Brazilian Kostal Trifecta Hat-Trick ThreePeat Birth Year Guitar!
 

I have had quite the journey with Jason Kostal as he is a dear close friend and also the father of two of my guitars :D Many of you following the custom shop already are familiar with my previous Kostal build threads.

The first was what started it for me as I just played my first Somogyi and Michael Watts steered me to Jason as he was apprenticing with Ervin. Jason was near Washington DC visiting friends and that's when I invited him over to my place to talk guitars. Little did I know that it would start the Kostal guitar journey for me. It is a fun build thread with over 102,000 views! You can read all about it here (My friend jokes with me saying this was a thread that birthed a few Kostals :)):

Brazilian/German Mod-D
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=205642

After my first Kostal, I knew I loved what Jason was doing and I put money down on two more Kostals. My second Kostal was fun because I was torn between two sets of wood on the Mod-D. 3 years later, that wood was still available and I went with it :D While the first guitar had a beautiful figure, this set of Brazilian was one of Jason's straightest sets. He built me an incredible OM which was also AGF's 2015 Guitar of the Year:

Brazilian/German OMC
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=271036

https://i.imgur.com/XjE160r.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/uKn0rIm.jpg

What could I do with the third Kostal to make it special. Last year, I contacted Jason giving him great news that we were expecting our second child. I thought, how fun would it be to do a birth year guitar! (I also have a birth year Bigfoot Mod-D Guitar coming here: https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=523232) We have decided on an MDW at this time for a number of reasons. The woods will be Brazilian/German and we will try to make this one super special in honor of the birth of my daughter, Emmaline Ray. We were expecting here in early February, but she came to us 5 weeks early on Jan 2! Hopefully this Kostal build thread will be as fun as the others. It certainly will be a special one for me!

https://i.imgur.com/uAvVD1u.jpg

May i be the first on this thread to congratulate you Eric on the birth of your daughter! No better reason to commission a new guitar...

Congrats pal! Two is unfortunately more than double the work, but maybe the guitar will be more than twice as good! 😁

Eric, How well I remember that epic thread - great days. Time passes so quickly!

You are crazy - 3 Kostals?!

I have to say though that the MDW shape / size is where I think it is at. You get a lot of that big fat MD sound but in a package that's much easier to deal with. I'm not sure why that should be, given that its a similar size to the OM, but small differences do seem to have a big effect on tone etc.

But Braz German again? Why not try something a little different to ring the changes? I have been so impressed by what luthiers are doing with so many different and varied woods these days. Jason has all sorts of stuff.

Cheers,
Steve

Congratulations Eric!! I think that German/Braz will be a winner, stick to what you know works ;) Not to mention that it would be really nice for them all to have a similar influence from the tonewoods, with the different bodies to shape their voices. Looking forward to this one! :D

Congratulations
 

Congratulations and way to go!

The guitars are lovely and the shot of your daughter with her Kostal T-shirt is too cool! Some kind of record?

This will be more fun to follow...

Enjoy the process and play for her every day!

Paul

Wow, what a great story. I so wish you could come to the guitar event with Jason and Michael both being here. Seems like it was put together just for you LOL!

Congrats!
 

So many blessings. Your Kostal's are beautiful but Emmaline Ray is the crown jewel of that picture. Congratulations are in order on so many levels.

Congrats Eric. Your daughter is lovely. Love the shirt! I hope to have one of those soon. I am thrilled to think you and I will have MDWs in the shop at the same time. But your story is way cooler than mine. :up:

Congrats on your new bundle of joy and the new guitar!

Best,
Jayne

A Kostal onesie is a serious commitment. The thing I like about guitars is that you don’t have to change their diapers.

Thanks so much! I think its a great reason! Wish I used this reason on my first son :) Is it too late two years later? :D

I thought with the second child, it was way more than double the work! :) That means this guitar will really be good!

Thanks Steve! I have to admit, I am a Brazilian-holic :) I think if I chose other woods, I could potentially think, would Brazilian have been better? When I get a Brazilian guitar, I rarely ever think, would so and so rosewood have been better? I'll make you a deal, when I get my next few Kostals, I'll do something different :D

My thoughts exactly :) They all sound a little bit different, don't they :)

Thanks Paul! Will try to play for her every day. Seems like I played more for the first born. Juggling two is interesting indeed!

Tom, I really wish I can be there! With the sleepness nights, it could be a challenge. Who knows what it'll be like closer to the event ;)

I like to think so about Emmaline :)

I think better her in the onsie than me! Can't wait to play our guitars together!

Thanks Jayne! :D

The onesie is serious indeed :) you don't have to change diapers, but I still wipe them down ;)

So awesome! Congrats on the baby and another Kostal in the pipe, such a fun experience.

Congratulations Eric!!:)

This looks amazing many congrats. Jason’s work is amazing