Jason Kostal OM

[steveh]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

Clive hangs out at your place?

I think you'll find Clive is far more approachable than, say Jeff Beck or Dave Gilmour, neither of whom have been to my house I'm sorry to say!

Cheers,
Steve

[steveh]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I can't wait to see photos of the finished guitar and maybe hear a recording or two.

No problems with that. We're hoping to have a few impromptu pics and vids at our get-together and I know what tunes I'll be YouTubing with it when I get around to a "proper" demo.

I am also aware that it's a brand new guitar. While my MD was clearly a great instrument from the off, it got much better after a few months of playing. Just as Jason said it would, the bottom end got deeper and looser, and the top end mellowed; i.e. it got more sonorous and less brittle.

Anyway, I'm not the fastest at learning new tunes (and I also find it very difficult to retain the "old" ones - I only have so much room between my ears), so that will give it a bit of time to settle in.

Cheers,
Steve

[usb_chord]

Originally Posted by steveh

I think you'll find Clive is far more approachable than, say Jeff Beck or Dave Gilmour, neither of whom have been to my house I'm sorry to say!

Cheers,
Steve

That touches on one of the greatest aspects of this little guitar culture. Folks like Tony, Martin and Clive are effectively my "Becks" or "Gilmours" yet we get to enjoy infinitely more accessibility just due to the nature of the community. Very cool..

[steveh]

Originally Posted by usb_chord

That touches on one of the greatest aspects of this little guitar culture. Folks like Tony, Martin and Clive are effectively my "Becks" or "Gilmours" yet we get to enjoy infinitely more accessibility just due to the nature of the community. Very cool..

So, so true.

As far as acoustic steel string playing goes, my absolute idol is Martin Carthy...and I've sat 'round a table with him and had a few beers. I've never done that with Dave Gilmour.

I was at a Dick Gaughan gig a few years ago (another idol of mine) and went outside to get some air during the interval and there was Dick having a fag, so we got chatting. Beck would have been surrounded by his bodyguards!

Cheers,
Steve

[steveh]

I've had a few people PM me for the YouTube link to the Bown, so here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_JfD9V2JKs

A fabulous guitar but in a different sonic space to the Kostal, as noted above. Anyways, next weekend it will be in the same room as this:



If we're going to compare them, the Kostal will sound rather better with a bridge, so here are two holes:



...and some finish coming off in a suspiciously bridged shaped fashion:



And now the bridge:



Clamp it baby!



Jason arrives in the UK in 6 days...

Cheers,
Steve

[ericcsong]

looks great Steve!

[fountainhead]

Your a lucky man!!!!!

[steveh]

Originally Posted by fountainhead

Your a lucky man!!!!!

I certainly hope so - It's 10:14 over here as I type this so Jason will arrive in the UK in 5 days...

Reminds me of the Eric style Healdsburg countdown.

Cheers,
Steve

[steveh]

Just opened my email to find these.

Now we have a nut:



...and a bridge:



...and strings at last!



Hers is the guitar resting under tension in Jason's shop:



Jason tells me it stays like that for 3 days for things to settle. He'll then cut the nut and bridge slots, get it photographed professionally, and then it goes in its case for a trip across the Pond.

Unfortunately it's stiil 5 days until that happens. Well, in fact Jason will get on the plane in 4 days but it will be 5 by the time he gets here - poor fellow!

Cheers,
Steve

[Oxwood_Handmade]

Is Jason still using Nitro finishes? ...for some reason that doesn't look like lacquer in the photos. Thanks!

Brad

[steveh]

Originally Posted by Oxwood_Handmade

Is Jason still using Nitro finishes? ...for some reason that doesn't look like lacquer in the photos. Thanks!

Brad

Yes, it's definitely nitro.

He dabbled with a quick cure on a couple of guitars but he's back to a standard nitro finish, so it goes off to his finisher for several weeks, hence the delay.

Cheers,
Steve

[UKPhil]

Looks superb Steve, can't wait to hear you playing it

[billgennaro]

Jason is one of the few luthiers that I've never had the pleasure of auditioning one of his instruments (or I should say, one of the few that I'd really like to audition that I haven't). If he's anything in the class of his mentor (which I'm sure he is) then it'll be quite a treat when I get the chance. I love the classic design of your guitar. While I always enjoy the more "eye candy" guitars displayed in these build threads, I'm still always drawn more toward the simple elegance of guitars like yours. Just beautiful. The wait must be excruciating.

[steveh]

Originally Posted by UKPhil

Looks superb Steve, can't wait to hear you playing it

Don't worry - I'll get some off-the-cuff vids up soon and some that are more "carefully considered" (i.e. after a million takes) later.

Originally Posted by billgennaro

I love the classic design of your guitar. While I always enjoy the more "eye candy" guitars displayed in these build threads, I'm still always drawn more toward the simple elegance of guitars like yours. Just beautiful. The wait must be excruciating.

Thanks +++. I don't like bling on guitars as a rule, and this is about as blingy as it gets for me. I particularly dislike fretboard inlays etc. for example, but each to his own.

As far as the wait goes, it's not too bad. Waiting for my MD was worse but I have had that in the meantime when I fancy playing some steel string and in the 3 years since I ordered this OM I have become very, very enamoured of nylon strings. I could have had this guitar a bit sooner but Jason has been very, very much in demand so I cut him some slack and let him get some other orders in and - to a large degree - the "chase" can be most of the fun. It's not been a great time economically so it's nice to have some time to fill the pocket that will be emptied by this guitar. Anyways, the 3 years has passed surprisingly quickly.

That's not to say I'm not gagging to get it in my hands though!

Cheers,
Steve

[justonwo]

Not surprisingly, it looks gorgeous.