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  #1  
Old 09-19-2017, 08:39 PM
Matt G Matt G is offline
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Default NGD: Halcyon GA in Engelmann/Wenge

NGD!

Last Friday FedEx delivered my new (to me) barely-played Halcyon GA with an Engelmann Spruce top and Wenge back and sides. I found it for sale here on the AGF classifieds, and joined the forum just to be able to message the seller and buy it.

About a year ago, I started searching for a new guitar, and played as many as I could in local stores. I read about Halycons on this forum (where I've been lurking for a long time), but I was too chicken to buy one without trying it first, so I ended up buying two OMs (a Larrivee and a Martin OMM-Road Series). I planned to choose between the OMs and only keep one, but I ended up deciding I prefer larger guitars over OMs.

This Halcyon has a beautiful open-pore satin finish. I've always loved satin-finished woodworking in general, and I like it on guitars too. The open pores of the back and sides Wenge are long and narrow, and I like the effect. It's a bit bigger than my OMs, and the sound is a lot deeper--a lot like a dreadnought, but without the echo effect.

For the first few hours of playing it with lights (11-52), I wasn't convinced. The tone reminded me of a high-end Taylor, and I was looking for something bassier. With Ernie Ball Earthwood medium lights (12-54) and a lot of playing over the weekend, the tone is much deeper and fuller. Halycons are made just for lights, so after this set of medium lights I'll try a set of D'Addario lights and see how much difference it makes.

The reviews I've read for Halcyons all say they are extremely lively and resonant, and this guitar lives up to those reviews. Even capoed up the neck, it is nice and loud and full. I think it's an effect of the Wenge that the tone is very full and deep without being very rich. It makes me think of a big, resonant room, but it's not colored by a lot of overtones. It's a very nice effect, and I'm interested to see how it will develop over time with. If anyone here has experience with an Engelmann/Wenge combination, I'd like to hear your experience of how the tone matures as it opens up.

One thing that I like is kind of weird. I've never noticed this before, but the tuning peg posts seem extra tall, so there's room to wind the bass strings several times. I like to wrap the strings at least three times around each post to be sure the string won't slip off later, and these leave plenty of room to wind around and around.

Overall, I'm really liking this guitar. If a chance comes along to buy another Halcyon, I will be tempted. I don't know if Ed Bond's (the luthier) builds all share a similar sound, or if each Halcyon sounds totally different, but if they're all this good, I could see owning a few of them.









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Old 09-19-2017, 08:57 PM
Blind Dog Blind Dog is offline
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Congrat's!

Nice, and different than what most of the other kids have.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:27 PM
JAMKC JAMKC is offline
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Matt, great pics and write up!
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:30 PM
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BrunoBlack BrunoBlack is offline
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Gorgeous guitar. Congratulations.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:30 PM
ii Cybershot ii ii Cybershot ii is offline
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Congrats! Also most people generally consider lights to be 12-53(54).
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:41 PM
downtime downtime is offline
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Very nice, I just so happen to be playing my Lutz/EIR Halcyon OM as I am reading your NGD post.
Like you, I really like the satin finish on these guitars and how it shows off the woods and understated design elements of the Halcyon's.
Your tone description matches my impressions of my Halcyon so I think it is safe to assume they all have a similar flavor.
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Old 09-19-2017, 09:57 PM
Matt G Matt G is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ii Cybershot ii View Post
Congrats! Also most people generally consider lights to be 12-53(54).
That's good to know. I've played only mediums for a long time, and the lighter strings are pretty friendly for barre chords.
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Old 09-19-2017, 10:07 PM
Matt G Matt G is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JAMKC View Post
Matt, great pics and write up!
Thanks! And thanks for the guitar. [emoji3]
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  #9  
Old 09-20-2017, 08:47 AM
Dotneck Dotneck is offline
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Nice review but i don't think there will be a lot of folks with experience with a Wenge guitar. I'm glad you bought it because i was watching that ad...and as the seller kept dropping the price I was seriously considering buying that guitar. Wenge is one of my favorite woods...and I have a table and chairs made of wenge so it would have fit well into our home decor!
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Old 09-20-2017, 08:56 AM
Matt G Matt G is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dotneck View Post
Nice review but i don't think there will be a lot of folks with experience with a Wenge guitar. I'm glad you bought it because i was watching that ad...and as the seller kept dropping the price I was seriously considering buying that guitar. Wenge is one of my favorite woods...and I have a table and chairs made of wenge so it would have fit well into our home decor!
I think you're right about few wenge guitars. A Breedlove employee at a Breedlove event last weekend told me it's not used as a tonewood-it's just for fret boards and bridges.

I didn't correct him, but wenge gives a nice tone on this guitar. I guess in a few years I can answer my own question
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:10 AM
FOG01 FOG01 is offline
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Great review and photos, thanks for sharing. I have no experience with Halcyons, but have owned a few Taylor GA's. Is it roughly the same dimensions? It put me in mind of a J-200... It is a beauty either way!
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:16 AM
mercy mercy is offline
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from what Ive read Halcyons have a brand sound but size and wood modify it.
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  #13  
Old 09-20-2017, 09:34 AM
Matt G Matt G is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FOG01 View Post
Great review and photos, thanks for sharing. I have no experience with Halcyons, but have owned a few Taylor GA's. Is it roughly the same dimensions? It put me in mind of a J-200... It is a beauty either way!
I'll have to measure it when I get home and let you know.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:37 AM
Matt G Matt G is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mercy View Post
from what Ive read Halcyons have a brand sound but size and wood modify it.
That makes sense. I knew that Ed Bond had been a Larrivee luthier and manager, so I hoped his Halcyon builds would have some of that good Larrivee sound.

I think this one does, but it is more open and resonant. I don't know how much of that comes from this GA being larger than my Larrivee OM, and how much is from his personal approach to construction and bracing.
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Old 09-20-2017, 09:59 AM
Halcyon/Tinker Halcyon/Tinker is offline
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I think I understand what you're saying about the overall tonality of wenge.

I describe it as being bright and forward much like rosewood, however, the overtones decay much much faster, or a least the treble aspect of them do, so the overall feeling is a slight upper mid boost. But it's hard talking about sound...
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