A new Journey in Life, a new guitar, a new Kostal! Brazilian/German ???
 

I have to apologize to my AGF friends for lying. January 2011, I said that my last commission (final) would be the Brazilian/German Modified Dreadnought guitar with wedge.

I can say my last commission (previous guitar) was the Kostal and I wouldn't be lying :D I initially posted that thread in excitement of my guitar and also because I was entering a new stage in my life. I ordered the Kostal in Dec 2010, started the thread in 2011, and thought it really would be my last commission.

Why you ask? I was able to marry my best friend and begin a brand new life with my beautiful bride!

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/.../wson23web.jpg

So thinking that life would come with a few changes, the guitar lover in me could not commission anymore!

So what has happened in the last 2 years? As shared in the previous story, I was able to visit the Somogyi shop and picked various sets of wood, tap them with Jason, and share the full build with you here. If you want to take a look at the Somogyi shop again and see the previous Kostal build, you can find it here:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=205642

As I really hoped, when the guitar was delivered at Woodstock last year,
I fell in love with the guitar and it was everything I wanted. Although I knew I was in the honeymoon phase, I put down a deposit on another! I knew that if I changed my mind, I could always sell my spot down the road. But after a year of having the guitar, and still being on the honeymoon, its time for this new Kostal thread!

A quick one year review here:
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...=kostal&page=2

and a sound clip of the Kostal:
http://soundcloud.com/ericcsong/one-year-kostal-1

Some of you have seen my Ryan for sale in the classifieds. It is a very special guitar for me because I played it in my wedding:

http://i1201.photobucket.com/albums/.../wson84web.jpg

After talking with my wife some more, she knew how much I wanted another Kostal and said she'd be fine with the Ryan leaving, but I couldn't sell the guitar I woo'd her with :)

More news will be coming, but I wanted to invite you on another journey in my guitar adventure!

stay tuned..... ;)

Eric,
Congrats to you and your beautiful wife! Question, what are you varying for your new Mod D? Just different wood?

Jason

Jason, thanks!

I was able to flip the Ryan, so now I'm craving either a bigger body like the Cathedral, or a smaller body. I was able to play a pretty spectacular OM recently so my ears are perked!

While the Mod-D isn't completely out of the picture, a Jumbo might be or a small body :)

Congrats!! So are you considering using German/Brazilian again?

Brian, same wood combinations, different body! :)

this piece of Brazilian was my second runner up and I absolutely love it!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73...20Braz/256.jpg

If its still available, I might go this route. But i think i already recommended it to Dave earlier this year :(

Don't worry - I've had loads of "final" guitars. One new year, I swore blind to my daughters and wife that there would be "no more" guitars that year, and made a bet. I lost: I had bought 4 by the end of January! ha ha. Who cares?

I saw your musings elsewhere re Blazer and Henkes and Traugotts etc...Looks like Jason won out? Your MD must be really special to achieve that. I have a Kostal OM on the way next year and am very much looking forward to it: The MD is great but I'm intrigued to hear what Jason can do with a smaller (for which read "more conventional") body size.

Looking forward to your updates!

cheers,
Steve

great news eric

Congratulations Eric, that's awesome!

Eric, I may have to disappoint you.....;)
But I am excited for another great journey by you!!! Way to go!!!

Ervin does incredible things with the OM size. I actually prefer it to his Mod D... which is almost "too much" for me. Even in this terrible 16 second recording of a German/Braz I recently played, it's amazing how much you can hear. It was like a 308 Fazioli was hiding inside that little guitar. I asked Robin what she thought of Jason's OMs compared to Ervin's when I visited her shop (the Guitar Gallery) in Nashville. Never one to mince words, her response was: "Oh shoot, they're just as good! I couldn't tell the difference!"

Well, the Mod-D is a lot of guitar but I don't think I could play anything else at this stage...

That said Jason's OM's are spectacular, I played one in concert at last year's Healdsburg show. Gorgeous koa with an Italian spruce top... very naughty...

http://i655.photobucket.com/albums/u...02at153421.png

Here's the video... the audio is from the camera only so it only shows maybe 30% of what the guitar is actually capable of.

For me, I think it's just a simple case of stylistic incompatibility. For most of the things I play and the way I think compositionally on the guitar, the response of guitars in the Somogyi camp (regardless of body size, really) aren't always ideal. It's *really* fun to play to their strengths, though! They are incredible guitars. Nice pic and great vid, Michael!

This is actually what intrigues me about Jason Kostal. He seems to take a lot of that Somogyi sound and response, and adds (my words, nobody else's) focus. It's some of the diffusion of sound that, for me, limits the use of a Somogyi in certain ways--although I'd happily take a Somogyi, ha ha! But I continually hear that Jason adds a focusing of that in some really important ways, at least for my playing styles.

As an aside, Mike D knows my preferences here pretty well, and he was one who really (re-)sparked my interest. In fact, he essentially called me on the way home from Woodstock and said, "Listen, you really need to talk to Jason Kostal about his guitars." When I mentioned that I was diving back into Michael Hedges, he was even more excited, probably because (as has been said before) Jason is a monster player and knows that repertoire really well.

-B

OK, I need to play a Kostal!!

He should do... Jason studied with Michael Hedges...

