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  #61  
Old 06-12-2015, 09:06 AM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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It's all good, guys. We're among friends and any discussion is welcome.

On that topic, I'd like to kindly challenge anyone to find an established builder of flat top guitars whose #1 tone wood is maple.
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  #62  
Old 06-12-2015, 09:28 AM
J-F C J-F C is offline
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Originally Posted by iim7V7IM7 View Post
I was simply sharing my experience as to what I had heard said in discussions with number of luthiers who had experience working with maple(s). I wasn't discouraging any one from commenting. In fact, like yourself, I welcome hearing from luthiers should they choose to comment. I would point out that since this is someone's build thread and perhaps it is more appropriate not create a discrete thread to discuss this if you want to hear from a variety of luthiers?

Just a thought...
Yes,I didn't want to hijack the thread, but just ask Mr. Wren to share a bit more of his opinion since he brought it up. Sorry. Maybe a different thread is needed.
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  #63  
Old 06-12-2015, 02:19 PM
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  #64  
Old 06-12-2015, 07:40 PM
Daveac Daveac is offline
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Steve Kinnaird has built a couple of maple guitars recently that are astonishing. If you go to "yourperfectguitar" website there is a video of Aaron Stang playing a Kinnaird maple that is unbelievable. Steve just delivered another maple showpiece at the Memphis show. Basically in the hands of a great luthier maple can be extraordinary, Jim Olson is at the top of anyone's list of great builders so I am sure it will be great. Having Olson Sj of Brazilian, The Tree and maple will cover the tonal spectrum! Congrats on a great choice! And keep the pictures coming!
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  #65  
Old 06-12-2015, 07:50 PM
keyshore keyshore is offline
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Joe,

You will always be my man both for your playing skills and Non-cutaway choices.!!

Anything coming from the hands of Jim has to be special and a maple SJ will certainly enhance your guitar sounds.

Best Wishes,

Keyshore
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  #66  
Old 06-12-2015, 08:07 PM
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I haven't had the pleasure of playing a guitar built by any of our esteemed luthiers, and would have to imagine that in their hands, it would sound terrific! For myself, I have found that larger maple guitars have sounded better to me. I have an older maple Takamine dread that sounds great! I had a Taylor GS in maple, and it also sounded fantastic. Both sounded particularly good when played when amplified through their built in pickups, an excellent combination of rich and bright that was great with a band and vocal accompaniment. I have not found a smaller maple guitar that has appealed to me, however. They have always sounded thin.

My guess will be that this will be a stellar instrument, ringing clear as a bell. Looking forward to hearing this guitar, perhaps more than many others.

Congrats, Mau!!
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  #67  
Old 06-12-2015, 08:37 PM
Richard Mott Richard Mott is offline
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+2 on maple being underrated as a tonewood. I think the stereotypes stem from factory maple builds that often sound dull. But master luthiers can pull great sounds out of maple, I've played a couple of maple Claxtons that are out-of-this-world good and another by Kim Walker, also great.
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  #68  
Old 06-13-2015, 07:57 AM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Originally Posted by GraceGuitars View Post
Hi, Mau,

What a delight to see you finally able to have a maple Olson built! I look forward to watching this guitar come to fruition on this thread.
Thanks, Jon.

It was very difficult to choose a flavour but I'm glad I went with maple and Sitka. I trust this one will be as photogenic as my Tree SJ.
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  #69  
Old 06-13-2015, 08:02 AM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Originally Posted by Daveac View Post
Steve Kinnaird has built a couple of maple guitars recently that are astonishing. If you go to "yourperfectguitar" website there is a video of Aaron Stang playing a Kinnaird maple that is unbelievable. Steve just delivered another maple showpiece at the Memphis show. Basically in the hands of a great luthier maple can be extraordinary, Jim Olson is at the top of anyone's list of great builders so I am sure it will be great. Having Olson Sj of Brazilian, The Tree and maple will cover the tonal spectrum! Congrats on a great choice! And keep the pictures coming!
Thanks Dave. At this point in his career, I'm sure that Jim wouldn't build a guitar without being confident that it would meet his standards.

