Review of Osthoff GP - Italian Spruce and Honduran Mahogany

[justonwo]

John, forgive me if I get some of the specs wrong.

John lent me the Italian Spruce and Honduran Mahogany GP he had on display at Healdsburg. I had been impressed by this guitar at the show, and John offered to lend it to me! As if I was going to say no to that offer . . .

John's GP model (or "Grand Parlor") is a 12 fret model similar to the 00-12 but with a different body shape. This particular guitar features his SSP (straight string pull) headstock geometry, a compensated nut, and a Madagascar rosewood fretboard and bridge.

The first thing you notice about the guitar is 1) how feather-light the guitar is, and 2) how naturally and comfortably it sits in your lap. The playability is exquisite, from the comfortable slim profile to the expert setup. I had to shim the bridge up slightly because of my heavy handed fingerpicks, and added a set of New Medium John Pearse phosphor bronze strings to really push it hard.

I am relatively new to 12 fret guitars, to small bodied (i.e. less than 15" lower bout), and to guitars with mahogany back and sides. It wasn't until recently that I started to appreciate the unique sound of the 12 fret, and I've grown a fondness for the sound of mahogany. Many 00 guitars that I've played strike me as too boxy for my taste, but John has done a great job of pulling a big sound out of his GP while maintaining the focus and intimacy of a small bodied guitar.

He's built the guitar with a wide dynamic range, particularly for a guitar of its size, and I can really get aggressive with the fingerpicks and maintain volume dynamics without breakup. The small body gives the whole spectrum a very lively feel, from bass on up to treble, but the sound somehow manages to envelope the player in an intimate way (again, avoiding the boxiness problem that makes me shy away from many 00s).

The mahogany is absolutely beautiful when paired with the Italian spruce. It provides a certain mellow top end to the highs, rounding out a really hard pick attack, pumps up the mids, and really lets the clarity of your playing shine through. For my style, I'm finding more and more use for guitars that achieve a great deal of clarity, and this GP does an exceptional job.

It's a really personal guitar. It's comfortable to play, can have a delicate, mellow sound, with notes that are very direct and present. Or of course you can play a bit more aggressively (as I usually do) and really bring out some tremendous volume and drive. And it has ample low end . . . more than I usually hear in a 00-12 . . . without becoming unbalanced.

In the final analysis, I think it's a masterpiece of a 00-12. It sounds fantastic, looks fantastic, plays easily and comfortably, and even smells really good. It's a great example of what a 00-12 can and should be.

Oh, and it probably goes without saying from the high res photos, but the workmanship is flawless and impressive. His stealth truss rod cover is not only a cool idea but really elegantly executed (if you ever get to remove one, you'll see what I mean).

[Jim.S]

Hi Juston, very familiar looking tuner set up on that headstock. The first time I saw that set up on a acoustic I thought, wow! Bigsby(or maybe M.Travis) style on a three per side set up. Unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to make one cause I am still so stuck on the look of the Martin wedged paddle. I thought about using the Steinberger gearless tuners on the Martin paddle to get the straight pull but thought that might look a bit wrong for me too so I am stuck with not having straight pull.

How did you find the tuning with that fully compensated nut? (or is it a more "quick and dirty" compensated nut?) When you raised the saddle did you notice much difference in the tuning? One of the things I like most about that system of compensating the nut and saddle is that you are left with a saddle slot that is perpendicular to the strings so all you have to do is swap the nut and saddle out and you get a lefty.

Jim

[pgilmor]

Great review Justin. Much appreciated!!

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Jim.S

Hi Juston, very familiar looking tuner set up on that headstock. The first time I saw that set up on a acoustic I thought, wow! Bigsby(or maybe M.Travis) style on a three per side set up. Unfortunately I couldn't bring myself to make one cause I am still so stuck on the look of the Martin wedged paddle. I thought about using the Steinberger gearless tuners on the Martin paddle to get the straight pull but thought that might look a bit wrong for me too so I am stuck with not having straight pull.

How did you find the tuning with that fully compensated nut? (or is it a more "quick and dirty" compensated nut?) When you raised the saddle did you notice much difference in the tuning? One of the things I like most about that system of compensating the nut and saddle is that you are left with a saddle slot that is perpendicular to the strings so all you have to do is swap the nut and saddle out and you get a lefty.

Jim

I must admit I'm not hyper-picky about intonation, and it's not something that has typically bothered me much (if at all) on my acoustic guitars. I think I will probably be pickier about the 12 string John is building for me because - with all those strings vibrating together - I think notes that are far off will stick out. I do not envy John the task of trying to compensate the nut on a 12 string.

I did check the intonation after raising the saddle (0.020") and did not see any difference at the 12th fret, which is the only place I checked. I would hesitate to call anything John does "quick and dirty;" I think he puts significant effort into every aspect of his build, and I know he's done a painstaking job getting the details on the compensated nut right.

[colins]

Nice review Juston.

I had the pleasure of sitting with Juston and John after 5pm SUnday at the HGF and playing this guitar for a short while. I was very impressed by the versatility of such a small guitar and the quality of its sound.

Col

[usb_chord]

Beautiful! I've always loved the look of John's guitars. Hope to play one some day..

[SJ VanSandt]

I love that headstock and the compensated nut. I want that on my next guitar!

[Simon Fay]

Usually compensated nuts lack aesthetically -- this is exactly how it should be done!!!

--
Simon

[Jim.S]

Hi Juston, nothing derogatory about the use of my term "quick and dirty" as it still offers better compensation that a straight nut. Even if I were to judge on just the pics you posted I would say John is a great luthier.

Originally Posted by Simon Fay

Usually compensated nuts lack aesthetically -- this is exactly how it should be done!!!

--
Simon

Shows how much I know Simon, I thought that was the only way to compensate a nut. Any chance you could point me in the direction of a compensated nut that isn't aesthetically pleasing? I do it just like John a bit harder to see on this black nut though.



Jim

[QuintaQuad]

Originally Posted by Jim.S

Shows how much I know Simon, I thought that was the only way to compensate a nut. Any chance you could point me in the direction of a compensated nut that isn't aesthetically pleasing? I do it just like John a bit harder to see on this black nut though.



Jim

I believe Simon's comment refers to the way that the Osthoff compensated nut extends beyond the offsets at the bottom so that it meets the fretboard in a straight line which your's doesn't appear to do...

[Jim.S]

That's just light and shadow Quintaquad. Mine is the almost the same set up as the John Osthoff one. Mine is slightly different in that for my bottom E (the shortest string) I have no ledge on the nut. It looks like John takes a little more off the fret board where I use that low E compensation length as my fret board cut off point. My fret board end is still straight and perpendicular to the centre strings.

Jim

[justonwo]

At the end of the day, I liked the sound and playability of this guitar so much, that I decided to buy it from John. It's truly a phenomenal small-bodied guitar. John has been a pleasure to work with. He lent this guitar to me with no strings attached and was very gracious about the whole process.

[SJ VanSandt]

Sorry to hear that, Juston - I was hoping you would leave it for me! (Kidding!) This guitar looks perfect to me - not a thing about it I don't love. And your description of the sound makes it sound perfect too. I hope you enjoy it for a long, long time.

[Nemoman]

Love the headstock and the straight-string pull on this. Very simple and classy-looking guitar--congrats, Juston!

[roberts]

And to think when John first unveiled this headstock I told him I wasn't crazy about it