Jason Kostal Guitars / Simply Amazing

[Ron Potkul]

Just recently I had the untimely opportunity to purchase a gorgeous, like New Jason Kostal MD Guitar from one of our AGF forum members screen name JustonWo. In the past I had the opportunity to purchased another one of Juston's custom ordered guitars. That was a brand new Raymond Kraut MD Guitar which is a work of art within itself. Since the Raymond Kraut guitar had blossom into a truly great sounding guitar I was excited about purchasing another guitar from Juston. There is no doubt in my mind that Master Luthier Ervin Somogyi has trained some of the best new Luthier's in the country, which includes others like Matsuda, Beauregard and Gustav Fredell just to name a few. I guess that's why Jason has a 6 year waiting list and Ray Kraut has over a 3 year waiting list. Now normally I don't post anything on the AGF unless I feel I have something of value to share with the community but, I do read the website every day. In fact that was how I was able to get the first shot at purchasing this like new Jason Kostal MD. That's also the reason I became a AGF Charter Member. This website has really been a blessing in my guitar world.

Since I had read so many outstanding reviews about Jason Kostal's incredible guitars on the AGF and other magazines like the one in Guitar Bench Magazine I really wanted to own one of his guitars. With Jason having a 6 year waiting list I knew I would have to move quickly if I wanted a chance to secure this instrument so I contacted Juston and ask him to send it out immediately. When I received the guitar I was really pleased with how beautiful and meticulous the instrument had been crafted, it was perfection in a beautiful custom Hoffee guitar case. This guitar had 200 year old straight grain Master Grade Brazilian rosewood back and sides and 200 year old gorgeous Sitka Spruce top with a Manzer Wedge. It also had a Brazilian Bridge which is very rare and Jason's signature stained glass rosette and a few other custom designs on the body. A true work of art to behold and even more importantly a wonderfully balance instrument to hold. When I first tuned the guitar I notice on the first strum of the guitar that the saddle had been set extremely low. Juston had mentioned before shipping it that he had lowered the saddle and he told me that he had one of Ervin Somogyi helpers lower the saddle because he used finger picks and wanted the action to be as low as possible. Since I am a big guy with big hands and I play with bare fingers I knew that this setup wouldn't work for me. I now had to make a decision on how best to move forward. I decided to play the guitar the way it was just to make the decision if I was totally satisfied with the overall guitar. Needless to say everything I had read about Jason's guitars were true. It has what I call the superb focused cello like bass that Ervin Somogyi guitars are so famous for.(The Somogyi leaves don't fall far from the tree) It had the clarity, the note separation, the beautiful harmonics, the superb balance of all the strings, the fat trebles, sparkling mids and highs, and the sustain that was to die for. Needless to say I purchased the guitar but, this is not what this posting is all about. It's about Jason Kostal the Luthier but, more importantly Jason Kostal the man that I got to know in a very short time.

You see when I decided that I wanted to keep this guitar I new I would have to get the action back up to where I could really dig in with my bare fingers and be comfortable with the action. I decided to contact Jason Kostal by phone to see what it would cost to have him re make a new saddle and do a complete new setup back to original specs. When I called I first got his recording and left a message about who I was and what I wanted him to do on this guitar. I was concerned that a man as busy as Jason that it could be a few days before he would get back to me, especially since I was a complete stranger to him. The next thing you know Jason called me back within a few hours and needless to say I was impressed. Jason went into great detail about this guitar and how the woods used were supposed to be used one day for his own personal Kostal guitar. He explained how the customer really press him to use these master grade woods and so Jason being a giving person finally gave in and built the customer the guitar he wanted. Jason also share his armed services back ground with me and before long it was like I was speaking to a long lost brother. It was apparent that the discipline and dedication he had developed in the armed services had carried over into his guitar building craft. I could tell by talking with him that his reputation means everything to him. Jason told me was that he was glad I didn't take the guitar to just any Luthier to have a new saddle and setup done. You see Jason truly cares about each of his guitars. He said it was just like if they were one of his own children. He really wants them to have a good home and he wants the folks who owned them to really love and enjoy them. He then told me if I would just pay for the shipping of the guitar that he would be more than happy to make a new custom saddle and do the entire setup at NO CHARGE!! EXCUSE ME!! This is the 21st Century where true customer service is pretty much a thing of the past or very rarely exist. Now this doesn't mean there are not other fine Luthiers out there that truly care about their customers as well as their craft but, I am referring to the overall big business world we live in today.

