Meeting Paul and trying out his guitars

marcelodamon · June 22

Now that I have a few moments of free time, I wanted to chime in about meeting Paul McEvoy a few days ago, and trying out, and comparing, his guitars, with the various guitars I have. He was in town, and as such, I invited him over. I had the good fortune of being joined by my friend and jam partner here in Buffalo, Dean Gionis, from the Hot Club of Buffalo. So not only did I play Paul's excellent guitars, I got to hear them being played by Dean.

First off, the blue guitar was exceptional. I like the aesthetic since I am a big D'Aquisto fan. Additionally, the guitar had very clear trebles and basses, and prodigious volume. Another feature that I have only ever seen in my lattice braced classical guitar built by David Schramm, who he himself borrowed from Greg Smallman, was the on the spot action adjustment with a truss rod key. The blue guitar was a little high in action (for my tastes), and Paul was able to adjust it in seconds. Great work Paul!

The same for the untinted guitar as well. It was also a very loud, but articulate guitar. Both guitars have their own voice, and to my ears, having tried pretty much every maker out there, Paul's guitars have the similar dryness and articulation of a well played, but still playable, Busato. However, there is an almost archtop quality to the punch of each note played. This is good for players like myself, who play not just gypsy jazz, but several styles (My favorite guitar players are Django, Bireli, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, Paco de Lucia, Vicente Amigo, John Williams, David Russell, Shawn Lane, and Greg Howe).

Great work Paul, and it was great to meet you,

Marc