Surprised by the Claxton Malabar

[Deft Tungsman]

Originally Posted by gitarro

Ironically I had the chance to buy your walnut claxton before you got it but demurred at the last minute. Given how much you love it now and what a good fit this one is for me, I believe that turned out the perfect way for both of us!

Your posts on your guitar have been one of the biggest spurs to prod me into continuing to look yo try a claxton, so thanks for sharing your good experiences with your claxton guitar.u

Oh, so you are one of those people I've never met and to whom I own a bucketful of thanks for failing to buy my guitar! If you recall, I also came very close to balking. I still feel like the universe had a long-term plan in mind for me to become its soulmate.

It sounds like the universe had a similar plan for you and your Malabar.

Perhaps one day we'll get the chance to meet up and share the joy in person. I've yet to play another Claxton, but if I could, it would be a Malabar or his parlor-sized Composer. Having played a Traugott R at length on several occasions, I know for a fact that the similar-sized EM would be a bit too big for me. Over the years I've had my share of dreadnoughts and small jumbos, but I've grown to love the immediate response I get from smaller guitars, and the OM is as large as I care to go.

[Bruce Sexauer]

If I understand correctly, the Malabar is Ed’s 13 fret to the body concept. That idea made so much sense to me when I encountered it that I have run with the ball and decided call my 13 fretters “Kerala” as a tip of the hat to Ed. Kerala is the modern name for the Malabar district in India. I do not know Ed well, and have no idea how much of his work is currently “Malabar”, but at this point “Kerala” applies to over half of my work. Thank you Ed Claxton.

[Dogma]

Originally Posted by gitarro

Is there any tonal difference between those two types of euro maple? Is acer pseudoplatanus the type normally used for viilknd?

Good question - hopefully the luthiers will weigh in. Maybe no distinction is made and they are both sold as "European Maple?" Their Janka ratings are 1050 for A. pseudoplatanus and 1010 for A. platanoides. This seems close but I don't really know how this scale works. For comparison, American Sugar maple (A. saccharum) has a Janka rating of 1450 while our western Big Leaf Maple (A. macrophyllum) is rated at 850 - so a much greater difference. These numbers are from the Wood Database for ref.

[gitarro]

Originally Posted by Deft Tungsman

Oh, so you are one of those people I've never met and to whom I own a bucketful of thanks for failing to buy my guitar! If you recall, I also came very close to balking. I still feel like the universe had a long-term plan in mind for me to become its soulmate.

It sounds like the universe had a similar plan for you and your Malabar.

Perhaps one day we'll get the chance to meet up and share the joy in person. I've yet to play another Claxton, but if I could, it would be a Malabar or his parlor-sized Composer. Having played a Traugott R at length on several occasions, I know for a fact that the similar-sized EM would be a bit too big for me. Over the years I've had my share of dreadnoughts and small jumbos, but I've grown to love the immediate response I get from smaller guitars, and the OM is as large as I care to go.

I agree with a lot of your sentiments above and in fact the OM is a tad too big for me now. I do find though that directness is not so rare to find but the problem is the richness of tone and reverb can be lost easily when one wanders away from rosewood as rhe back and sides. That is where what claxton does is so surprising in what he seems to be able to squeeze out of non rosewoods.

[gitarro]

Originally Posted by Dogma

Good question - hopefully the luthiers will weigh in. Maybe no distinction is made and they are both sold as "European Maple?" Their Janka ratings are 1050 for A. pseudoplatanus and 1010 for A. platanoides. This seems close but I don't really know how this scale works. For comparison, American Sugar maple (A. saccharum) has a Janka rating of 1450 while our western Big Leaf Maple (A. macrophyllum) is rated at 850 - so a much greater difference. These numbers are from the Wood Database for ref.

I saw a video hy totally guitars where clsxton said that the euro maple he uses has exactly the right specific gravity that he believes is ideal for making a guitar as opposed to the americna maple

[gitarro]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

If I understand correctly, the Malabar is Ed’s 13 fret to the body concept. That idea made so much sense to me when I encountered it that I have run with the ball and decided call my 13 fretters “Kerala” as a tip of the hat to Ed. Kerala is the modern name for the Malabar district in India. I do not know Ed well, and have no idea how much of his work is currently “Malabar”, but at this point “Kerala” applies to over half of my work. Thank you Ed Claxton.