Well I told Jason that I sincerely appreciated his kind offer to do the entire setup for free but, if it were ok with him I would include a $100 check in the guitar case when I shipped the instrument back to him. I know that Jason has invested a great deal of time, money and schooling into his career and I just wouldn't feel right not paying him for his professional services. His reply was whatever makes me happy is fine with him. Needless to say I quickly moved forward with repacking the guitar. As I was getting ready to take it to the local UPS store I suddenly realized that I needed to add this guitar onto my musical instrument policy. Since I really wanted to get this guitar shipped out that day and I knew my insurance company would need a written appraisal from the builder and also pictures of the instrument. The only problem was I had already packed up the guitar and didn't have any pictures nor an appraisal. I immediately called Jason to see how long it would take to get an appraisal done and ask if he had any pictures of the guitar. Well, this time when I called Jason immediately picked up the phone and his awesome customer service went into action again. Within and hour I had a emailed PDF of a fully detailed custom appraisal of the guitar which also included 6 original pictures of the guitar. All I had to do was forward this email to my insurance company and they could immediately bind the coverage. Needless to say the guitar was shipped out that day. Now keep in mind the fact that at this point I have never spent a single dime with Jason, yet he was jumping thru hoops to accommodate my request. Now that is what I call above and beyond customer service.

When the guitar finally arrived at Jason's shop I got a phone call from him that day letting me know that it had arrived and that he was going to let it sit and acclimate to the change in temperature and humidity which is definitely different in Arizona. He also shared with me that he had to fly out that day because one of his military brothers had passed away. He assured me when he got back in a few days that he would get on the guitar right away. Needless to say when Jason got back he went to work on the setup and within a day he had the guitar packed and shipped on its way back to me. He also sent me an email that day which had a very detailed description of all the work he had performed on the guitar down to giving me the exact string heights that he used in this setup. He also stated that he put a new set of John Pearse New Medium strings on it and also included an extra set in the case. He said that this was a hybrid set of medium strings that he felt sounded best on his guitars. He also said there was no charge for the strings and that they were a gift from him. Since the previous owner had lowered the original saddle on the guitar Jason had to make a brand new saddle to get the height back up to original specs. He also polished the frets, and sanded out some finger wear on the fingerboard itself. He then re-oiled the fingerboard and the bridge, and check all of the bridge pins for a good fit. He also tightened the screws on the tuners, and set the relief in the neck. Needless to say when I got the guitar back the setup was perfect. To sum up my long post " The guitar, the playability, the lush sound, the truly exceptional customer service, the new friendship, the Luthier and most importantly the man Jason Kostal were all SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!

[martint]

Great to hear that someone is seeing their craft as more than just a product but is a part of themselves. This instrument is clearly a reflection of the artist.

[Ron Potkul]

Hi Martin,

Thank you Martin for taking the time to read my post. It truly was a pleasure dealing with Jason Kostal and even more of a pleasure owning and playing one of his beautiful guitars. Ervin Somogyi should be very proud of Jason Kostal and Raymond Kraut as well. ( I also own one of Raymond Krauts masterpieces ) He has trained to exceptional Luthiers and two very talented individuals.

[mikealpine]

LOVE the details and the excitement. I met Jason at Woodstock only briefly, but immediately felt at home with him. Very happy to read this and thank you for sharing the details. Please add some sound clips!!

[justonwo]

Yes, Jason is an absolute gem. I guess I have become a guitar prescreener for you, Ron. I'm glad you are enjoying the guitar!

[fountainhead]

Congratulations and enjoy!

