It's KOLLassal....

[katuna]

The KG TRG has arrived. Saul is in the stratosphere. I am not worthy.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics001.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics002.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics003.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics006.jpg

[matte]

wow. that doesn't suck. beautiful.

[kingsleyd]

Wow, indeed. Stunning, even.

[Dave Orban]

I love Saul's take on things...! :dude

[katuna]

wow. that doesn't suck. beautiful.

Saul needs to use that as a quote somewhere!

Sucker has a huge neck, which I love. Mahogany neck and center core, Maple top, back and sides. 25" scale neck, which is very nice. TV Jones TV trons which sound really good clean and distorted - I like them combined. Great pots and caps, because it has nice sounds from the low to high on both pickups' volume and tone knobs. At loud volume near the amp, it does want to feedback, but seems to be very controllable. I love feeling the air come out of the f-holes on my arm. Saul worked his ass off to get it to me (my wife surprised me with it last night for my B-day and our anniversary). I mean, I knew it was coming, but not this soon.

[matte]

Saul needs to use that as a quote somewhere!

Sucker has a huge neck, which I love. Mahogany neck and center core, Maple top, back and sides. 25" scale neck, which is very nice. TV Jones TV trons which sound really good clean and distorted - I like them combined. Great pots and caps, because it has nice sounds from the low to high on both pickups' volume and tone knobs. At loud volume near the amp, it does want to feedback, but seems to be very controllable. I love feeling the air come out of the f-holes on my arm. Saul worked his ass off to get it to me (my wife surprised me with it last night for my B-day and our anniversary). I mean, I knew it was coming, but not this soon.saul continues to amaze. one of my top 4.

[katuna]

She can call my wife and commiserate (sp?), if she'd like. I'm pretty much eternally in the doghouse.

[katuna]

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics005.jpg

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics004.jpg

[garyrogue]

Aw man, that is so cool!! Saul is so... so... awesome

[Guitar James]

That is such a sweet looking guitar, congrats on your purchase.

[MJR]

That is one sexy beast. Saul continues to amaze.

:RoCkIn

[Crazyquilt]

Why is it that every time I see a new Koll I'm reduced to the level of Keanu Reeves?

"Whoa."

Great guitar, great story. I'm sure it makes the instrument that much more precious.

[Aint Life Hell?]

That thing rocks some serious titties.
Nice!

[baald]

man, he really knows how to shoot a burst. nice. i like the color on the back too. welcome to the club :)

[esoteric pete]

man, thats stunning....enjoy that one...whatever you do, dont relic it...

=)

[lhallam]

Lovely. Congrats. Enjoy.

[katuna]

man, he really knows how to shoot a burst. nice. i like the color on the back too. welcome to the club :)

Thanks man - Been a member since '99, though! :dude

[katuna]

man, thats stunning....enjoy that one...whatever you do, dont relic it...

=)

LOL. Unfortunately, my acidic swarthy greek man sweat will relic it whether I want it or not. :jo

[Jason Calieri]

Ack, more Koll GAS, resistance is futile!

[esoteric pete]

im 100% greek and my sweat isnt too atomic.....

[katuna]

im 100% greek and my sweat isnt too atomic.....

100% here, as well. Mine can be a bit strong.

[PlexiBreath]

That looks so Koll! He's definately a master guitar builder, and no one has cooler pickguard ideas than Saul Koll.

[katuna]

dude.
wow.
go, sauly, go!
sure would love to play that thing for a minute.....
congrats, k!
dt / spltrcl

Thanks! I'd like you to as well. Give me a shout if yer ever in the Houston area...

[Sebastian]

Wow, really cool. This is something I could get into. (My main guitar right now is a Setzer SSLVO.) How Gretsch-y is this? Is it a solid or laminated?

[katuna]

Um, I don't know if it is solid or laminated?? Sorry about that, maybe Saul can chime in. I don't have a Gretsch and haven't really ever had a hollowbody one, but I do hear some of that familiar sound in it, for sure. I would think that's unavoidable with Filtertrons. However, I do think the guitar is possible more constructed like an ES335, so I don't think it's especially Gretschy. Sorry I'm not more helpful on that.

[Crankdaddy]

Simply gorgeous! I'm glad I found this place...if only to learn about kickass luthiers like Saul!

Congratulations!

[iainmc]

wow - thats almost exactly what i have been thinking of (i was thinking a super glide that was kinda blown up to 16in accross). what are the dimensions? how wide, deep, etc.

it's both awwwwwweeeesssommmeeeeee & riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighteooouuuussssssssss!

/i

[Antero]

Holy crap! That's awesome!

[joek86]

KOLL,KOLL,KOLL,KOLL,KOLL,KOLL,KOLL................ Does anyone on this forum talk about anyone else? LOL



Dynamite guit,congrats!


