Hi folks,
Well, here it is, the Eichelbaum Grand Concert koa/cedar
review I promised. After thinking a bunch about this, I
figured the best thing to do is simply requote the email
I sent David a week or so back. So, here it goes:
"...Thanks for the CD--got it a week or so ago. Even
better yet, thanks for a beautiful guitar. I've had the
Grand Concert koa/cedar from Robin at Guitar Gallery for
a couple weeks now, and I am really enjoying it. To date,
it is the easiest playing guitar I have ever owned, and
I've had some nice ones. The generous nut width and
string spacing really works well for me. It took a few
days to properly acclimate after it wwas shipped, but now
the action is perfect. Interestingly, upon receiving the
guitar at my home in RI, I got a bit bummed because
though I loved the workmanship, playability, and looks of
the guitar, I thought it sounded too bright, airy and
thin on the higher strings for my taste. Robin suggested
I keep it another few days, install Elixir strings (my
favorites--naturally less bright sounding than many
others), and see how I felt after that. Well, the rest is
history, and I am so pleased!"
"The guitar is definitely brighter than my Olson
koa/spruce which I may be looking to replace due to its
value, but it still has the mellowish resonating, koa,
woody tone I love so much. Additionally it has all that
controllably articulate high end to bring out the treble
lines cutting through the bass rhythm as much or as
little as I want. My only way of describing it right now
is that it's a lovely sounding guitar, highly articulate,
and incredibly responsive to the touch. Today I played at
a nursing home in a fairly dead sounding, carpeted chapel
room with about 25-30 residents. I played both solos
(fingerstyle playing) and led singing (no amplification),
and the guitar just allowed me to play it as hard or soft
as needed. I was confident that even w/out amplification
folks in the back were still hearing the notes (even the
softer played ones). It really helped my focus not having
to worry about whether or not the guitar was loud
enough--I loved it (oh, and I think they did too based on
their remarks afterwards)!!!"
"I never thought koa and cedar would be a good match
based on my very positive previous experience with many
koa/spruce guitars, but I am clearly ignorant of some of
the great newer wood combinations you fine luthiers are
coming up with today. Thanks again for this great
addition to my collection. I'm sure it will see much use
both in recording and performance."
That basically sums it up folks--the Eichelbaum koa/cedar
is an extreme pleasure to play and and joy to listen to
while those notes just resonate around in the soundbox.
BTW, point of interest--of the 6 or 7 Tonewoods Quiz
responders that selected a favorite track as part of the
exersize, the Eichelbaum (guitar sample #1) was selected
5 of those times. Very interesting considering the other
great guitars sampled as well. Our hats off to you David
Eichelbaum, keep up the good work!
Ken T.
Graceworks Music
P.S. Oh, and here are some pics of this beauty...
