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  #226  
Old 08-23-2012, 03:10 AM
steveh steveh is offline
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Originally Posted by vicov View Post
Perfect! You were made for each other.
In one sense you're definitely right Vic - the guitar WAS made for me!

Guys - Thanks for the kind words; I appreciate them. I'm glad you enjoyed the video - as I said, I really like build threads that end in videos or sound files at the very least; it's the natural conclusion of a thread that ends with a finished guitar in someone's hands. Gives it closure.

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Originally Posted by justonwo View Post
What do you use to record the video and audio? And how do you sync them?
I used a pair of crossed Neumann KM184s aimed at the 12th fret, about 3ft away. Then into an M-Audio DMP3 mic preamp, Apogee Duet and Logic 9 on an iMac. I really don't have a clue how to process audio (I'm no Doug Young!) so it's all just dry and how it sounds in the room. One day I should get into mixing properly/EQ/compression/reverb etc but it's all quite daunting at the moment. I dropped the video into iMovie 08 (simply because that's what I had on the iMac) and dropped the AIF file of the sound recording into iTunes, which allows you to then import it into iMovie. I sync them there. All very basic stuff - which is what I need!

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Originally Posted by peteom View Post
Hello Steve, can you tell us the string gauges?
Sure - I'm settling on D'Addario "bluegrass" EJ19s these days, since they take dropped tuning well:

056, 045, 035, 025, 016, 012

Perhaps the only thing I'd change is to beef up the 012 to a 013 since that top is is almost always down to D.

I'm on leave at the moment so I will record a couple of more pieces with the guitar if I can get the house "quiet" (kids on school holidays). It's certainly cooler now!

Cheers,
Steve
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  #227  
Old 08-23-2012, 01:05 PM
Welshboy Welshboy is offline
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Really impressive stuff, Steve. The guitar sounds great; i can only imagine how it will sound a year from now. Nice playing too
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  #228  
Old 08-23-2012, 03:32 PM
peteom peteom is offline
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Awesome, thank you!
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  #229  
Old 07-15-2013, 02:14 PM
ericcsong ericcsong is offline
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almost a year old! how has your Kostal opened up?
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  #230  
Old 07-15-2013, 04:46 PM
steveh steveh is offline
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Originally Posted by ericcsong View Post
almost a year old! how has your Kostal opened up?
What do you think? - These were uploaded yesterday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx2bS...wGfYgiVSjAeCfw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_gVy...wGfYgiVSjAeCfw

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to resurrect this Lazarus thread; fair bit of Kostal mania happening around these parts on the run up to Healsdsburg...

Cheers,
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Last edited by steveh; 07-15-2013 at 04:56 PM.
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  #231  
Old 07-15-2013, 10:08 PM
Fsgeek Fsgeek is offline
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Love the HUGE sound... really nice
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  #232  
Old 07-16-2013, 07:49 AM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Nice picking, Steve. Guitar sounds great.

I went back and forth between your recording and Michael's, and could clearly identify Jason's signature tone despite that you both have different attacks.

Looking forward to reading your reactions when you receive the OM.
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  #233  
Old 07-16-2013, 12:36 PM
steveh steveh is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeCharter View Post
you both have different attacks.
Yes: he does and I don't!

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Originally Posted by JoeCharter View Post
I went back and forth between your recording and Michael's, and could clearly identify Jason's signature tone
I'd be really interested in your thoughts on what Jason's "signature tone" is and whether you think it differs substantially from the other "disciples" of Mr Somogyi etc. You have a lot of experience with great instruments. I think I know what this guitar does (and doesn't) do but it has taken me quite a while to get it all sorted out in my head, via the honeymoon period and all of that stuff.

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Originally Posted by JoeCharter View Post
Looking forward to reading your reactions when you receive the OM.
Yes. It seems that the vast majority of people who are on Jason's list are ordering MDs but I regard them as a bit of an oddity - even the best are a bit unbalanced vis-a-vis an OM, which I regard as the "desert island" guitar. If I was restricted to one guitar, it would be an OM every time.

Having said that, I've never played an OM from Jason, but I don't think I'm taking much of a risk. The OM is much smaller than the MD and I know how smaller guitars behave vs bigger ones, on average at least...and I know he builds a great guitar.