Thanks for your post Bruce - I didn't know your Kerala is based on the malabar! That is quite a tip of the hat towards Claxton indeed from a luthier of your experience.

The malabar is either 12 or 13 fret though and so it isn't exclusively 13 fret. However the size is really quite ideal for me being 00 and a half in claxton's words; the goldilocks size and depth of being just right to hold and play and just big enough to provide fulsome sound and tone.

On the name, claxton named the malabar after John Alden's legendary championship race winning class of schooners which is probably a nod to his day's of building yachts. Surprisingly though it turns out that the Malabar Alden had in mind wasn't in India but was a vanished point of land off Cape Cod!
.
https://nshof.org/inductees/alden-john-gale/

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by Bruce Sexauer

If I understand correctly, the Malabar is Ed’s 13 fret to the body concept. That idea made so much sense to me when I encountered it that I have run with the ball and decided call my 13 fretters “Kerala” as a tip of the hat to Ed. Kerala is the modern name for the Malabar district in India. I do not know Ed well, and have no idea how much of his work is currently “Malabar”, but at this point “Kerala” applies to over half of my work. Thank you Ed Claxton.

Ed has built both 13 and 12 fret Malabars. I think the model is defined by the body size/shape, smaller than his EM. If I recall, Ed described it as a OO-1/2. I have the first one built, and it's a 13 fretter, that Ed displayed at Healdsburg (2006, I think?). It made the cover of Acoustic Guitar at some point:

March-2007_150px.jpg

Still one of my most favorite guitars.

When I was checking it out at Ed's shop, he had a 12-fret version at the same time, so maybe that was #2? I have only come across one other 13-fret version, but there may be more. I've played a number of 12-fret versions.

You can see specs, etc, at: http://www.claxtonguitars.com/guitar...=The_Malabar_2

[gitarro]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Ed has built both 13 and 12 fret Malabars. I think the model is defined by the body size/shape, smaller than his EM. If I recall, Ed described it as a OO-1/2. I have the first one built, and it's a 13 fretter, that Ed displayed at Healdsburg (2006, I think?). It made the cover of Acoustic Guitar at some point:

Attachment 85749

Still one of my most favorite guitars.

When I was checking it out at Ed's shop, he had a 12-fret version at the same time, so maybe that was #2? I have only come across one other 13-fret version, but there may be more. I've played a number of 12-fret versions.

You can see specs, etc, at: http://www.claxtonguitars.com/guitar...=The_Malabar_2

That is one great guitar you have there Doug - I have listened to all the clips of it on the net and its a worldie...

[dennisczech]

I have recently become a maple convert, after years of rosewood obsession. I have a 00-12 fret by Stephen Frith based on a classical Hauser shape in Austrian spruce/European flame maple, which has the sweetest and most lyrical tone as well as tons of power, it's just magical.
I also recently acquired a Swiss moonspruce/birdseye maple classical by Stephen Eden that also has a stunningly wonderful tone.
Both guitars are warm, sweet, powerful, responsive, tons of overtones, but lots of clarity. I'm in the maple fan club. I love its lightness and I also love how it looks, both birdseye and flame!

[iim7V7IM7]

Originally Posted by gitarro

First, a little history...

I have been commissioning and buying and selling guitars for a long time and have gone through quite a few guitars. Fairly early on, I got my hands on a jumbo that was made by a luthier many enthusiasts consider to be probably or at least among the very best in the world. This.guitar influenced me significantly in what I considered to be a world class guitar. What I can remember from it to this day was the best and most profound bass I have ever heard. But it also imprinted a bias towards rosewood and spruce - especially brazilian rosewood and adirondack spruce. As well because of it, I believed that a small guitar could never give the fullness of tonality and sound that were needed.

This understanding was reinforced by many more guitars that I played or owned since then - many of them made by some of the most respected luthiers in the world. A good guitar was at least OM in size and always made of spruce and rosewood, preferably brazilian rosewood.

