WeenieCampbell.com
The Unwound Third => Gitfiddles, Harps, Washboards & Kazoos => Topic started by: John How on November 01, 2007, 10:12:48 AM
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Hello, My name is John How. You may have seen my ad on the top of this forum recently.
I build guitars in Cool (yes that is really the name of my town), California.
I make conventional X-braced as well as contemporary X-braced guitars. I also build a series of ladder braced guitars based on the work of Oscar Schmidt.
I build these guitars in three different sizes, Parlor - 12.5", Concert - 13.5" and Grand Concert 14.75".
Now to the point of this post:
I am pleased to announce with the support of this forums management, an experiment in community cooperation and Blatant self promotion.
I am looking for about 10-15 volunteers to road test one of my guitars in your home for about a week and give feedback or a review, to be posted here on this forum. If you have the equipment and the chops it would be great to hear some recordings as well.
Here are the criteria for participating:
1. A Weenie Campbell forum member since before the start of 2007.
2. Members should have at least 50 posts to their credit.
3. Interested in this style of ladder braced guitar (they are not to everyones taste).
4. Willing to spend some time (a week or so) with the guitar and post your thoughts to this forum.
5. Willing to pay the cost of shipping to the next participant (I will try to arrange the flow for minimum shipping distances).
And that's really all there is to it. Remember I have to limit this to 10 to 15 players because it gets really long term otherwise.
Here are a couple shots of my demo Ladder braced concert guitar.
Thanks for your consideration and please check out my website for more info.
(https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnhowguitars.com%2Fimages%2Fgallery%2FLBC15.jpg&hash=a1ea8ce03bfe3a816d445aaafe656a1afd88ef6c)
(https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnhowguitars.com%2Fimages%2Fgallery%2FLBC11.jpg&hash=7613963a4d3912c7a9b2f3d587fdc36f3e8f26bc)
Thank you, John How
http://www.johnhowguitars.com/ (http://www.johnhowguitars.com/)
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John, this is a great idea -- and I know you've done it with success in another forum -- so I'm sure it can be a success here as well.
The only suggestion I would make, since you are looking for 10-15 participants, is not to limit the participants to 1000 posts or more. For one thing -- there are only 6 members that have 1000 or more posts and I know one of those does not play. the other limitation is that it will skew your participants to long time steering committee members only... which seems a bit unfair. You might want to review member stats here:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=114&action=stats
Cheers and thanks for the very interesting idea!
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Actually, I'd be willing to email you a more detailed stat list or help in any other way. Or sort your own list by post here:
http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?amp;Itemid=114&action=mlist;sort=posts;start=0
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One question comes to mind. We have a strong weenie contingent outside the continental 48 - many active members in Canada and the UK. Can these folks participate and if so, how does that work?
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OK I see that, should have looked a little more before making the rules huh. Well, I can change the rules too so.....
Let us just say, Participants should have been a member since before the start of 2007 and have made at least 50 posts to the forum.
I will edit the above post to reflect this.
I am willing to let the guitar go out of the US but I think I will wait for a while and see how this goes first. So stay tuned and hopefully we can get this thing to Canada or maybe across the pond as well.
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Hey John
I will roadtest one of your guitars. Actually I already have. I met you at the Healdbsburg festival. I love your guitars AND I am close. I am very familiar with ladder braced guitars. I currently have a KG-14. I don't know if I have 50 posts but I have been around WC for a long time.
Let me know.
Mark
http://www.myspace.com/markmcdonaldblues
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Hey John
If the guitar does make it across the 'pond' to the UK I would love to give it a road test. Would be very interested to see how it differed from my Dindsdales (2 x 00, parlour, and jazz cut-away) and to determine how the ladder-bracing affected the overall sound palette.
Cheers
Steve :)
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John,
I would love to give one of your guitars a try. I'm actually shopping for a ladder braced guitar for playing blues and rags. I have the "modern" tone captured with a Larrivee and had a second but sold it to help fund my ladder braced quest. I'm not the most frequent poster but have been around for awhile...Most of the folks around here know WAY more than me so I spend alot of time reading and not writting. I would be glad to pay for shipping if it is kept at a reasonable rate. I do have the ability to record as well...nothing fancy but enough to post some opinions and sound clips.
This sounds like a fun little experiement....I look fwd to seeing what you decide.
Cheers,
Blue
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Thanks for signing up guys, hopefully we'll get a few more around the country to shorten up the shipping distances. I'll let this run for a while to see what happens and then get started.
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John:
Count me in, I'd love to give yours a try
And add Canadian content.
Alex
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Hey,
I live in Vermont too, Blue and I could share it and save shipping costs. I would love to try it,
Mike
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John,
I would love to try out your blues box, but not to give a testimony, but to feel around inside and steal your secrets<g>. But I don't qualify for the trip, so I won't.