Joe

[katuna]

wow - thats almost exactly what i have been thinking of (i was thinking a super glide that was kinda blown up to 16in accross). what are the dimensions? how wide, deep, etc.

it's both awwwwwweeeesssommmeeeeee & riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighteooouuuussssssssss!

/i

Hey, I'll try to measure it up tonight. I kinda knew at one point, but have forgotten. It's very comfortable. Not neck heavy at all, but not heavy in total either.

[enharmonic]

I like that you chose a plaintop and let the beauty of the guitar shine through. Plus, that Bigsby is hot...haven't seen one quite like it.

If she sounds even half as good as she looks, you've got a winner :dude

[katuna]

I played her a bunch tonight. She sounds great. A very nice marriage of warmth and clarity as well as dryness (which is a characteristic I really like in guitars) and depth. I almost always prefer plaintops to figured ones, I don't really know why.

[GAT]

I love the creme with the plaintop sunburst! Did you think of that combo? Congrats. I've had a lot of guitars, never a Koll. I missed a couple here on the GP, I'll just keep looking.

[mavrick10_2000]

Congrats on a gorgeous guitar!

[smilefan]

Absolutely classic! Saul totally "gets"
the 'cool' of old guitars. 50 years from
now, after you are long gone, players will
still be freaking over that guitar.

[Saul Koll]

With all that talk, I'm feeling a bit overexposed, but grateful.... thanks!
For those that don't know, Katuna plays (or used to play?) in a great garage/punk band called Sugar Shack. When I first met him they were still touring. I had a small kid at the time, and then he had one and then I had another and then neither of us seemed to tour anymore. Our priorities shifted. It is good, but of course different. But I still love it and get out as much as possible. I still spin the old Shack records from time to time, and I know that Katuna still digs it. He called me about this guitar a little (or a lotta) over a year ago. A departure from the JR I made for him. There are some questions about what this guitar is, so I will try to answer.

I decided to build it around my favorite versions of the Gretsch 6120. The ones with the tresle bracing. This falls somewhere in between the thinline pin-routed glides I do, and the full blown carved arch tops. Here is a quick shot of the three styles I frequently build:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/Saul-Koll/ribs.jpg
In this shot you see the ribs for a standard arch top guitar, the ribs for a semi solid arch top with rails, and these are standing on the back of my normal routed thinline (Duo, Super).
Katuna's guitar has solid bent sides like the two standing ones, with a core similar to the one in front. The top and back are laminated plates similar to a 335, or a Gretsch 6120. (In this case, these are NOS from the old Gretsch factory)These are the thin, 3 ply plain maple ones. I built a core similar to the tresle, but let it extend to tail block.(There is a fine line trying to allow vibrations but prevent too much feedback.)The neck is mahogany for tonal fatness and to save weight. The 25" scale fingerboard is Brazilian rosewood.
Kyle's vision was to have the top sunburst and the back and neck natural. I started out that way but after I applied the burst did not like how the mahogany neck looked against the sides and back. So, I decided to do like an old Kay or Silvertone and spray a translucent tan over everything to even it out. I think it looks kind of cool and vintoid that way.
I had Tom make some TVTRON classics. These have the same bobbins, wire, magnets and turns as the original filtertrons, but they are in a standard humbucker housing--just in case. These are very low output pickups. With that you can get such a variety of tones. Back them off and you are Chet, turn them all the way up and you are Malcolm. And there is all kinds of stuff in between. I used a couple SOZO .022 caps and they seem to work in a fairly musical way. The Bigsby is a standard B-3. I ground the footing so that there would be enough down pressure on the bridge.
Thanks for all the nice talk about this one. If Mrs. Katuna hadn't called about the big birthday, it would have been a little later....This is the first completed in a largish batch of arch tops and semi arch guitars I have in the works. In the coming weeks as I deliver them, I am sure pictures will be shared with the mighty Gear Page. Cheers,

Thanks for reading all of this,
Saul

[Mrgearguy]

Now THAT's a guitar builder!
What a great looking piece that is! The guys who build these kind of axes are in a completely different (higher) league than the rest. Hell, I've made solidbodies and it ain't too hard to do, but that's real talent at work!

Beautiful!