I got to play my first Kostal this past weekend at Woodstock (two actually). I have to admit I had read so much about his guitars on internet forums that I started to become disinterested, like "hype backlash" (happened to me with Wilco, Radiohead, The Wire, Sons of Anarchy).

Just like the examples above, when I finally did get to have the experience I was in no way let down. Even in the terrible listening conditions at the show, I could tell Jason's guitars were stellar. It doesn't hurt that Jason is a fantastic guy, unreal player and has the perspective of being a guitar buyer as well as a builder.

And yes, I am the guy telling people how great The Wire is, years after it ended. Better late to the party vs missing it altogether I guess.

Congratulations, Eric!

Your wife seems to really love you so just keep buying those guitars... ;)

thanks for all the replies so far! Its really been a fun journey. Debating which woods, wondering which body sizes to go with, changing your mind here and there.

I think after 10 years of buying guitars and trying various high end makers, you tend to know more of what you want. Your ears become more specific and are looking for that one thing here or there. You want one characteristic from guitar A and another from guitar B. Then guitar C really sticks out for you and you want that too! Soon the list becomes too long and then you don't know what you want again!

The reality? No one guitar can do it all. Some can come close and others fall a bit short.

When I commissioned my first Kostal, as stated, I wanted that haunting Somogyi base, but the focus of my Ryan. I wanted a deep warm sound like my favorite cedar guitar without loosing the clarity you get from a nice spruce.

But then...... I played a newly built Traugott Model R. Wow, that thing was so different! Not better, but different. I wanted warm, bassy, and clear, and Jason delivered exactly what I asked. I didn't ask for crazy thick trebles that are so sterile but not harsh. But this Traugott was that. So I gave it a few months and then I had to play it again! And wow, did it really open up! Anyone who hasn't played Jeff's newer guitars, you really need to do yourself a favor and play one! So I spoke with Jeff at great lengths and was really on the fence of getting a new model R.

Thick trebles, clear and sterile, extremely balanced, without loosing focus. Thats a new guitar :)

So like anyone making a big purchase, I made a few calls and played a few more guitars. And then I called Jason..... I hate it when I do that (in a good way)

I was looking for this new guitar which was small body. I just spoke with him again and he said I could share our discussion.

At the 2009 Montreal Show, Robin Weber from Guitar Gallery mentioned the idea for a 00 guitar. Jason and her had a long conversation about it at the time and she commissioned a 00 back then. Since 2009, Jason has been working on the designs and facets of this guitar to produce a full body sound out of a small body guitar. This guitar will be finished for Robin in 2013 and will be released as a new model in Jason's offerings. He really wants Robin to have the first one because she was the one who envisioned it leading up to Montreal.

Now Gustav Fredell also has that small guitar that really intrigued me. It was kind of what I was looking for. I don't think Jason's new design is a response to that guitar, but more a response to Robin back in 2009. Robin was wanting to offer a smaller option to women clients and an 00 seemed like the right answer!

So now do I get an OM, or do I try out something a little smaller? Your thoughts? What would you like to see? :)

A small guitar does not need to mean a small voice. Listen to Adam Miller play his Traugott fan frett 00 on Jeff's website, and you'll hear a lot of volume and wonderful tone. I'm sure that an 00 from Jason would be as spectacular as his other sizes. And, it may be just the thing for you, Eric, if you're looking to maintain a solid, reliable sound but would like something different than what you've had.

Thinking through all of the possibilities is definitely quite exciting. I've played very few 00s that I liked enough to ever want to own one (Circa being one of the exceptions). My personal preference would be to get something in the OM size realm. I have not played on of Jason's OMs, but I've played a Kraut and a Matsuda, and they are a really great combination of bass depth and expressiveness in the highs/mids. With a 15.75" lower bout, they are still big-ish guitars, afterall.

Congrats, Eric! I'm looking forward to watching the build thread. I have yet to play one of Jasons guitars but I hear amazing things. One of his students spoke to my students this week and had glowing things to say about him.

Kindly,
Danny

Congrats Eric! This will be another fun build to watch!

Not so much a dilemma, more an opportunity to have more guitars ;-)

As you may remember, I have an OM coming from Jason end '13/early '14. Added to that I recently tried the Gustav Fredell XS which I was really taken with. I therefore decided that I should get onto his build list ASAP. Get both - just do it!

Cheers
Vic
.

I'm leaning more towards OM now, but am open to the option of even smaller :)

get both meaning one Fredell and a Kostal or two Kostals? :D

Looks like you are getting three :)

Hey Eric, I was thinking the same. I wanted something little smaller than OM, perhaps OOO size. Though, mod D is pretty awesome.

certainly looks like it! ;)


well, I already have a Mod-D so smaller body it is! just which one :)

I think I have 3 votes for 00 and 1 for OM.

anyone else?

A new Journey in Life, a new guitar, a new Kostal! Brazilian/German ???
 

If its a voting thing I vote OM.

Unless you want different. If you want something different and special go 00. If you want something to get more mileage go OM.

I'll go ahead and tie the OM vote. :) Based on the little bit of playing I've seen of yours and the descriptions I've read of the sorta tone you like, I think the OM is a better fit than a 00. Do we know if Jason's new 00 will be a 12 fret? If so, that might sway my opinion a bit . .trebles on a 12 fret can't be beat!

This man speaks the truth!

Cheers,
Steve