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Post by earthbalm on Oct 4, 2016 18:39:10 GMT
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Post by jonnymosco on Oct 4, 2016 18:58:30 GMT
No, but I'm sure Stefan would be able to help.
Jonny
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Post by earthbalm on Oct 4, 2016 19:21:29 GMT
Oh! I can't afford it. It's just 15 minutes away from my home so I just wondered. Thanks Jonny.
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Post by andyhowell on Oct 4, 2016 19:44:34 GMT
I bet that sounds remarkable now!
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Post by jonnymosco on Oct 4, 2016 20:59:13 GMT
Oh! I can't afford it. It's just 15 minutes away from my home so I just wondered. Thanks Jonny. You should play it and report back! I've seen and played battered old Sobells for much more. Not everybody's cup of tea though. Weird to see two top English makers' guitars on eBay this week. Jonny
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Post by ourmaninthenorth on Oct 5, 2016 8:15:45 GMT
Oh! I can't afford it. It's just 15 minutes away from my home so I just wondered. Thanks Jonny. You should play it and report back! I've seen and played battered old Sobells for much more. Not everybody's cup of tea though.
Weird to see two top English makers' guitars on eBay this week. Jonny I've never been fortunate enough to play one. Could you perhaps expand on your experiences Jonny? Paul.
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Post by andyhowell on Oct 5, 2016 8:39:04 GMT
All of the Sobers I have played have been fabulous instruments but not the easiest to play. You need a really clear attack as they need to be drive. They have a very fundamental sound.I suspect this is what Jonny is referring to. As a player Jonny has that technique!
Many years ago I almost bought one of these. I range Stefan up. He'd just completed one where the owner has specified no fretboard dots and he'd forgotten and put them on. The owner wanted an alternative, so this one was free! I agreed to travel up to collect it at the weekend. Then my computer blew up in the middle of a job — computers were expensive in those days. I can remember the new price of this model then — less than the price quoted on eBay.
Since I've often thought I was pleased I didn't buy it. I'm not sure this would have been the instrument for me because the issues above. But for someone this could well be a very good buy.
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Post by ourmaninthenorth on Oct 5, 2016 8:53:46 GMT
I seem to recall a you tube video of a Sobell being played with an 025 Lowden some years ago...I was playing an 025 then, and funnily enough I'm playing an 025 now too!!
EDIT: I've just found the video, and small world that it is, it's Jonny doing the playing!!
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Post by jonnymosco on Oct 5, 2016 9:26:36 GMT
Ah, that video! I should make another comparison vid as my new Sobell is quite different.
My old MS model was all about clarity, the trebles were fantastic, very full higher up the fingerboard, but the bass was subdued. My O25 was warm and full, but trebles were very thin. I sold that and bought a Kostal. When I had to sell my Kostal I needed a guitar to replace both steely Sobell and warm Kostal... something that was warm with a full bass and fat trebles, Stefan's new Steinbeck model fitted the bill.
Not everyone's cup of tea refers to the experience of Andy... also, the sound tends to project, so the experience of the player is not immense. The new Steinbeck though is a better playing experience as the sound envelops the player. My Steinbeck is warm with a lot of character and I suppose more user friendly. It is still a Sobell, but one with more volume, sustain and a warmth not found in his other models.
As for being driven, that would be the case for my old Sobell, but the Steinbeck is glorious no matter the attack. It still wakes up after 5 or 10 mins of playing, but that is a great thing to witness, not a pain. It played like a well played in guitar from new with plenty of reverb - still balanced though.
From Stefan's news page: Jonathan Moss and his family visited over the weekend to pick up his new ‘Steinbeck’ guitar – so named by Paul Hostetter, referring to a passage in John Steinbeck’s ‘Grapes of Wrath’. Jonathan is an outstanding guitarist. Jonathan visited in the summer and played Paul’s guitar, after which he decided to sell his MS model and have me build him a Steinbeck. Jonathan has sent me the following text.
"In this golden age of luthiery I’ve played guitars by some of the world’s most respected builders (Greenfield, Somogyi, Traugott, Olson etc). But I’ve now just bought my second guitar from Stefan Sobell, replacing the MS he built me ten years ago.
I visited Stefan to have my original MS guitar checked over, and on a balmy day in early August, kids and dogs playing around us, Stefan nonchalantly said “here, try this” and handed me one of the greatest guitars I’ve ever touched. I couldn’t put the guitar down! Beautiful sounds seemed to just flow from my fingers with ease. It was the guitar he’d built for Paul Hostetter, who called it the ‘Steinbeck’ model.
I’m a guitar player and not a collector – a guitar to me is a tool to express my music, and tone production is the most important thing. It’s easy to be impressed by the initial loudness and bass response of a guitar, but on its own this doesn’t satisfy long-term; the subtle nuances, clarity and balance are what make a truly rewarding guitar. When played quietly, I want every note to be crystal clear and when played hard, I want it to seem as if the volume has simply been turned up, with no loss of definition – this makes a great guitar. Stefan’s ‘Steinbeck’ model really does this.
What marks Stefan out as unique is his ability to create the most resonant thick trebles, especially when they are fretted around the twelfth fret, and what is magical about this latest guitar is that he’s augmented the bass frequencies to match. Lots of makers can create a deep thunderous bass, but the trebles usually disappoint – I want them to sing out above the harmonies and to be complemented by a full, dark, velvety bass, as on my new Sobell.
When I collected my new guitar we met at his home and there was an air of expectancy in the room when I first played it… of course I wasn’t disappointed. Stefan then played it, it’s very rare for a maker to be a top player, but once he’d finished some very accomplished noodling, he made me laugh when he said “I’ll build another if you don’t like it, that way I’ll get to play this one for longer!”. I’m sure he wasn’t joking.
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Post by jonnymosco on Oct 5, 2016 9:33:31 GMT
This vid is a bit better as the room is less harsh.
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Post by Martin on Oct 5, 2016 9:49:53 GMT
Wonderful playing, Jonny
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Riverman
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Post by Riverman on Oct 5, 2016 10:41:23 GMT
Well now I'm really cross that I didn't get to play it at the weekend!
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Post by dreadnought28 on Oct 5, 2016 10:58:10 GMT
Was that the one he finished a couple of months ago Jonny?
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Post by jonnymosco on Oct 5, 2016 11:05:25 GMT
I collected it in Feb - he started and got a bit carried away and finished it very quickly, I was very pleased.
Jonny
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Post by ourmaninthenorth on Oct 5, 2016 12:39:53 GMT
This vid is a bit better as the room is less harsh. Astonishingly beautiful delivery. Deeply impressed, particularly with Fragile Forest. Thanks for posting.
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