NGD: Heinonen Cedar/HRW SJ - Olson style

SiliconValleySJ · #1 06-21-2017, 05:54 PM

Just wanted to start out this thread. This morning I received the re-done case by Cedar Creek, but no guitar yet:

This afternoon, this showed up at my office:

And unboxing slowly:

And then the reveal:

And finally, putting it into its right case:

I'll post impressions and clips over the next few days/weeks, but just wanted to get a start on this thread.

Pineapple Pete · #2 06-21-2017, 06:25 PM

At the risk of being nosy, I have to ask: does Olson-style cost Olson price?

nedley · #3 06-21-2017, 06:33 PM

Nice, I jam with Drew Heinonen's father in law.

He's plays a mandolin but brought in his Heinonen guitar one night and I got a chance to strum it. It needed new strings but was really nice.

Enjoy your new guitar, I'm sure it's great.

Ned

Wade Hampton · #4 06-21-2017, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineapple Pete

At the risk of being nosy, I have to ask: does Olson-style cost Olson price?

I'd be very surprised if it did, at least at this stage of Mr. Heinonen's career. I met him at the Fretboard Summit gathering in California in November, 2015. He wasn't officially part of the summit, he'd just come on his own with a couple of guitars he'd built.

Nice guy, fine guitars. I was impressed both by his commitment and by the guitars of his that I had a chance to play. Plus, he's Finnish-American and I lived in Finland for a while, and have never met a Finn I didn't like! (Okay, well, maybe there were a couple, but they're still in Finland last I heard...)

Anyway, he's an impressive young builder making superb guitars.

Wade Hampton Miller

ManyMartinMan · #5 06-21-2017, 06:44 PM

Looks great. Congratulations. Looking forward to the review.

Wade Hampton · #6 06-21-2017, 06:44 PM

Here's Drew's website:

http://www.heinonenguitars.com/

As you'll see, Pete, the guitars are not bottom dollar bargain basement instruments. They're high end guitars. But they're not in the same stratospheric realm as Olson guitars.

whm

Jobe · #7 06-21-2017, 06:46 PM

Nice cozy case! All the best with the new guitar. Break it in!

dantin · #8 06-21-2017, 07:55 PM

Nice guitar. Look forward to seeing and hearing more. What didn't work with the case with the darker interior?

SiliconValleySJ · #9 06-21-2017, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dantin

Nice guitar. Look forward to seeing and hearing more. What didn't work with the case with the darker interior?

Thanks! The case with the blue interior actually wasn't fit properly--the padding wasn't shaped correctly, so Drew had to send it back for a refurbishing. However, he wanted to make sure I still got the guitar in a timely manner, so he shipped in one of his standard tweed/darker case. I need to ship back that case now.

I wanted the case to match the guitar, thus the royal blue interior and lighter outer color.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineapple Pete

At the risk of being nosy, I have to ask: does Olson-style cost Olson price?

Not being nosy at all. Wade put the link up to Drew's website, which has the pricing sheet. Jim's base price is $15k and there is a $1,250 upcharge for Florentine cutaway. In my mind, that's a very different ballpark. Drew's price is a third of that and won't reach half even if you totally bling it out.

SiliconValleySJ · #10 06-22-2017, 12:48 AM

Just a few more pictures here, though the pics don't really do it justice. It's a gorgeous guitar. Even my wife commented that she thought it was really pretty and said my other guitars didn't even compare. Least I have her approval on that front!

Will give my full impressions later. It felt stiff when I first tuned it up, but a few hours later, it definitely has livened up a bit.

Played it against my two keepers, and this is quite versatile. This cedar/HRW really loves a *pick*, which was a bit surprising. Fingerstyle is nice too (of course). It does both quite well, so pleasantly surprised on that front.

Brucebubs · #11 06-22-2017, 01:33 AM

My keyboard is in danger of shorting out ..... from drool.

jaan · #12 06-22-2017, 05:18 AM

Wow, that is beautiful!

#13 06-22-2017, 05:56 AM

That's a magnificent guitar! I just love the florentine.

frances50 · #14 06-22-2017, 06:21 AM

Beautiful guitar. Enjoy.

SiliconValleySJ · #15 06-23-2017, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

My keyboard is in danger of shorting out ..... from drool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaan

Wow, that is beautiful!

Quote:

Originally Posted by frances50

Beautiful guitar. Enjoy.

All, thank you for the kind words. This one really is a beauty. I love looking at it. It's nice.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtjohn

That's a magnificent guitar! I just love the florentine.

I do too! It's Drew's first ever cutaway on a Heinonen guitar, so he had to come up with the tooling for my build for the first time. Really honored he was willing to do it for me.

The heel to body fit is great too, and I like how the heel is recessed a bit. I'll have better pictures hopefully this weekend as I'd like to get some nice outdoor shots.