Kronbauer MJ

Kronbauer Guitars are handbuilt by Canadian luthier Trevor Kronbauer. Only established in 2001, his guitars have developed quite a following among the acoustic community by offering quality custom built guitars at very reasonable prices. The MJ(mini jumbo) is his proprietary and most popular design.

This MJ has a solid spruce top, Indian rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard and bridge, wood binding, wood rosette and one piece mahogany neck. All of the woods are of exceptional quality as is the craftmanship. This particular guitar is a base model with no extras at all, it has very little in the way of adornament, with the exception of flame maple binding and a koa rosette. I personally prefer a guitar where the beauty of the wood speaks for itself. Of course because Kronbauers are custom built you can work with the builder on any inlays, features, wood combinations etc, you may want. Kronbauers guitars have a modern, shallow neck profile; which has a flat feel to it and though it takes a while to get used to, it allows your fretting hand to fly across the fingerboard with ease. The guitar has a 1 3/4 nut width and 2 1/4 string spacing at the saddle, perfect for fingerstyle.The mini jumbo is a very comfortable and versatile body shape; though it is a fairly large guitar it's curvacious shape allows it to sit comfortably in your lap. The body size is great for fingerstyle playing; it has amazing balance, sustain and depth, yet you can strum away on it quite happily. The classic combination of rosewood and Spruce make it a great rythm guitar to, with a huge bottom end when driven hard. Kronbauers base model prices have increased since his popularity has grown, however they are still very reasonable and compare with many factory built guitar prices. If you cannot find the sound your looking for in a factory built guitar Kronbauers are worth a look, but there are also many other small builders out there.

Ordering a handbuilt guitar can be a fun and enjoyable process and allows you to work one on one with a luthier. You can select your wood combinations, tinker with sound, your favourite neck profile, adornaments, inlays etc. You also have access to better quality woods and hands on craftmanship, a luthier can build a guitar which suits you and your playing style. Though it's worth mentioning a couple of things; you cannot try before you buy, so in a way you are taking a risk that you won't like the guitar. Many luthiers also have long waiting lists, so if your impatient it might not be for you. You can however find great deals on used handbuilt guitars. Don't have a guitar built thinking it's an investment, they don't tend to hold their value as well as a established factory built guitar brands, of course there a few builders who are an exception to this, but they are few and far between.

Gibson J-50

The Gibson J-50 is the natural finish version(non-sunburst)of the iconic Gibson J-45. This guitar earned the nickname "The Workhorse" as it was an affordable, no-frills, do it all guitar used by many working musicians. The Gibson J-50 has been around since the 1940's so it has stood the test of time, having been played by many famous musicians over the years. It is not currently in the Gibson catalog, probably due to the fact that the suburst finished J-45 is the more popular version. J-50's can still be found in guitar stores at reasonable prices though the vintage models command huge amounts these days.

The Gibson J-50 is a round shouldered Dreadnought built of all solid woods. The guitar features solid mahogany back and sides, solid Sitka spruce top, rosewood fretboard and bridge, simple 4 ply body binding and 3 ply rosette. The tuners are Kluson tuners with white plastic buttons(Gibson has since changed the tuners to Grover romatic tuners)I don't like the look of the Grovers as much but they are an improvment over the Klusons. The guitar has an all gloss finish and comes from the factory with an L.R Baggs under saddle pickup installed. The J-50 is known for it's oversized "Batwing" pickguard, it's the only real visual standout on what is a fairly plain looking guitar.

Gibson build quality is a subject of many debates, some believe they are not up to scratch with other large builders. I believe it's just something you live with if you own a Gibson; minor flaws here and there add a little "Mojo" to a guitar anyway. Though quality has improved since they moved to the Bozeman Montana factory and many Gibson afficianados believe the modern Gibsons are as good as anything the company has produced.

The J-50 has a fairly chunky neck which has an almost baseball bat feel to it; though I do find it comfortable. It has a 24 3/4 inch scale length which means the strings have less tension on them; this makes string bends and general playing easier on the fingers. It features scalloped bracing which gives the guitar a punchy sound, great bass response, tone and projection. Gibsons have a sound and feel which is unique,the guitar has a dry woody tone, sweet highs and deep bass. It is a very versatile guitar accomadating all styles of music from blues, country, ragtime and fingerstyle.

The J-50 still has that vintage vibe that players crave today. Though the guitar is not for everybody, if you prefer the bright sound of many modern acoustics or a guitar with complex, ringing overtones look elsewhere. If your interested in a J-50(J-45) try and play one before you buy; they do vary a lot in sound and make sure they have a fresh set of strings on them. They are not the fanciest looking guitar on the market but as I said they are unique sounding and playing guitars. There is a reason the have been around for 60 plus years.

Larrivee D-05

The Larrivee D-05 is a mahogany dreadnought, the guitar I am reviewing was built in 2001, please note that the current D-05 models have a couple of minor differences. This particular guitar was my very first decent acoustic I had previously been playing all laminate Fender acoustic. Buying your first really good guitar can be quite daunting; there are so many different brands, models and tone woods. I went out and played as many models as I could before purchasing my D-05, yes I researched on the internet but there is no substitute for getting a guitar in your own hands.

So the Larrivee D-05 as mentioned is the mahogany dreadnought offering from the Canadian company. Larrivee uses a unique bracing pattern called symmetrical parabolic bracing; traditional dreadnoughts in particular are known for having a deep sometimes overpowering bass, Larrivee solved this with their own unique design, building a guitar which is very balanced. The guitar features solid Honduran mahogany back , sides and neck, a solid Sitka spruce top, one piece mahogany neck with dove tail neck joint, ebony fretboard and bridge and Canadian maple binding. It is a very plain guitar with just wood binding, abalone rosette and an ivoroid bound fret board with microdot markers. I like the clean look, my guitar has an all gloss finish whereas the newer models feature a satin finished neck. Looking over the guitar you see that the craftsmanship is excellent, Larrivee’s are known for their excellent wood and this guitar was no exception, Larrivee does not stain their mahogany like many companies do.

Mahogany and Sitka is one of my favorite wood combinations it produces a bright but balanced sound with sparkling highs, clear mids and a strong but not booming bass. I always enjoyed playing finger style on this guitar, Larrivee’s have a comfortable neck though its profile is a little on the chunky side, with a nut width of 1 11/16. It’s a jack of all trades guitar, not hugely loud for a dreadnought, so if you’re a hardcore strummer or bluegrasser it might not have the presence or bass response you want.

Larrivee’s are some of the best value guitars on the market; the wood and build quality is exceptionally good. If the 05-series guitars are a little out of your price range it’s worth checking out the cheaper 03-series. Nearly the same guitar but with simpler appointments, all satin finishes and sapele back and sides instead of the more expensive and increasingly rare South American mahogany. The D-05 is definitely worth a look if you’re looking for a mid priced mahogany dreadnought.