Cheers,
Steve
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  #234  
Old 07-16-2013, 06:35 PM
Fngrstyl Fngrstyl is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steveh View Post


Steve
I love this shot. Awesome!
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  #235  
Old 07-17-2013, 09:38 AM
Billy Boy Billy Boy is offline
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Thanks for sharing your new vids, Steve! I really like how your MD has a big sound and yet is nicely balanced so that the mids and highs are not overshadowed by the lows. I gotta say, I think an MD on a desert isle would be just fine!
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  #236  
Old 07-17-2013, 12:00 PM
steveh steveh is offline
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Originally Posted by Billy Boy View Post
I really like how your MD has a big sound and yet is nicely balanced so that the mids and highs are not overshadowed by the lows.
It's difficult over the course of a year but I think that exactly sums up how the guitar has changed in that time. As always, it felt a little "tight" when I first got it, especially in the trebles (and remember that comparison is relative and vs some stellar instruments that I've played). Over the year the bass seems to have deepened and become looser, and the trebles have definitely sweetened and become more open. That's helped to balance what is, in many situations, an inherently unbalanced guitar - i.e. a dreadnought. It is also "exactly" what Jason said would happen.

I'd expect the OM to be even more balanced, because it will never have that thunderous bass and will have the fatter trebles that come from a smaller box. Let's see...

Cheers,
Steve
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  #237  
Old 03-03-2015, 12:47 PM
Cams Cams is offline
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I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Good to see my old pal markt posting too!

I'd kinda been out of the guitar forum thing for a while after moving back to my native Scotland and being busy with work and family and gigging. Besides, I was happy with my keeper (the Heiner Dreizehnter model A) and my SCGC. With those two I had all my bases covered.

Then came my Kim Walker and I popped in here to post about its arrival, and lo, I find myself reading through build threads for guitars made by luthiers I've never even heard of!

That Kostal of yours is an absolute peach Steve. The MD is not a body size I'd come across before and, being a fingerstyle player with a strong preference for a heavy bass, it sounds like it might just be right up my street! I've really enjoyed looking at your videos - your fingerstyle playing is wonderful and we have similar tastes in a lot of ways. I wish you many years of happiness with your guitar and I thank you for documenting it all so diligently in this thread.
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  #238  
Old 03-04-2015, 02:04 PM
steveh steveh is offline
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Originally Posted by Cams View Post
The MD is not a body size I'd come across before and, being a fingerstyle player with a strong preference for a heavy bass, it sounds like it might just be right up my street!
Thanks for waking this thread up Cams.

The MD is something you'll encounter a lot around these parts, thanks to Ervin Somogyi and his acolytes.

It was probably at the front of this thread that I said the first time i played one, I knew I'd have to shoot for one, even though it wouldn't necessarily be the most balanced guitar to play everyday. The bottom end was HUGE, coupled with a real elegant mid- and top-end sustain, and built in reverb (i.e. lots of overtones).

However, it's now a few years later and I have had both an MD and an OM by Jason, and I have to admit I'm playing the MD more than I ever thought I would. It's far less of a "freak-show" guitar than I'd thought it would be after first playing one. When I'm playing steel string, both get around 50% of my time whereas I thought initially that the MD would only come out for weekends. The MD is actually a far more balanced sound than first impressions would have you believe.

Yes - Kim Walker....yikes! He's on my bucket list for sure.

Cheers,
Steve
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  #239  
Old 03-04-2015, 04:09 PM
Cams Cams is offline
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Originally Posted by steveh View Post
However, it's now a few years later and I have had both an MD and an OM by Jason, and I have to admit I'm playing the MD more than I ever thought I would. It's far less of a "freak-show" guitar than I'd thought it would be after first playing one. When I'm playing steel string, both get around 50% of my time whereas I thought initially that the MD would only come out for weekends. The MD is actually a far more balanced sound than first impressions would have you believe.
That's the proof of the pudding right there. I've got two hand-built guitars that almost never come out their cases and yet, when they first arrived, I was gushing over them like a schoolgirl with a teenage crush. I wonder how I'll like my Walker in a few years? There's no way of knowing for sure, but I'd guess it's a keeper! The Model A I mentioned earlier from German luthier Heiner Dreizehnter still amazes me after having owned it for maybe 10 years (can't remember exactly, but it must be about that). I paid only EUR 2500 for that guitar and have played many guitars costing way more than that since then that couldn't hold a candle to it. I guess sometimes you just get lucky!
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