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  #16  
Old 12-13-2018, 07:23 PM
Marcus Wong Marcus Wong is offline
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This looks wonderful Max! Just waiting for the day I get to own a personal Baritone guitar. The woods look really great and so does the bevel! Keep up the good work
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  #17  
Old 12-17-2018, 04:33 PM
nobo nobo is offline
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Wow - looks amazing!

Following this one closely and with great interest!

It's eerily similar to my original spec for a baritone that Tom Sands is currently building me (mod D baritone, Swiss Moon spruce over fiddleback hog, cutaway, bevel) - although there was a bit of a switcheroo on the b/s wood choice.

That Honduran looks very "Tree"-like too! Do you know anything about its provenance?

Looking forward to seeing it progress - and to what you do with it. It sounds like we both have a similar approach to our baritones - slow pieces, carefully spaced voicings, generally less is more, and (at least in my case) lots of harmonics.

Please do tell us more about your "technique of bowing the instrument and of creating harmony using wind over the strings".
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  #18  
Old 01-26-2019, 10:00 AM
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I thought that now is the right time to jump in the discussion.

Building this guitar for Don is a special and new experience for me as this is my first baritone. But it is a lot of fun for many reasons. First, I think building a guitar for a friend is always fun, even more if he is such an incredible and interesting player like Don. Every single decision was made after long discussions to fit it perfectly to Don's playing style and his requirements.
And also building a guitar with such great materials is very pleasing. The mahogany with its great figure that needed some extra care when bending the sides and bracing the back. And the bearclaw spruce that is out of an uncommonly lightweight and beautifully figured batch I bought a few years ago in Switzerland.

Finally the last coat of lacquer is on so it is time for fine sanding and buffing next week!

Meanwhile I have some pictures of the guitar right before I did the finish sanding.















Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus Wong View Post
This looks wonderful Max! Just waiting for the day I get to own a personal Baritone guitar. The woods look really great and so does the bevel! Keep up the good work
Thanks Marcus! I can't wait to hear this one. Hope to build some more baritones in the future.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nobo View Post
Wow - looks amazing!

Following this one closely and with great interest!

It's eerily similar to my original spec for a baritone that Tom Sands is currently building me (mod D baritone, Swiss Moon spruce over fiddleback hog, cutaway, bevel) - although there was a bit of a switcheroo on the b/s wood choice.

That Honduran looks very "Tree"-like too! Do you know anything about its provenance?

Looking forward to seeing it progress - and to what you do with it. It sounds like we both have a similar approach to our baritones - slow pieces, carefully spaced voicings, generally less is more, and (at least in my case) lots of harmonics.

Please do tell us more about your "technique of bowing the instrument and of creating harmony using wind over the strings".
Thanks Daniel! That mahogany really looks like the tree but I am not sure if it is "The Tree".
Your baritone from Tom looks fantastic too! And that back/side set he's used will perfectly match with your Kostal MD.
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  #19  
Old 01-26-2019, 09:40 PM
Ovation1 Ovation1 is offline
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Great work on the rosette.
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  #20  
Old 01-31-2019, 05:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ovation1 View Post
Great work on the rosette.
Thank you!
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  #21  
Old 01-31-2019, 05:52 AM
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No words needed...



And a short video:

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  #22  
Old 01-31-2019, 09:02 AM
nobo nobo is offline
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Oh my. That is beautiful! Stunning wood, design and craftsmanship! Thanks for the video too - nice touch and lovely to see it moving!

If there are videos of it being played, in due course, that'd be amazing... hint hint (Well, that's not even a hint - more of a direct call to action!)
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Last edited by nobo; 01-31-2019 at 09:08 AM.
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  #23  
Old 01-31-2019, 09:07 AM
nobo nobo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Spohn View Post
Thanks Daniel! That mahogany really looks like the tree but I am not sure if it is "The Tree".
Your baritone from Tom looks fantastic too! And that back/side set he's used will perfectly match with your Kostal MD.
If you said it was the Tree, I'd believe it! Any backstory on how you came across it?