Turn the clock quite a few years and by now I had tried the guitars of almost all the luthiers whose work I was intrigued by. But there was one luthier whose work I had not played yet - Ed Claxton. I had always heard good things about his work and no one ever had a negative thing to say about him or of the tone of any of his guitars as far as I came across. But it was not easy for me to come across one of his guitars as they were not very frequently on the market and not often at a time when I was able to afford one, or it woukdbe sold beforehand or somethint would occur that would frustrate my chance to try one.

I finally got my hands on a euro spruce and euro maple malabar. I now have a new reference standard for the best guitar i have ever played. Furthermore, it overturns all my guitar prejudices and assumptions. Despite not being made of rosewood, it seems to have the reverb and richness of rosewood. It has among the greatest bloom of any guitar I have ever played. Despite being smaller than an OM and being 12 fret, it has power and volume and fullness of sound. It has directness and a level of instant responsiveness that would be absent from a rosewood guitar. It has the best treble and mid of any guitar I have possibly ever played - suppleness, fatness of fundamental, clarity, warmth, an almost human quality and sorority of timbre. Spmething about its tonality made songs played on it sound nicer to my ear. Despite its size, it has nothing lacking in its bass at all - true, it is not as big as that jumbo so many years ago but at the same time it is not out of proportion with the rest of the tone - now I understand what perfect balance means. The bass is satisfying, deep, totally debunking my prejudices that non rosewood guitars could never deliver a great bass to my ears. Best of all, there is a sense like I am coming home about it that makes it my favourite guitar of all the guitars I have ever tried.

In short, this malabar is as close as it gets to a perfect guitar that I have ever encountered! I never thought I would say this of a small Maple guitar, of all things...

Barry, nothing about one of Ed's guitars sounding fantastic should be a surprise. He makes fine guitars! Maple's, as back and side woods, when incorporated by a knowledgeable builder makes WONDERFUL guitars. It interacts with the top in a subtractive manner vs the additive manner that low damping rosewoods do. A fantastic guitar can be made by someone skilled in the art with either. Ed's Malabar is actually closer to a Gibson L00 in size (14-3/4") than a Martin 00 (14-1/4"). I actually consider it as a mid-sized guitar, particularly considering its body length and 4-1/4"end depth (an OM is 4-1/8" as is a 00). It likely has similar body volume to a wider, less long/deep OM sized guitar and also has a different bridge location to shape its timbre.

Originally Posted by Dogma

A bit of botanical geekdom to go with the guitar geekdom:
There are two European Maple species commonly used for woodworking and instruments:
Acer pseudoplatanus common name: Sycamore Maple
Acer platanoides, common name: Norway Maple

I believe the one used for most guitars is A. pseudoplatanus.
While the species designations of both Euro maples reference the genus Platanus - which is the genus of Sycamores - they are both true maples as their genus name suggests.

The difficultly in answering your question with any reliability comes down to the complex chain of custody between who/when/where the tree was harvested, sawyered/processed, seasoned/aged and eventually sold to the luthier. Once processed, it is very difficult to tell what it was. With its leaves on, it is easy to tell the difference.



Norway and Sycamore Maples are both common across the continent. While there is much overlap in their physical properties, Norway Maple on average tends to be a bit more dense and stiff than Sycamore Maple (aka European Sycamore). But with all things wood, averages do not speak to a specific tree/billet/set. Far more often you will have the wood identified by where it was harvested (e.g., Austrian Maple, Bosnian Maple etc.) because that is conveyed by the reseller vs. the genus and species.

[Deft Tungsman]

It's also my understanding that Ed designed the Malabar as an alternative to his flagship small jumbo EM, and its 00-1/2 body dimensions place it in the "Goldilocks" zone, for sure. From its launch, the model has been a great success and worthy complement to his legendary EM.

It's all the more surprising then that only a few years later he decided to introduce his OM (the "Traditional"), which is only 1/4 inch wider across the lower bout. It all started with a request from an existing client who wanted something different from both his EM and the Malabar. (For the full story, Ed discusses the genesis of the Traditional in one of the totallyguitars videos.) Although I've never played a Malabar, I'm sure that it must feel quite different because of the bridge placement for the 12-fret neck and the deeper, longer body.

