Hi everybody,
I recently had the opportunity to try out a guitar made by luthier Max Spohn from Germany. The guitar is the same that Dustin Furlow took photos of and recorded a great video clip with this March, thread here ->
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=611178
I've long been a fan of traditionally built guitars, and my go-to instrument is a Claxton. The Somogyi-influenced "modern" instruments I've played before haven't felt as instinctive to me, probably mostly because of the lack of haptic feedback (especially vibration in the neck) and the excessive weight of some of them. Thus, I wasn't expecting to really bond with this guitar... but turns out I was wrong.
The obvious first: the guitar looks amazing. The art deco -inspired aesthetics probably won't please everyone, but I'm in awe. Distinctive, artistic, clean, beautiful. The build quality is totally flawless all around -- I'm comfortable saying that this is the most cleanly built guitar I've ever seen, perfect woodwork all around. Just as a certain AGF frequenter has said, "not a molecule out of place".
I love the balance in the tone. I can't think of any changes in the guitar's tonal palette I'd like to change. The bass is just right, the midrange is expressive and never clutters, and the trebles are probably the sweetest and "roundest" I've heard in a steel-string guitar. I think that between this guitar and my Claxton I can hear the difference in the trebles the most -- whereas this guitar has almost a classical guitar -like smoothness, the Claxton "stings" more, especially when strummed. There's no better or worse here, just interesting differences.
What surprised me most is the "feel" that I get from the guitar. It's not at all like most modern-style guitars I've played, with super rigid necks and heavy sides, that I've thought have felt kind of lifeless when played. The feel I get from this guitar is more like that of a lightly built traditional instrument, and yet I can totally feel that "air pump" resonance of the rigid (but light) sides and perfectly tuned plates. The guitar is super responsive, and every small nuance really comes through. For a capable player, this would truly be a musical expression tool for life.
All in all, playing this guitar has made me very happy and also a bit confused. For the first time I'm starting to see the benefits of the modern approach to building very clearly. If you're looking for a wonderfully responsive fingerstyle steel-string with the absolute highest quality craftsmanship, I really couldn't recommend Max more. He is an amazingly great guy too! Also, his prices are very competitive, at least for now. But I suspect this will change once he gains some more recognition.
I recorded a video with the guitar, embedded below. My playing does not do the guitar justice, though.