Thanks! Yes, very exciting about the baritone from Tom - a similar journey to your collaboration with Don here: a lot of careful consideration and in-depth discussions, measuring and calculating! (Poor Tom - I've been an incredibly specific and exacting customer!) Interestingly, we've ended up with quite a similar result to your project here! And, as a you say, it'll sit nicely alongside my Kostal MDC (indeed, there's kind of a subtle cross-reference in the end-grafts...all will be revealed in due course!).
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Kostal MDC German/claro and OM Euro/Madrose
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Lowden O35cx cedar/EIR, New Lady, Baritone, O12 and O12-12
McIlroy A25c custom Cedar/Kew black walnut
Montgomery fan fret parlour Euro/ebony
Sands Baritone Swiss/Ovangkol (another due 2022)
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  #24  
Old 01-31-2019, 09:21 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nobo View Post
Oh my. That is beautiful! Stunning wood, design and craftsmanship! Thanks for the video too - nice touch and lovely to see it moving!

If there are videos of it being played, in due course, that'd be amazing... hint hint (Well, that's not even a hint - more of a direct call to action!)
Thank you Daniel!
I know that Don can't wait to record some videos! I just glued the bridge on so it is getting closer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by nobo View Post
If you said it was the Tree, I'd believe it! Any backstory on how you came across it?

Thanks! Yes, very exciting about the baritone from Tom - a similar journey to your collaboration with Don here: a lot of careful consideration and in-depth discussions, measuring and calculating! (Poor Tom - I've been an incredibly specific and exacting customer!) Interestingly, we've ended up with quite a similar result to your project here! And, as a you say, it'll sit nicely alongside my Kostal MDC (indeed, there's kind of a subtle cross-reference in the end-grafts...all will be revealed in due course!).
In my opinion it looks like the tree and I've had some pieces of the tree in my hand that felt the same. I bought it from a dealer in England and all I know is that the wood is old. But I don't know where it originally came from. After buffing this one out yesterday I ordered three more sets I am pretty sure that Tom has some sets of the same board.

Both guitars are really similar except the neck on your guitar is way bigger
I love the process of working with the customer on figuring out the specs for the guitar. And I like customers that are specific about some specs.
We did many things the same way like you described it in your thread, like Don taking some photos for me to show where the bevel has to sit.
Looking forward to see the end graft on your guitar!
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  #25  
Old 04-01-2019, 11:09 AM
Don Latarski Don Latarski is offline
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Default Life with the new Spohn baritone.

I’ve had my new Spohn baritone guitar for 4 days now and frankly my left hand has gotten the kind of workout that leaves me with a deep sense of gratitude and awe. The instrument is a true work of art. It is more than I imagined and in some ways less. By less I mean it weighs very little. I expected an instrument that would be heavily braced with a very thick top, back, and sides. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I have to believe that this lightness contributes to the responsiveness of the attack, variety of tone color, and clarity of pitch.

I know this is the first baritone Max has built, but he did his homework. I use the typical classical guitar posture when playing this; left leg elevated about 7 inches. This position gives advantage to the left hand for those stretchy chords I so love. I search for voicings where I can put a half-step between strings 2 and 3. There are plenty of chords that work with this extra tension and character, but primarily I’m using this sound in major chords. Many standard chord shapes don’t work with an instrument tuned this low: string 6 is vibrating at 55Hz. You have to leave more musical space around a deep bass tone or else the voicing becomes unclear and murky.

What I find interesting is how much I related a song to the pitches I’m accustomed to hearing it with. In other words, I’m learning something about perception. When I play a song that I’ve played hundreds of times, it sounds somewhat foreign to me and frankly my left hand sometimes doesn’t know where to go. I never realized this connection before: pitch and memory. On a baritone, you can play a chord you know well, yet it may sound new and strange at first. Some of my tunes don’t work well on this instrument. In these cases, I transpose it to a different key and to my amazement it sounds like a new song because I’m forced to use new chord voicings. I love this and it is exactly what I was expecting. Sure it is more work, but the insights are enlightening and I’m having to rethink and broaden my perception.