As for covering the tonal spectrum, I seriously considered a cedar top so I could make direct comparisons with my other SJs -- but that would've made the guitar a bid of an odd ball. Too expensive of an experiment!
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  #70  
Old 06-13-2015, 08:03 AM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Originally Posted by keyshore View Post
Joe,

You will always be my man both for your playing skills and Non-cutaway choices.!!

Anything coming from the hands of Jim has to be special and a maple SJ will certainly enhance your guitar sounds.

Best Wishes,

Keyshore
Hey Keyshore,

Haven't heard from you in a long while! Hope you're well. You should post more often...
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  #71  
Old 06-13-2015, 08:10 AM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikealpine View Post
I haven't had the pleasure of playing a guitar built by any of our esteemed luthiers, and would have to imagine that in their hands, it would sound terrific! For myself, I have found that larger maple guitars have sounded better to me. I have an older maple Takamine dread that sounds great! I had a Taylor GS in maple, and it also sounded fantastic. Both sounded particularly good when played when amplified through their built in pickups, an excellent combination of rich and bright that was great with a band and vocal accompaniment. I have not found a smaller maple guitar that has appealed to me, however. They have always sounded thin.

My guess will be that this will be a stellar instrument, ringing clear as a bell. Looking forward to hearing this guitar, perhaps more than many others.

Congrats, Mau!!
Thanks, Mike!

Regardless of wood, I generally prefer midsize guitars anyway -- at least as far as sound is concerned. Smaller guitars are really cute but remain a sonic compromise to me.

I've owned a few maple instruments and they were all a blast to record -- much easier to find the sweet spot than a rosewood instrument for example.

This is going to be another fun ride!
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  #72  
Old 06-13-2015, 08:14 AM
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  #73  
Old 06-14-2015, 06:49 AM
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Steve Kinnaird Steve Kinnaird is offline
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There is such wide variety in maple as to make it one of the more interesting genuses. From Big Leaf to Rock maple, one can get as many sounds as appearances. I regret that maple has gotten a bad rap among guitarists, which makes selling it an uphill battle. Just don't take that prejudice into the violin circle! As for building with it, the first guitar I wanted to keep was a maple SJ, and that made a believer out of me.
Congrats Mau! It will be interesting to hear these Olson's back to back.
Give it a chance to break in, then do us some A-B-ing.
And might I suggest your attire?

Steve
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  #74  
Old 06-15-2015, 10:15 PM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GraceGuitars View Post
Judging by that flame on the back and sides, it's going to look killer under finish! I also like your/Jim's choice of Sitka--nice and straight-grained--a great contrast to the "wilder" figure of the rest of the woods
Perhaps your screen is better than mine but it's rather difficult to really see what the spruce top actually looks like on the photos -- but I trust that Jim picked out a clean set.

As for the straight-grained part, again I can't really see it clearly on the photos but it wouldn't be particularly exceptional if it were indeed (straight-grained). For Sitka, this would be a given even on moderately priced guitars.
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  #75  
Old 06-15-2015, 10:28 PM
JoeCharter JoeCharter is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Kinnaird View Post
There is such wide variety in maple as to make it one of the more interesting genuses. From Big Leaf to Rock maple, one can get as many sounds as appearances. I regret that maple has gotten a bad rap among guitarists, which makes selling it an uphill battle. Just don't take that prejudice into the violin circle! As for building with it, the first guitar I wanted to keep was a maple SJ, and that made a believer out of me.
Congrats Mau! It will be interesting to hear these Olson's back to back.
Give it a chance to break in, then do us some A-B-ing.
And might I suggest your attire?

Steve
Thanks, Steve.

The guitar is expected by late fall so I'll give it a full half hour to settle in and then I'll go ahead and record with it. As I mentioned to JF when he dropped by, if the glue is dry, the guitar is ready to be played...

I can certainly wear the lovely T-shirt you sent me for my first recording -- but people wouldn't see much of it if it's behind the guitar. Perhaps I can shoot a video while I play my Roland keyboard instead.
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