Viewing: Kostal Guitars - View all posts

The next logical step in this series of listening sessions is a comparison of body sizes and in this video I play my Jason Kostal Modified Dreadnought in The Tree and German Spruce and a Kostal OO on loan from…

These hyper-responsive modern luthier made guitars are all very well - but are they just for fingerstyle players in drop tunings?

I’ve been getting this question a lot lately which I see as a good sign that more flat pickers…

I’ve been practising intensely recently and during one session I decided to keep my cameras rolling - sometimes it helps to see what you’re doing after you’ve done it. 

I managed to capture this performance of a newer piece Three…

It's been over 10 years since I got my Kostal Modified Dreadnought and since the arrival of my Signature model - The MDW - some years later  I have had lots of requests to do a comparison of the two…

I’ve had a lot of requests to look at some of my approach to harmonics - thank you to everyone who has been in touch. 

The reward for your patience is this new video where I look at the harmonic…

Regular readers will be well aware of my love of Microtech Gefell Microphones - in fact over the course of the past 15 years or so I have made hundreds of acoustic guitar demos using a matched pair of their…

It's always a joy to spend time with my friend John Stubbings - John is the author of one of the most beautiful books on the acoustic guitar that I have ever read The Devil Is In it - if…

The Modified Dreadnought acoustic guitar was created by the luthier Ervin Somogyi (Oakland, California) in the late 1970s at the request of several artists recording for Will Ackerman's nascent Windham Hill record label - most notably Daniel Hecht who…

It has been several years since I first explored the topic of nailcare for the acoustic guitarist in a video. Many things have evolved since then and my approach to nail care and tone production is no exception. 

In this…

Recent bouts of pondering coupled with conversations with friends led to a very real and pressing need to explore the tonal implications of flatwound strings on a flat top guitar.  Because why not?

Obviously a set of flats isn't going…

I'd like to share this new piece with you - It's called Birdseye and while it's still a work in progress to some extent, I managed to pull off a take during some long-overdue time spent with loved ones in…

Maple is a wood that divides opinion amongst acoustic guitarists with almost surgical precision. "It's too bright, There's no bass, it's too trebly, it's sterile" etc are accusations often levelled at this superb wood. 

Cheerfully I say unto you "Bollocks". 

…

Ok here we go! Quilted Mahogany from The Tree is the rarest and most expensive tone wood in the world. Its striking figure and rich colour makes The Tree immediately identifiable but what is it like to own a guitar…

My friend Alan Gogoll came out of nowhere (well, Australia) with his astonishing Bell Harmonic technique and promptly became king of Spotify, Lord of Instagram and Thrice Blessed keeper of the Algorithm. With an audience that numbers in the millions…

The Virtuous circle is from my debut album Vetiver and it is a piece that has a unique hold over me.

Part dream state, part letter it changes each time I play it. The beginning is deliberately tentative, even faltering…

I started my One Take Performance series as a way of keeping in touch with pieces that will feature on my second album HYLAB as and when I am able to complete it. 

I did actually listen back to the…

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

I had other plans for today.

I was planning to make you a beautiful in-depth analysis of my evolving approach to nail care with quotes from players from Tarrega and Pujol to Miles…

This morning the postman was on form! In amongst the usual stuff was this gorgeous creation, a Passerelle designed by my friend Kaki King and handmade in Bronze by luthier Rachel Rosenkrantz who you need to check out. Now. Seriously.

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In a recent chat with Jason Kostal he told me about a fascinating project he'd undertaken to create an instrument for 39th President of the USA Jimmy Carter!

President Carter with his new Kostal OM

The guitar is made from…

It was a real pleasure to catch up with my dear friend Jason Kostal in an Instagram Live chat last Saturday! Thank you to everyone who joined us for the session where we discuss the history of the fingerstyle acoustic…

I know that many of us have been experiencing stress, anxiety and sleep disruption. If that's you then I'd like to play for you. 

I have started a series of Late Night Live Stream sessions on my YouTube channel, this…

Back when that sort of thing was actively encouraged I was invited to Sound Network HQ London to film a comparison video of the DPA microphone range. DPA is a super-high end microphone company that sprung from the ashes…

I know that many of us have been experiencing stress, anxiety and sleep disruption. If that's you then I'd like to play for you. 

I have a series of Late Night Live Stream sessions on my YouTube channel, the…

The first series of Luthier Stories took me all over the world from Texas and California to South Africa, Scotland and Surrey! It's been a blast, as well as a thinly veiled excuse to hang out with some very dear…

It was a real pleasure to talk with Dominic Adelbert of DA Musical Radio in Berlin today for a live stream interview where we look at all sorts of different things from inspiration from non-guitarists, modern luthiery and sustainability, and…