[jseth]

A couple of things...

I love the whole "Goodall Hype" nonsense... (sarcasm font).

The guy has been building great guitars since the late 70's, and it's "hype"? And you haven't even played one? Doesn't give me a very high opinion of your perspective...

There are three distinct "eras" of Goodall guitars... possibly 4? He started out building in the San Diego area in the late 70's; Tim Luranc (Bob Taylor's right hand man in the shop for a LONG time) actually got James his first "job" in guitar making, at American Dream Guitars... James and Bob and the Breedlove brothers were all friends growing up in the San Diego area; interesting that they all have become so noteworthy as builders!

James moved up to Fort Bragg, CA., in the early 80's... and then moved on to the Big Island of Hawaii in 1992. That was where he really came to prominence for the exquisite instruments he builds. By the time he left the Big Island, he told me he had 10-12 folks working on the guitars, and that he had become more of a 'quality control manager" than a builder!

Moved back to Fort Bragg in 2009; we both came to that town on the same day in January! I am pleased to call him a friend (Jean and Luke, as well!), and I spent a lot of time with them as they built the new shop and then began building guitars there. Just the two of them, James and his son, Luke, are doing the building, while Jean runs the front office (sometimes with help from Luke's wife, Megan). They do have a guy who does their urethane spraying for them, but everything else is James and Luke.

I absolutely love their guitars! Not every one is one "for me", but, man! I've never heard so many consistently great sounding and playing guitars from any other company... I'm not a big fan of "bling" and other manner of the current vogue in adornments, so James' not doing any of that stuff fits perfectly with my own aesthetic. No shoulder bevels, no soundports, no wild and crazy inlays... just tremendous sounding and playing instruments!

I've been fortunate to play well over a hundred of their guitars (around 30 from the Hawaiian era, as James brought 50 or so instruments with him when they first moved back to town). Never have played a "dud" or any that were "less than"; if a guitar doesn't meet their standards, it isn't sold...

My favorite size/shape of Goodall is the Concert Jumbo; basically a mini-jumbo. Plenty of size to produce big sound and volume, but very sensitive to a lighter touch, as well. My first Goodall was a redwood topped Grand Concert (OOO-ish) with lovely flamed "beeswing" Honduran mahogany; a wonderful guitar, but just a bit too small for me, at least for my "only" guitar...

I got this idea, about 2 months ago, that I wanted to pare my guitars down to 'just one" of each type I play... one acoustic 6 string, one 12 string and one electric. For my only 6 string acoustic, I wanted a Goodall Concert Jumbo in some sort of rosewood b/s with either a spruce top or Port Orford cedar. Fortunately for me, one of our members pm'd me to say that he had just such a guitar and was thinking of selling it!

So I sold my Grand Concert (thanks, Rob) and bought my Concert Jumbo (thanks, Mike!). It's Honduran rosewood back and sides with a German spruce top and a soft, Venetian cutaway. After nearly 2 months of playing the new one, I'm feeling much more familiar with it and the sounds it makes... VERY different than my Grand Concert or my Mark Angus #35 (German spruce over maple) that I owned and played for 40 years... this Concert Jumbo is a guitar I can easily play "for the duration" of my guitar-playing life, however long that may be.

I personally don't "get" the whole "too many overtones/too much sustain" thing... heck, that's why folks palm mute... I can always make a guitar sound "less" in the sustain and overtone department, but if it ain't there, you can't fake it when you want it! My Concert Jumbo is incredibly responsive to a lighter touch, yet it just GROWLS when I lean into it a bit...

In my opinion (having played many, but not all, of the higher end acoustic out there), James and Luke Goodall build the best sounding and playing acoustic guitars on the planet... they are simply the finest instruments I've ever played; articulate, responsive, accurate... and beautiful!

Oh, and you can't just "go to the shop and pick up your guitar"... James takes care of his dealers by not having folks order through him, IF there's a dealer anywhere near where you are... I got around that by being well over 300 miles from the nearest Goodall dealer... but, as a matter of course, one does not "go there" to get your guitar.

Hope all this brings something valuable to the discussion...