Gearguy

[CDaughtry]

Great guitar! By the way...I love your artwork!:dude

[katuna]

Thanks Saul! I would like to add that Saul plays in a fantastic Punk Rock band called 8-Foot Tender. Saul made a guitar similar to mine for his other guitar player, Jeff Fieldhouse, who is a great player and songwriter (he was in the Humpers and made their best records). That guitar is where I got the idea for mine. I just have to reiterate, I wish I had gotten something like this a long time ago. It has plenty of power, but retains plenty of clarity which is something I've been kind of stuck on for awhile. It's a great complement to my Jr. Glide. I have played a few of Saul's Superiors and those are really cool also. I bought one last year, but due to a move and this guitar, I felt I couldn't afford to keep it, so I sold it to Kevin Shows. It was Ash with a maple neck and a Ebony fretboard. It was really tremendous, I wish I could have kept it. I'd like to get a Superior with a 25" scale; I really like that scale a lot and the Superiors are really wonderful from an ergonomic standpoint - the neck/body joint is outrageous, it even looks cool.

[katuna]

Oh yeah, I meant to add - I love what Saul did with the back and neck finish - I never would have thought of it and it is incredibly cool. Saul's sense of aesthetics is finely honed, which is a big plus and explains why he has been making such beautiful and original designs for so many years.

[katuna]

Great guitar! By the way...I love your artwork!:dude

Thanks Charlie! They are Greek Orthodox icons, which have never been in short supply in my family.

[lhallam]

Saul, so cool - great post, I gain more and more knowledge from TGP. It so great to have the pros provide us with inner workings.

Thanks.

[Blunder]

Great looking guitar! I think that I have burned my retinas from staring at all the Koll's that have been popping up around here.
Thank you Saul for chiming in here with all the tech info.
I can see my almost finished Glide in the background of the picture of those archtops.
.....Must try to be patient :drool

[Orren]

Excellent looking guitar! Saul does the best work, as your guitar shows. :) I'm sure it plays as good as it looks!

Orren

[gregc]

Wow, that sure whet my whistle!
Congrats to all involved in this one~

gregc

[cocheese]

He raises the bar on himself with each guitar. The ideas and creativity combined with perfect execution create a guitar like none other. Kudos Saul! Congrats katuna!

[TieDyedDevil]

With all that talk, I'm feeling a bit overexposed, but grateful.... thanks! [snip]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/Saul-Koll/ribs.jpg
In this shot you see the ribs for a standard arch top guitar, the ribs for a semi solid arch top with rails, and these are standing on the back of my normal routed thinline (Duo, Super).
Katuna's guitar has solid bent sides like the two standing ones, with a core similar to the one in front. The top and back are laminated plates similar to a 335, or a Gretsch 6120. (In this case, these are NOS from the old Gretsch factory)These are the thin, 3 ply plain maple ones. I built a core similar to the tresle, but let it extend to tail block.(There is a fine line trying to allow vibrations but prevent too much feedback.) [snip]

Thanks for all the nice talk about this one. If Mrs. Katuna hadn't called about the big birthday, it would have been a little later....This is the first completed in a largish batch of arch tops and semi arch guitars I have in the works. In the coming weeks as I deliver them, I am sure pictures will be shared with the mighty Gear Page. Cheers,

Thanks for reading all of this,
Saul


Hey, I recognize that frame in the foreground. ;) I just wanted to say a bit about that design...

When I went to Saul with the design for my guitar, I told him that I wanted to be able to get feedback at "reasonable" ... i.e. small-club ... volumes. I grew up on the music of the sixties, and have always loved the clean sustained tones that players of that era attained through the use of extreme volume.

I tried a bunch of hollow-body and semi-hollow guitars trying to find something that would work for me "off-the-rack". ES-335s required too much volume and had - from the perspective of what I was seeking in a guitar - other problems. The big hollow-body guitars, and even the slimline full-hollow guitars like the ES-446, were too lively.

Saul's design with the rails is a nice compromise. The back of the guitar floats free - it's attached only at the sides. The top meets the rails. The result falls somewhere between a semi-hollow and and full-hollow guitar. I'm really happy with the results - it behaves exactly the way I had hoped it would. Also, the rails seem to save some weight: the first guitar Saul built for me weighs exactly six pounds.

I'll be sure to share photos when #2 arrives. :)

[Karmateria]

That thing is just sick man! I want one.

Karma

[T-bone]

Very cool. I love the back color!
Saul rocks.

[stan p]

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j239/KyleGOtis/KollKGTRGpics005.jpg



Wow! What body size is that?

[decay-o-caster]

How did I miss this thread when it was new? Yikes - what a gorgeous guitar!

[katuna]

woah! New replies? I don't know what size the body is, and it's at my practice space, so I'll have to check it later.

David, I don't know how you missed it, but glad you saw it. It's a cool guitar; I've been getting a lot of mileage in it in my new(ish) band lately. It's made me want every guitar I own to be semi-hollow and have filtertrons.

[katuna]

Oh yeah, I'd like to add that this guitar stays in tune like no other guitar I've ever owned. Pretty freakin weird for a guitar with a Bigsby, which I use quite a bit when I'm playing it. Saul is a master; there is no debating that fact at this point.

[Frankee]

Ooooh, me next! me next!