NUOM day, Girouard 20" octave

[darylcrisp]

As promised, some pictures and info on the octave that has landed inhouse.
First octave I've had hands on with, and I know we are in the initial fireworks of a new relationship, but this is hands down one of the most fun instruments I've had in a long long time. Fit and finish are excellent, light in weight and feel, balances well. Tuners work smooth as silk, beautiful finish, sound is dark, earthy, but clear. so easy to fret and play. Hoping to work on Si Beag,Si Mor tonite with it.

20" scale
The finish is a modern alkyd varnish finish which is quite durable, so don't let the word varnish scare you. It has the same protective similarities as lacquer, but goes on much thinner. Cleaning should be done with just a soft cloth, and if it gets really gunky, you can use the clean cloth dabbed in distilled water(per Max)

string set is John Pearse Gauges 45-32-21-12
weight is 2.8 lbs(with Access soft shell case, 5.8 lbs)
nut width 1 11/32"
string spacing at saddle 1 28/32"
James tail piece
neck profile soft V-with shallow depth(I like!) along its entire length(meaning it doesn't get deep at the heel. feels the same depth along the entire neck(haven't measured but I'm sure it thickens as it gets towards the heel, but its a fast feeling, easy to move on neck)
I dropped the bridge and have 2/32" at the 12th fret, both on G and E courses. no buzz for me and my style of play. Nut work is neat and nut slot depths are spot on, and courses nicely spaced and easy to finger.
Body depth is 2 3/8"
cedar top, maple(not sure which kind) back/sides
Not sure if the radiused fretboard is ebony or a rosewood, its dark and striped, beautiful wood(as is headstock veneer).
beautiful shaped saddle and bridge(bridge is set perfect along the arched top)-not sure if Max made this-but I'd wager he did. Thumbwheels turn smooth yet feel snug in threads(no slop).
overall, build quality is Collings territory. I use Collings as the defacto top tier in build quality for any compare of any instrument.

I am a soft shell kind of person, like light carry weight, and I like to sling an instrument over my shoulder and go. I had this Access case(the company makes the soft shell cases for Taylor guitar company), which is think is a stage 1, which came from Pisgah banjo company and is for a 11" pot shortscale(A scale) banjo. Patrick Heavner worked with Access in the early design of this case for shortscale openback banjos.
Outside dimensions are:
total length 39"
width bottom bout 13.5"
depth 5" (excluding outside pocket)

inside dimensions are:
total length 37.5"
width at bottom bout 12.5"
depth 3.5"

foam is around 1" thick-the above measurements were quickly taken and there is some give or take. the octave has a 12 5/16" width at the bottom bout-it fits perfect and just ever snug in the case. I may later make a minicell foam neck block that fits midway up the neck and is a simple cradle(cover it with a microcloth)-maybe tonite, will take maybe 10 minutes total. There is not shift that I can tell, but if I add the minicell block with a detent for the neck I know for sure it will be held solid with no shift of the headstock side to side.

I like the 20" scale a lot. One of these days I will slow down long enough to figure out how to post a soundclip and get that for you.

some pictures outside yesterday in the beautiful sunshine(I mowed and plowed my garden yesterday), oh yea, had to make a raspberry braided bread last night in honor of the new octaves welcome-the raspberry matched the color of the octave nicely.











the saddle is set ahead of the cordura protector patch in the case top-you can see small indentions from it in the picture-I've since taken a microfiber cloth, folded it a few times and lay in on top of the saddle to prevent any further mayhem while its in the case.

[darylcrisp]

pictures of the OM

[Bob Clark]

Gorgeous, Daryl. This is an exceptionally beautiful instrument. Although I don't need another instrument, I hope to one day own one of the Giourard instruments, probably a mandola. Enjoy this one; it's a real beauty.

Best wishes,

Bob

[multidon]

Hey Daryl, this relates to your question about string gauges. I'm glad you like the sound and feel of the standard John Pearse Octave Mandolin set. But this is the set Weber puts on their long scale OMs. On the short scale 20 inch they use the John Pearse Custom Octave Mandola set. This can be confusing because for this set they use the European terminology, which might be why Americans overlook it. This set is 14-22-34-48. Spend a little time with a string tension calculator, and you will see that your tension on the middle two courses is pretty good, around 19 or 20 pounds per string, the 12s on the upper course only give you 15 pounds or so, and the bottom course is only around 16 pounds. I have never used the JP Custom set but I do use the very siimilar DAddario J72 light mandola set which is 14-49 and gives me close to 20 pounds on each string (second course 21 per). I think the sound and feel is a great improvement over 12-44 but YMMV. Before you experiment it would be wise to ask Max if he thinks the instrument can take the extra tension. It's 135 pounds total versus 165 so significant but not huge. In the case of my Fender, the previous owner had the nut slots and bridge slots enlarged, so if I try to go back to lighter strings I get some buzzing in the slots. So also be aware that if you try to go heavier, the strings may not sit in the slots well. If Max cut those slots precisely for his recommended set, it may not be wise to vary from it. But if he cut the slots a couple of hundredths larger, then experimentation may be possible.

[darylcrisp]

Hey Daryl, this relates to your question about string gauges. I'm glad you like the sound and feel of the standard John Pearse Octave Mandolin set. But this is the set Weber puts on their long scale OMs. On the short scale 20 inch they use the John Pearse Custom Octave Mandola set. This can be confusing because for this set they use the European terminology, which might be why Americans overlook it. This set is 14-22-34-48. Spend a little time with a string tension calculator, and you will see that your tension on the middle two courses is pretty good, around 19 or 20 pounds per string, the 12s on the upper course only give you 15 pounds or so, and the bottom course is only around 16 pounds. I have never used the JP Custom set but I do use the very siimilar DAddario J72 light mandola set which is 14-49 and gives me close to 20 pounds on each string (second course 21 per). I think the sound and feel is a great improvement over 12-44 but YMMV. Before you experiment it would be wise to ask Max if he thinks the instrument can take the extra tension. It's 135 pounds total versus 165 so significant but not huge. In the case of my Fender, the previous owner had the nut slots and bridge slots enlarged, so if I try to go back to lighter strings I get some buzzing in the slots. So also be aware that if you try to go heavier, the strings may not sit in the slots well. If Max cut those slots precisely for his recommended set, it may not be wise to vary from it. But if he cut the slots a couple of hundredths larger, then experimentation may be possible.

thanks for that info Don.
I will check into all of that.
d

[darrylicshon]

Beautiful octave and right at the scale length I like, wow I would love to own it, enjoy I hope it is everything you wanted