Build thread: Claxton Malabar, European spruce / Maple

[Ernesto]

Perfect proportions, just beautiful. And Claxtons are said to sound at least as good as they look. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to play one.
Congrats, even though some patience is required until you two get together.

[FormerFoodie]

Originally Posted by cbjanne

Thanks for the kind comments, again. Yesterday Ed sent me three photos of the completed guitar.

I'm happy.

Drool. Flamed maple never fails to buckle my knees...

I always thought I was a rosewood guy through and through, but ever since I've taken in a commissioned maple guitar, I just can't put it down.

That guitar is a beauty - thanks for sharing! Looking forward to reading your review of it!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by FormerFoodie

Drool. Flamed maple never fails to buckle my knees...

I always thought I was a rosewood guy through and through, but ever since I've taken in a commissioned maple guitar, I just can't put it down.

That guitar is a beauty - thanks for sharing! Looking forward to reading your review of it!

I feel the same way, FF. I know this one is going to sound amazing.

[cbjanne]

Thank you for the delightful messages!

Originally Posted by Treenewt

Congrats! I love the hue the FP brought out in the maple. Beautifully done!

Thanks! I believe the amber tone is partly brought out by the FP and partly due to the ozone process Ed does to his maple guitars.

Originally Posted by FormerFoodie

I always thought I was a rosewood guy through and through, but ever since I've taken in a commissioned maple guitar, I just can't put it down.

This exact transformation happened to me when I visited Ed's shop and played the same model with the same top, but the other with a BRW back and the other with European maple. While the BRW guitar sounded gorgeous and complex, the maple one seemed to be just the ideal tool for musical expression. It had a quality that I notice very clearly, but is hard to put into words -- the notes really mean what they say. The expression in the sound is just so "there" that one can almost touch it. This is apparent in Michael Watts' maple MDW too, albeit his playing is obviously from a different universe than mine.

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by cbjanne

Thank you for the delightful messages!



Thanks! I believe the amber tone is partly brought out by the FP and partly due to the ozone process Ed does to his maple guitars.



This exact transformation happened to me when I visited Ed's shop and played the same model with the same top, but the other with a BRW back and the other with European maple. While the BRW guitar sounded gorgeous and complex, the maple one seemed to be just the ideal tool for musical expression. It had a quality that I notice very clearly, but is hard to put into words -- the notes really mean what they say. The expression in the sound is just so "there" that one can almost touch it. This is apparent in Michael Watts' maple MDW too, albeit his playing is obviously from a different universe than mine.

When maple is used properly, it just has a wonderful clarity of expression. Notes are clear, well separated, but still sophisticated. Michael Watts' maple MDW stands out among the many Kostals I have played precisely for those characteristics (though Ed's build style is much different).

[pegleghowell]

What a beautiful guitar.Wonderful aesthetics.

[cbjanne]

Originally Posted by justonwo

When maple is used properly, it just has a wonderful clarity of expression. Notes are clear, well separated, but still sophisticated. Michael Watts' maple MDW stands out among the many Kostals I have played precisely for those characteristics (though Ed's build style is much different).

Agreed. I think I got the hang of the differences in the building styles (at least in terms of how I interact with them) when I played two Kostals and a Traugott (which shares many traits with Ed's style) at TNAG last fall. Still, I think that the expressive clarity of maple comes through regardless of the style.

[Diamondave]

Blowing my mind...!!! Congrats

[Guitars44me]

What a BEAUTY

enjoy it in fine health!

Paul

[Mark L]

That’s such a beautiful guitar!
Just curious, what kind of strings does the builder recommend for this maple instrument? And what strings are you considering as alternatives? Thanks.

[cbjanne]

Thank you yet again for the kind comments.

Originally Posted by Mark L

That’s such a beautiful guitar!
Just curious, what kind of strings does the builder recommend for this maple instrument? And what strings are you considering as alternatives? Thanks.

Thank you for the question! D'Addario PB Light Gauge is Ed's reference string set, and the guitar will be delivered with that. Previously I've had good results with Santa Cruz strings and DR Sunbeams and will likely try both. John Pearse strings also seem to work for me quite often, and I'm curious about Newtone and Thomastik. I'd be happy to discuss this further once I gain more experience.

