Yolandateam Oval Soundhole Build

[Spook410]

Hey jlmorgan.. Your guitar looks great. I'll be getting my oval sound hole Mr. Wu guitar soon as well.

[Woody Sound]

These are both gorgeous. But they are screaming for a Benedetto style fingerrest. JMO of course.

[rpguitar]

I hope we get some follow up on those. I want to know if they sound and play as good as they look. 'Cause they look might fine indeed.

[lumena]

I hope we get some follow up on those. I want to know if they sound and play as good as they look. 'Cause they look might fine indeed.

I am definitely also interested in hearing and seeing hands on.

I would love to have clear info on neck carve and fretwork. I love the shapes.

Are these x braced or old style parallel like an early L5?

[jlmorgan84]

I'll try to get over my embarrassment regarding my lack of playing ability and post a sound clip when I get the guitar in hand. Can't speak for Spook, but my guitar has x-bracing, though you can also order them with parallel bracing.

If the neck is like my other yolandateam, it is on the chunky side, round D-shaped profile, which feels great to me, but I think you can ask for any profile you want, provided you can describe it for them.

My first the guitar the fret-work was a bit shoddy, but after a quick trip to the tech it now plays like a dream.

-Jim

[jlmorgan84]

I received my guitar today. Could have gotten it a few weeks earlier but I asked Lora to hold it until after New Years so it wouldn't come over the holidays. Lora was nice enough to include a handwritten Christmas card in the case.

I'm smitten! Still waiting for it to settle in after being tuned up for the first time. I do foresee some small playability issues, mostly to do with the nut and the fretwork, but nothing major and nothing a trip to the local guitar tech won't cure.

Anyway, I'll post some photos and a more detailed review when I've got the time, and perhaps if I'm brave enough an audio clip.

-Jim

[Jabberwocky]

Well, congrats, JL. Hope that it is everything you wish for.

[Archtop Guy]

Can't wait to see her JL. And please be brave with the audio clip. Not everyone here is a pro player.

[Spook410]

Hey JL.. you know, it's a slippery slope when you start thinking about what other sorts of archtops you might have an application for. I now have 6 Yunzhi's and a Mr. Wu oval soundhole. They are all good guitars. Several of them are great acoustic guitars. Not enough time with the oval hole to know where it's going to land yet, but some early observations:

- Jeez this thing is light. I'll have to get it on a scale to compare to some others.
- The nut was left cut very high. Of course, I screwed it up when lowering the slots so a couple of slots have super glue / baking soda fill while I get around to making a new nut. Since Mr. Wu left quite a bit of real estate between the edge of the neck and the E strings, I would be doing that anyway to accommodate my poor thumb wrapping habit.
- Sharp fret ends. It's in with the tech now getting that addressed while a strap button gets added to the upper bout. On the last guitar the bill for this was $25.
- This thing is *loud*. The tech even commented on it with a single strum. I may be banned from acoustic jams.
- Pictures, at least as taken by me, will not do the subtle antique/violin burst justice. It's a beautiful guitar.
- Chunky neck. Good for me. Maybe too much for some.
- Prefer the rubbery tuning key knobs and the allen wrench (vs nut on bolt) truss rod adjustment
- I haven't spent much time looking for nits, but so far, no issues other than the fret ends which I'm OK with
- No electronics so no insights there

[kenhan]

Spook410, how about an update now that you've had it for some time now, and, presumably, had all the issues you mentioned above addressed? And didn't you promise a sound sample?