Product: Paragon MJC-03HR
Price Paid: US $2800.00
Submitted
09/27/2004
at
06:29am
by
John Cooley
Features
:
10
This guitar was my second Paragon, but my first custom order. It was ordered in February of 2004, and completed in September of 04. It is a Mini-Jumbo Cutaway in Honduran Rosewood with a Sitka top. The bracing is made from Adirondack spruce, and is pre-war scalloped in design. The neck is five piece, with rosewood in the center, sandwiched by an ebony composite, and mahagony on the outside. The tuners are Gotoh 510's with ebony knobs. There is no shellfish, MOP electronics, or plastic on the guitar. The binding, rosette, and logo are all koa, and the purfling is rosewood. The nut is 1 13/16" and the frets are a special order size.
Sound
:
10
When I ordered this guitar, I was very specific about the way I played, and the way I wanted this guitar to sound. Rob hit it, right out of the box. The bass is dark and woody, the midrange loaded with overtones, and the treble almost bell-like. Oh, and this guitar is LOUD!
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
10
Rob Bustos and I talked about this at length. When I unpacked the guitar and brought it to pitch, the action was dead on! Amazing. The fit and finish are exactly what you would expect from a custom builder........perfect. Even though our original goal with this guitar was "understated elegance", everyone is immediately impressed with the overall beauty of what the guys in Vancouver created for me.
Reliability/Durability
:
10
Everything about this guitar seems rock solid, and I have no doubt this is a lifetime instrument.
Customer Support
:
10
If you want to see what developing a great relationship with a builder is like, just drop Rob at Paragon an e-mail. We still communicate on a regular basis, but that could also be due to me commissioning yet another guitar from these fine builders.
Overall Rating
:
10
I have owned several "high end" factory guitars, but nothing like what Paragon is currently building. This guitar is the finest example of the luthier's art I have ever seen..........enough so that I can hardly wait for the Slope D I've ordered to compliment it.
