My OM

[Zohn]

She finally arrived last Sunday - an Italian Spruce/hog beauty, and she's handmade...











The headstock shape is my design as well as the bridge. I also opted for the Grovers for a "vintage" touch.

[SMan]

 

Very nice.  Bet she sounds great too. 

[OutWithTheBlue]

I've been wanting one of these! please report back on your toughts and maybe some sounds? 

[Zohn]

Thanx guys
Well where do I begin?
Strong fundamentals, clear note separation, bell-like trebles, strong mids and powerful bass - pretty much the essence of any good finger style guitar. Add good sustain and the characteristic "Hog-grunge" with lots of mojo. She also has a 1 13/16" nut, 2 5/16" string spacing at the saddle and a floating canti-lever fret board extension, no Popsicle brace which means free vibration of the sound board in the upper bout. Also, the neck angle is adjustable so minimum effort to change the neck-set.
The bracing is standard scalloped Martin X-style.
The appointments are Brazilian Rosewood head plate, finger board, bridge and bridge plate.
African Black Wood binding - including finger board, end graft and back centre strip, and Grover's 18:1 Sta-tite machines.
The nut and saddle are from genuine African Elephant ivory (CITES certified).
And the good news is, the two of us are only getting started, lots of playing-in time to come, and I enjoy every note.
I'm happy for money well spent...

[ffinke]

Zohn,

That is an incredibly beautiful guitar. Tell us about the builder. Is that "Hans v/d Berg"? Which I assume is maybe dutch as in Van Der or Vander?

Also, great review! I just wish I knew what all that stuff meant!

f

[unclrob]

WOW!!! just beautiful.Can't wait to hear the 6 month report.Enjoy her my friend.REALLY

[Zohn]

Zohn,

That is an incredibly beautiful guitar. Tell us about the builder. Is that "Hans v/d Berg"? Which I assume is maybe dutch as in Van Der or Vander?

Also, great review! I just wish I knew what all that stuff meant!

f

Thank you for your kind words ffinke. Yes Hans is Afrikaans (so am I), from dutch origin. He is one of the great up and coming South African builders, and resides in a town called Meyerton, about an hour's drive from the capital city Pretoria where I stay.
Hans' contact detail : (click on his name)   http://guitars-sa.co.za/index1.htm

WOW!!! just beautiful.Can't wait to hear the 6 month report.Enjoy her my friend.REALLY

Hey Bud!!
I know you've "seen 'em all" and your praise is special, thank you for that.
have a scotch on it ok?  

Sincerely
Zohn

[Strings4Him]

 

[ffinke]

He is one of the great up and coming South African builders...

Sorry to refute. You say 'up and coming' and, after looking at his web site, I'd say he's there!!! Double top classicals and only been doing this since 1996? Won't be long before he doesn't need to keep his day job. I think you got a winner there!

f

[tadol]

She's Beautiful! What are the accent woods? And did you get some custom specs on it, like nut width, saddle spacing, scale, ??  Like that neck heel -

Very Nice!!

[Zohn]

Sorry to refute. You say 'up and coming' and, after looking at his web site, I'd say he's there!!! Double top classicals and only been doing this since 1996? Won't be long before he doesn't need to keep his day job. I think you got a winner there!

f

Yes, you're quite right, he is a seasoned builder and certainly "there" with classical guitars. Besides repairs to a J-45 and some other steels, mine is his first new built steelstring. He is fully booked with orders for the next 2 years, and yes, his day-job is limited to half-day, so I think it is just a matter of time...

She's Beautiful! What are the accent woods? And did you get some custom specs on it, like nut width, saddle spacing, scale, ??  Like that neck heel -

Very Nice!!

Hi Tad
African Blackwood body and fretboard binding, truss-cover, heel cap, end graft and back centre strip.
Figured African Kiaat rosette (teak species).
Braz rosewood bridge plate.
Yes, a couple of custom features: 1 13/16" nut width, 2 5/16" string spacing at the saddle.
Elephant ivory nut and saddle.
Floating fingerboard extension (free vibration of soundboard on the upper bout) with adjustable (with strings on) neck-angle through the sound hole (Mike Doolin inspired design)
That means no removal of the neck for a re-set...



The shape of the heel was Hans' design which I just love.

[obe-wan]

Awesome my friend. Well worth the wait by the looks of things. Enjoy!



Cheers, Scott.

[Zohn]

Thanx Scott!

[Dotneck]

Great looking guitar...hope it works out well for you.

[bluesman67]

Very nice Zohn!  She looks beautiful!

[SMan]

Very cool neck joint and unique bracing.  Especially like the floating fingerboard. 

[tadol]

Wow!!  Awesome build - and perfect specs! That neck design and interior bracing is quite cool, and I really like the bracing on the floating fretboard - and the neck adjustment looks like you can dial in the action very precisely very easily - Graphite bracing in the neck / no truss rod? You gotta put some sound files up - that really is an amazing design!

Major congratulations on that! Definitely a GAS feeder!

[broKen]

MY MY MY! Lovely. The cantilever neck reminded me of a conversation I had with a guitar builder I met in a GC in Evansville. I mentioned the fact that I never use the frets over the body and that someone should build one where the fretboard stops at the body. (call it the cowboy) He then took out some pictures of the guitar he had just finished. The fretboard stopped at three or four frets into the body.

[Zohn]

Thank you all for your kind words and congratulations.  
It means a lot to me coming from like minded folks like yourselves with a wealth of knowledge, experience and love for acoustic guitars.
Yes she is something special - a unique combination of contemporary design and tradition (standard scalloped Martin bracing and body dimensions). But that's where the tradition stops (at the body, and naturally the tuners)
Tad, there is indeed a dual action truss-rod fitted (Stewmac's Hotrod) which is operated from the headstock side. The graphite rails are purely to reinforce the fretboard extension 2 - 3 inches in from the heel-side of the neck. (see 2nd pic - btw those brass screws aren't the actual ones - merely for the photo)
The adjustable neck angle is primarily to get the angle right, and then like normal convention adjust the action at the saddle and the relief with the truss rod. Once the neck-set and action is achieved it will probably only need to be tweaked once or twice in its life (a rather trouble-free neck re-set)
The flying buttresses (mahogany struts or braces) from the neck block to the sides serve for extra neck block support since the fret board extension is floating, and thus don't rely on additional support from the soundboard.
Another "feature" is the neck shaft which is laminated from 2 book-matched (20-30 degrees off) semi-flat sawn planks for a symmetrical grain and a stronger torque-resistant neck. (See pick from top of the head stock)
The back and sides are a perfectly quartered Hog set.

Oh, and I got a stunning, durable Gator case in the similar league as a Hiscox...

The next build is an L-00, but I want to do it myself - the Bonus is I have Hans as my voluntary mentor!!




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[Zohn]

MY MY MY! Lovely. The cantilever neck reminded me of a conversation I had with a guitar builder I met in a GC in Evansville. I mentioned the fact that I never use the frets over the body and that someone should build one where the fretboard stops at the body. (call it the cowboy) He then took out some pictures of the guitar he had just finished. The fretboard stopped at three or four frets into the body.

broKen, not quite what you described, Santa Cruz GC has an Otis Taylor signature model which is fretted up to 1 fret beyond the body joint. (it is a 13-fretter)
Reality suggests that few people venture beyond the 12th anyway and that in itself could justify omitting the other frets, but still the bald patch looks somewhat odd to me.