a mid-scooped instrument, and the mids and trebles are, like the 000-12, a bit less immediate (the Klepper/Schoenberg and Brondel have become the standard-bearers for me, so I compare to them only because they are what I'm accustomed to). This OM certainly blurs the lines of the conventional wisdom about the differences between mahogany and rosewood.

It's early still, and this guitar has a while to settle in. I anticipate things will change subtly over time, but this guitar is a wonderful addition to my other guitars. It represents something new and different, and I'm excited to spend hours exploring the new tones available. New and different is the goal.

Craftsmanship is flawless. The setup and intonation are flawless. The neck profile is perfect (my Brondel was used as a template). John really nailed the relief with his non-adjustable truss rod. Assuming it never moves, it's right where it needs to be. The frets were Pleked, though John was so close with his own setup that very little material was removed. As a result, there isn't a note on the fretboard that doesn't ring perfectly true. The purflings that Howard supplied look absolutely amazing and create a really cool link between my two "Style 34" guitars. There was no fussing with sanding down the saddle or changing other setup parameters. It was set up to perfection right out of the box.

And for those of you who don't know John Slobod, he's one of the most patient, easy-going people you could hope to meet. My goals for this instrument changed quite a bit over the 3 years since I placed the order, but John was patient the whole way through as I changed from a 00-12 with a modern sound to a 00-12 with a vintage sound to a 000-12 with a vintage sound to an OM with a vintage sound (ha ha). He laughs easily and doesn't get upset. He's generous with his time and an absolute pleasure to work with on every level. A true gentleman and one heck of a luthier.

A lovely review Justonwo. I am glad your build came out how you wanted it to and that you are ecstatic about your guitar.

Congratulations on your Circa Juston.
John is one of my favourite builders and one of my favourite people in our small world of lutherie.
Howard's marquetry is second to none, and how gracious of him to have supplied the purflings. What a stunning guitar!

Congratulations on your new OM from John. Please share a follow-up report or recording once you get to know it a bit better. John is both a talented craftsman and an absolute gem of a guy.

Enjoy and go make some music...:up:

Awesome to hear, thanks for the review and sharing of all the pics etc... If you get around to some audio or video, Heck, I'll give a listen! :D

Thanks, guys. I will try to get a decent sound recording, though I've never been able to get very far with my Zoom H4n.

John was kind enough to send some photos of the completed guitar. He did an amazing job on the aesthetics. Absolutely classic looking. Another big thank you to Howard Klepper for his generous contribution of the purflings.

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-65.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-66.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-67.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-68.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-69.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-70.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-71.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-72.jpg

http://jus-tone.com/misc/circa/Circa_OM-73.jpg

Congrats on the Circa! I've been waiting with baited breath as to how this was going to turn out. It's truly a beautiful guitar. Thanks for sharing!

A gorgeous guitar, Juston and John.

I'm wondering who ended up with John's OO-12 pictured here. It was a big motivator for me commissioning a Circa, and I see it mentioned in other posts in the same way. It is one stunning guitar.

I'm not sure. It's a fantastic instrument for sure. I know it sold through Luthier's Collection.

After a week and a half of heavy playing, the guitar has lost a lot of its tightness and is starting to have a little more shimmer on the end of the notes as well as a touch of compression. It's starting to have precisely the kind of response that I prefer in my guitars (mostly dry, great volume, a dab of complexity under the fundamental). It'll be interesting to observe how things change over the next several weeks and months.

I'm working on a simple recording setup, having tried and failed many times to get a tone out of the H4n that remotely resembles what I hear. I'll try to post sound clips soon.

Thanks for the update, Justin.

Guitar is stunning. This is getting me jazzed for my build next year with John. Congrats!

She'll keep getting better and better....