There are a few older older posts on this, but I'll reprise the question. Has anyone either owned or played John Walker's guitars, and what are your impressions? Pondering whether to order one of his Nick Lucas style guitars or a deep body C-10. Thanks, input is really appreciated.

Dealer Greg Boyd (406) 327-9925 in Montana would be a great resource for you. He knows John (and his guitars) very well, as well as Kevin Kopp who makes great hand-made guitars in various flavors in the vein of vintage Gibson’s.

John, Kevin and Ren Ferguson worked together in the Gibson custom shop for several years. John and Kevin’s shops are in Montana.

I recently bought a guitar from Greg...nice, sincere and knowledgeable dude...and he seems to truly enjoy talking the talk. No affiliations other than a satisfied customer. He’s also a Collings dealer so he has a good perspective in comparing tone and build to those of us who are more familiar with Collings guitars.

http://gregboyd.com/

Good luck!

Dave

I played one as a loaner for a few weeks with Maple B/S and not sure which top material. I was thoroughly unimpressed with the tone. It was a prototype so I won't comment on finish other than to say U-G-L-Y. I'm not sure I like maple on an acoustic anyway. I was also used to my D1A. I took a look at his website and I really wasn't all too stoked.

What color is his label inside the guitar?
Just wondering.

I bought a John Walker guitar 8 months ago after playing 4 different Collings sitka/EIR guitars over the last 14 years. It's his Wise River model - an adirondack/mahogany J-35. I also have an '01 Collings D-2h.

Out of the box the guitar wasn't perfectly sorted out sound-wise. It sounded amazing but not everywhere. The low E string was a bit unfocused and the two trebles didn't seem like they were sure whether they wanted to be on the team or not. Once again though, the guitar had a remarkable sound. As it turned out, it just needed to be played a bit.

The guitar is light, extremely easy to play and remarkably responsive. I love the neck and 1.75" nut. It's a very alive guitar in your hands with, to me, an incredibly seductive woody sound (all the strings, all the notes ). It sounds less piano-like and more like something made out of really, really good wood. Very addictive experience. I rarely pick up my Collings anymore and it's an exceptionally good guitar. I do compulsively grab the Walker though, even if just for a few minutes when I don't really have any time to play.

FWIW I have med 80/20's on it and play with the round edge of a medium Red Bear most of the time.

It's a beautiful instrument visually and I'm completely happy with the build quality. It's a hand-built guitar so I suppose you could find a bit of evidence of that if you really wanted to.

I second what Acoustic Dave says about calling Greg Boyd. I would also suggest calling John Walker. Two interesting, informative and enjoyable phone calls.

All the best.

Randy

I have a Walker, I have one on order, and have played several others. I have not found a dud in the bunch. His workmanship is first class and the tone is similar to the early 40's Gibsons that I have tried. His buddy Kevin Kopp also makes great guitars and to me, his sound more like the 30's era Gibsons. If you like that Gibson-like tone, I do not think you would be disappointed with Mr Walker's guitars. I can't say enough good things about the Walker's I have tried.

The clips I have heard of John Walkers & Kevin Kopps guitars were all excellent. They both have solid reputations. If the Gibson sound appeals to you, you can't go wrong with either.

I owned a Walker Wise model (J-35) and own a truly outstanding 1940 Gibson J-35. The Walker came as close as any guitar I've ever played to sounding very much like my Gibson. I'd say where the Gibson sounds 70 years old, the Walker sounded about 40 years old.

More, the Walker felt like my J-35, very light, very responsive.

Compared to a Collings CJ, the closest model to a J-35, there was really no contest. Collings makes fine guitars that sound, well, like Collings guitars. The Walker sounded very close to my old Gibson.

Walkers are hand built guitars by a guy that seems to know what he's doing. His prices are waaay too low, but that should change over time. If I didn't own a VERY good example of the real thing, I'd say the Walker was the best J-35 out there.

Interesting,

If anyone has clips, I wouldn't mind hearing them.

stuart@cogeco.ca

or a link to the location...



thanks,

Stuart

Hey Stuart,

http://gregboyd.com/Sound_Clips.html

http://www.johnwalkerguitars.com/JWG1/welcome.html

I played a beautiful Brazilian John Walker at a guitar show recently. He's clearly influenced by Gibson and I understand that he was one of the people who started Gibson's custom shop. If you like the Gibson sound I think you would love his guitars. Top notch.

Jim

The only ones I have seen were at the recent Miami guitar show. John was there with a few of his offerings.
Didn't get to play them much, but what I did they seemed to be really well made and good sounding guitars.

Very pretty visually also.