Allison build: slope shoulder dread, German spruce/black walnut

[JoeCharter]

What a terrific burst!

Love the stained mahogany as well -- very nice touch.

[jmat]

wonderful!

[SJ VanSandt]

Well, she's home.


I played her at our Christmas sing-along tonight, about three hours after bringing her home (and had very little chance to play before hand). Not a good chance to really hear her with the whole party howling out "Jingle Bell Rock" etc. but my first impression is she's just exactly what I asked for. Tomorrow I'll get serious and play.

[Dru Edwards]

Great pics!!!! Congrats on the new build.

[SJ VanSandt]

I think different people are following this thread than my NGD post over in the general discussion, so I'm pasting today's post from there over here.

Some quick notes on the sound - first impressions when playing alone: I asked for good note separation and strong fundamental, especially in the bass, as well as good volume and projection, and I got that in spades. I noticed that the lowest notes -from G down to E or so - sound somewhat Gibson-esque: a tad on the thumpy side, with little of the zing of a rosewood Martin (or one of John's Martin-style dreads). This shouldn't be surprising, given the heritage of this body style, but it's still a bit disappointing. On the other hand, the trebles, while also loud and penetrating, have a sweet quality to them that make single note lines really sing.

Strumming full cowboy chords, the guitar seems somewhat scooped, emphasizing the bass and treble, which actually sounds quite good when I'm singing (unless you would rather not hear my voice). I couldn't detect any fall off, however, when playing scales or melodies across strings - the balance between strings seems quite good.

Overall, it reminded me more of some good maple-bodied Taylors and Gibsons that I have played than a mahogany guitar, (only better ). I was expecting it with the black walnut back and sides to fall somewhere in between those two, so I'm not surprised or disappointed. But remember, this guitar was strung up less than 48 hours ago! It will sound different in a few days, probably, and certainly in a few weeks or months.

I asked John to make it completely different from my Charis and he did that, for sure. They are so different, in fact, that I'm not sure I'm going to be able to sell the Charis like I was planning. Sometimes you need a warm bath, sometimes a cold shower. I really need to become a better player to deserve either of these beauties, but I'm going to have to practice like crazy to justify keeping both of them! And that's just what I'm fixin' to do.

[SJ VanSandt]

Here's a shot that seems to get the color right:


The more I play it the more I love it. Is the sound changing? I don't know if it's me or the guitar. I know I'm surprised by the amount of sustain it has, considering that it also has great note separation. I suppose that's the strong fundamental. Nothing washy about this guitar. It's going to make me a better player.

[ChuckS]

Really nice looking. I had a guitar where the luthier stained the neck to match the body; that can be very attractive as yours is.

[SJ VanSandt]

Finally got the Mario Proulx pickguard on, and I think it looks really nice. The guitar looked naked without a traditional pickguard - to me, anyway.



I went out and got an Apogee Mic and some headphones, so once I figure out how to use garage band and practice enough to do something like justice to this instrument, I'll post a sound clip. I hope that won't take too many years!



I've enjoyed putting this build thread together - I hope some of you have enjoyed it. I know this guitar is a bit plain vanilla compared to some of the spectacular work posted in the custom shop, but it suits me well. I don't think I could bring myself to take a Hatcher or an Edwinson to a jam (to name two of my many favorites here). Thanks for watching!

[Earwitness]

Thanks for the thread, Stan.

That pickguard is perfect--it connects the color of the back and sides to the front, and properly puts the sunburst effect more in the periphery of your vision when you first look at the top. Great final touch.

[mikealpine]

I agree...the pickguard looks like it always belonged. Beautiful!

[steveb2223]

That's a real beauty. I wish you much musical joy from it.

I had a great experience when visiting John Allison's shop a year or so ago. I had acquired a new-to-me guitar that needed some minor work; a setup and a replacement for a missing truss rod cover. The response from several guitar shops was 'leave it and it'll be ready in a few weeks.' Not what I wanted to hear.

I walked in to John's shop unannounced and explained my needs to the very pleasant young guy who greeted me. I asked him when they could get it done and the response was 'No problem - come back after 3 today and we'll have it ready'.

When I returned John brought out my guitar and after discussing some details about it, he gave me a tour of his shop. He explained his build philosophy and process and showed me several examples of work in progress. His passion for guitar-building was very obvious. I'm hoping that when my skills have progressed to the point where I really know what I want and need that I can ask John to build one for me.

[SJ VanSandt]

Thanks, Earwitness and Mike. I'm starting to really appreciate what a great guitar John built for me. It has a Caruso-like voice in single line leads: incredible purity, focus and volume. I'm so impressed with this feature that I'm actually taking lessons to develop this skill. Eric Clapton would, I think, love this guitar!

As it has started opening up I'm finding that it's too loud to sing over! I'm going to have to really learn new (and better) rhythm skills too, to start to do justice to this guitar.

[SJ VanSandt]

Hey SteveB - I don't know if you have ever visited Hill Country Guitars, but they are re-opening any day now here in Austin and they carry John's guitars. They have a killer single-0, a couple of gorgeous OMs and and a dread that will drown out anything else in the shop. Check them out - it's a good way to start getting an idea of what your favorite size and style are.

[ecguitar44]

Lovely guitar!

John builds great guitars and does excellent work! And he's great to talk to and work with!

How about some sound clips?

[SJ VanSandt]

Working on it, EC!