NGD: 2018 McConnell 16 - Spruce / Braz

[Cincy2]

I'm rounding out my bucket list of guitars preparing for life on a fixed income at the end of this year. In conversation with Paul H. at Dream Guitars, I asked him the make of his #1 guitar. He prizes his McConnell above all others. By coincidence, a used one was in the mail on the way to DG for consignment. We intercepted it and got it sent to me for audition.

This is Serial Nr 63. If you go to Mr. McConnell's website gallery and scroll down to the bottom, the guitar is shown with much better photography than I can produce. She is a looker.

Not as heavy as my 6 lb Halland, it is still a substantial instrument with the build quality you expect from boutique luthiers selling at this price point. The Brazilian is remarkable. He augmented the back with a striking inlay you can see in my picture below. This instrument also has fan frets. I have fallen in love with this type of neck but only when the differential between bass and treble scales is between 0.8 and 1.0 inches. With this setup, the transition between regular and fan fret guitars is effortless but you still get all the benefits of crisp basses on altered tunings. Whoever commissioned this guitar new went all out with Rodgers tuners with mother of pearl buttons, BRW laminates front and back on the head and a solid BRW bridge. This is something I have not seen before. The luthier also engineered the shape of the bridge so it retains the "level" look of a standard bridge but also accommodates the different scales. Very nicely done. The rosette is hard to describe with multiple concentric rings of beauty and a variety of luminescent materials. Soundboard bracing looks standard = X bracing with tone bars. The back however has a unique "double X" - two X braces stacked one above the other north and south.

So what does it sound like? Easier to say what it is not. It does not have the ear drum blasting volume of my Halland or the sweet trebles of my 12 fret / short scale Casimi or the incredible string to string clarity of my Matsuda. What it does is combine all of these characteristics into a package that is greater than the sum of its parts. Block chords, fingerstyle chord melodies, harmonics, treble lines, pedal tones all have a burnished, Mr. Rogers kind of friendliness that would put a smile on your face on your worst day. Each of the aforementioned instruments are a joy to play but like children, they all have their distinct personalities that separate them from each other and make them lovable for different reasons. The McConnell to me is the utility infielder who has no Hall of Fame skill except that he can perform ALL roles assigned with almost that level of performance.

This instrument has a K&K passive pickup installed. It did not come from the luthier that way. I can't bring myself to try it. Acoustic guitar is just that. From sound hole to my ear with no intermediate stops. Old school I know but at my age, I'm permitted to act curmudgeonly.

Cincy

[Lonzo]

Jawdropper for sure!

[SJ VanSandt]

Gorgeous with a capital GO!

[gitarro]

Thats some great Brazilian rosewood on the back of this guitar! Is there a video ie audio clip of this guitr anywhere? If it sounds as good as that looks, it's a very special guitr indeed:!

[Cincy2]

Originally Posted by gitarro

Thats some great Brazilian rosewood on the back of this guitar! Is there a video ie audio clip of this guitr anywhere? If it sounds as good as that looks, it's a very special guitr indeed:!

Gitarro

I grabbed it from DG before they could make one.


Cincy

[jaymarsch]

Jordan makes some fine guitars. Congrats! I recently took delivery on a wonderful custom Kramer with the same knowledge that in a year or so, I'll be on a fixed income. It is great that you were able to jump on this.

Best,
Jayne

[JJI]

Cincy,
What an elegant guitar. You’re on a roll my man...goodness!

[stuartb]

Nice to see a post on Jordan's incredible work. He is a fine Canadian guitar builder and player for sure.

I've had my McConnell for a while now, I've put the link below as it's number 54. The inlay I had completed by Jimmie Wingert during the process of the build. She completed amazing work as well.

It has tremendous power and projection. I do have a recording some where. When I find it, I'll post it, of Jordan' playing my guitar. It'll provide a strong sense of his signature sound. They record exceptionally well.


http://www.mcconnellguitars.com/#/no-054/

Stuart

[Dustinfurlow]

Really nice back inlay and head veneer....wow. I've had the privilege of playing 3 McConnells now, including Paul's, and I think your statement that they can handle alot of different types of playing is astute. I really enjoyed the variety of tones that could be produced, from "sweet" to authoritative. Enjoy in good health!

[Erithon]

A few months late, but congratulations on your new McConnell!! And what a collection you have. It sounds like your signature needs a number of additions

You mentioned the multi-scale bridge. If you haven't listened to it already, you may be interested in Michael Bashkin's Luthier on Luthier podcast. In episode 12 he interviews Jordan and the latter spends some time talking about the challenges he encountered while designing and bracing his first multi-scale instrument.

[Cincy2]

Originally Posted by Erithon

A few months late, but congratulations on your new McConnell!! And what a collection you have. It sounds like your signature needs a number of additions

You mentioned the multi-scale bridge. If you haven't listened to it already, you may be interested in Michael Bashkin's Luthier on Luthier podcast. In episode 12 he interviews Jordan and the latter spends some time talking about the challenges he encountered while designing and bracing his first multi-scale instrument.

Thanks for the information. The more I play "mild" fan frets, the better I like them.

Cincy

[Ccmassey1]

I'm jealous!

In the market for a McConnell myself.

Enjoy! That's a real beauty. [emoji7]