Pair of 12F Modified Dreads for Jack - Videos Added

[Jwills57]

No question about it, my little life is full of blessings. I try every single day to be a more humble, more grateful, kinder person than I was the day before. Guitars and music help keep me grounded and walking in the middle of life's path, not veering off into the weeds and brambles on either side. The guitars will be in my hands in a couple of weeks, so I will get a review up and running after that. Best, Jack

[mountainguitar]

Congratulations Ken and Jack! What a great looking pair of guitars!! Ken builds such gorgeous instruments and I'm sure these will sound great also.

I look forward to hearing Jack's thoughts when these beautiful guitars are in his hands!

Be well-

beth

[Kenneth Casper]

Originally Posted by Nemoman

Lovely guitars, Ken--kudos!

And congrats, Jack!

Looking forward to your review--enjoy!

Thanks N-Man! Appreciate you adding the nice comment!

Ken

Originally Posted by fitness1

Spectacular in the details....right down to the way the gold fret wire blends in with the color scheme.

Not many players are fortunate enough to get a "twofer" delivery day.

Very well done.

Much appreciated, Todd! I am a pretty fortunate luthier to have a twofer build! The colors aren't quite as saturated as they are in the photos. The guitars are a bit warmer looking in person.

You golfing yet? I got out the same day the governor opened up play. Played again yesterday, and the nice day really gave me hope for summer!

Ken

Originally Posted by jwills57

...The guitars will be in my hands in a couple of weeks, so I will get a review up and running after that...

Looks like you will have a few folks checking in for that review. Maybe I should be granted editor privileges before anything gets posted

Ken

Originally Posted by bmh1

Congratulations Ken and Jack! What a great looking pair of guitars!! Ken builds such gorgeous instruments and I'm sure these will sound great also.

I look forward to hearing Jack's thoughts when these beautiful guitars are in his hands!

Be well-

beth

Thanks Beth! I have another week or two with these guitars until they go to Jack. I sure am enjoying playing them once or twice a day. Having two identical guitars but for the soundboard is a unique chance to compare Engelmann and Red Spruce. The 12 frets have a similar general sound to your 13 fret. Swing by with your guitar, and we can compare that 13F Huron to these

Ken

[mountainguitar]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Casper

Thanks Beth! I have another week or two with these guitars until they go to Jack. I sure am enjoying playing them once or twice a day. Having two identical guitars but for the soundboard is a unique chance to compare Engelmann and Red Spruce. The 12 frets have a similar general sound to your 13 fret. Swing by with your guitar, and we can compare that 13F Huron to these

Ken

My 13 fret Huron with that Adirondack top has opened up significantly! It's really sounding great these days. Currently, it's in Open D tuning and I'm loving playing it in these open tunings. It would be wonderful to swing by.... Someday.... Driving from CA to Michigan isn't in the cards in the near future

Take good care!

beth

[Kenneth Casper]

Originally Posted by bmh1

My 13 fret Huron with that Adirondack top has opened up significantly! It's really sounding great these days. Currently, it's in Open D tuning and I'm loving playing it in these open tunings. It would be wonderful to swing by.... Someday.... Driving from CA to Michigan isn't in the cards in the near future

Take good care!

beth

Ahh...but the gas prices are so low

You take care too, Beth!

Ken

[fitness1]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Casper

You golfing yet? I got out the same day the governor opened up play. Played again yesterday, and the nice day really gave me hope for summer!

Ken

We played last Monday and Tuesday (our memberships are for M-F as I'm not a big fan of fighting weekend crowds!) and then the course flooded.

We'll play today, and it looks like Wednesday, but the rest of the week is either too cold or rain as it looks right now.

Hard to believe this May weather....with the shutdown it's no work AND no play.

[namrok]

Hi Ken!
I just went through this thread, what beautiful guitars these are. Love your work! Hoping in a couple years I'll be in a position to dream up another buils. The bursts are amazing. Can't wait to hear what these sound like, particularly the differences between the two top woods. I'll be in touch about getting back in the que! Stay safe!
Dave

[Kenneth Casper]

Originally Posted by namrok

Hi Ken!
I just went through this thread, what beautiful guitars these are. Love your work! Hoping in a couple years I'll be in a position to dream up another buils. The bursts are amazing. Can't wait to hear what these sound like, particularly the differences between the two top woods. I'll be in touch about getting back in the que! Stay safe!
Dave

Hi Dave, I'm glad you dropped in! Yes, these two turned out very well. I have been enjoying exercising them a bit every day and listening to the sound open up. I am meeting Jack in Ohio Saturday morning for the hand off, so Jack will soon be able to try out his new tunes on them.

