Maple & cedar guitars

Kateskogs · August 2023

I have a handbuilt maple J200 size acoustic from the 1970s. It's a lovely an interesting tone, made by a British luthier. Warm sound, but at the same time nicely clear and bright.

malcolmkindness · August 2023

TheMadMick said:

Some really good news from Steve at Avalon:

"Some good news: the only maple we had that was big enough for a jumbo is the figured stuff, so you’ll have a free upgrade. We’re just going to build it now as an Ard Rí for the price we agreed - it does the material justice!"

Ard Ri is Irish for King. It's not so different construction wise but fancier finish.

Happy days.

I'm surprised that anyone is still prepared to do business with Steve McIlwraith. Despite eventually pleading guilty in February this year, he is now trying to find excuses for his disgusting behaviour and his trial has been adjourned again until September.

TheMadMick · August 2023

malcolmkindness said:

I'm surprised that anyone is still prepared to do business with Steve McIlwraith. Despite eventually pleading guilty in February this year, he is now trying to find excuses for his disgusting behaviour and his trial has been adjourned again until September.

I take the approach in the Good Book - "Judge not lest ye yourself be judged". Besides it's not all about him. He has a number of employees who depend on the company for income and I'd hate to see them out of a job because of someone else's actions.

Horses for courses.

Wistman · August 2023

Takamine makes some guitars in this combo, e.g. the Takamine EF341SC

Image: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/plugins/EmojiExtender/emoji/fb/1.gif

Some OK demoes on the Youtubes... I'd say the resulting sound seems warm but direct, clear and crisp, with punchy inidividual notes and good separation.

Wistman · August 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HJoErfPykM

TheMadMick · September 2023

Well, it's happened again. All quiet on the Avalon front. So far, I know the instrument is in production and should be approaching or be in the spraying phase but Steve McIlwrath has gone quiet. Maybe doing his sentence? I bloody hate this.

Watch this space.

malcolmkindness · September 2023

TheMadMick said:

Well, it's happened again. All quiet on the Avalon front. So far, I know the instrument is in production and should be approaching or be in the spraying phase but Steve McIlwrath has gone quiet. Maybe doing his sentence? I bloody hate this.

Watch this space.

He hasn't been sentenced yet as far as i know, but he has far bigger problems to worry about than your guitar! Is there no one else in the company that you can deal with?

TheMadMick · September 2023

^^^^^^

Afraid that's true! But it doesn't ease my discomfort.

I'll leave it for a bit and see what happens

TheMadMick · September 2023

Got an e mail this morning. Seems Steve is having a bit of a rough time in and out of hospital.

Hey ho, happy days. Guitar is due for spraying this week.

Tannin · September 2023

You will get there @TheMadMick and it will have been worth the wait. Stay the course brother!

TheMadMick · September 2023

I've just seen pics of the sound hole rosette and it is superb. I'll try to post pics on IMGUR when I figure out how to do that.

Happy days.

TheMadMick · September 2023

Pics. Please remember, the nitro finish has yet to be applied and the grain will come to life. Looks pretty good as raw wood.

https://i.imgur.com/g2nUy7t.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ERQCEA8.jpg

Enjoy.

Tannin · September 2023

Oh yes. Really, really nice.

Remind me: as a make that has grown out of the big flowering of Northern Ireland guitar production (along with Lowden and various others) are Avalon guitars broadly similar sound and feel wise to, say, a Lowden or a McIlroy?

tomjax · September 2023

It's more complicated than that. Avalon was a management buy out of Lowden, tho George Lowden kept the business name. So I think Lowden and Avalon used to have a lot of overlap. Avalon seemed to have branched out with more diverse ranges and body sizes than Lowden now though, and I'd say have carved their own sound.

Dermot McIlroy also worked for George Lowden for 10 years or more before setting up on his own. But I'd say that McIlroy guitars definitely have their own sound (I owned a Lowden and a McIlroy at the same time, so speak from experience, though I've subsequently sold the Lowden).

All are without a doubt fabulous guitars and all owe a huge amount to George Lowden first setting up in Antrim.

Tannin · September 2023

Cheers @tomjax I had the pleasure of playing a Lowden and a McIlroy at Project Music recently when I was making the arrangements for my Brook. I don't think we see McIlroys here in Oz, and while Lowdens are around they are uncommon. The Acoustic Centre in Melbourne (20 hours travel from my place, and the same back again) usually has three or four in stock, and one of the main Sydney retailers does also. Most people spending that sort of money in these parts seem to gravitate to the American usual suspects. I have never seen an Avalon advertised in this country.

I very much liked those two guitars, both cedar-topped over unspecified walnut, American Black Walnut I think. I thought they were very similar but clearly different, and would have been very happy to take either one home (or both!), though I would have picked the Lowden because it was "more different" to my other guitars where the McIlroy was (if I can put it this way) three-parts of the way from a "standard" sound (whatever that is) towards a "Lowden sound" (taking that one Lowden I've played as representative of them all).

I don't know what I'd play on one of those guitars, what sort of style I mean, they would take me in a different musical direction. That is always a good thing!

I have sworn off guitar buying. Well, nearly. I'm on a one guitar-per-year ration now. Last year it was the Maton WA May, this year it's my custom-build baritone from all-Tasmanian timbers, next year will be the Brook. I pretty much had 2025 marked down for another Maton Custom Shop guitar to go with the WA May but since head luthier Andy Allen has retired I'm not sure what is going to happen with that. Anyway, where I'm heading with this ramble is that a guitar from the Irish School (if I can call it that) is very much on my radar now. It is good to have different instruments that push you into different musical styles. But not this year!

TheMadMick · September 2023

Tannin said:

Remind me: as a make that has grown out of the big flowering of Northern Ireland guitar production (along with Lowden and various others) are Avalon guitars broadly similar sound and feel wise to, say, a Lowden or a McIlroy?

In my limited experience, the Lowden and Avalon sounds are very similar. Not really surprising as they sprang from the same factory. I can get more difference on a single guitar by simply changing pick or technique. Don't know anything about McIlroy but I'd expect the same logic to apply. Not sure what is meant by "feel" - most guitars feel much the same to me. Maybe I'm insensitive to that sort of thing.

TheMadMick · October 2023

Finally, it's ready to come home! Under string tension for the weekend then off to me. Hope to see and play it Wednesday. Avalon say it sounds marvelous - but they would, wouldn't they.

Pics:

https://imgur.com/cfaN4xP

https://imgur.com/tIGx2yn

https://imgur.com/vTPI6NB

https://imgur.com/PGuNvrh

First impressions next week - can't wait!!!