Just curious if anyone has played one of these and what your impressions were. The Sobell mandolin I played recently was amazing.

There was a wonderful Sobell Model 1 at dream until about 5 months ago. Sigh. I had been hoping it would hang around until I got there. Who knows if the guitar would feel and sound as the recording indicated, but it really struck me.

I found a Model 1 at some store near Boston I think and when I travel down I may stop to play. I contacted Stephen, but his prices are fairly high. With import - above 12K I think - though I can't recall. Base is around 9 I believe. He indicated because he was making them himself now, the prices has risen.

I look forward to trying one. They have a seven string their now but that's out of my scope.


Stuart

I only know that Highlander pickups only uses two brands of guitars in which to test their pickups (which I like better than any other under-saddle pickup): Collings and Sobell. They remind me visually of Zeidler guitars, and the only one of those I ever played- a quilted mahogany/adirondack OM- was one of the finest I've ever played. A pity his life ended so blamed soon. Tragic, really. But I'd drive a couple hours to just play a Sobell. Not a seven string. After 42 years, I'm still working on six (or twelve, on occasion).

There's this guy named Mark from Fieldstone in Central PA and he has a Sobell guitar and cittern? maybe zook? check it out.

http://www.fieldstonemusic.com/about.html?flashVersion=9

He let me play his guitar and it's pretty good sounding but kinda stiff and sorta Zeidleresque/archtop vibe goin on.Skinny neck.Nice workmanship and design.Loud!

acousticmusic.org has several sobell guitars for sale as well as a mando and an octave. he may not have them on his website yet, but brian wolfe (who is also a collings dealer) is a good guy and the only authorized sobell dealer in the usa.

Yeh, that's the store.

That's a nice Model 1 Brazillian he has.

Don't know the Model 0 and am not really after rosewood, though I don't know how well he does with other woods.

Stuart

the rosewood is very nice (already broken in with a very full sound) and brian told me that he also has another brazilian model 1 that belonged to martin simpson and is the same guitar as is pictured on the cover of the"on horseback" CD (can't remember the rest of the title to that cd).

I played a Sobell at acousticmusic.org's guitar shop in CT. It was the brazilian rw one that I believe costed like 11 or 12k. It sounded so amazing. I first just plucked the low E as it was hanging on the wall, and I knew right then it was absolutely amazing. I've never really heard such a full sounding guitar, with such eveness and clarity, I can't really explain it. Of course, I could not spend that much on a guitar in this point in my life.

JE,

I think that was a non-cutaway correct?

How tight was the string tension. I get the feeling that Sobell's are tight, unlike, say a Kevin Ryan guitar - which seems to have lower tension in the strings.

That's the only issue I have with the Collings.

Stuart

Isn't the tension on the strings exactly the same on all guitars given the same strings and the same scale length?

quote:

Originally posted by rpg51:
Isn't the tension on the strings exactly the same on all guitars given the same strings and the same scale length?

Of course the tension in the string is the same. The feel is different due to all the other factors such as string height, string spacing, neck profile, and fretboard radius. The feel is to some degree subjective. For my hands Collings has always felt easy to fret and barre but for other people's hands it could be less so.
Rick

I was in that shop today, and played the Sobell that was Martin Simpson's, and which was, as expected, thrilling. Thin varnish, gorgeous Brazilian, the flattest neck profile of any guitar I've ever played, and resonance like a cathedral organ. I think there are 3 Sobells there now. The sleeper, however, is the Buck Curran Butterfly in koa, which was absolutely alive. While I was there a nice Collings deep sunburst C-10 came in in a trade.

Great way to spend a few hours. I put my Carlson Dreadnautilus on consignment, and picked a few tunes with the people passing through.