When the time is right, reach out. I still have a couple of years lead time. Would be great to build another one for you.

Ken

[Jwills57]

Hello, Guitar Friends--Well, I've had these two beautiful guitars now for about a month and just wanted to post a brief review. Ken has made me two incredible instruments. When I met him for the pick up, he was especially effusive about the Engelmann-top guitar, and when I got home and had a chance to first play it, I could see why. I emailed him that I thought it was one of the top five new guitars I had ever played, just an instrument of great depth and dynamics and power. Engelmann gets a bit of a bad rap now and again from steel-string purists, but I have always had great luck with my Engelmann-topped guitars, and this one is certainly no exception. I can now also report that, as I have been playing it more and more, the Adirondack-top guitar is really coming into its own, too. I have been playing my pseudo-flatpicking pieces on it, and the guitar is performing just as I had imagined, a very powerful, focused, driving sound. I'm truly blessed to have these two guitars. It's taken me a bit of time to get used to the geometry of the 12-fret neck join, but I definitely can understand why people are drawn to the design. The guitars are a bit more intimate to play, and I think, just overall, the 12-fret design adds a certain kind of depth to the tone, because the bridge is located more in the sweet spot of the top. As I mentioned in earlier posts, if you're looking to commission a guitar, Ken has been fantastic to work with. This design was all in my head and not on Ken's radar at all, until I began talking with him about the possibilities. He made the guitars which existed between my ears a reality, and he made them with a lot of joy and commitment and integrity. Best, Jack

[Guitars44me]

Congratulations! These sure are pretty. I think it'll be a lot of fun to see how they differ as they age. I expect either one would be a lifetime guitar for most people…

Play them in great health and spirits!!!

Oh, and WELL DONE Kenneth

Paul

[Kenneth Casper]

Thanks Jack for pulling up this thread and adding your feedback. I had a hard time getting the custom cases from Ameritage for these guitars presumably due to the pandemic. Rather than wait another month for cases, Jack and I decided to meet midway between his place in Ohio and my place in Michigan. We made a rather sterile handoff that seemed so strange as we even skipped the handshakes! But we got Jack his guitars, and this week, he finally got his cases. Jack sent me some pix of the guitars in the their new cases, and I decided to add one to the thread:



Jack and I have traded a few emails since he got the guitars, and he even sent me a couple of videos. Jack agreed to let me post links to those videos here. If you want to take the time to watch and listen, here is a chance to hear two identically built guitars but for the soundboards. I believe both the pieces Jack is playing are his creations.

Engelmann:


Red Spruce:


For me, lutherie is therapy rather than a job, and I limit the number of builds and time I spend in the shop so it doesn't begin to feel like a job. Taking on a project like Jack's was right in my wheelhouse, giving me something new and different to noodle on. Thanks Jack for trusting me bring your vision to life! Enjoy them!

To everyone that has followed along, thanks for joining us on this journey!

Ken

[Kenneth Casper]

Originally Posted by Guitars44me

Congratulations! These sure are pretty. I think it'll be a lot of fun to see how they differ as they age. I expect either one would be a lifetime guitar for most people…

Play them in great health and spirits!!!

Oh, and WELL DONE Kenneth

Paul

Thank you very much, Paul!

[mountainguitar]

Thanks for sharing the sound of these gorgeous guitars, Jack! And thank you Ken for posting this! These are gorgeous instruments and it's wonderful to hear great tone too from two different soundboards.

Enjoy your new Casper's Jack!

beth

[Kenneth Casper]

Originally Posted by bmh1

Thanks for sharing the sound of these gorgeous guitars, Jack! And thank you Ken for posting this! These are gorgeous instruments and it's wonderful to hear great tone too from two different soundboards.

Enjoy your new Casper's Jack!

beth

Thanks Beth! These guitars were a cool commission, and I enjoyed documenting the builds on this thread. I don't think my next three or four are participants on this forum, so I don't know if I'll do a build thread this next cycle or not. We will see what woods and features they want. If one is a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps I'll share. Guess we will see in a few more months.

Ken