NGD - Worland Engelmann/EIR OM

[TokyoNeko]

So the culmination of the build shown on this thread is the NGD thread. Kudos to Jim for cranking this out in 3 months, including some time he had to spend recovering from a surgery.

<Looks>
The guitar looks as great as the pictures below and on the above thread suggest. Keeping things simple and letting the woods present themselves was a good way to keep it affordable yet extremely sexy.

<Intonation>
This guitar has easily the best intonation among all the guitars I've ever owned, from the nut to the 12th fret. I'm very pleased with the work Jim did there.

<Sound>
I can hear and feel the expected sonic palette from an Engelmann/EIR OM, but it hasn't (obviously) reached its potential yet. It might take a little longer to open up than my Pono did a few weeks back, but as soon as it opens up and shakes off a bit of tightness that I experienced today, it is going to sing incredibly. FWIW, the changing of the strings to the D'addario EXP26 (which are also on my Pono) improved the sound. Maybe I just like that particular set of strings.

<Playability>
It's the first day of ownership, and it's only been a few days since the guitar was first strung up, which may explain why I had to tinker with the truss rod and the saddle a little bit after I got home. But I think I got the action and the neck relief down to where it should be, and I'll just have to monitor the neck daily for the next several days until it stabilizes. The aforementioned change of strings also helped with the playability.

Pictures coming on the subsequent reply. I'm done using Photobucket, and will just post pics from my iPhone via Tapatalk.

[TokyoNeko]

And now the pics...

[Pippin]

Congratulations on the very beautiful OM! love the design of the sound hole rosette.

I wondered before why the heel of an acoustic guitar neck can't be made in the style of your Worland, and obviously it can be. It looks unconventional but definitely more practical from a wood working point of view. Just guess I will need a bit of time to get used to the look! Tell us the impact of this design on the playability of the higher frets, if any!

Also I am intrigued to see that the truss rod compartment at the headstock remains uncovered?

[Mark Lew]

Congrats Neko! Very nice. Elegant simplicity. That wood combo should sound fantastic. It looks like it would be super comfortable to play. I like the neck design; thanks for the detailed photo. Hope you enjoy her for a long time! You've got yourself a couple of awesome guitars!

[TokyoNeko]

Originally Posted by Pippin

Congratulations on the very beautiful OM! love the design of the sound hole rosette.

Thanks. The rosette is actually a "standard" one that Jim provides if someone asks for one. His Prairie guitars (on which this one is based) don't have rosettes, and I thought the guitar would look too boring without one. It really works well with the rest of the guitar.

Originally Posted by Pippin

I wondered before why the heel of an acoustic guitar neck can't be made in the style of your Worland, and obviously it can be. It looks unconventional but definitely more practical from a wood working point of view. Just guess I will need a bit of time to get used to the look! Tell us the impact of this design on the playability of the higher frets, if any!

Not having a heel means that the Mahogany blocks are used more efficiently for the necks. It's a unique interpretation of the bolt-on neck, and you can see how the neck would slide into the neck block from the photos of the build thread. As far as playability goes, it does make it easier to play the higher frets, and it felt a little weird in the beginning to not bump my hand on the heel.

Originally Posted by Pippin

Also I am intrigued to see that the truss rod compartment at the headstock remains uncovered?

Hahaha, there IS a cover to this. I forgot about putting it back on when I was taking photos. I just left it uncovered for a while as I was making tweaks.

Originally Posted by Mark Lew

Congrats Neko! Very nice. Elegant simplicity. That wood combo should sound fantastic. It looks like it would be super comfortable to play. I like the neck design; thanks for the detailed photo. Hope you enjoy her for a long time! You've got yourself a couple of awesome guitars!

Thanks, I'm looking forward to having some good times with it.

[TokyoNeko]

Now for some extra photos...

See? There IS a truss rod cover.









You can sort of see how the neck slides into the neck block on the last pic.

[TokyoNeko]

After 3 full days of ownership with minor tweaks out of the way, the guitar is already opening up with plenty of projection. The string balance (volume-wise) makes for a truly even tone. I think I found the "IT" guitar.

[gruuv]

Originally Posted by TokyoNeko

After 3 full days of ownership with minor tweaks out of the way, the guitar is already opening up with plenty of projection. The string balance (volume-wise) makes for a truly even tone. I think I found the "IT" guitar.

I love Engelmann. This looks stellar, congrats! Any chance for sound clips?

[TokyoNeko]

Originally Posted by gruuv

I love Engelmann. This looks stellar, congrats! Any chance for sound clips?

Unfortunately, I don't have a mic, and the guitar isn't equipped with a pickup. (In fact, I don't plan on installing a pickup on this as long as I own it.) But it's got all the complexity and overtones you'd expect from the Engelmann/EIR pairing, and it's got plenty of volume and projection to boot.

It doesn't bother me that the top is not perfectly white. The grain lines neat the joint on the lower bout adds character, methinks. Tone was definitely the priority on this build, but I love how it looks.

[markrj]

Gorgeous! Congrats.

[BrunoBlack]

That's a beauty, congratulations.

[gill]

Congrats-would love to try a Prairie or a Worland of some type someday. Bet it plays great.
Does it have more of a Taylor or Martin vibe to your ears?

[TokyoNeko]

Originally Posted by markrj

Gorgeous! Congrats.

Originally Posted by Haasome

That's a beauty, congratulations.

Originally Posted by gill

Congrats-would love to try a Prairie or a Worland of some type someday. Bet it plays great.
Does it have more of a Taylor or Martin vibe to your ears?

Thank you all.

As for the vibe, if you want a Martin/Taylor reference comparison, I would say it sounds just a tad closer to a Martin than a Taylor. It's not overly bright, and tilts a bit to the "warm" side to my ears.

But it's also got incredible balanced tone like a Larrivee, although it doesn't have the symmetrical bracing. You can check the bracing on this thread.

[golfreggie]

That guitar is super looking, a clean elegance, and the first word that popped into my feeble brain was "smooth", it really flows, to be more descriptive. Enjoy, it appears to be a great work of art!

[marty bradbury]

Beautiful guitar! Looking forward to a review after a few months. Enjoy!