[Mark L]

Thank you for the discussion cbjanne.

I have a couple of spruce/maple flat tops and I’m always curious if anyone has hit a sweet spot with a set of strings that complement the clarity and directness that maple brings to a well built instrument.

I’ve liked Pearse PB strings pretty well. I’ve been thinking about the Monel or D’Addario nickel/bronze NB strings on the next change. I’ll be interested to hear what your string experiments yield.

One thing I feel is that old strings do not do well on maple. I have some other instruments, adi/mahogany for example, where aging strings change the sound in interesting ways. But on maple they just sound dull and worn out.

BTW, are you mostly a fingerstyle player?

In any case that is a gorgeous guitar. I applaud your choice of headstock and appointments. Very best wishes.

[Deft Tungsman]

Hi Janne,

I've been away from the Forum for a while. What a pleasure to come back and see these pictures of your finished guitar!! It's beyond beautiful. I am eager to hear your impressions once you've had a chance to spend some time with it. Do you have an estimated delivery date yet? I hope the shipment goes smoothly.

All the best,
Marc

[Richard Mott]

On the question of finding the right strings for maple, of course it’ll vary from instrument to instrument, but I’ve had good luck with D’Addario phosphor bronze. The case for them is that they are clear and bright, just like the maple, so it’s kind of doubling down on the inherent character of the build. If you want warmer and richer, as someone said to me “you warm it up with your hands.”

[cbjanne]

Originally Posted by Mark L

Thank you for the discussion cbjanne.

I have a couple of spruce/maple flat tops and I’m always curious if anyone has hit a sweet spot with a set of strings that complement the clarity and directness that maple brings to a well built instrument.

I’ve liked Pearse PB strings pretty well. I’ve been thinking about the Monel or D’Addario nickel/bronze NB strings on the next change. I’ll be interested to hear what your string experiments yield.

One thing I feel is that old strings do not do well on maple. I have some other instruments, adi/mahogany for example, where aging strings change the sound in interesting ways. But on maple they just sound dull and worn out.

BTW, are you mostly a fingerstyle player?

In any case that is a gorgeous guitar. I applaud your choice of headstock and appointments. Very best wishes.

Mark, thank you for your thoughts. I'd love to share more of my own when I've had the chance to experiment with different string sets. I'm especially curious about how the mellowness of round core strings works with the clarity of maple. Monel strings are another interesting idea.

I'd say that 95% of my acoustic playing is fingerstyle. For some reason I seldom like the sound that picks or fingerpicks make on acoustic guitars. Every now and then I like to strum, though. That's why I'm still pondering whether or not to ask Ed to install a clear pickguard. My technique is far from perfect.

Originally Posted by Deft Tungsman

Hi Janne,

I've been away from the Forum for a while. What a pleasure to come back and see these pictures of your finished guitar!! It's beyond beautiful. I am eager to hear your impressions once you've had a chance to spend some time with it. Do you have an estimated delivery date yet? I hope the shipment goes smoothly.

Marc, thank you! I'll surely share my impressions when the time comes. Unfortunately, there's no delivery date yet. The final setup will be made in a week or two, after which we'll have to decide what to do. I've thought about this whole process as a kind of an adventure, and a FedEx van showing up at my apartment wouldn't be the best kind of climax to that. But it seems that the pandemic isn't easing up. First world problems of the highest magnitude!

Originally Posted by Richard Mott

On the question of finding the right strings for maple, of course it’ll vary from instrument to instrument, but I’ve had good luck with D’Addario phosphor bronze. The case for them is that they are clear and bright, just like the maple, so it’s kind of doubling down on the inherent character of the build. If you want warmer and richer, as someone said to me “you warm it up with your hands.”

Richard, thanks for your input. Ed's maple guitars are probably not as bright as some others, but definitely more so than his rosewood guitars. And I like to play fingerstyle with the fleshy part of my fingers, so a brighter string would likely work better anyway.