The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Custom Shop

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #61  
Old 02-04-2020, 06:41 PM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

Yes the pairing of italian and cocobolo is a great one too and in fact one of isaac's first guitars that really impressed many people apparently and that first brought him attention was an OM in italian spruce and cocobolo just like your chosen combo.

On adi and another wood other than brw, it may not be one of isaac's ideal wood combos but one of the most impressive clips of a Jang guitar that i have heard is this one in adi and madrose...
https://www.guitargal.com/products/isaac-jang-om-guitar


Quote:
Originally Posted by lfarhadi View Post
Absolutely agree with all of this, though personally the best guitars I've played have had a wider variety of tops.

In the case of Isaac, if I had chosen Braz, I too would have chosen Adi, because this seems to be his own preference.

I don't own any European topped guitars so I wanted to achieve that in this build. From speaking with Isaac, he prefers (like most builders I suppose) certain wood pairings... in the case of coco, a lower density Italian or Swiss.

Anyway, enjoy the heck out of yours! We are truly blessed to be stewards of such fine instruments.
__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...

Last edited by gitarro; 02-04-2020 at 06:58 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #62  
Old 02-04-2020, 06:43 PM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

Richard and David, I also love the elegance and curve of the Uchida bendaway - really beautiful and most effective in allowing access to the upper frets. The deceptively simple lines belie complex geometry and I think the photo of the back of the neck on the guitar shows this clearly how the angle of the join between the side and the neck on the bass side plunges as the side travels from the back of the guitar to the front.
__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...
Reply With Quote
  #63  
Old 02-05-2020, 01:13 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

Here is the finished guitar!

__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...
Reply With Quote
  #64  
Old 02-05-2020, 01:14 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default



__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...

Last edited by gitarro; 02-05-2020 at 01:23 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #65  
Old 02-05-2020, 01:16 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...
Reply With Quote
  #66  
Old 02-05-2020, 01:20 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

A good way to cap off all those build photos is of course to have a video of the guitar being played, and here is Marcus to do the honours and take my guitar through its paces when it was still brand new!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22yT-w5u1LQ

I was unable to embed the video clip directly into my post so apologies for just including the link above,
__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...

Last edited by gitarro; 02-05-2020 at 01:33 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #67  
Old 02-05-2020, 02:00 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

After playing the guitar for a few months, either my ear has become more used to its tone or the guitar has opened up more or both. Whatever it is, the guitar sounds better today to my ears than it did when I first got it, and it was already really good to start with.

It is highly responsive and seems to have the ability to excel in playing whatever my limited skills can throw at it and making me sound better (at least to my own ears!) than I am. It has just the right quality, degree and quantity of overtones that provide colour and character to the tone, while maintaining great clarity and separation in the fundamental. There is a "singing" quality to its tone as the treble is very fat and sustaining, and this character does not change as I play higher and higher up the neck. It is one of the 2 or 3 most balanced guitars I have ever played across the strings and up and down the fretboard. The bass is authoritative and fat and not flabby and the mids are present without being obtrusive (I mention this because I find some guitars having a midrange that is so prominent that it becomes distracting to me). The Jang also has a quality that I do not find present in most guitars - the note seems to bloom after its initial attack without affecting the clarity of the fundamentals themselves.

Almost all my comments have been about tone, as is right, but just a short note on design. The elegance, distinctiveness and uniqueness of a guitar's design is very important to me as a guitar is to me the expression of a luthier's full artistic talent in all respects of the guitar, and the Jang OM with the Uchida-inspired Bendaway and the headstock design and the minimalist rosette is one of the freshest-looking and most beautiful designs out there in solo lutherie world. The mitres and build quality are comparable to Greenfield quality despite the unconventional geometry of the guitar, which is high praise as far as I am concerned. I would like to see the beautiful colours and hues of the back and sides of the guitar, but unfortunately the wood is so dark that I would need to light it up with a very bright light in order to see them clearly!

In short, it is one of the best guitars that I have played, and once I get started playing it, I do not really want to stop playing it, and at the end of the day, isn't that what it is about? Just a guitar that we love to play.

From the evidence of this guitar, Isaac Jang is indeed having the right stuff where lutherie is concerned...
__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...
Reply With Quote
  #68  
Old 02-05-2020, 08:49 AM
Richard Mott Richard Mott is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 398
Default

“I also love the elegance and curve of the Uchida bendaway”—I could not agree more. In this so-called “Golden Age” of modern lutherie, not surprisingly there have been a ton of major and minor innovations to the guitar’s external physical design. For me, one in a hundred is an actual improvement on, or even equal to, the classic OM or L5 designs. But Isaac’s interpretation of the original Uchida design is one of them. In terms of line harmony, it has the grace of a gull wing, and functionally it improves access to the upper frets without the visual distraction of a full cutaway. Here’s a prediction that it will be around in another 50 years, long after this forecaster has stopped making posts here!
Reply With Quote
  #69  
Old 02-05-2020, 08:59 AM
ericcsong ericcsong is online now
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Falls Church, VA
Posts: 4,772
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by gitarro View Post
A good way to cap off all those build photos is of course to have a video of the guitar being played, and here is Marcus to do the honours and take my guitar through its paces when it was still brand new!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22yT-w5u1LQ

