Burner #013 - with pictures!

[songsender]

I kept looking for the "like" button. Got my sites confused.

Loving the work that Joe White is doing for us.

VERY excited to get Jamin's guitar (and two others) back in out hands so we can get them done and off to him.

[geordie]

that is a cracker (as we say in these parts).
very attractive materials, design and workmanship, my kinda guitar = curvy.

[jeastman]

Final finishing done, shipped and received back at the Burner's shop. Let the countdown begin!

[jeastman]

Moving day has arrived for this guitar. Final pictures to come soon and then a day spent peeking out my front windows waiting for the big truck!

[jeastman]

And here they are!



















I have been an almost daily visitor to AGF, but I have to say my most frequently visited page for the next couple of days (at least until Friday when it arrives) is sure to be the FedEx tracking page.

[songsender]

I kept looking for the "like" button on this page!

[jeastman]

Several years in the making and I'm not sure I can make it the last few hours...thinking about chasing down the FedEx guy on the highway.

[MBE]

Exciting!!

Once it warms up and you have a day or two of playing it, be sure to update us on how great it sound

[jeastman]

And now for the review...

I first got in touch with Paul & Kyle over three years ago stepping, with much caution, into the world of custom guitars. I've owned a few Taylors, a Martin and a handful of Yamahas, Epiphones, etc in the past and I've been very lucky to play some very nice guitars. Over the years as my tastes evolved, I learned what I loved and what I could do with out and I started to see the attraction in getting to hand pick every little detail and watch someone with the skill to do so translate the sound in my head into something I could hold in my hand.

I placed my order knowing it was going to be a wait. I live in Istanbul and I've lost enough letters and packages in shipping to know that I'd be picking this up on my next visit to the States.

This thread has been the history of the wait, the progress, the little (but much appreciated) teases of what was going on in Santa's workshop, but now we come to the delivery. I'm sure I'm not the only first-time custom buyer whose heart all of a sudden skips a beat wondering 'after all that I've invested in this, what if...'. Am I going to be that guy who has hassled my luthier for three years only to say 'yeah, almost, but not quite'? Well I'd get to find out.

Aesthetics
The guitar arrived early in the morning and I knew the rule - let it sit. So, I left the house; that guitar didn't stand a chance of staying in the case unless I was gone. I came home later that day and, with my wife watching over my shoulder, popped the lid. I won't say it's like seeing your baby for the first time because, let's be honest, brand new babies, even though they're beautiful, are a little weird looking sometimes. This was beautiful. Creamy white top, dark back, clean fretboard - nothing to distract from the absolute simplicity. I picked it up and was quite surprised that it was lighter than I expected. I kept hearing African Blackwood is one of the heaviest woods, so I was expecting it to be significantly heavier than my Taylor, but to my surprise it was very light and perfectly balanced. I also noticed a smell of cinnamon which I'm still not sure if it's the wood, the finish, or if that's just what a little bit of magic smells like.

Unplugged
I held it and positioned my fingers to play my favorite chord first (022400). A slow strum melted away any fears I may have had. The deep, round low E coming out and holding it's very prominent place in the aural spectrum while it was joined by it's smooth, clear brothers higher up the frequency range. A few chords in different places along the neck just to see if maybe I got lucky and I realized just how lucky I did get as every chord rang just as sweet. One of the things that stood out most, beyond just the tone, was how effortless it seemed to be to coax a full report from the depths. It seemed that I could just suggest notes to play and the guitar would oblige. It is profoundly articulate as well. I've always loved my Taylor, but sometimes it gets a little muddy. Across the strings, up and down the fret board there is never a sense that anything is lost or overwhelmed with this guitar.

I did find a spot where there seemed to be a bit of a buzz, but after talking with Paul, who suggested I continue to play and let it settle into its new environment, I was pleased to find that the wrong had been righted by this collection of wood that knew exactly how to be a guitar.

I love the sound port which was added. It gives such an intimate feel to the guitar; the difference between talking with someone standing behind you and face to face. All those notes just have a touch more sweetness.

Plugged In
The guitar came on a Friday and I was playing at our church the following Sunday. I had practiced the previous day with my Taylor and all the levels had been set accordingly. The passive pickup was also a bit of a difference, so I knew there'd be some adjustments needed on Sunday before we started. As I plugged in I wasn't quite happy with the sound, it didn't seem as pure as it had at home. Yes, I know it was plugged in and that's different and it was being amplified into an auditorium that seats 1,000 instead of just playing on my couch, but it wasn't quite right. Our band played through a few songs as the sound guys in the back twisted and turned, adding some EQ, compressing, putting some slight effects to try to recreate what I had heard. Then our electric guitar player (a professional sound engineer) yelled to them 'set everything flat'...

