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Topic: Celtic Cross Teardrop |
Jon den Boer
From:
Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Posted 26 Oct 2005 3:37 pm |
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I just played a teardrop shaped Weissenborn made by Neil Russell of Celtic Cross instruments, and was quite impressed overall with the sound of it... sustain for weeks! A different sound than a 'standard shape' Weiss, but a really lovely sound all its own. The problem here is, now I want one! Has anyone here played a teardrop style and compared the sound to the traditional shape?
Jon |
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Bill Blacklock
From:
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 27 Oct 2005 7:44 pm
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Hi Jon,
Neil sent me a picture of that tear drop and it really is a fine looking instrument, I would love to have that one myself but I have my heart sent on one of his Kona’s. He has two Kona’s in the shop now he’s just finishing up, both are sold I believe. It would be nice to sit down for a couple of hours and play and compare the sounds of the different styles of weissenborn’s. I think that it more than just the shape that changes the tone.
My first Celtic Cross Baritone had a mahogany top with the back and sides out of black walnut, it had a very deep blues sound to it and lots of volume but would get kind of muddy sounding as the strings aged. My new Celtic cross baritone has a mahogany top with paduak sides and back, this instrument has a crisper sound with less bass and a little less volume but a totally different sound. I personally prefer the sound of the paduak instrument over the walnut, it is a lot more versatile and records amazingly well. One of these days I’ll figure out of the post a sound clip and a picture.
There’s really nothing finer then getting a new instrument especially a weissenborn and let face it, Neil sells them at half the price of there true value.
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Tim Tweedale
From:
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2005 10:00 am
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Hello fellow British Columbian Steelers. I am glad that Neil is out there building these instruments that are sturdy, reliable, great-sounding and very affordable. It also makes me very happy that Neil experiments with design so much -- standard weissenborn, teardrop, baritone and kona... he does it all.
I went and tried the teardrop weissenborn at Rufus' yesterday. It sounds good. It has a really jumpy, lively sound that you'd expect from a smaller guitar. I imagine it would make a very good lead instrument and would jump out in a mix very well.
I liked the baritone a lot too. I think that walnut back and sides are the way to go for such a deep instrument. It gives the notes an extra kick on their way out. If I had $1100, I'd take it right away.
-Tim |
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Travis Bernhardt
From:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 28 Oct 2005 9:03 pm
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Dirt cheap, isn't it? If I wasn't flat broke, I'd buy the baritone in a second--$1100!?! (Canadian!) Neil, if you're reading, your contribution is amazing. Please keep it up!
Should point out that it may be so cheap because of minor construction issues, i.e. there's some fret spacing weirdness high up the neck, and there is what appears to be a bit of cracking on the back of the guitar. Nothing that appears to be life threatening, though, and it sounds good.
I'm less impressed with the sound of the teardrop, though it may get better with age. A zippy sounding instrument, to be sure, but also a bit harsh to my ear, and lacking in what I can only think to call "depth." A worthwhile experiment, and certainly an affordable price ($1000CDN), but I'm not convinced that the mark has really been hit with this guitar. I'd be curious to hear the results if Neil attempts the design again with perhaps some warmer sounding wood.
If you're in Vancouver, definitely go check both instruments out at Rufus.
-Travis |
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Bill Blacklock
From:
Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 29 Oct 2005 9:08 am
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That’s my old baritone, the cracks developed in the back while the guitar has being finished. It’s a shame, what a beautiful piece of crazy grained black walnut; it had been seasoned for many years. Neil sent me the instrument to use until he built a replacement. The wood stabilized after a couple of months and the cracking tuned out to be very minimal.
I meet Neil over at the Courtney Music Festival (Lindley played) this past summer and we traded off instruments. I sat and played both those instruments for a long time and almost kept the black walnut baritone, it has such a huge blues tone. The tone between the black walnut and the paduak instrument is very different. The paduak really pulls out the mid’s and a crisper bass line (.080-.065-.052-.035-.026-.019) allows me to tune down to a big fat “G” with out the instrument starting to sounding muddy. I think what brings the quality out in both instruments is the mahogany top.
I much prefer the sound (and fine craftsmanship) of the Celtic Cross weissenborn’s over the koa original’s I’ve owned in the past. I can’t say enough about dealing with Neil. He builds one hell of a fine instrument, sells them at half there value and stands behind his workmanship 100%, how could it get better then that.
As for the tear drops, I’ve never played one but wonder if there limited production was due to the original builder being dissatisfied with the sound?
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