Ed's Traditional body is not a carbon copy of the classic Martin OM, however. I discovered this quite a while after the Circa OM entered my stable some nine months after I got the Claxton. The Circa is a truly great guitar (otherwise, it would not still be here!), but it is noticeably less comfortable than the Claxton. One day, I took out the old measuring tape to try to figure out why.

It was a big AHA ! moment, one that made me marvel even more at Ed's genius.

The Circa and Claxton are nearly identical in outline, and the have the same depth at the tailblock. But up at the neck block, the Claxton is a full 3/16" shallower than the Circa. It may not sound like much, but it changes the way the guitar sits on the lap, making for a significantly cozier feel. And yet, its bass response is rounder and deeper than the Circa's. Uncanny.

[steveh]

Originally Posted by gitarro

In short, this malabar is as close as it gets to a perfect guitar that I have ever encountered!

Super pleased for you; like many of us, I know you have been chasing that "grail" guitar for sometime.

A few years ago, a UK pal of mine who is even more obsessed by guitar tone than I am, decided the mountain would go to Mohammed, got on a plane, and visited Somogyi, Traugott, Claxton et. al. in person rather than doing all his "research" long range.

To cut a long story short, he returned to the UK with a Malabar, spruce over BRW.
To this day, I remember that guitar as having the best trebles I have ever heard, and probably midrange also. It was celestial. I did find is a little lacking (only relatively) to some larger instruments bass-wise, but it was a close call; laws of physics. That guitar still haunts me.

I've said here before, I don't think I've ever come across a more consistently brilliant builder: Every single Claxton I've played has been uber top-tier. I've also found that to be the case regardless of what the b/s are made of, so I'm not at all surprised to find he's adept with maple also. My Cuban Claxton really sounds like a rosewood guitar.

Jason Kostal told me several times that he holds Ed in the very highest regard. Not every luthier can build stellar instruments but Ed can. Combine that with decades of experience and you have the real-deal. Not "shouty" instruments at all. IMHO, their refinement and balance is best appreciated once you've had a lot of instruments pass through your hands, so you are in a position to best appreciate their class.

And, as others have said, it didn't happen if there are no pics!

Cheers,
Steve

[Kenny B]

I bought a 2004 Claxton Brazilian EM from a forum member and recall that I was super surprised when I opened the case and started playing this guitar.

For guitar that was over 18 years old, it was absolutely mint and played better than any guitar I’ve ever owned. The neck was perfect for finger style, perfect set up, perfect in every way.

Yes I was surprised and impressed thinking that Ed Claxton is a master luthier at the pinnacle of guitar building luthiery.

[gitarro]

Originally Posted by dennisczech

I have recently become a maple convert, after years of rosewood obsession. I have a 00-12 fret by Stephen Frith based on a classical Hauser shape in Austrian spruce/European flame maple, which has the sweetest and most lyrical tone as well as tons of power, it's just magical.
I also recently acquired a Swiss moonspruce/birdseye maple classical by Stephen Eden that also has a stunningly wonderful tone.
Both guitars are warm, sweet, powerful, responsive, tons of overtones, but lots of clarity. I'm in the maple fan club. I love its lightness and I also love how it looks, both birdseye and flame!

All your descriptions resemble the Claxton! I really think there is something special in good euro maple in the hands of a luthier who knows how to use it to make good guitars...and unlike brazilian rosewood, there are no CITES issues nor availability and ethical issues...

[gitarro]

Originally Posted by Kenny B

I bought a 2004 Claxton Brazilian EM from a forum member and recall that I was super surprised when I opened the case and started playing this guitar.

For guitar that was over 18 years old, it was absolutely mint and played better than any guitar I’ve ever owned. The neck was perfect for finger style, perfect set up, perfect in every way.

Yes I was surprised and impressed thinking that Ed Claxton is a master luthier at the pinnacle of guitar building luthiery.

Excellent - I would love to try out a brazilian EM one day...