Gustav Fredell XS EIR/Engelmann

[bdm0509]

Hi all-

First, this is not a build thread.

But, I recently struck up a conversation with Gustav Fredell, currently apprenticing under Ervin Somogyi. Gustav is now building his own instruments as he nears the tail end of his apprenticeship, under the name Fredell Guitars.

I was congratulating Gustav on his guitar's rave review in the Montreal edition of Fretboard Journal. The little XS (similar to a OO size) was ranked best in show, alongside monster guitars like Beauregard and Greenfield. Pretty impressive!

In any case, Gustav is a really well-spoken (or at least well-written) guy, passionate and looking to both build great guitars and great relationships with players. We also share a classically-bent training style, and an awe of Michael Chapdelaine. What else could you want?

In any case, he offered--without prompting--to send me the XS he took to Montreal for me to play on for a few weeks. I am set to receive the guitar today, and will be posting comments and reviews as I spend some time with the guitar. I hope to get some video as well, and of course, I'll post all of my thoughts and findings online.

Gustav has been very open and honest: he wants critique, not false praise. That's good, because I'm notoriously hard to please! Still, I'm looking forward to trying out the guitar, and thought many of you would enjoy riding shotgun for the next 10 days or so.

Oh, to whet your appetite, here are a few pictures of the guitar taken by Gustav. More to come later today as I get my hands on the guitar... Sorry I can't post them inline, but the ones I take will be added into the thread.

Fredell XS in EIR/Engelmann

-Brett

[DamianL]

This guitar has stuck in my mind since I first saw it..


What a beautiful, sharp and crisp design...

This chap simply must be one to watch..


Damian

[Trevor M]

Brett,

I am really looking forward to your comments and photos. I have also found him a pleasure to work with and am looking forward to getting some of his guitars into the UK next year.

[justonwo]

Definitely an interesting looking guitar. Perhaps I can partake next year at Healdsburg.

[steveh]

Having just taken delivery of a fabulous MD from another (former) Somogyi apprentice (Jason Kostal), I am going to be watching this thread like a hawk!

Would love you to post some of your excellent quality YouTube vids with this guitar.

...and I am very jealous!

cheers,
Steve

[bdm0509]

I'm curious myself. More than aesthetics--which is, honestly, a really poor way to judge or purchase a guitar--I want to hear how it sounds, especially in a small body.

Gustav said he really aimed for the tonal profile of a Somogyi OM, so in this case, Gustav is doing less of "his own thing" and more of a "Can I do an OM in a smaller body?" I must say, I do enjoy this experimentation that Ervin encourages.

In this case, I know Gustav made some modifications to the frequency of the back so that he might make a smaller guitar "sound" bigger. Time will tell...

-Brett

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by bdm0509

I'm curious myself. More than aesthetics--which is, honestly, a really poor way to judge or purchase a guitar--
-Brett

Yeah, I agree, but, Oh the asthetics on this guitar!

Steve

[bdm0509]

Here are some quick "just arrived" pictures. I don't expect to post much for at least a few hours while the guitar acclimates and I get it tuned and try it out for a bit. I'll then try and post a -very- preliminary review and post more as the week goes on.

For now...

Great case from Karura. I don't find the Karura much different than what Hoffee is doing, although the embroidered name is nice. The Hoffees and Karuras are great, although the (much more expensive) Accord is still my favorite of them all.



Gustav's label. I need to ask him if he names all his guitars.



I think my favorite visual feature may be the first original take on a segmented rosette that I've seen in quite a while. It feels inspired by, not ripped off from... something I like (and I do think quite a few folks are just copying, rather that being inspired by. Ok. Mini rant over already!).



Gustav would want you to know the top is roughed up from Montreal, and not his "leaves the shop for the customer" standard. Still, very nice top.



Very unique heel. I'm curious if it gets into my hand position. I'll know soon...



I admit I'm a wood snob and don't love Indian, despite all the guys--Greenfield, Ervin, etc.--telling me they can make great guitars with it. Still, this is a really classic set.



It's hard to capture, and I didn't want to over-expose the photo, but there's a slight stair step on the treble side of his bridge.



Ok. More later.

-B

[justonwo]

I really like the stair stepped bridge design a lot. Cool idea. Brett, weren't you signed up to do a Kraut MD at one point? Whatever happened to that project?

[El Conquistador]

The ONLY thing I would add is a bound sound hole. Other than that, Wow!!!

Steve

[KolayaGuitars]

Cool little guitar! I really like that rosette! The bridge is a lot like Kevin Ryan's Abbey Grand Parlor bridge.

[bdm0509]

Originally Posted by KolayaGuitars

Cool little guitar! I really like that rosette! The bridge is a lot like Kevin Ryan's Abbey Grand Parlor bridge.

Actually, it's less than you might think. It's not stepped, but rather carved in the same sort of art deco carve as the heel. It's only on the treble side, and most interestingly, runs "through" the saddle so it's carved on both sides. I'll get a photo soon and over-expose it so it's clearer.

