NGD 2018 Jang OM Italian Spruce / Coco

[Cincy2]

Just when I thought I had discovered the key ingredients that comprise my "perfect" guitar, this Jang OM came along. It is not a big deep body which I believed you needed for snappy bass up and down the neck. It is a lightly built guitar which I believed gave you metallic trebles and too "jangly" a presentation. It has a clear pick guard which I though dampened the guitars volume. WRONG. In short everything I thought I knew to be true about guitar construction and its relation to tone is BS.

I asked Dream Guitars to demo this instrument because of all the good things that have been said about the young luthier. People just gushed over his instruments. After I swore I would never play anything smaller than a Mod D, I received this guitar on Friday for a weekend trial.

No matter how hard we try, finding the right vocabulary to describe tone is really hard. Here goes. Round, harmonic laden high E and B without a trace of jangle. Vibrant and resonant all the way up the neck. The G, D, and A strings are so clean and melodic I sat for 15 minutes just playing them open trying to understand how it was possible. The basses all had the supersonic attack and crispness that several guitars from notable luthiers I owned did not. And not just when played open but all the way up the neck. This must be monumentally hard to accomplish because I've seen it only twice. This guitar is the second time. Block chords jump out of the sound hold and every note can be heard. Pulling a melody out of a fingerstyle piece of music is very simple. No rest strokes required. They just beam out at you. Sustain on every note is excellent.

So how did he do this? The body is a classic OM with maybe a bit more width than normal in the upper bout. A mirror in the sound hole showed a standard x brace pattern but the top was very, very thin and the braces tall. Even so, this is no guarantee of the volume and tone I am hearing. Guitar making is all about the right mix of an infinite number of variables. Jang got it right.

The woods are very attractive as you can see from the pics. No bling on this guitar which suits me and always has. There are nicks and scratches here and there from the previous owner but after hearing it I could care less. From the first note I play when I pick it up, my eyes are closed enjoying the feast.

I am a fussy customer for guitars. Lately I have zeroed in on Jason Kostal and now Isaac Jang as the best of the new generation of luthiers. If you can get your hands on an instrument from either of these gents, do it now. They are going to be rare and even more expensive in the future.

Cincy

[Ovation1]

Very nice. Can you post a sound clip?

[Richard Mott]

This write-up is entirely in accord with everything I’ve heard in Isaac’s extraordinary guitars. He is at the pinnacle of modern builders.

[StringMeUp]

That is a beautiful guitar! I assume it is now a member of your household.

[Cincy2]

Originally Posted by Ovation1

Very nice. Can you post a sound clip?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ature=emb_logo

[Cocobolo Kid]

I saw that gorgeous guitar pop up on Dream and knew it wouldn't last long. Of course, I love that Cocobolo.

Congrats!

[lfarhadi]

Cincy, Great review -- thanks for sharing. It's been incredible to watch Isaac continue to hone his craft over the past couple years. The multi-scale he built a few months ago and the Tree he's moving off his bench at the moment come to mind (check out his Facebook page).

I've been waiting patiently for my own Italian/Coco Jang OM expected at the end of this year. Will be a birth year guitar for my just born son.

As you can see from my signature, my small collection is currently all twelve fretters. My first and only custom is my H12, which I adore as much as my vintage axes. But after some time, I started to hanker for one last guitar that would give me in one package everything I haven't owned yet: 14 fret (OM), European spruce, double sides, a "super dense" RW (coco, african bw, etc), a cutaway/bendaway, manzer wedge...

Isaac has been truly lovely to work with and your post renews my excitement for the final product!

[CoolerKing]

It's a beaut! I saw the Dream Guitars video, so the sound is fantastic as well! Congrats.

[cigarfan]

You are a lucky guy! Congrats!

[gitarro]

Congrats cincy2 - isaac makes superb instruments. Did you place an order on his waiting list through dg in the end? If you do I encourage you to go for adi and brw - isaac does great things with thT combo...

[Cincy2]

Originally Posted by gitarro

Congrats cincy2 - isaac makes superb instruments. Did you place an order on his waiting list through dg in the end? If you do I encourage you to go for adi and brw - isaac does great things with thT combo...

I had a build slot for 2022. I demo'd this used one out of curiosity but couldn't let it go. The custom order slot will be reassigned by DG.

Cincy

[Diamondave]

Congrats, I remember this build when it was first finished, it was amazing, I bet after a couple years its settled in superbly... Isaac is the best, mucho talented, he's been a best friend of mine for a decade, its been fascinating watching his building become what it is, He's a luthier at the finest!

[Nemoman]

What a beautiful guitar--enjoy it in good health!

[Diamondave]

[Cocobolo Kid]

A bunch more nice photos here:

https://www.crguitars.com/site/items/isaac-jang-om

Congrats again!