After test driving close to two dozen dobro's over the last year or so I decided on one of Paul Beard's latest "Odyssey" designs. This one is a spruce top with walnut back & sides.
The "Odyssey" is a big guitar, based on Paul's "E body" design. It is a top braced "open body" (no sound well) and is baffled similar to the Auldridge and Douglas guitars.
In my hands it is a tad more aggressive then the Auldridge MA-6 while retaining that "big bottom". It is still a pretty smooth sounding axe. Not as in your face as the standard "E" or Douglas family of guitars.
It comes equipped with Fishmans's "Jerry Douglas" pickup.
Like all of Paul's guitars he makes everything except strings, tuners (Gotoh for me) and pickup.
I found the difference between this guitar and the MA-6 to be quite subtle. Mike's guitars are the most balanced guitars I've ever played. This design and wood combination gave me a little more "bite" on the high end. The low end is not sacrificed at all.
My right hand, .02, ymmv, etc..
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p.s. I'm not a fan of maple guitars so, add that bias into the mix.
Speaking in generalities only, I find most maple guitars to be harsh and overly aggressive. To my ears many of them lack a bottom end that I like to hear.
All that being said I remember Wynn Walke's f-hole Scheerhorn that I thought was spectacular. Also a Schoonover that Dave Geigerich had. I was also darn surprised when I played my first maple Odyssey.
But heck, I grew up in the land of Auldridge so I suppose that did a lot in shaping my preferences. Paul was betting I'd go for an MA-6 but this one had a bit of "Rob" in it, so...
But really, it's a mystery to me why anyone has a preference of one thing over another or why one players "brilliant high" is another's "murky".
I believe you and I are so fortunate to be playing in the "Golden Age" of the resonator guitar. So many fine choices.
Congrats, Howard! It was that curly walnut and spruce Odyssey that won me over in the beginning and that's what I thought I would get until I played Paul's MA and the rest is history. But, I still love that Odyssey and I think my 7 string, which is my next reso, will be just that. I swear the MA6 sounds sweeter every time I pull it out of the case though.
Hi Howard
Congrats!!!!!
thats exactly what i'm looking for for such a long time..... Do you think Paul Beard would build me something like that? That's a hell of a good looking instrument, I would love to hear it!!!
Paul has built this guitar with variations for a number of players. He calls it the "Odyssey E" model. It is completely customizable with regards to tone woods, etc.
I know, I'm a charter member of the "no maple self-help group"
I figure I'm in good company though...
Tom...I did play the Douglas Signature Odyssey (spruce/mahogany) which I think may have been a tad "darker" then my spruce/walnut. Caveat: Only going by memory. I did not A/B them.
Howard I bought a Black Ice Maple and for my ears I didn't like it as much as my Maple/Mahogany (both Odysseys). The Black Ice was gorgeous but a bit aggressive for my taste. I traded the Ice for an Emmons double neck. Paul is currently building me an Odyssey version of the Auldridge. Should be ready in Sept/Oct. I can't see ever playing anything but an Odyssey from here out. I've had 10+ resos in my life and Paul is building the best IMHO.
David Pinkston wrote: Paul is currently building me an Odyssey version of the Auldridge.
That's interesting, David. So, I am assuming he's using the birch laminate if he's building an Auldridge version.
I love the Odyssey and almost bought one, but the tone of the MA won me over, and after getting his explanation of why Mike demanded the birch, I know why. I'm planning on having him build me a 7 string next, and was thinking of asking him to do the same thing. Please let us know how it turns out.
Paul told me about the MA-Odyssey. Sounds very cool.
I don't buy guitars that often and this thread got me thinking about how my preferences have changed over the years.
Here's my history:
OMI 60D *sold*
OMI "Cyclops" (modified) *sold*
Beard E mahogany 8 string (actually s/n 002)
Beard R mahogany
Beard Vintage R laminate (prototype)
Beard E Odyssey spruce/walnut
hmmm..I seem to be conflicted about laminate vs solid. Actually not. I just think "that's it".
David Pinkston wrote: Paul is currently building me an Odyssey version of the Auldridge.
That's interesting, David. So, I am assuming he's using the birch laminate if he's building an Auldridge version.
I love the Odyssey and almost bought one, but the tone of the MA won me over, and after getting his explanation of why Mike demanded the birch, I know why. I'm planning on having him build me a 7 string next, and was thinking of asking him to do the same thing. Please let us know how it turns out.
Webb, so what is the explanation why Mike demanded the birch? Prior to jumping on board with Beard to develop his signature model, Mike played laminate guitars from Ivan Guernsey for a number of years. Ivan had been pretty insistent for quite a long time that laminate makes for the best resonator guitar, then in recent years he's been doing some building with solid woods, and it is my understanding that one of his favorite personal guitars more recently is one he built from solid wood. Like he'd "seen the light" or something along those lines.
It's not that Mike wanted birch. Mike wanted a "sound" and Paul delivered it with the MA6/8 that happened to be a large birch laminate w/baffle.
