As the final update for this build I’m happy to say that my Max Spohn OM arrived a couple weeks ago, and has flown past all my expectations. Right from the start, when I gripped the neck to pick it up the first time, it felt different from my other guitars. A really nice tactile sensation that is hard to describe, a combination of the texture of the finish and the geometrical shapes bundled up in the guitar. Max uses an asymmetrical carve on the neck, and a slightly unusual body shape. The waist is on the slim side which lets the guitar sit a little lower when playing seated. That and the Manzer wedge make it a perfect fit. Like a well-tailored suit that I just don’t want to take off, and I’m not really a suit guy.
Tonally, it was exactly what I’d asked for. Something on the lush side, rich in overtones and responsive to the touch. Which is one reason, along with the visuals, that I decided to go with Wenge. This felt like the most risky part of the build. I’m nearly half way around the planet from Max. I can ask for something lush, but what does that really mean to someone else? To be sure we were on the same page I listened to example clips of Max’s guitars and pointed to one or two and asked for “that sound”. And “that sound” is exactly what Max created.
I’m really happy with how it turned out visually. Wenge, a chocolatey brown with darker streaks, is not a flashy tonewood. Max’s use of simple shapes, impossibly thin lines and linear inlays, Amboyna Burl in this case, fit in nicely with the visual silence of Wenge and the Ebony fretboard. The thin white line inset from the edge of the fretboard as well as the one running around the sound port, the hand-carved bridge and the details in the nut and saddle are bits revealed only on close inspection. And the silking in the Moon Spruce top is beautiful. When it’s not making music it’s a work of art hanging on the wall.
So there you have it, the second of the fraternal OM twins (see above). Final pictures from Max are attached, in the usual squashed to smithereens format. I encourage you to take a look at the much nicer full-res versions
here. I asked Max to send along a picture of himself with the guitar, which he was kind enough to do.
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