Soloway Loon Build Thread

[msr13]

Jim Soloway is building me his new Loon.

The Loon features a set-neck heel-free construction, a 24.75" scale length, a mahogany neck with a dual action truss rod, and two divided sound holes.
Features:
24.75" scale length
Lutz spruce top
1-piece hollow Swamp Ash back
Bent top/Arm contour
Mahogany Neck
Rosewood fingerboard
Stainless Steel frets
Antique burst poly finish with natural "binding" on body
Kent Armstrong Custom HB
Master volume and tone controls

Jim says the top came out beautifully. Here are some shots before the color goes on this week. This is Jim's first set neck. I love the ergonomics of Jim's guitars, and they sound so good.

[jazzrat]

Love Jim's guitars! That is gonna be a killer.
+1 on his ergonomics. I had a Gosling that I had to sell in a gear reduction.
Another Soloway is at the top of my wish list.
Congrats.

[Vihar]

That neck joint looks interesting. Is there anything special going on there, or just two flat surfaces glued together?

[msr13]

Thanks, Guys. As for the neck joint, I am not sure, but I will email Jim and ask.

[marcwhy]

Awesome! Jim's guitars are wonderful (and he's a great guy, too!).
Thanks for the pics,

Marc

[Jim Soloway]

Originally Posted by Vihar

That neck joint looks interesting. Is there anything special going on there, or just two flat surfaces glued together?

Hi guys. Matt e-mailed me to let me know about the thread and asked me about the neck joint.

It's a variant of a mortice and tenon joint. Here's a link to a photo of the two halves before joining. It has a long tenon and you can see how it locks into the body. In addition to forming a very strong joint, this method minimizes the size of the heel and maintains the straight line geometry of our bolt-on models.

[msr13]

Jim is shipping my Loon to tomorrow. He posted the following specs and picts. Here are the specs:


Features:
24.75" scale length
Fingerstyle Spacing (1 13/16" at nut, 2 3/16" at bridge)
Lutz spruce top
1-piece hollow Swamp Ash back
Bent top/Arm contour
Mahogany Neck
Rosewood fingerboard
Matching Rosewood peghead veneer
Stainless Steel frets
Light natural tint on top, translecent brown poly finish on back
Kent Armstrong custom PAFOO pickup in neck position
Master volume and tone controls
Sycamore truss rod cover with inlaid logo
African Blackwood knobs and bridge
Weight = 5 lb 10.0 oz


And, the pictures. Jim is posting a video tonight before shipping. I will share that, as well.









There are more pictures on Jim's site:
Loon K3

Thanks for looking.

[rpguitar]

African blackwood knobs and bridge? Isn't the bridge and saddle apparatus made of black metal? I've always disliked the bridges that Mr. Soloway uses. This could change everything... It looks like a sweet guitar.

[msr13]

The bridge and knobs are indeed wood, at least for mine. I think the saddles are metal. But, I am not sure. Looks that way from the picture. On my Single 15, the bridge is metal, made by Hipshot-- and works really well. But, I believe for the Loon, Jim prefers both the look of the wood for the bridge. Anyway, thanks. It arrives Wednesday or Thursday. Jim's been breaking it in for me before shipping it.

[rpguitar]

The one thing that put me off of these guitars for a long time - despite the tons of rave reviews - was a certain lack of an organic look in the aesthetic. Obviously in my opinion of course. The bolt on necks and metal off-the-shelf bridge seemed out of place. This one really does it for me, though. I love the spruce top and the wood appointments - it actually gives me genuine GAS. <sigh>

Any thoughts on the choice of ash for the body vs. mahogany?

[msr13]

That's a very good question. One better answered by Jim. I came into this guitar halfway through the build, so the woods were already chosen by Jim. The one consistent aspect of the Loon is the mahogany neck (and the scale length). The body woods and peripherals, I think are TBD. He had the Lutz Spruce, so the first few Loons have been made with that, but Redwood was another option had I been willing to wait 4 months, instead of two. My limited experience with Soloways is to really try and convey the sound I want and trust Jim on the combos.

[msr13]

Jim posted a video playing the guitar before shipping today.

YouTube Video

[Jim Soloway]

Originally Posted by rpguitar

The one thing that put me off of these guitars for a long time - despite the tons of rave reviews - was a certain lack of an organic look in the aesthetic. Obviously in my opinion of course. The bolt on necks and metal off-the-shelf bridge seemed out of place. This one really does it for me, though. I love the spruce top and the wood appointments - it actually gives me genuine GAS. <sigh>

Any thoughts on the choice of ash for the body vs. mahogany?

Swamp ash has a tighter low end, less prominent mids and a much more detailed high end than mahogany. We've experimented with a lot of woods over the years but swamp ash has always been our primary body wood and the swamp ash guitars always seem to have a lot more acoustic content than the other woods.

As for your other comments about our guitars, I think you're actually quite accurate. It's just a matter of values. These guitars came about as a direct result of my experiences and frustrations with more traditional guitars. I see a guitar as a tool rather than an artistic creation. Given a choice between a more functional solution as vs a more artistically graceful or traditional solution, I have always chosen function over grace and tradition. The result is that to someone who values the more traditional aspects of guitar design, I imagine our guitar could look overly industrial and, as you say, non-organic. On the other hand, they are stable, comfortable to play, have great sustain and clarity and are about as close as you can get to being feed back free. Those are all qualities that I value above an organic or traditional appearance.

[AlohaJoe]

I'm an appearance traditionalist as well but that is a lovely guitar that sounds great (well-played too)! The design is fluid and graceful. Clearly the function-first approach doesn't rule out making a good looking guitar.

[rpguitar]

Thanks for your comments, Jim. I think you nailed something with this one. It's Spartan in an elegant, natural way - but not utilitarian, which is an adjective that often implies a conscious dismissal of aesthetic value in order to pursue pure function. The difference is a fine line - perhaps a wooden bridge, a couple of knobs, and the absence of a neck plate.

Anyway, thanks for sharing the build with us.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by rpguitar

It's Spartan in an elegant, natural way

I normally don't like modern guitars like this but the blonde wood and minimal ornamentation look beautiful. It sounds soooo nice too! Congrats.

[kenbennett]

Wonderful guitar! Congratulations, msr13. Great work, Mr. Soloway.

[msr13]

Thanks, Guys.

[Jazzpunk]

This is a gorgeous guitar. Congrats to the new owner!