#31
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I have played many Olson’s and one Heinonen (rosewood\ cedar).
Generally speaking they have similar sounds...warm midrange, mature highs and lows, and quick response. Drew makes wonderful guitars. However, I find Olsons to be more playable (haven’t found a guitar as playable as an Olson), longer sustain, more sparkle, more overtones. It just feels “better”...not sure how to explain that feel. |
#32
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That's fantastic, Alan, a great comparison! Please do more of these I really like your channel. I listened with my eyes closed, without knowing which guitar was which, and actually prefered the Heinonen. It seemed a bit clearer, with more crystaline highs... |
#33
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Thank you for the comment! An additional variable is the Olson was with FWI Saddle and nut. |
#34
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Thank you so much Ernesto! It means a lot to us~ We hope to come up with more videos~ |
#35
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On a superficial listen, the Olson sounds "better" as it has a bigger bass response which our ears are very quick to pick up on. However, on a closer listen, the Heinonen has a clearer bass, more present trebles and is more balanced overall which would put me in favour for the latter.
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#36
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I've played 3 or 4 Olson guitars and a couple Applegates and bunch of other guitars by great builders. I think the older presomogyi Doerr guitars sound the closest to an Olson of anything I've played.
I fell hard for a full Jumbo Olson at a shop a while back but couldn't quite swing the $18k price tag so I bought an Applegate Jumbo from Guitar Gallery. The Applegate was a great guitar but in no way did it sound anything like that Olson. I think the pre 2010 Doerr Legacy in Cedar and Rosewood is very much so like a an Olson SJ and Ryan GC had a baby so to speak. |
#37
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Thanks Alan for posting the video! Very nice job! Some eye candy of my beautiful Heinonen SJ :-)
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Fueled by coffee. One woman, many guitars. http://www.timesevenproductions.com/ 1959 Gibson Country Western 2017 Conner Spruce / Bubinga 1997 Taylor 810 1990 Fender American Strat 2019 Gibson Les Paul 1959 Historic 2023 Martin D-18 Custom Shop |
#38
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Whatever the case, it is however very commendable that the heinonen is able to come near the ballpark of the olson sound at a mere fraction of the latter's cost despite heinonen's relative youth as a builder. This is clearly a builder which promises a bright future ahead of him in lutherie.
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In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference... Last edited by gitarro; 09-05-2018 at 01:43 AM. |
#39
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#40
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#41
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There are lots of great sounding guitars at just about any price point -- but you don't buy an Olson guitar (or any high end object) just for the practical aspect. You buy an Olson guitar because Jim is the most reputable builder of his generation, his guitars sound great, look great and play great.
And unlike many of the knock-offs that are offered on the market, Jim's headstock actually looks nice. |
#42
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So how different is the playability? For reference I own a 1995 Taylor 712 FC and a Langejans RC6. I played Wes King’s Olson once and I’ve never had anything in my hands like that. That being said Olson’s we’re always juuuust out of reach..... then it got to be lotto cash...🤦🏼*♂️ |
#43
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Yes, there is a difference in sound and lushness, but it is miniscule for me... taking into consideration the tonewoods are different and the Olson is 6 years older and probably opened up quite a bit more I would hope and suspect that the Heinonen will be fantastic down the road... but htat is biased as well as I have my own SJ scheduled for 2020.
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#44
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My Heinonen is pretty good playability wise--I asked Drew to make the neck like an Olson, but I confess that my Maingard's mod-V neck which I didn't like at first actually has become my favorite. I thought my Langejans neck was more of D and had it carved down a bit to be closer to C, but the difference wasn't huge--the R6 is just a big guitar overall.
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1998 Langejans BRGC Engelmann Spruce / Brazilian RW 2017 Heinonen "Olson" SJ Western Red Cedar / Honduran RW - Build |
#45
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I guess I might be the only one with an Olson SJ, Heinonen SJ, and Applegate SJ…
I can’t directly compare Applegate SJ with the other two, as it has totally different wood and different age, but my Olson SJ and Heinonen SJ use the same wood combo (Sitka/EIR) and similar decorations, and are similar in age. Fit and finish wise, you will hardly be able to tell the difference between the two, though Olson is very slightly better. [Olson guitar is the only luthier guitar that looks like it was made at a highend Martin or Taylor factory with no flaws whatsoever. (In this case, this is a compliment). Any other luthier guitars I’ve seen and owned have some small flaws somewhere. (I am picky. There is a 1/128 gap in the purfling or abalone inside the rosette? FLAW… there is a small finish spot that has very slight shade difference? FLAW… Does the neck thickness and shape absolutely flawless and mirror imaged? No? FLAW… Does the light reflect slightly weird on a super small spot? FLAW….Does the bracing has slight sharp edge on one tiny spot? FLAW…Is there a extremely small amount of finish build up next to the bridge or neck where it meets the body? FLAW... you get the idea…). BTW, Heinon fit and finish is definitely above average compared to my other luthier guitars. It is just not at the Olson level, but nobody is.] Sound wise, I would say the two are more like close brothers, but they are not identical twins. However, Heinonen is probably the closest to the Olson SJ currently by any builder. My guess is that over time he will deviate further, as luthiers tend to gain more experience they start to want to do their own voicing. If I have to describe the difference, Heinonen SJ sounds slightly quieter, a bit less mid, and maybe a tad less sparkle on the top. The bracing pattern is the same, but the shape of the braces are slightly different. I also agree that Olson SJ has the thinnest neck and lowest action I’ve ever played on an acoustic. In fact one feedback that I gave to Drew was that I wish the setup was better on his guitar out of the box. He said he didn’t want to set it too low out of the box, and I can understand it, but Jim does it just fine :-). In fact none of my high end acoustics guitars have near the same action as Olson SJ. This is the spec Jim shared with me, and he did say if I tried to set other guitars to this level, most likely it will buzz. I’ve asked other technicians to set up my other guitars this low and they won’t do it as they say it will be too low and it will buzz. If I pay for a PLEK setup, I can probably get it to do it, but I don’t want to pay that much for a setup. Quote:
Last edited by Johnny_Boy; 05-18-2019 at 12:14 PM. Reason: My hearing memory fails me. I've replayed side by side today, and updated my written description of the difference in sound. |