Paul built a number of guitars over time that Mike rejected for one reason or another. As an aside, Gibson also built Mike a birch laminate prototype that never went anywhere.
Location: Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
State/Province: California
Country: United States
Postby Mark Eaton »
...and I wonder about some of those guitars Mike rejected from Paul.
There might have been some great ones any number of us would like to have!
There is a very well traveled maple Scheerhorn from the late '90s now residing in Georgia. It was first built for Mike Auldridge. The current owner insists it is in its final resting place, but never say never. He loves the guitar, plus the fact of course that it once belonged to Mike.
"First" belonged to Mike Auldridge is the keyword here. This 'horn has changed hands often enough and compiled enough frequent flyer miles that it could be upgraded to a seat in first class. it even made a trip to Europe and back. Yet everyone that has had the thing that has posted on the forums about it has said that it's a great guitar - still, it has been through several owners.
A couple of folks have mentioned that Mike didn't keep it for very long because that was the height of Jerry Douglas in his "Scheerhorn period," and Mike didn't want that sound, to be able to differentiate. And when people have sold it in the past they've always pointed out that it was "Mike's Scheerhorn."
We can't ask him now, but I'm not sure if I ever bought into "Mike didn't want a guitar that sounded like what Jerry's playing." We all sound mostly like ourselves for better or worse, and in the case of Mike and Jerry it's obviously for the better, regardless of the guitar across their lap.
I'm sure that solid maple 'horn in Georgia is a fine guitar, but for whatever reason it didn't exactly hit the mark for Mike Auldridge. I guess it just wasn't the sound he was looking for.
Mark Eaton wrote:
We can't ask him now, but I'm not sure if I ever bought into "Mike didn't want a guitar that sounded like what Jerry's playing." We all sound mostly like ourselves for better or worse, and in the case of Mike and Jerry it's obviously for the better, regardless of the guitar across their lap.
I'm sure that wasn't it, because you'd be hard pressed to find two players whose approach was more different than Mike and Jerry's.
Interestingly though, when Jerry went to Paul to talk about a signature guitar, he wanted him to build him one that sounded like Mike's. But he wanted solid wood and Paul told him it wasn't going to happen. Paul told me that himself. I've never played a broken-in JD model, but a new one surely doesn't sound anything like an MA. It sounds great, but not anything like an MA.
Location: Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
State/Province: California
Country: United States
Postby Mark Eaton »
I have to believe that part of that is indeed the wood, but a lot of it is the overall design of the guitar. If Paul made a guitar of solid wood with the exact same dimensions and "innards" of the Mike Auldridge Signature model, it might sound a lot more like the MAS in laminate birch than the JD model in solid wood.
Speculation on my part, but it's a food-for-thought sort of thing.
I think my Clinesmith maple has a lot in common sound-wise with Mike Witcher's Clinesmith koa. Different solid woods, both from the same builder.
Last edited by Mark Eaton on 26 Aug 2013 9:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Paul told me that Mike insisted on a laminate guitar because he believes that since a resonator guitar body is essentially a speaker cabinet, and since solid wood doesn't make for a good speaker cabinet, that the same should stand for a reso. That birch isn't something you go down to Lowes and buy, however. It is a fine, hand selected Finland birch that comes from slow growing valley timber, much the same principal as marks the spruce of a Stradivarius. Paul said it took him 7 years to make Mike happy with a guitar. That would be indicative of a man who unquestionably knew what he was looking for.
Mark Eaton wrote:I have to believe that part of that is indeed the wood, but a lot of it is the overall design of the guitar. If Paul made a guitar of solid wood with the exact same dimensions and "innards" of the Mike Auldridge Signature model, it might sound a lot more like the MAS in laminate birch than the JD model in solid wood.
Speculation on my part, but it's a food-for-thought sort of thing.
I think my Clinesmith maple has a lot in common sound-wise with Mike Witcher's Clinesmith koa. Different solid woods, both from the same builder.
I would think that there would be less difference between woods, especially hardwoods, than between solid and laminate. I'm sold on the laminate even if it isn't true, but I sure would like to know if a laminate curly maple top would sound close to the birch.
Location: Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
State/Province: California
Country: United States
Postby Mark Eaton »
Yeah, I know about the quality of the Finnish birch laminate, and other resonator builders also use the "speaker cabinet" analogy, though it's possible years ago that Paul was the guy that first came up with that line of reasoning.
But if solid wood doesn't make for a good speaker cabinet and therefore it might not be good for a resonator guitar, then I'm confused as to why Paul builds so many, or even any, solid wood guitars. Not to mention as alluded to in one of my earlier posts, Ivan Guernsey has been building guitars out of solid wood in recent years.
One possibility I would surmise is that with birch laminate, there might be less variation in sound from one guitar to the next as opposed to a solid wood guitar. Mike was known to be very picky about each and every MAS guitar that went out the door. On the other hand, Jerry Douglas has said one of the reasons he likes Beard guitars is their consistency - solid wood or laminate.
about laminate vs solid. Actually not. I just think "that's it".