All that said, my first thought was Kevin Ryan's or Tom Doerr's parlor bridge as well, but turns out its really not.

I've got some early thoughts I'll try and post later tonight.

[bdm0509]

These are premature to the point of silliness, but since so much of what we think about these instruments is formed early, it seems worth posting.

Keep in mind I'm trying to provide feedback, not just accolades. I see my role here to not just promote Gustav--which I am now happy to do--but also to give him (and all of you) thoughts from a particular player with particular tonal goals.

Ok, here we go. Random observations in no particular order.

* It's tiny! Really small. Not bad, just so small it surprised me.

* Thank you, thank you, thank you, Gustav, for including it in a high-end case. Upcharging for Hoffee/Karura/etc. is just bad business. Protect the guitar as a requirement. Personally, I think the best case on the market is Accord. My Greenfield has one, and I love its look and feel much more than my Kraut's Hoffee (I also have a Hoffee for the mandolin I'm just now selling). The Hoffee is great; but the Accord is a Ferrari. Then again, it's REALLY pricey. I'd love to see the embroidery in the Karura be a signature or something... but that's just me.

* The guitar has a beautiful shape. It's much more appealing than a standard OO shape. Much. My wife really loved the shape, too (and believe me, she's seen a LOT of guitars, ha ha!)

* I have a lot of thoughts on design, too many to type up, both positive and negative. Short version: it felt like too many elements to me, and there was some conflict for me. But boy, I -love- the rosette. Really really nice. I plan to talk more about these with Gustav on the phone.

* Super, super, super playable. I currently have lights on my Greenfield, and this guitar was noticeably easier to play with the "new mediums" with which its strung. Really loved that. Hugely appealing. Now, my Greenfield is a fan with a longer scale, but all the same, I'd happily play this guitar for hours daily in terms of feel.

* Addendum to above: I found the first string in the first two frets an exception to the above: it was very hard (relatively) to barre that fret as in for an F chord. It stood out a lot because while everything else played so silkily, this was actually -harder- than my Greenfield.

* Much, much bigger sounding than it looked. I (and my wife) don't think you'd ever guess it was a OO from sound alone. That's a big statement.

* The bass was great... more appealing in many ways at least so far than my Greenfield, with some of that resonance and "stuff" floating around that was very, very nice. It has a lot of that thing that my #002 Kraut had way back in the day.

* The top two strings were somewhat on the metallic side for me. Not tinny, but less thick and full than my Greenfield. That was the single most negative thing for me: the trebles were in balance with the bass, but they were not as husky and full as I prefer. There was a noticeable difference in playing a note on those two strings from even the 3rd string, and certainly the 4th. I expect some difference (wound/unwound, thickness, etc.), but it was more than I would have liked. Then again, I like thicker trebles than almost anyone I know....

* It did some things differently than my Greenfield that I liked: playability and that bass thing. Both would be nice additions to that Greenfield sound. Overall, I did feel like this and the Greenfield were in the same "school" tonally, not doing something totally different like a Traugott or Walker with a more traditional leaning.

* So it didn't compete for me with the Greenfield, which to me is still a superior guitar, because although having some more character in the bass would be a welcome addition, I'm not sure I'd say the Greenfield is deficient without it. That said, to think that Mike's guitar was 25k list and yours... 8k? That's VERY impressive. There are a LOT of people who will disbelieve this guitar is so affordable.

* It's not yet a guitar that I'd say, "Oh man. I can't let this leave the house again. I must own this forever!." But it's VERY intriguing, and I'm VERY curious to see where Gustav is going. At this point, I will seriously consider a commission. The next 10 days are gonna be fun. I can happily say Gustav is building well beyond many of the 5-10k builders out there from my personal experience, as opinionated as that statement is. (Heck, we're all here to give opinions, right?) For someone looking to get into a really, really nice guitar, this is tremendous value starting at, what, 8k? Ridiculous. It's not a "cheap way to get a Somogyi" but it's a heck of a guitar. And if you're into a OO, boy... this one is pretty nice.

Hopefully, videos to come.

-B

[Richard Mott]

I played this guitar at Montreal and it was a stand-out. Of course the hall is a terrible place to hear an instrument, but my impression was of tremendous clarity and focus. It was not flawless, i.e., there was room for greater cross-string evenness, but the positives were simply great. And of course the design aesthetic, out of this world. No doubt Gustav will continue to develop as a builder but as a debut instrument this was pretty extraordinary.

[KolayaGuitars]

Originally Posted by bdm0509

Actually, it's less than you might think. It's not stepped, but rather carved in the same sort of art deco carve as the heel. It's only on the treble side, and most interestingly, runs "through" the saddle so it's carved on both sides. I'll get a photo soon and over-expose it so it's clearer.

All that said, my first thought was Kevin Ryan's or Tom Doerr's parlor bridge as well, but turns out its really not.

I've got some early thoughts I'll try and post later tonight.

Oh, I see. My mistake. Have fun with that little guitar! I liked reading your opinions.

Brad