Great idea, if yours works out, maybe I'll try it with one of mine.
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I'd love to try it but living on the road in an RV makes the getting it to me difficult. Maybe after you get it set up I could be a link between two people and save the shipping. Who knows.
Just looked up Cool. I may even be buy that way in the spring on the way to WA.
doug
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Ok, this is a good start but I'm hoping for a few more so that the distances between players can be reduced a little.
I'll give a little more time before it gets started.
Here is who I have on the list so far.
MarkM in Santa Rosa, California
Steve Mcbill in the UK
Blue in VT
Ghost Rider Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Eagle rockin daddy - VT
Dave in Tejas
Chipmunk Doug in an RV
The guitar in question, is the one pictured above and here are some of it's specs.
Top - Red Spruce
Back and sides Honduras mahogany (the back is flamed)
Neck Hond Mahog
Fingerboard, bridge & headplate are Madagascar Rosewood.
lower bout is 13.5"
Scale is 24.9"
Finish - Hand stained & aged, Nitrocellulose lacquer.
Headstock Slotted with Gotoh, 3 on a plate tuners.
Thanks for looking
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I don't qualify on number of posts and only been a member since early this year, but I've just been visiting your site in the endless quest for yet another parlor guitar to add to my collection. I'd love to give your guitar a road test, but it looks like you have your group.
Looks like a beautiful guitar -- I look forward to hearing some mp3 files from the lucky Weenies!
Mike
Wisconsin
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Hey bluesmikedk, I'd love to have you play the guitar. I'll post the route after we get a few more signups.
Thanks guys, John
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John,
Sign me up please. I would love to try your guitar.
RobBob
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Hi John,
I'm actually not interested in playing your guitar, but I love the idea, and I wanted to compliment you for being willing to do this. I realize that part of your motives are "blatant self promotion," but I think it's wonderful that you're willing to let people try out a beautiful guitar that they might not otherwise have a chance to. Good on you!
I'll be interested to hear what the other Weenies think of the guitar, and what music they make with it.
Doug
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G'evening to all in WeenieLand. As a newcomer I look forward to following the adventures of fellow enthusiasts.
Hats off the John How for turning loose his travelin' guitar. This is a noble commitment to educating the masses in the tradition of the tent revivals. Its one thing to read about it, and quite another to hear the glory, feel the power.
However, a brief warning -- the experience could change everything you thought you knew about how a guitar should behave. Serious lust and behavioral issues await. Its too late for me, brothers and sisters.
One of John's ladder braced grand concerts has recently come to live at my house. The past few weeks I've ended each day with John's guitar followed by intense feelings of delight and stupidity. The delight is easy to explain. The feelings of studipity comes from 40+ years of playing and suddenly finding myself unable to explain why this guitar feels and sounds so right. Is John THAT good, or have I been looking in the wrong direction all this time.
As soon as I can wrap the right words around my questions, John has some serious explainin' to do.
Can't turn back now,
Larry
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Hi Larry
Glad your enjoying the guitar. Larry owns the back featured in my ad here on Weenie Campbell :D
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Hi John,
I would like to be included if possible. While an infrequent poster, I am a diligent daily lurker of this and other guitar sites. I have owned several vintage straight-braced guitars and currently own 2 along with a couple of pre-war x-braced guitars. For all the usual reasons that come with owning antiques, I am in the market for a modern version of a straight braced 6 string guitar and would be very interested in your take on things.
Thanks,
Gary
I'm in Southern California
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I don't meet any of the criteria... I joined earlier this year, had some problems posting... but I have been lurking for a few years. I have been active posting on the IGS forum and the UMGF if you would like someone to vouch for me... but I would love to try out your guitar.... I live in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.
I am currently building my first acoustic (a Martin inspired mahogany/spruce OM) with the ultimate dream of building a ladder braced Stella inspired 12 string based on measurements Stefan Grossman took for me.
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OK, I am about ready to get this thing started so I'm gonna need contact info including,
Mailing/shipping address
Email address
Telephone number
You can email this to me at johow (at) johnhowguitars (dot) com
As soon as I get this info I will put together a shipping plan and get this on the road.
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John,
I sent you an email.
Cheers,
Mike
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You have mail for me too... 8)
Cheers,
Blue
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I'd like to participate, if you don't have too many people already.
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John,
I'd be tickled to be a part of this traveling experiment. I'd love to do the rounds with my NYC fingerstyle pals and see what they all think. If you haven't run out of room, sign me up.
Jon Vesey
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OK, the guitar has hit the road......first stop southern California. I'll post the route and we can hopefully estimate when it will arrive at various locations. Please make sure you have given me your contact and shipping information preferably by email. Continue to check here for updates and reviews of the guitar.
