Anyone own an Olson And a Heinonen?

[Bone0305]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Boy

No, the thickness of the neck is NOT the same. In fact that is probably the only major difference in terms of physical part of the guitar. Olson SJ neck is done via CNC, and Heinonen SJ is done by hand, so there will be some differences, but overall the Heinonen SJ has much thicker neck than Olson SJ. I prefer thinner Olson SJ neck, mainly because I am used to playing electric guitars.

Just curious. Did he build you the thinnest neck he could build?
Thanks!

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by Johnny_Boy

Fit and finish wise, you will hardly be able to tell the difference between the two

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.

These few points have been my same experience. The sound difference I've experienced is that Olsons are slightly bassier than Heinonens. I do not have both guitars at once so it would be hard for me to comment on the volume as Johnny_Boy has, but they're both responsive and sufficiently loud.

Jim Olson has given Drew Heinonen his full blessing as an apprentice and to build in the Olson Style. In my experience, many of my clients order a Heinonen because of his resemblance to Olson and do ask for the Olson tone, which I am sure the Somogyi apprentices get asked a lot too. But given enough time and exposure, they start to make a name for themselves and develop their own signature style/tone and I think that's where Drew could be headed.

Heinonen has perhaps been the most popular builder on my roster and I think it's only a matter of time that he will start being recognized for what he is, an incredible builder