The
Larson Brothers were clearly very creative and adventurous builders,
and their guitars produce a wide array of sounds, all quite different
from those of Martin and Gibson instruments. It's good to see some
current day builders following up on the Larson ideas. The New Era that I
own has a powerful, unique sound and a feel all its own that takes me
to some new places musically.
Russ Barenberg russbarenberg.com
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Terrific voice; different from anything else.
Great balance between bottom and top end.
So much headroom and dynamic range.
It is transcendent.
Henry Kaiser henrykaiser.net
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Decemberist • Colon Maloy decemberists.com
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Please visit Bob's website for more information about the Larson Brothers.
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About two years ago I first had the opportunity to see and play several guitars built by Tony Klassen. They were large instruments, as I recall 16" Square Shoulder Euphonon and a Prairie State Jumbo, both built along the lines of those originally produced by the great Larson Brothers in the 1930s. Having played Larson instruments since the 1950s, I was so impressed with Tony's work that I ordered two custom Brazilian guitars, a 16" deep-body Euphonon-style Jumbo and an 18" Prairie State Super Jumbo. This past summer the instruments arrived and I found their tonal clarity, balance, power and authenticity beyond my expectations. I have played both instruments against original Larson Euphonons and Prairie States in my collection and it is very hard to distinguish the originals from Tony's reproduction instruments. In fact, I was so pleased with the guitars that I ordered two more custom instruments, an 18" Euphonon Cutaway for my son and a 19" Super Jumbo Prairie State for myself. These two guitars are based on originals from my collection and we are enthusiastically looking forward to their delivery. Tony has done a remarkably faithful job in these re-creations right down to the most obscure details most of us would never notice. One day very soon I am certain his guitars will be recognized and respected around the world as very high-grade professional instruments, just as the works of the legendary Larson Brothers are today.
David Portman portmanguitars.com
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The modern ARK brand New Era guitars by Tony Klassen are some of the very few instruments built today which reproduce the look and feel as well as emulate the tone of the original Larson Brothers guitars of the 1930s. These are fine instrument suitable for professional use on stage or in the studio.
George Gruhn
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Tony Klassen offers us a nice form of time travel back to the first half of the 20th century with his ARK New Era guitars. The Larson brothers designs are utterly fascinating and the large 18' lower bout (and larger!) Prairie State models provide a powerful, punchy baritone voice that reaches right to the back of your spine.
Elderly Instruments
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What a glorious upper end! I've never played a guitar with trebles like these. Strong trebles - shimmery, with overtones galore (which I happen to like), yet fat, strong trebles, equal in presence to any of the lower notes, which are just fine in their own right also. This guitar can truly be compared to a piano, notewise; not that it's as loud as a piano, but the relationship of all of the notes to each other is similar to that of a piano. I've heard that said of many guitars, but never played one that this was true of before. Maybe that's due to the jumbo Larson configuration. Certainly, a different sound from Martins, which sound I really like. Maybe the Martin sound is earthier, the Larson more celestial. I have wanted a guitar with as strong a treble end as this for a long time.
Jamie
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I got my RS Euphonon three weeks ago and played it every day.
As you know I had the chance to play nearly all of the most expensive guitars the C.F Martin company produced during the past twenty years and am the proud owner of a 20.000 dollar D-45 Brazilian Stephen Stills. This guitar and the OM -45 deluxe Golden Era (only 14 were made) of a friend of mine were in my opinion the best guitars in the world. I was wrong! My new New Era RS Euphonon is better. It is simply the best guitar I have ever laid my hands on. Perfectly balanced, loud and it makes no difference, if you play it at the first or at the twelth fret. The perfect action shows that this guitar was made by an experienced player. Could not be better! You have done an incredible good job. Thanks a lot!
Michael
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The guitar has changed quite a bit over the weeks ... great sustain, volume and clarity. After about 20 minutes of play, it vibrates like crazy. Tonally, very different than the Martin sound ...very crisp, vibrant and a little edginess reminiscent of a selmer-macaffieri I played awhile back ... great projection as well. Analogy re: earth/air/sun - Martin projects into the air from the earth, this Maurer projects from the sun.
Jim
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Hello Tony - I thought I’d drop you a very belated email to compliment you as highly as humanly possible for your guitars. I was fortunate enough to purchase ‘Millie’ from Elderly Instruments and she now resides with me and my family in England (my daughter, coincidentally called Millie, thinks I had the guitar made for her). Although I’m sure she was not intended to do so, she now happily plays English folk songs in dropped tunings with the utmost ease.I love everything about the guitar: the looks, the build quality, the neck and of course the sound, which is clear, punchy and even. There is no greater testament I can give than that my Sobell Model 1 and Martin 00-45 are now confined largely to their cases.
Thanks again, and keep up the great work.
Kind regards,
Jonathan
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First things first - the guitar does not sound like a Martin! I've been playing old Martins and Martin copies for years and was looking for something different to liven things up. The best way I can describe the tone of the guitar is to say it sounds like the child of a Martin and Selmer tawdry love affair. It has less overtones and depth than a Martin but is not nearly as dry as a Selmer. Individual notes spit out of the guitar and hang in the air distinctly. Not having overtones does not mean it does not have sustain, it just has a different sounding sustain than a Martin. My favorite aspect of the guitar's tone is the sound of the unwound strings. The sound gets rounder and fuller as I play up the neck. This guitar is perfect for playing blues, Cooder, and Fahey material. It loves to be spanked!
Keith
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As to sound, I will try to describe: as a Martin owner for almost 38 years (D-18, 000-18GE, custom 14-fret, RW/Red spruce 00-21), my first observation is that it sounds unlike any Martin I've ever heard or played ... completely different, in a wonderful way. I have to believe that much of that sound difference is owed to it's laminated x-brace construction (Spruce/RW/Spruce) and pronounced back and top radius ... on (in this case) an 000-sized guitar that is otherwise rather shallow - 3 7/16" deep. It is very sunny, crisp, and bright ... not a cool metallic sound, but warm with a nice crackle when plucked or picked. Quite loud, and seems to project from a place just in front of the soundhole ..with very well defined notes that seem to hang in the air and swell without losing their edge and getting washy. It is very lightweight, and is currently strung with mixed guage 80/20 Newtones (.055 bass, lights across, then .017 and .013 trebles). What really impresses me with all the talk about stiff red spruce and slow opening-up; here's a small, shallow, new guitar with red spruce top and red spruce bracing, short-scale, tuned to open D (lots of slack) that vibrates and sustains like crazy .. and sounds like it has been around for 20 years or more. Kudos to Tony for building me a guitar I can't put down.
James
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To my ears, these guitars represent a synthesis of all the great attributes of the other great makers: the bark of a Gibson, the warmth of a Martin, the clarity of a a great 1920s Oscar Schmidt. Tony has really captured the entire Larson vibe: look, feel (the neck of the guitar is a dead ringer for those on my two 1920s Maurers), and, most importantly, tone. This guitar is really loud, really responsive, really clear, and, well, really, really good.
John
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