Specifications
I’d always thought that if I was to order the “one guitar to rule them all”, it would be a rib- and arm-bevelled, fan fretted and possibly sound ported - yet otherwise visually restrained - beast; a “Healdsberg special”, if you will. I knew from the outset that those options weren't on offer, and that was ok with me because it was my love of the sound - and the playability - of the Kostal's I'd played that was paramount (plus they look fantastic!).
Body size
The thread title = massive spoiler. But here’s some of the thinking that led me to that conclusion.
As someone who favours the sound of large guitars, the Modified Dreadnought (MD) seemed like the obvious choice. However, Steve H’s Kostal OM (and, more recently, Vicov's) gave me serious pause for thought (thank you both for letting me sully them with my paws!); as have Jason’s wonderfully sweet Jumbos (though unlike those OMs, I’ve not had the pleasure of them in the flesh). The OM is the more balanced and integrated all-rounder, but the MD’s bass and power is just so seductive.
As someone with a very light right hand and who plays generally pretty mellifluous stuff – I thought the growl of the MD would be a nice counterpoint (a bit like Michael Stavrou’s approach to mic’ing – chose a mic of opposite “hardness” to the source: so a very soft source should have a very hard mic, and vice-versa).
Whilst I generally (but not always) steer away from the slappy/tappy stuff, my playing and compositions are broadly in the modern fingerstyle camp. Given the heritage of the MD – designed with that genre (if you can call it such a thing) in mind, I figured if I was only ever going to buy one Somogyi apprentice guitar, it just had to be an MD. So, decision made!
Sound port…?
Whilst I do like the feedback a sound port gives to a player, that don’t seem to fit with the Somogyi “air pump” model; and when playing live, they seem to open you up to a higher risk of feedback (such was Andy McKee’s experience; and Mr Greenfield no longer seems to offer them). In any case, it’s not as if the Kostals I’ve played lack volume or feedback to the player; quite the contrary (although their dispersion patterns can be quite different, depending on what was specified). So that was something I could happily live without.
Fan frets … ?
As for fan frets, when I first spoke to Jason about them, he was offering them as an option (25-26' standard spread, a wide spread would require another new bracing pattern; I don't think he does any more, but anyone interest might want to check). I wasn't sure that I could justify the extra cost, particularly if I was after a different or more radical spread. And I wasn't left with the impression that Jason thought this would necessarily result in a better sounding guitar. I thought best to follow the chef’s guidance on that, given his wisdom and experience, plus it's his dish! In any case, Jason's MDs seem capable of handling low tunings well (including down to a B in the bass), despite the relatively short 25.25” scale.
I also wasn’t sure how they’d work aesthetically on a Kostal – to my eyes, they seem to suit some builds well but not others. Given Jason’s output – I’ve yet to see an instrument of his that didn’t look fantastic – if anyone could make this work, I’m sure Jason could.
Still, I’ve lived without fan frets so far, and figured it’s not something I’d miss. So I'm afraid I've not bucked the trend and gone for what might have been the first fan fretted Kostal.
Bevels?
I do enjoy a the comfort of a good arm-cage – and even rib-cage - bevel (and/or bevelled binding, like Tom Doer’s). These weren’t on the table, again I think primarily for sonic reasons. Jason does, however, offer a Manzer-style wedge. Whilst to my mind they serve slightly different purposes (both would be ideal), on a big guitar like the MD, the wedge seemed pretty much essential to me. I’m already finding my Lowden Os and Lowden Baritone pretty big, and fear that’ll only become more of a struggle as the years advance!
The rest of the specs
… were pretty straightforward:
- Wide and slim neck (47mm nut, ideally 60mm string spacing at the bridge – though that may need to be tucked in a bit as Jason’s current design has a maximum width for the fingerboard at the body join).
- Nice flat-ish fretboard - 20' radius is Jason's standard, so that's fine.
- Gold Gotoh 510 21:1 ratio with ebony buttons
- An endgraft that won't be ruined if I decide to put a second end pin in it. Possibly for a DPA 4060 mic or two, wired to a separate endpin - or maybe something else ... I'm just thinking future proofing here. The main endpin will be for a K&K PWM, and will have the option to wire in a Seymour Duncan SA-6 MagMic for live situations which need the additional feedback resistance (even if putting a magnetic in such a responsive guitar is a bit criminal! But it won't live there permanently...).
- Kostal dots – The glow in the dark fret markers are back! Whilst I often play with my eyes closed when I’m really focussed, these are just too much fun! And not something I thought I’d regret, given this salutary warning … ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVvSZF5zGIE
- Cutaway (essential for my playing, and they just look great on the MD too)
- Generally understated elegance, when it comes to aesthetics, which Jason does so well – so no wild/brightly coloured rosette, no fretboard markers or extra inlays (beyond the standard coachline) – and keeping the colour palette fairly limited. So:
- Ebony trim all over (neck, binding, heel cap, and headstock front and back)
- Ebony inner sides (to tie all that trim together – in much the same way that repetition of the cutaway, headstock and heel cap curve link up, and the carving of the bridge and the headstock echo each other – some of Jason’s standard - and incredibly tasteful - touches!).
- I had real job here talking Jason out of the "Hello Kitty" headstock inlay, 3mm thick Dayglo Pink finish on everything and a bigsby trem. I think Justonwo must be a bad influence...
- Woods for the back and sides and the top – well, that’s a whole different topic … and one for a separate post!
All the best,
Dan