Olsen Guitars

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Just reading about buying an acoustic in another topic, and someone mentioned Olsen guitars and that James Taylor plays one.

I read an interview with him and they asked him why Olsen, and he said 'Because they have more songs in them'

Which I thought was a pretty interesting point of view.

foo
 
Olsens are out of this world when it comes to price cause he only makes or dosent even make em any more, they are nice i have had the plessre of play one. I miss spleeeed sumtin theere.
 
Is it Olsen or Olson ? I always thought its Olson. Some of my favourite players plays an Olson. Phil Keaggy, David Wilcox, Sting ...etc.etc
 
Get the facts straight

The quote was from David Wilcox, not J.T. Please don’t take my word for it, check out the link for yourself, moron.
http://www.olsonguitars.com/wilcox.html (Gee, I guess it’s Olson, not Olsen, hmm?

What , are you clowns brain-dead or twelve years old?
 
Jim, (it's Olson, by the way) is a good friend of mine, and he makes amazing guitars. Of all the small shop builders out there, his have by far the best fit and finish. The sound of his guitars is very much in the lightly built, heavy overtones style. To my ear, they are a little "new age" sounding, but that's just because I'm used to my dad's guitars which are much more traditional sounding (i.e., they are built a bit heavier, and have a stronger fundamental, a wider dynamic range, and can be pushed harder than a lighter built guitar). This is not a matter of one be better than the other - just different - both are good, and Jim's guitars are fantastic at what they do. Also, my language in this paragraph is very heavily colored by the fact that I have a strong preference for more traditional sounding guitars. If I had a preference for the more modern lighter guitars, my language would be much different.

If you have that kind of money laying around (his base price is $12,500, and his average price is closer to $20,000*), you might want to get your order in ASAP. He has too many back orders right now, and is seriously thinking of not taking any new ones for a while.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi


*(If you are thinking of saying something about his prices, don't. They are what they are for a very good reason. A few years back, his base price was $6,000 and he had a two year waiting list. He was seeing guitars that he had just sold on eBay a week after he shipped them for $12,500. As he said, that was his money, so he raised his price on all new orders after that. He makes more guitars every year than any other single builder shop I know, and he sells every one. About as classic a case of supply and demand as you are going to find.)
 
reco said:
Olsens are out of this world when it comes to price cause he only makes or dosent even make em any more, they are nice i have had the plessre of play one. I miss spleeeed sumtin theere.
Click to expand...

He's still building - though he has slowed down a bit. He spends most of the summer months playing golf these days. I figure that after about 30 years building guitars 60-100 hours a week, he deserves a break. He has one of the most impressive work ethics you can imagine. Every now and then you run across a builder with some sour grapes attitude towards Jim's success, but frankly Jim is more deserving of his success than anyone you will every meet.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Good god, I can't tell which is worse- name calling, or name dropping.

But I think David Wilcox is a flake.:rolleyes:
 
foo said:
Just reading about buying an acoustic in another topic, and someone mentioned Olsen guitars and that James Taylor plays one.

I read an interview with him and they asked him why Olsen, and he said 'Because they have more songs in them'

Which I thought was a pretty interesting point of view.

foo
Click to expand...

If like many, if not most guitar playing singer-songwriters, one writes with the aid of the instrument. Any instrument you enjoy playing a lot will tend to keep the creative machinery well oiled.
 
Light said:
Jim, (it's Olson, by the way) is a good friend of mine, and he makes amazing guitars. Of all the small shop builders out there, his have by far the best fit and finish. The sound of his guitars is very much in the lightly built, heavy overtones style. To my ear, they are a little "new age" sounding, but that's just because I'm used to my dad's guitars which are much more traditional sounding (i.e., they are built a bit heavier, and have a stronger fundamental, a wider dynamic range, and can be pushed harder than a lighter built guitar). This is not a matter of one be better than the other - just different - both are good, and Jim's guitars are fantastic at what they do. Also, my language in this paragraph is very heavily colored by the fact that I have a strong preference for more traditional sounding guitars. If I had a preference for the more modern lighter guitars, my language would be much different.

QUOTE]

Light, IMHO, I'd say your characterization is definitely the case for his current guitars and the ones he has been building for at least the last 10-15 years or so. Some of his early guitars, however, do sound more "traditional". As a result, anyone contemplating a used Olson really ought to play it first, especially if it is one of his older guitars. The sound might not be excatly what you expect. On the other hand, I've had the opportunity to play a variety of his guitars - old and new, and they've all sounded and played just great. Different in some cases maybe, but great nonetheless.
Click to expand...
 
pohaku said:
On the other hand, I've had the opportunity to play a variety of his guitars - old and new, and they've all sounded and played just great. Different in some cases maybe, but great nonetheless.
Click to expand...

Oh, to be sure. Jim's guitars are great, always.



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
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