Sorry to be a tease!! Here are a couple of shots to share. I'll certainly take more soon, when I get some sunshine to light this thing up over the weekend.
First impressions? It for sure has that glassy African Blackwood thing going on, with plenty of beautiful overtones. Still very good clarity however, as they aren't overtaking the fundamental with excessive volume. Excellent balance across the strings. I certainly hear that strident quality of the Adirondack - some of that is the new string zing - but there's an interesting swell behind each note or chord that's very satisfying, emerging about a half second after the initial attack. This is the back activating. Different members of the overtone series seem to fade in and out as the notes decay. The sustain is really excellent, but those overtones actually linger for longer than the fundamental in some registers. I've never so obviously experienced that before, a complex blanket of sound just hanging in the air, pulsating, long after the notes have died. It's a haunting, etherial thing.
Interestingly the back seems to vibrate almost as much as the top. This is a spirited guitar, full of energy. The sides exhibit almost no vibration at all.
There's also a forwardness to the sound profile that very different than, say, my Kostal Jumbo. That guitar is warmer with a very deep resonance and incredibly clean mids. Notes from the Taran seem to jump out with a quicker response, and the mids have a some more hair on them, and more of an initial fullness.
It'll take some time to get used to the dimensions of this guitar, but so far it's been pretty easy to play, with a nice low-medium action that I prefer.
It's a brand new guitar so some of the qualities will change over time. Worth noting that I'm only playing fingerstyle, with nails (that haven't been shaped in about a week, so they're adding some brightness.) Strings are medium gauge 13 - 56. Current tuning is CGDGBE. No hint of flop in that low C, even when hit hard. I'll share a pic of the spec sheet soon which includes scale lengths.
I'll post more photos soon, and more impressions as they imprint onto by brain. I'll also record something soon, likely the same thing on the Taran and on the Kostal, so as to hear the differences. Both are truly excellent, and different of course.
Thanks for following along!
Matt
