I just received my new Bob Holo guitar from Michael and I wanted to share a few first impressions.
1. Volume -- when one sits behind a guitar and is amazed at the volume, you know its gonna be a cannon out front. This instrument just has gut-wrenching volume, though it never sacrifices tone. It really has the perfect combination. I think it could cut through an entire horn section with ease.
2. Tone -- Superb highs, singing and very "open" like its description..not too modern....very Selmer-esque and traditional to my ears at least...with some really cool natural reverb.
Bottom end is super tight and the mids are present and overall-well rounded. All in all, the tone of this guitar is truly fantastic. Without question, the volume, projection, and cutting power is all Busato; however, the tone has the complexity of the Selmer. Again, the best of both worlds really.
3. Fit and Finish -- wonderful overall...aesthetically the guitar is gorgeous...the cedar top is beautiful and back and sides are tastefully done.
4. Playability -- excellent feeling and playing instrument..extremely comfortable neck.
I would recommend anyone looking for a guitar to serioulsy consider a Holo if they can find one.
-Tim
Comments
http://www.jillmartinisoiree.com
Congrats on "Choosing wisely my friend" as Troy Chapman said to me @ DFNW 2010 after playing a few tunes on my Holo Busato style # 14. Both he and Jeff Radiach, rhythm guitar w/ Gonsalo Bergera said "This is a Great guitar!" Alphonso Ponticelli played mine briefly on the way to a show and said "Wow, what crunch and volume with 10 gauge strings! He tapped the back and said, "Tuned to a "G" note! I got to play his (Nouveau like yours) after his show and it was fantastic and was built jan. '10. Bob had two new guitars with him at DFNW '10 and I played one of them and it was very good already. I'm a happy owner and have played eight of his and they all had great individual charisma, playability and tone!
Bob is producing great guitars!
Rocky
Hey B25,
I'd like to hear your Holo Busato style guitar next to my Nouveau. I'm sure that guitar is remarkable. I'm amazed at the projection of the Nouveau, as it's like a Busato, but my guitar isn't nearly as dry and direct as a Busato. The high end and the mids have this interesting complexity/vibrato thing happening...it's quite cool and very Selmer. As I'm playing this guitar, its tone reminds me of the late period Selmers...late 40s to the end. I use the #863 that was on this site as a comparison. To me, that had those high frequencies that sounded very "open" and even the mid range had a lot of sparkle to it. The one difference I've noticed between those later Selmers and the Nouveau is that my bass response is pretty deep, but extremely tight.
Also, the guitar is weightless basically. The lack of a truss rod really takes off much of the weight.
It's "Holo Guitar Co. Videos featuring or containing the Modele Nouveau" on youtube. Some of the clips were ones that I have seen without realizing that they featured Bob's guitars, as not all have his logo (La gitane, for instance).
http://www.youtube.com/user/rlholo#grid ... 19CF41139A
cheers
When I played Ponticelli's Nouveau it had opened up very much and Bob said he probably has about 5 hours a day average playing time on it since Jan. It did have more Selmer complexity in the tone which was very nice. Mine is more traditional Busato tone but also has Bob's reverb that is wonderful. It has also opened up much more and the bass has improved and is more defined in just the last two months now after DFNW and me playing it exclusively over my others guitars.
I'd like to compare our guitars also. Bob is building great guitars!
Cheers,
Rocky