I was unable to embed the video clip directly into my post so apologies for just including the link above,
here you go!



sounds amazing!
__________________
Eric

Omega Braz MJ, 2011 Omega MJ Braz Baritone
Ryan Cathedral ABW/Bosnian
Build thread: 2011 Kostal Mod D Brazilian/German
Build thread: 2019 Kostal MDW Brazilian/German
Build thread:2019 Bigfoot Mod D
Reply With Quote
  #70  
Old 02-05-2020, 09:12 AM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: North of the Golden Gate, South of the Redwoods, East of the Pacific and West of the Sierras
Posts: 10,569
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ericcsong View Post
here you go!



sounds amazing!
Fabulous!! That was a delight to listen to. Lovely playing and a winner of a guitar.

Best,
Jayne
Reply With Quote
  #71  
Old 02-05-2020, 10:45 AM
Nemoman Nemoman is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: N. California
Posts: 3,140
Default Well said!

Quote:
Originally Posted by gitarro View Post
....In short, it is one of the best guitars that I have played, and once I get started playing it, I do not really want to stop playing it, and at the end of the day, isn't that what it is about? Just a guitar that we love to play...
This speaks volumes to me and describes my experience with my recent build as well.

Absolutely beautiful instrument and a wonderful review! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Kudos to Isaac and congrats to you on this stunning guitar. May it serve you well in the decades to come...
__________________
2013 Stehr Auditorium (Carpathian/Myrtle)
2015 Stehr Auditorium (Adi/BRW)
2020 Baranik Meridian (Blue Spruce/Manchinga)
2020 Wilborn Arum (Tunnel 14/Coco)
2021 Kinnaird Graybeard (BC Cedar/Bog Oak)
2022 Kinnaird CS Student Build (Adi/Padauk)
2023 Kinnaird FS (Italian/Koa)
Reply With Quote
  #72  
Old 02-05-2020, 11:06 AM
Cincy2 Cincy2 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Tampa Florida
Posts: 487
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by gitarro View Post

In short, it is one of the best guitars that I have played, and once I get started playing it, I do not really want to stop playing it, and at the end of the day, isn't that what it is about? Just a guitar that we love to play.

From the evidence of this guitar, Isaac Jang is indeed having the right stuff where lutherie is concerned...
Beautiful instrument. Thanks for sharing the pics and the sound.

Cincy
__________________
2018 Buscarino Italia
Reply With Quote
  #73  
Old 02-05-2020, 11:45 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

Richard

Your reference to gull wing instaantly reminded me of the legendary Mercedes 300SL and the Jang bendaway definitely hearkens to the gull wing doors of that classic car design that stands as one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. What an entirely apt allusion!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Mott View Post
“I also love the elegance and curve of the Uchida bendaway”—I could not agree more. In this so-called “Golden Age” of modern lutherie, not surprisingly there have been a ton of major and minor innovations to the guitar’s external physical design. For me, one in a hundred is an actual improvement on, or even equal to, the classic OM or L5 designs. But Isaac’s interpretation of the original Uchida design is one of them. In terms of line harmony, it has the grace of a gull wing, and functionally it improves access to the upper frets without the visual distraction of a full cutaway. Here’s a prediction that it will be around in another 50 years, long after this forecaster has stopped making posts here!
__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...
Reply With Quote
  #74  
Old 02-05-2020, 11:55 AM
gitarro gitarro is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,510
Default

Thanks for the comments of Jayne , nemoman, cincy2 (what a sweet pair of new guitar.days that you shared with us) and Eric for helping to embed the video clip of Marcus playing my guitar.
__________________
In the end it is about who you love above yourself and what you have stood for and lived for that make the difference...
Reply With Quote
  #75  
Old 02-09-2020, 12:34 PM
Marcus Wong Marcus Wong is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Singapore
Posts: 1,649
Default

Truly this has been one of the most memorable guitars we've had pass through! I keep hoping Barry would sell it so that I can buy it for myself glad you're still enjoying it man!
__________________
.
THE GOLDEN ERA GUITAR
FOR SALE | VIDEOS

AUTHORISED DEALER OF:
Astrand | Bowerman | Brondel | Buendia | Casimi | Datlen | Doerr | Fujii | Gerber | GR Bear | Heinonen | Isaac Jang
Keith | Keystone | Matsuda | Michaud Made | Ogino | Pellerin | Petros | Poljakoff | Strahm | Tom Sands | Wingert

...and more

www.TheGoldenEraGuitar.com
[email protected]
+65 8666 0420
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > Custom Shop

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:41 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=