Huss and Dalton 00

Assembly of my Huss and Dalton OO-SP was completed in February, 2002. It's a 12 Fret, short scale (24.9") slotted peghead OO guitar. It has an Englemann Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back, sides and binding. It has a curly maple purfling on the back and top and a herringbone back stripe and a herringbone rosette with BWB purfling. Classic square inlays on the 5th 7th and 9th frets. Ebony Pyramid wing bridge, hand carved bone compensated saddle and nut, and Ebony fingerboard round out the package. Finish is a beautiful gloss with aging toner on the top (slightly softening the "whiteness" of the Englemann). Waverly tuners with ivoroid buttons adorn the Brazillian Rosewood veneered headstock, with Huss and Dalton inlay. The neck is a beautiful Spanish Cedar with a diamond volute at the joint. It measures 1 3/4" at the nut (which deviates from their standard 1 7/8", I've got smallish hands and needed the help. The guitar came with a nice TKL Professional series tweed case with the Huss and Dalton logo.

This thing sings. I'm a tone junky- I've played a high end dreadnaught for four years and I'm doing a lot more subtle fingerstyle work than bluegrass. I'm going to start recording so I wanted a recordable balanced guitar. The guitar is very well balanced. You have to be careful not to lay into it too much just to maintain the dynamics. It is a monster for the size. I love the tone, I love the sustain. Although it is a smaller guitar, the overall tone is impressive.

I almost fell out of my chair when I opened the case. I'm not into flashy inlays, I'm not into the latest goofy wood. Give me my spruce, my rosewood, with a little herringbone and I'm good to go. This guitar says "ME", it's who I am. The understated beauty of this guitar is breathtaking. The finish is fluid - the only way to describe it. The Rosewood sides butt into a gorgeous Spanish Cedar neck which butts into the Brazillian veneered headstock. It's like art work, not an instrument. The aging toner was not over the top yellow- it just makes the Englemann less irridescent- which is fine by me. Action was set perfectly, no complaints- I don't play Hawaiian so the fact it was pretty low was fine, and nothing's buzzing so it's a great set up for me as a fingerstylist.

I'm sure it would withstand live playing and it would sound great at a coffeehouse gig, but why?? It's a lap guitar with light bracing, use it on the porch, use it to record, use it to LEARN TO PLAY BETTER, but it's a "light strings only" box lightly braced. Go get a dreadnaught for goodness sakes. Hardware is beautiful. This thing is a family heirloom already- it'll last. Thing stays in tune real well too.

Lifetime warranty- haven't had to deal with them. (Got it through a dealer)

I've been playing for 5 years- for the last four on a Martin HD-28V, after studying drums for 12 years- I now play strictly acoustic guitar. My loud days are over- got a beautiful wife and two great kids and a corporate job (that allows me to afford guitars like this one). I can honestly say that since I've been looking for a handmade guitar for over 6 months, I expected some buyer's remorse- not the case. this thing has turned out to be more beautiful in tone and playability than I had expected. I love that it is a no nonsense, no flash, vintage looking hand built instrument. I was also considering Froggy Bottom small bodies, Santa Cruz, Goodalls, Lowdens and vintage Martins. I made the right call. It was not cheap however, so don't go thinking this all comes without coughing up some serious dough.

Model OO features include: Rosewood or Mahogany back/sides, radiused Engelmann Spruce top, Rosewood body binding, black/white/maple purfling, 3-3/4" sound hole, straight bridge, slotted squares fingerboard inlay, 1-7/8" width at nut, 2-9/32" saddle spacing, Spanish Cedar neck, 12 frets to the body, 24.9" scale length, nickel Waverly tuners with ivoroid buttons, aging toner in top finish.

Model OO-SP (this one) includes, in addition to the above: Slotted peg head, straight bridge with pyramid wings, diamond on back of neck.

Mine was ordered with a 1-3/4" nut width, and the neck shape was custom carved to match a Collings OM neck shape, which is a very soft 'V'. Unlike the Martin 'V' neck, you can't feel the spine on this one - it's very comfortable to hold.

Norman Blake feels that the 00 size has the best overall ratios of body size and depth in relation to tone. A dread, for example, isn't deep enough in relation to overall body size. The 00, though, is almost perfect in scale and proportion.

It is by far the most comfortable guitar to play sitting down that I've ever played or owned. It just lays in your lap like a content, curled up cat, and it is the perfect guitar to just sit and PLAY around with, even while you're doing something else. I honestly have had more FUN with this guitar in almost 4 weeks time than with any other guitar I've owned. It just begs to be played!

The first thing you notice is the volume. You don't expect a 00 body to have much projection, but the radius tops (or something) that H&D uses make this guitar "in your face" with the volume. The highs are astounding to me, especially when using a pick. If you just barely rake the pick across the three high strings, WOW, the tone just JUMPS out at you. The mid range is also good, and the bass is sufficient for this body size. When I need BASS, I go pick up my HD28 Custom 15 instead, to satisfy that bass thump urge that sometimes arises!

My wife says that to her untrained ears, this is the best guitar I've ever owned. To my ears, it is still tight, and will continue to open up and mellow as it ages gracefully.

I've owned a lot of guitars, and this is the second handbuilt guitar I've owned. Folks, there is absolutely NO comparison between a handbuilt guitar from people who know what they are doing vs. a factory built guitar. Period. H&D produces around 100-150 guitars a year, and it shows. The fit and finish are incredible. Wood selection is excellent. Action is JUST RIGHT. The hand carved, intonated bone saddle is a work of art. The only flaw I've found is that the end pin is not centered on the ebony end wedge. Either the end wedge or the end pin is not centered with the center line of the guitar. This is merely cosmetic, though, and doesn't affect the construction or sound of the guitar at all. It just proves that these guys are human after all, in spite of the incredible reviews that their guitars consistently elicit.

There were fossil ivory bridge pins put in by the dealer, and they had to enlarge the holes in the bridge to accomodate the new pins. Unfortunately, they made 3 of the holes too large, and because of that the heads of the pins aren't even across the top. Again, a cosmetic flaw, but this one came from the dealer, and NOT from Huss & Dalton. The dealer will go unnamed, because they are superb in every respect, from their dealings with customers to their full support. This was just another example of someone being human... an honest mistake.

I've only owned this guitar for 3 1/2 weeks now, but the lifetime warranty from a company who feels like this is still their guitar, combined with the way they build them and the evident quality, makes the question of durability almost a moot one. I would be more concerned about a string breaking during a gig than the guitar itself breaking. That would be the only reason to bring a backup guitar!

Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton are fans of guitars, and it shows. When you call the "factory", one of them usually answers the phone. I know people who have wanted to tour their building, and one of them always does the tours, and they last for a couple of hours, usually. I have dealt with Mark on the phone, and he is always helpful and informative in what he tells me, and you don't feel rushed to end the conversation. That says a lot...

I've been playing seriously for 2 years, and this is the 8th acoustic I've owned since I got serious. The only guitar that compared in fit/finish/tone was a Thompson T3 (jumbo) that I owned for 4 months, and only traded because of the 1-7/8" nut width. As mentioned above, it is by far the most fun guitar to play that I've ever owned. Very unobtrusive, very comfortable to hold and play, and yet will hold it's own in a jam with other acoustical guitars. It is rather pricey, but not when compared to Collings/Santa Cruz/Walker, etc.