Hear one of the guitars I made

[george wilson]

Google wilson guitar someday soon you tube to hear someone playing a jumbo curly maple guitar I made in the late 80's or in the 90's. A friend who ordered the guitar sent me this link. I t's he who is
playing the guitar. He's playing "Someday Soon". The sound is a bit bright the way he recorded it,but nice and live sounding. The mics are pretty close to the sound hole. The guitar has my pearl inlaid peg head,but was ordered without markers on the fingerboard ala classical guitar. German spruce top,rosewood bindings and peg head overlay. Gaboon ebony fingerboard. A pretty conservative guitar. No fingerboard binding. Not even a pick guard. I made several of these (similar) curly maple guitars about that time. I never made any guitar exactly the same as my others. I don't like "assembly line" work. Maple can make a very nice guitar. Some say the maple makes the strings sound better longer than a Brazilian rosewood guitar.

It's the 2nd. listing down on you tube if you google exactly what I posted. Enjoy.

[Jim Stewart]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNaChmB0ysQ

Above is the link. Great sound and made it greater by knowing George built it. Ian Tyson wrote the one: he is one of my cowboy heroes. A great singer and song writer.

[george wilson]

Thank you for putting up a correct link,Jim. I'm still not much of a computer user. The player is now executive director of a good museum in Wisconsin. He was in conservation in Williamsburg at the time he got the guitar.

[Rob Matarazzo]

I just gave it a listen. Really nice playing and beautiful guitar too. It must be gratifying to see something you made a few decades ago still being put to good use.

[Chris Griggs]

What fun to hear and see one of your guitars being played. Lovely guitar. Thanks for pointing this out to us George.

[Mark Dorman]

It must be gratifying to see something you made a few decades ago still being put to good use.

That is what I thought. It is standing the test of time very well.

PS. George, I bought a necklace for Valentin's day for my wife from Bijou Graphique. It is quality work as well.
http://www.bijougraphique.com/

No affiliation with them just sharing a company George mentioned in the never ending chip breaker thread.

[george wilson]

Thank you all. Mark,my mentioned you saying "the never ending chip breaker thread". I am glad it did end. Instruments should sound better with playing (hopefully!) Pianos,on the other hand,sound best when new due to the terrific string tension. Whenever a famous performer comes to Carnegie hall,they always wheel out a brand new Steinway. Violins last hundreds of years due to their arched tops and backs,and relatively low tension(abt. 29# down bearing on the bridge).

Which model did you get,Mark? That's my wife's and my jewelry co.(mostly her work).

[Charlie Glover]

Guitar sounds and looks beautiful!

[george wilson]

Charlie,back in the early 60's I lived in Portsmouth,Va.,and in Saturdays taught guitar at the music school of David Carr Glover. He wrote the Cinderella (I think-one of the Disney movies anyway) theme for the Disney movie,among other things. Any relation to you?

[Charlie Glover]

No relation, my dad, Jim, spent some time in Va playing guitar for the navy in the early 70's, but none of us have settled there.


Charlie,back in the early 60's I lived in Portsmouth,Va.,and in Saturdays taught guitar at the music school of David Carr Glover. He wrote the Cinderella (I think-one of the Disney movies anyway) theme for the Disney movie,among other things. Any relation to you?

[David Keller NC]

Nice guitar, George. I'm a guitar player of 30+ years, in the rock genre. I can attest to the fact that every guitar sounds different, and some really nice looking (and very expensive) guitars just don't play or sound well at all. And I've heard some very inexpensive Takamine acoustics from the 1980's era that sound fabulous. I own one of these - it's a solid Koa Takamine from 1982, and was about $300 when new. And I wouldn't trade it for a 1932 Martin Dreadnought.

Now all you have to do is remind the owner never to play a guitar with jewelry (and especially not a belt buckle!)

[Tony Shea]

Love the guitar George. What are the bindings made of? And the bridge? The bridge looks like a Honduran rosewood but it's tough to tell. Beautiful sound btw!

[george wilson]

David,no worries,the owner was a museum conservationist. I have no doubt the guitar is in excellent condition. Yes,guitars do sound different since wood is of course a natural material. It can't be nailed down scientifically (though some physicists might think otherwise!) Some Japanese made guitars have been exceptional.

I wish all my guitars have survived as well. I know a few which haven't.

Tony,I only use old Brazilian rosewood cut in 1960. I've still got some I bought when I was in college in about 1961 or 62. I was able to get a bunch sawn up in 1960,likely cut down years before that. The bindings are Brazilian,too.

Glad you like the tone.

[Shawn Pixley]

George, very nice guitar. I agree the recording is a bit bright but still the guitar has a good and balanced sound. It also carried the same response up the neck (one of my pet peeves). I like the plain look. I am surprised to hear that it is a jumbo. It really doesn't look that big. Probably the player is larger than average. Thanks for the clip.

[george wilson]

It is a J-45 shape. I like the round shoulder shape better than the boxy shape of the D-28 Martins. The player is just an average sized guy. The body of the guitar is just farther from the camera,I suppose,so perspective is more pronounced. Pictures can be tricky.

He did a lot better job on sound than many of the videos people put up on the internet,just shot with the mike in a home quality video camera!! Certainly some terrible sounding stuff out there.

[David Weaver]

At least he didn't put one of those awful piezo pickups on it and mic it at the amp. Those make guitars sound like tinfoil boxes.

I think the guitar has a very balanced tone and nice note separation, it's very fundamental tonally, like the J-45s.

[Jim Koepke]

George,

Thanks for sharing this great guitar.

I have played a little guitar in my time. Nothing anyone would want to see or hear. Just something to amuse myself and friends.

jtk

[David Weaver]

Here's a couple of more videos, per george's request.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w87RI-R86Y0&list=UU22DFJ_fVYjot6tfNObYdkw&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THBYEKHrhqo&list=UU22DFJ_fVYjot6tfNObYdkw&index=3

[george wilson]

The 2nd. video is Jon playing a Martin guitar. Many years ago,I saw a Martin guitar with a rectangular pearl inlay of the type seen here for sale. It had belonged to a member of a duo or group. I cannot recall which group. The pearl inlay could be popped out,revealing a secret compartment !!

Do not confuse this Jon with Jon Laubach who I worked with as toolmaker. This is an entirely different person.

I think this 2nd. video has a more balanced sound than the first,which was pretty bright sounding. This one lets the bass through better.

Thanks for posting,David,though I'm not sure why you posted the 2nd video.

[David Weaver]

Oops, i didn't look that close at them, that's why. I just looked at the top color, and didn't look at the bridge or shape.

[Ted Calver]

I can't see any fret markers on this one. Are they on the side, or just not there?

[george wilson]

As stated in the beginning,the fingerboard was requested to be simple,like a classical guitar.

[Ted Calver]

OK Thanks George.