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Hi , I'm trying to put together a shipping route for this road trip but have not recieved shipping/contact info from all who have signed up yet.
If you can email me your shipping shipping address and contact info, I'll get the route posted so everyone will have an idea when the guitar might arrive.
Here are the guys I still need info for.
Eagle Rockin Daddy
Rob Bob
Coyote Slim
Flatd7
If you guys still want to play, please send in your info.
Thanks everyone, John
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John, In 5 short hours I should be home and playing the guitar! I'll play with it through the weekend then will be ready to send it on it's way as directed.
All the best, Gary
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Hi All:
I was the lucky one who got to try the roadtrip guitar first, so I'll post the first review.
First off, it's a pretty little guitar. Light as a feather. The neck is a very comfortably shaped, low profile rounded V. I thought that it fit my hand perfectly.
To my eye, the workmanship was very fine. Nice fretwork, and a good clean look all around.
The guitar responds nicely to bare fingers, and I found it to be louder than I expected for a concert sized guitar.
Compared to the best of the old Oscar Schmidt guitars that I have played, it seemed a bit less bluesy and sweeter sounding. Kind of half way between being an old blues machine, and an elegant little parlor guitar, with the playing comfort of a modern instrument. Comfortable, and fun to play.
All in all, I was very impressed. Thanks very much for giving me the chance to try it out, John!
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how about a map John so we can follow it around
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Can we get an update on the route this guitar is traveling and ETA on it reaching people!
thanks
Blue
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Very sorry about the delay guys but I have been waiting for address info from some of the participants. I still need RobBob, Coyote Slim but I will go ahead with what I have to get this this going. So as soon as I make contact with him, the guitar will be on it's way to Wisconsin for a visit with BluesMikedk. From there it will make it's way to New England for visits with Blue and E.R.D. then on to NYC, FlatD7 before heading west again.
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Very sorry about the delay guys but I have been waiting for address info from some of the participants. I still need RobBob, Coyote Slim but I will go ahead with what I have to get this this going. So as soon as I make contact with him, the guitar will be on it's way to Wisconsin for a visit with BluesMikedk. From there it will make it's way to New England for visits with Blue and E.R.D. then on to NYC, FlatD7 before heading west again.
And when they've all done with it, gift wrap it, package it really well and send it off to Ol' Parlor Picker in England as a free gift.... >:D
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I picked this guitar up from Dr. Insouciance a couple weeks ago. He told me I was going to enjoy playing this guitar and he was right.
Out of curiosity I had to look-up ?Insouciance? in the dictionary; Carefree, Jaunty, Breezy, Debonair, Lighthearted.
With those descriptions I could have ended my review of this guitar right then and there.
Carefree, Jaunty, Breezy, Debonair, Lighthearted.
This guitar is a fine instrument in every way. Nicely put-together, nice vibe, lovely to look at, perfect size, easy to play, (what a great neck!) fun to play, very responsive to a light touch but with endless head room, great note separation, loud and clear. Nice bass and great bright sound across the board. IT?S ALIVE! Perfect for rag, old-timey, piedmont type finger style etc.. It was very happy in open D as well. Overall, believe it or not, it sounded a lot like my 1930?s Gibson L- maple bodied x-braced guitar. That?s a good thing. The mids on the How a bit brighter.
This is not your grandfathers crappy- old mass-produced -unplayable -where?s the bass- antique ladder braced guitar. This modern guitar has some sustain, it definitely has overtones, it has warmth and depth. Not quite the wonderfully primitive, in your face, out of control, wheels about to come off, train wreck quality my old Stella had?but enough of that and more. More refinement, more versatility and (the reason I no longer have the Stella) far greater playability.
To the un-converted I say; Take it from a guy whose go-to guitar is a polar-opposite, deeeeeep, dark, serious, well-mannered, prim and proper Froggy Bottom H-12. Try out one or two or three of the handfull of high quality modern ladder braced guitars being made in America today. These bad boys are fun fun fun.
I began missing this guitar the moment I packed it up last night to send it on to Sheboygan.
Thanks John,
Gary
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I just sent you an e-mail. I've been so busy I forgot all about this until I got sick and took today off!!!
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Just in time for Christmas, John's guitar arrived successfully here in Wisconsin late yesterday. I'll be posting a review and perhaps some sound files next week.
First impression: A beautiful instrument!
Cheers,
Mike
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I've had the John How "road trip" parlor guitar on loan for the last week or so. These are my observations.
First, appearance. This guitar is great looking, with fine detailing around the soundhole, binding, and back. Very cool bridge design -- reminds me of some of the pre-war guitars I've seen. I found the "aged" red spruce top particularly appealing, as it simply glows with a great caramel sheen, like it's being viewed by candlelight. The flamed back is beautiful. Fit is good and I love the gloss lacquer finish. There were a few very minor cosmetic issues I found by going over the guitar with a fine tooth comb, but considering this is essentially a prototype and a travel demo, I won't hold those against it. The tuners look great and authentic for this vintage reproduction, but I found them just a bit "sticky" and imprecise, and, given an option, would opt for an upgrade on them. All around, though, a beautiful instrument. John definitely puts a lot into his craft.
