Jason Kostal OM

[steveh]

OK - back in March 2011 I decided to order both a Kostal MD and a Kostal OM. Jason was still apprenticing for Ervin Somogyi but Michael Watts arranged for me to play a madrose MD by Jason and I could see the man was going somewhere. I had got bad GAS and had acquired quite a few lovely instruments over the last few years. Searching for "the Grail" gets in the way of playing so I had pretty much decided I would sell all of my instruments and get an MD and OM from a good, new builder rather than a "Big Name". Jason's base price was relatively affordable for me if I didn't go mad, and I would have the first guitar - the MD - in about a year. That story is told here:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...ghlight=kostal

A couple of fairly recent clip of that guitar can be found here, one year after delivery, and is pretty representative of how it sounds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_gVy...wGfYgiVSjAeCfw

So, 2013 and how things have changed: Jason now has a burgeoning list and has become very well established in a very short time - that's what happens if you build great guitars and are a nice guy to boot. No longer the "new builder" I was after - he seems to have become a Big Name himself in pretty short order. Talking of orders, Jason's order book was going real crazy, coupled with the inevitable time it takes to set up a new workshop (check Jason's website - his workshop is huge and full of great stuff). So, when I got my MD I let him know that I didn't mind if the OM came quite a while later. The initial plan was for 6 months after the MD but that's like having christmas twice in one year, so I took the opportunity to play the MD a lot and have that inform the design of the OM...and it's great fun waiting.

Anyway, the waiting is over. This thread will basically be about an OM in European over Honduras RW, no cutaway, no wedge. Simples...

Here is the wood I chose back in 2011:



...and this is what the back looks like jointed up as of last week:



My MD was african blackwood lined with ebony. For this OM, Jason is doubling the sides with more Honduran RW. Here it is being glued up:



...and these are the two doubled sides glued up and ready to go in the mould:



Really looking forward to this one. The MD is a great guitar but as I've said often, it's hardly representative. My desert island steel-string guitar will always be an OM, so I'll be very interested to see how Jason's voice plays out through a smaller, more generalizable, instrument - it seems most orders he gets presently are for the MD. I've played some stellar OMs so this needs to be good. When commissioning it, I simply handed him a guitar and said to him, "build me something that sounds like this":



He seemed to think he can do so.

We'll see...I'd be honoured if you could all come along for the ride.

Cheers,
Steve

[racman]

Looking forward to watching this come together Steve.

[ericcsong]

Steve, we are in similar boats! Can't wait to see this one come together!

[JamesO]

This is going to be a great thread! I was watching your other clips, too. I really liked the clip of Rhona's Tune.

[justonwo]

Oh man, I can't wait to see this one come together. Congrats on the start of the build!

[Ct20]

Congratulations! And pray tell what was the guitar you handed him to make it sound like?

[JamesO]

Originally Posted by Ct20

Congratulations! And pray tell what was the guitar you handed him to make it sound like?

The guitar in the pic is a Traugott R.

[Ct20]

Thank you. Good answer.

[iim7V7IM7]

Good things come to those who wait...

Kudos

[mikealpine]

Steve, so glad you included the clip from the MD; it sounds fantastic!! Looking forward to watching this unfold.

[Markart]

Can't wait to see this one! I can only imagine his backlog.. 2 years? more?

[steveh]

Thanks for all of your comments guys. There are a number of simultaneous builds going here, so lots to entertain us!

Originally Posted by mikealpine

Steve, so glad you included the clip from the MD; it sounds fantastic!! Looking forward to watching this unfold.

Thanks! I read a lot of these build threads and always feel it's the right thing to do to show the guitar "in action" ultimately. After all, these things are meant to be played. If you can get past the shame of putting your rank-amateur efforts up on YouTube (the Mau's and Brian T's of the world are exempt from that comment!), then it's good fun and I get a sense of achievement from it, despite the errors and cack-handedness that inevitably happens somewhere in a tune when getting from A to Z. Recording is also a breeze since I dumped all of the "gear" and adopted Mau's iPad + Apogee MiC approach.

Originally Posted by JamesO

The guitar in the pic is a Traugott R.

It is indeed. It's a very, very special guitar but there's no denying the price of entry is very steep and I started to become uncomfortable with that during the recession. Ultimately I decided I would sell the Traugott (and all of my other steel-string guitars) and replace them with just two - a big one (MD) and a smaller one (OM). At the time I went with Jason 1 s/h Traugott = 3 Kostals. I'm afraid that no longer applies, but that's great for Jason.

Originally Posted by Markart

Can't wait to see this one! I can only imagine his backlog.. 2 years? more?

See comment above: Jason's list is now very extensive. I'm not quoting times here - only Jason can tell you the exact length of his list but I believe it is longer than 2 years at this point in time. If anyone reading this is seriously considering one of Jason's guitars, then the only sensible thing to do is contact him directly, or one of his dealers: I ordered mine via The North American Guitar, who are Jason's representatives in the UK.

Originally Posted by JamesO

This is going to be a great thread! I was watching your other clips, too. I really liked the clip of Rhona's Tune.

Yes - lovely tune; another one I nicked from the classical guitarist Matthew McAllister. To be honest, I play nylon strings most these days, and found these when listening to Matthew. If you really want to see how it's played well, listen to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2WDaVNqGy8

And here is a "proper" version of the Gow Lament on the Death of his Second Wife:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPLC7v_vsVk

Cheers,
Steve

[ColbyLH]

Hey Steve.....You will NOT be disappointed by one of Jason's OMs...They are amazing......Giving up my Traugott would be a tough one for me, but if you are going to do it, I can think of no finer, modern-style, newer luthier than Jason. His reputation is growing because he is "that good." I guess one of the best testimonies to his guitars is that so many are copying his rosettes and design features and that his build list is well over 4 years long and.... he will soon be closing it...(this from a highly reputable source!) Anyone who is thinking about one of his guitars would be wise to get on his list while the prices are still reasonable, and you can get one inside of a Kim Walker type 8 year build list!.....

It will be fun to see this one come to fruition.....You and Eric are lucky guys!....

[JonBarclay]

Congratulations Steve... you're spoiling us rotten with these build threads

Now we have concurrent builds from Jason and Ray, both of OMs! I'll be fascinated to see how their sounds differ in the end... I know they both have very identifiable aesthetic approaches, so the interest for me - beyond mere fascination at the skill involved - is how two of Ervin Somogyi's apprentices diverge after setting out on their own. (Given some differences in woods etc.)

Now, like Larry, all I'm missing is the d*** Like button!

Cheers

Jon

PS: your Mod D is sounding terrific, it really sings! Can't wait for a comparison review when the OM's done and has some playing time... J

[Portland Bill]

Glad to see you are keeping it simple Steve,i shall enjoy following this.

All the best Tony