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-   -   Three Marklund Customs, 00-42 + D-45S + OM-28 (https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=324167)

Brad Ward 01-23-2016 10:31 AM

D45S video
 
Jonas Mattebo playing the Marklund D45S. No effects and no EQ.



Thanks Per!

ralphj 01-23-2016 11:54 AM

Awesome! The sound matches the looks... You must be very pleased indeed!!

CoolerKing 01-23-2016 12:22 PM

Congrats Brad!

Brad Ward 07-15-2016 06:19 PM

The 45 has landed...
 
Got the 45 today! It was packed for the worst, and it made it with flying colors!

I tuned her up and played for about 20 minutes and noticed the strings sounded a little dead.

I replaced them with a set of my favorite strings, D'Addario EJ-17. Changing strings allows one to really inspect the guitar inside and out and get the feel of the instrument.

This guitar is very light for a 12 fret dread, and lightly built if you have been following along. Per gave me a little less depth on the neck than the 00-42, the same as my CS D18-12 in the first few frets. Very comfortable. Thanks for listening.

The sound is very reminiscent of the 00-42, very articulate with a tight bass and wonderful balance. Willi Henkes remarked that he liked the bass in guitars to start out a little tight because it doesn't get boomy sounding as it ages, and I agree. It should age very nicely indeed.

The trebles are fatter than any of my other dreads and I really like that attribute. The Moon Spruce top is super responsive, just look at that silking... It is as white as a ghost though, compared to my 4-5 year old Red Spruce tops.

It will just get better the more I play it, so I will! Here's some pics out my back door...

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...ps4bwr4qtj.jpg

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...psg50wr3k3.jpg

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...psmnm581aj.jpg

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...psb63jzz8r.jpg

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...pswblkw7gs.jpg

http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/m...psthaclkyi.jpg

Will post more impressions as we go along. Thanks to Per for taking on this project with me. I never imagined someday I would have a 12 fret dread 45 style guitar of my own. Especially one patterned after Norman Blakes pre war Martin guitar. And thanks to John Arnold for saving the plans and making them available. And finally, thanks to B&H for their free flow of knowledge that allowed Per to use his passion and woodworking skills to create a top tier style instrument like this, understanding this is only the 15th guitar he has built. Unbelievable.

Per, I knew you could do it, and you did. Congrats!

CoolerKing 07-16-2016 08:41 AM

Congrats Brad! I'm glad you have the guitar in hand. It's beautiful!

Brad Ward 08-03-2016 04:46 PM

Thanks Matthew, It was a long time coming but worth the wait. I have some further thoughts about the guitar having played it some more.

It is still green of course, but my first impressions are still intact. Wonderful balance across the board, tight and articulate bass and very responsive with flesh or plectrum. I really appreciate the trebles being nice and full sounding. I think Per's guitars do, so far, have that signature sound that the other Marklund owners have described. It figures that they would sound good just watching the builds progress.

Some things I really appreciate about the guitar, besides the sound;

The pearl work! The pearl purfling is really well done. The handwork and execution is evident in the details. Mitered corners and butt ends are perfectly cut and fitted, and the two different width solid green abalone strip material is old school stuff. The Flowerpot on the headstock, and fingerboard and bridge snowflake pattern, as well as the headstock purfling are very well done. Only the Martin Authentic D45 has solid pearl strips presently in the Martin Authentic line as far as I know. I thought omitting that old school spec from the new Authentic 000-42 was a shame. Per spent a lot of time and effort on it, and it shows.

The neck carve! Per's neck shape is perfect for me. He took a little off the depth of the 42 neck in the first few frets (where I play mostly), and it fits like a glove before getting progressively more full depth towards the body for a nice full neck/body connection. The guitar vibrates all the way up the neck as I've found my favorite guitars do. It makes it feel alive in your hands. The neck to carved volute transitions very gracefully, as well as the neck heel shape.

The materials. Man, what nice woods. The MRW is perfectly quartered, the moon spruce selected for this guitar is tightly grained and wonderfully silky, and the unstained ebony, black as printers ink. The hog neck is light in weight, but stiff. The CF rod helps keep the total weight down even more, and the guitar despite all the pearl, is pretty light for a MRW dread.

The set up. Both the 42 and the 45 have arrived perfectly set up for me, and the tuning stays true between uses. Pretty stable I'd say. I love Per's bracing, and think that old stock Spruce he aquirred for bracing might be a good reason for some of the sound and stability these guitars have. Of course the shaping of the braces and the precision of the fit might have something to do with it as well. ;)

It even makes my playing tolerable to listen to ( I think :D). A better guitarist than I could really make it sing. I almost feel bad for it... but still I persevere.


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