[Simon Fay]

Hi Ron -- Congratulations on the Kostal. Now I just need to invite myself over one day to check it out

[Itzkinguitars]

Great post, Ron and congratulations on the guitar; I had the pleasure of playing it at Woodstock a few years ago and it was a show stopper. Jason is one of my favorite builders and people. He was even kind enough to write me a letter of recommendation for college; knowing Jason, it's probably more eloquently written than my admissions essay

[steveh]

Just to add to the "love fest" by stating that Jason really is a stand-up guy when it comes to his guitars. I have absolute confidence if if my Kostals ever developed a problem, he would see that it is sorted out, on his coin. That's what you get back for trusting him in the first place.

That's good because you wouldn't want to fall out with him, given his background; just sayin'

It's also well known that he doesn't sleep, so he tends to get back to people quickly.

Ultimately, I'm guessing the question everyone wants to ask you, is how do the two MDs square up to one another...

Cheers,
Steve

[Ron Potkul]

Fountainhead,

Thank you for the warm wishes. Take Care.

[Ron Potkul]

Just to add to the "love fest" by stating that Jason really is a stand-up guy when it comes to his guitars. I have absolute confidence if if my Kostals ever developed a problem, he would see that it is sorted out, on his coin. That's what you get back for trusting him in the first place.

That's good because you wouldn't want to fall out with him, given his background; just sayin'

It's also well known that he doesn't sleep, so he tends to get back to people quickly.
Ultimately, I'm guessing the question everyone wants to ask you, is how do the two MDs square up to one another...

Hi StevenH
First Thank You for taking the time to read my long posting. In regards to your question how do the two MDs , Kostal & Kraut square up, well let me say this. First off the Ray Kraut is a fan fret with a gorgeous Alpine Spruce top with straight grained Ebony back and sides. The Kostal is 200 year old straight grained Brazilian back and sides and 200 year old tight grain Sitka Spruce. Needless to say they both have their own unique voice but, both Somogyi bred which means their craftsmanship abilities have affected the sound more than anything. Both are meticulously built and extremely beautiful masterpieces to behold. The Ray Kraut guitar has more artistic flair in regards to the custom inlays that he designed down the neck of the guitar as well as the ones in the rosette, the end graft and the head piece. But then again that is what the custom order called for. Jason Kostal's design is more conservative but, he does have a visually stunning stain glass rosette, custom end graft and the back inlays that are equally as beautiful. I guess the best analogy would be do you like your Somogyi with a fan fret with a lot of extra artistic inlays or the more traditional neck with less artistic flair. Of course the wood choices wood change the color of the sound but, both would be truly exceptional. I guess if I were force to choose one over the other I would have to choose the Luthier whose last name starts with a capital K. I hope this answers your question. Take Care!!

[Ron Potkul]

Hi Simon,

Thanks for reading my long posting. You are welcome anytime to give me a call and I will be more than happy to stop over and let you try out the Kostal MD. Take Care!!

[Ron Potkul]

Great post, Ron and congratulations on the guitar; I had the pleasure of playing it at Woodstock a few years ago and it was a show stopper. Jason is one of my favorite builders and people. He was even kind enough to write me a letter of recommendation for college; knowing Jason, it's probably more eloquently written than my admissions essay

Hi Henderson,

Thank you for taking the time to read my long post. I am glad you had the opportunity to play this guitar at Woodstock and I have to agree it would be a show stopper. It doesn't surprise me that Jason was kind enough to do a letter of recommendation for your college. He is a giving person in more ways than one. He is also a talented guitar player, singer song writer and so much more. It's easy to see why he is so successful.

[BenjaminPaldacci]

As a student at my lutherie Schoool, I had a lot of questions and Jason always took of his precious time to answer to me, this man is terribly Kind! Great story!

[Michael Watts]

We know this to be true... Jason is a massive talent and one of my favourite people. The guitar he built for me will be three years old this summer and it sounds wonderful and inspires me every time I play it at home, on stage and in the studio.

Congratulations on a stellar instrument, enjoy it for years to come and I look forward to Video/audio posts in the future.