Then there's that subjective "feel" or playability of the instrument. This guitar just "feels" right to me. The parlor dimensions and shallow depth make this guitar a comfortable play. I find a 1.75" neck width perfect for fingerstyle blues and ragtime, and so I was surprised that the slightly wider 1-13/16" neck of this parlor required a bit of adjustment for me. I found it a bit more difficult to do those "thumb over the sixth string" F-shape slides to the third fret moves -- however, with a little practice I was able to overcome that, also due in large part to the nicely smoothed V profile neck. This guitar compares very favorably with my Larrivee P-90 Parlor which is one of my favorite guitars, though in all honesty, this John How parlor is a much more accurate representation of the old parlors, and it bests the Larrivee easily in most every category, which is what I would expect for an instrument nearly 3X the cost of the Larrivee.
Ah, the sound. This light little box really sings. The two things that amazed me the most were the bottom end volume and the great tone separation among the highs, middles, and lows. It is a pretty sounding guitar, and seemed at home with Mississippi John Hurt or Blind Blake. It takes a little work to "dirty" up this beauty, but I was able to get a fairly decent Lipscomb-like chunk out of it with a thumbpick and some heavy damping. Add a fingerpick, and you can get some nice Rev Davis from it too -- it has that nice ringing tone, and it sounds much bigger than it is.
This is a very versatile guitar. If I didn't suffer from Guitar Acquisition Syndrome and instead had to survive with a single guitar, this John How parlor might be it. It's a real keeper. For someone like me who will probably never own an old Stella, this is an even better very playable alternative. A beautiful instrument.
Thanks, John.
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:( :o >:( :( :o
Well Weenies....I have some sad news for you...I recieved the John How traveling guitar on saturday...and when I opened it I found a significant crack at the base of the headstock!!!! Even though it had been well packed by Bluesmike in what seemed like a bulletproof box with plywood renforcement and custom cut foam padding....the damage was pretty severe...see the pics below. I spoke with John on Sunday and he would like to have the guitar returned to him for repair. So unfortunatly this will put an end to the traveling guitar show....at least for now.... :( :(
Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news....
Blue
(https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi91.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk285%2Fcsabick%2Fbreak.jpg&hash=6b4950abcaa267c1499c25fd3506a8bf714f3b5c)
(https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi91.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk285%2Fcsabick%2Fbreak2.jpg&hash=25b8b43d33ee0d227c181056aff84ed1608cecf6)
(https://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi91.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk285%2Fcsabick%2Fbreak1.jpg&hash=474fb15c1a70cca717088cbbc7a9a697f772e54f)
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Just a temporary setback gentlemen. This guitar has been on the road now since October of 2006 so I think I have been pretty lucky so far. This would have been it's second trip thru the New England area so I guess I was overdue for a hickup. Anyway, I'll get the guitar repaired and back out to Blue and it will continue it circulation. That is after all what it's for. Take care all and stay tuned for more
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Wow, John, what a great attitude. I hope when this happens to me, I will be so gracious.
I pack the stuff I ship as well as possible, but I know that if someone tosses the box from the back of the truck onto the pavement, something is gonna give.
Good looking neck and head, by the way...
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Thanks, John, you're taking it better than I am. I was sick over it when I heard from Blue. I hope it's back on the road soon -- I miss it already. And John, thanks for the great program.
Mike
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Yeah...I have to say that John has a great attitude about this whole situation....I can't tell you what I kind of panic I was in until I could call him on Sunday Morning...of course with the time difference I had to wait till about 12:30pm EST to do it...I almost called at 9am until my wife remined me that it was only 6am out there!!! of course she was in a panic thinking that I was going to have to buy it cause it was damaged!!!
Anyway...thanks for being so accomadating John...I'll get this baby back to you soon.
Blue
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John,
any word on the status of the road trip guitar?
Mike
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Hey guys, I got the guitar back in very repairable condition and will do so and start this thing over again as soon as I can, but.......
I'm in the mmiddle of a big rush right now trying to completed a batch of guitars for this springs guitars shows I'm attending. If any of you are going to be near Miami Beach this April 11,12,13, please stop but the newport festival at the Miami Beach convention center and play some guitars and say hello.
I'll let everyone know when this roadtrip gets kickstarted and back on the highway.
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Thanks John, good luck at the show. I'm looking forward to playing the guitar whenever you get it up here.
Mike
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Hey we're moving up the list! And a road battled git it will be.