Replaying my first encounter I positioned an E5 and strummed. Everything else was silent as the sound welled up all around us, it flooded out through closed doors and as I played a fingerstyle version of "Nothing But the Blood" the dozen or so doors, which are always closed during practices would periodically open while curious heads popped in to satisfy their desire to see what their ears were hearing.

I had installed the K&K mini in one of my Taylors after the ES, which I never really had a problem with, went bad. I preferred the more natural sound, but as I'd only played it plugged in at our very small church in Istanbul, never really heard what it could do when given some room to really perform.

Details
I certainly don't think it's just the details that make the guitar, they are just what make it mine. I wanted to incorporate woods from the three continents I've lived on in my life (African Blackwood B&S, Carpathian Spruce top and mahogany neck/koa accents). I also love history, and living in Istanbul, have come to really appreciate the beauty of the ancient mosaics that can be found all over my city. Paul and Kyle did a great job incorporating that into the rosette design and hinting at it with the fret markers.

The Manzer wedge is another one of those things that just make it more natural in the way I play standing up. I'm also very pleased with the bit of flame in the binding. Don't get me wrong, all the eye candy from ultra-flame Koa to beautiful inlay to 45-style ablone is amazing, but just doesn't fit my taste. I like a little bit of flame, enough to pop, but not so much to overwhelm the rest of the guitar: this bit of trim is just the right amount.

Overall
I'm sure I've ventured into hyperbole, but hey, this may be my only custom build ever so I'm going to wax poetic while I have the chance. And don't worry, my children and their mother are definitely the most beautiful things in my house, but I'm more than happy to bring this guitar home to all of them and continue making our music together.

We have many wonderful luthiers who participate in and support this forum. I'll always number the Burners among those worthy of the highest recommendation.

More pictures to follow and recordings at some point in the future when I get back to Istanbul where all my equipment is!

[songsender]

Kyle and I can't begin to tell you how honored we are to have joined in your dream over these past 3 years.

We are blessed to get to build guitars for people like you!

[Simon Fay]

Congratulations on a beautiful instrument!!! The workmanship looks excellent and the details are thoughtfully done -- I like the fretmarkers.

[bajawatt]

Beautiful guitar. Marvelous review. But I especially loved this bit:

Originally Posted by jeastman

I love the sound port which was added. It gives such an intimate feel to the guitar; the difference between talking with someone standing behind you and face to face. All those notes just have a touch more sweetness.

[jeastman]

I haven't been as active on this forum lately after moving back to the US from overseas, but tonight I had to pass a 5-year update email on to Paul & Kyle Burner and wanted to share it here. They spend more time over on instagram these days, but if you are a first-time custom buyer like I was when I contacted the Burners and have wondered if a custom build is worth it for more than just the thrill of the build, then here's my thoughts:

Hi Paul & Kyle,

Well it’s been quite some time since we’ve been in touch, but I just had a wonderful experience that I needed to share with you. So I’ve been playing my guitar, #13, a lot over the last couple of years and especially in the last year I’ve had more comments, and these coming from professional musicians and sound engineers, that my guitar has one of the best sounds they’ve ever heard from an acoustic. Now don’t get me wrong, I am still absolutely in love with what you guys built, but it’s kind of like watching your kid grow up…when you see it every day…you don’t really notice how it changes and matures.

This past week my wife and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary and, being music lovers, decided to spend 5 days in Nashville. Now I was in Nashville about 12 years ago, long before my guitar ability could allow me to appreciate the difference between a good guitar and a great guitar, but this time we made the trek out to Gruhn guitars. I jokingly told my wife not to be surprised if, on the day of our 15th wedding, I fell in love as we walked in to one of the best guitar stores on the planet.

Over the course of the next 2 hours I picked up plenty of guitars. I loved a newer Martin OM18A, I was amazed at the comfort of a 1931 Martin, I was blown away by guitars that cost more than a year’s worth of mortgage payments…but walking out of that store when my wife asked me what I thought I told her I feel really blessed that out of all the amazing instruments I played today there wasn’t one that made me wish I could trade in the instrument you guys built for me. It’s not just a sentimental thing, though there’s plenty of that with a guitar that’s travelled the world with me...but after playing the best of the best, there was no trace of a feeling that I was missing out on anything.

Now, full disclosure, I did tell my wife she’s more than welcome to buy me that OM if she really wanted to, but I just wanted to pass along a ‘5 years down the road’ testimonial for two guys that built my perfect guitar. Thank you both again.