Another technique that is proving to be really helpful is to play the melody before playing the bass note, then the inner chord tones. This allows the melody to establish itself first. This really helps avoid the clutter that can happen when low notes are played together. This single technique has really helped me get clarity and separation. Melody and bass notes are in the foreground and the inner voices can be positioned anywhere in between the bass and melody depending on the function of those tones.

As I become more familiar with the instrument I’ll have more insights and will surely discover many new things. I’m learning about the awesome power of its percussive nature. There’s a Beatles cover tune, Eleanor Rigby, that sounds absolutely amazing when played with a strummed and muted left hand technique.

I’ve had this new instrument for about 3 weeks now and have logged many hours exploring the nooks and crannies of its range of color, texture, and dynamics. I’ve also performed two solo gigs with it. The last gig was a solid two hours of solo guitar music and while I was physically and mentally tired after this performance I was deeply gratified with the show as were the people in attendance.

During the time I’ve had the instrument I’ve experimented with different types of strings and at the moment I’m going against tradition and using flat wound strings. I also started out using the Seymour Duncan mag mic sound hole pickup, a favorite of mine for many years, but I’ve since replaced this with the Sunrise sound hole pickup. This pickup is a classic and there’s a reason some of the best players use it; it makes a very BIG detailed sound. Even with the flat wound strings I’m able to achieve a deep sense of clarity and smoothness.

My string choice will change again soon as I continue to search for the ideal sound. Curt Mangan is sending me some of his stainless steel flat wound custom string gauges that I’ll be trying soon.

To say I’m happy with this instrument is an understatement. I love it and after hearing what it sounds like amplified I can only say that everyone who’s heard it comes away wondering why they have never heard this type of sound coming from an acoustic guitar. You can achieve this effect on a harp guitar, but the learning curve, cost, and amount of practice required to play even simple songs requires some serious practice and dedication. Max has created an instrument that is a real work of art, a joy to play, and awesome to hear.

This instrument will be all over my new Heart Dance Records release coming out in July 2019. Videos coming soon. Thanks Max!
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Last edited by Don Latarski; 04-01-2019 at 12:00 PM.
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  #26  
Old 04-01-2019, 11:15 AM
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Great review! It looks like you're only at the beginning of a new relationship that will offer years of joy and discovery. Awesome!

Max should feel proud of what he's done for you.
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  #27  
Old 04-01-2019, 11:18 AM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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Congratulations and thanks for the review. I look forward to the sound clips and your CD!

Best,
Jayne
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  #28  
Old 04-02-2019, 01:33 AM
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Very thoughtful and interesting review Don. I can really relate to it after receiving my own baritone some time ago. Great that you are gigging with it already and that the audience appreciates it as well.

May you have many happy and exciting hours with your wonderful new guitar!
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  #29  
Old 04-02-2019, 11:14 AM
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MISSION SUCCESS.... So exciting, Congrats..!!!
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  #30  
Old 04-03-2019, 02:33 PM
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Max Spohn Max Spohn is online now
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First of all, I am completely speechless about Don's review.
Making a customer happy is always a fantastic feeling but to inspire a player to try new things with an instrument is the most joyful part of being a luthier.

When Don first told me about trying flatwound strings on this guitar I was very skeptical. But to hear the results compared with the round wound strings I couldn't believe it.

Here are the first recordings of Don playing the baritone.





Quote:
Originally Posted by Deft Tungsman View Post
Great review! It looks like you're only at the beginning of a new relationship that will offer years of joy and discovery. Awesome!

Max should feel proud of what he's done for you.
I am indeed proud of this guitar and it's an honor that Don is playing it!

And here are some studio photos for you!















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