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| Backordered! |
Posted by: olson on Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 09:00 AM
Recently, I've gotten an overwhelming influx of new orders for custom guitars. While I'm always willing to talk with new customers about projects and to go through the design process, I will not be starting any new orders for at least 4-6 months to catch up on the backlog of those waiting patiently. However, contacting me now will get you on the list for the next batch of guitars.
Please still feel free to contact me at any time to discuss your custom projects.
Thanks for your continued support!
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| AO Custom Cables |
Posted by: olson on Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 08:51 AM
I'm doing my best to use top-quality stuff while keeping the cost down and affordable--these cables are built for rugged use, and are tremendously shielded for extremely noiseless use. Below is some info and a pricelist for what's cranking out of here:
Currently, all cables are made with either:
Canare Cable—GS-6 for Instrument cables, and 4S8 for Speaker cables
Mogami 2524 cable (see below for descriptions of Canare and Mogami)
(if you are interested in other wire like Jerry's Belden Blue, let me know and I can get it. Or if you want a $200 10' Van Den Hul guitar cable, I can get that too)
All Plugs are Professional-Grade Neutrik Straights, Right Angles and Silents (Silent Straight and RA Plugs kill the signal when unplugged without popping the amp, so you don’t have to turn anything off between guitar changes, etc). These plugs are built for a lifetime of use, have great strain relief, and can take an amazing amount of abuse.
All of these cables are hand-soldered and tested by me here in the shop and made immediately to order--I can usually get to your order within a day or two. Any length or type can be made, so inquire for special applications--Stereo Y for you guys with Onboard Effects Loops, snakes, XLRs, Speak-Ons for your PA, you name it—if I don’t have it, I can make it. I’m also making Canare 4S8 Speaker Hook-up Cables either for your Combo Amp (with various connectors available, or stripped for direct soldering to your speaker's terminals) or for your Head-to-Cabinet connections. These make a huge difference over the cheap lamp-cord speaker wire used in most amps.
For rugged stage use, I like to add a product called Techflex to the runs of cable over 12” patch cords. It is basically a plastic mesh (kind of like the old Chinese Finger Traps) that is put on over the cable and protects it from cuts and abrasion from being stepped on and stuff. The cable still remains extremely flexible, and winds nicely. It comes in a variety of colors: Black, Blue, Green, Grey, Orange, Yellow, White.
Canare Cable, Straight Plug-to-Straight Plug :
6”—12”.....$11.00
3’.............$16.50
6’.............$21.00
9’.............$25.50
12’............$30.00
15’............$36.00
20’............$42.00
Canare cable comes in Black, Red, Blue, Orange
Mogami only comes in Black
Right Angle Plugs = add $2/plug (not per cable)
Neutrik Silent Plug = add $8
Techflex = add .50/foot
Any color combination of Canare and Techflex can be made, just be sure to specify when ordering.
In addition to the cables, I have also built Custom Pedalboards. I’m also willing to hand-wire your existing pedalboard with new cables, if you’d like a professional, tight installation done for you. I'm also a PedalTrain dealer, so I can hook you up with a new board, all wired and ready to go--just send me your pedals. Feel free to call if you have any ideas that you’d like to talk about.
COMING SOON: I've been asked by a few guys here about Custom Speaker Cabinets, and am thinking about putting a few into production if the demand is there. Please let me know if it's something that you may be interested in, and I'll look into building a few.
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| Winter '10 |
Posted by: olson on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 11:01 PM
Ok, as evidenced by my rather meager showing here in the news section, I'm no good at doing this with any regularity. The good thing is, that means I'm busy here in the shop. Orders are coming in, guitars are going out, and music is being made. Check out the gallery section with pictures of the last few...the Dave Gutter Signature guitar has been out hitting the scene with Rustic Overtones (www.therusticovertones.com), and Dave, the band, the guitar and I are going to be featured in a local TV show coming this Spring. Also, check the latest HollowRim, which was a real smoking guitar for a player in Memphis.
I'd also like to announce that I'm back making custom cables...more info on that to come as the site is going through some revamping shortly. Any immediate questions can be emailed to me, or as always, feel free to call.
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| Fall '09 |
Posted by: olson on Thursday, September 24, 2009 - 08:48 PM
Wow, it has been quite a busy year here at the shop (as evidenced by my lack of news posting). Not only have we had an addition to the family but the business has been taking off and I can't thank all of you out there for allowing me to do what I truly love.
There have been several big repairs and restoration jobs in the works alongside the custom builds--from a totally decapitated 1969 Gibson EB3 to a completely custom fingerboard retrofit, refret and rewiring of a 2003 Gibson CS-336. On top of that, one of my newest guitars was a commission for Dave Gutter of Portland's own Rustic Overtones, and its debut performance included backing up Ray Lamontagne here in Portland. I also have several Garcia guitars far into the building process--I actually recently had an unbelievable experience of a behind-the-scenes investigative look into Jerry's guitars at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame: 2 1/2 hours alone with 4 of his guitars.
So here we go into the New England Fall, with plenty of fun projects ahead...acoustics, some new models, and even a commission for a replica of Trey Anastasio's guitar. Check the gallery in the coming days for new pics of some of the latest guitars and a new F-5 Mandolin built for my very own website guru, TG. Thanks to all of you guys out there waiting on your dream guitars! I'm having a total blast building them for you all.
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| Fall '08 |
Posted by: olson on Sunday, September 28, 2008 - 12:15 PM
Wow, lots of great projects on the horizon. In addition to Rosebud in the drawing stages, I'm also in talks with a customer to build a copy of Tiger, as well as an Irwin-inspired version of my Hawg guitar (see one in progress in the Gallery).
I've also started work on modifying a few Strats for a killer local player named John McCain (no relation), and we're also in design stages of a 27" Scale guitar, which should be a lot of fun. There may also be an opportunity for him to play some of my guitars on an upcoming Discovery Channel show, so look out for news about that one.
I'm also still pluggin away on customer guitars, basses and mandolins, so there really is never a dull moment here in the shop--except for the impending Hurricane Kyle that seems to be making his way right towards us. Stay dry out there!
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| Summer '08 |
Posted by: olson on Friday, June 20, 2008 - 02:15 PM
This is shaping up to be quite a year for AO Guitars, now that the new shop is running smoother than ever. The response has been fantastic, and I'm embarking on some wonderful new projects--several new acoustics will be coming soon, a D-28 and a few 000-28 behind it, are all in the works right now. Plus, I'm nearing completion of the TG-5 Mandolin. The HollowRims have really proven to be popular, as most of my most recent orders are for them. Plus, the Hawg is finally in production--look for the prototypes to be completed and up here soon, as well as the first few Basses to come out of the new shop.
The most exciting commission I just got is for a true Replica of Jerry Garcia's Irwin-built "Rosebud," which I can't wait to sink my teeth into. The customer and I have been going back and forth on every last detail, all the way to the Roland Synthesizer that was built into the guitar.
I also continue to meet more and more stellar local musicians who come in for set-ups, repairs, and the Buzz Feiten Retrofit. Everything about the move up here has been amazing. I'm off to glue some braces on an acoustic guitar back!
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| Up and running! |
Posted by: olson on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 - 03:14 PM
Well, it's been quite a year, and my apologies to those of you waiting so patiently for new news from AO Guitars. The new shop is done, and I'm totally thrilled with the outcome. After a good year of construction and the last few months going into setting up shop, I'm back in action. The first batch of guitars has gone through the paces, and customer orders are being processed now. A couple new designs are in the works: a Tele-style single-cutaway version of the Venus (yet to be named), and the Hawg (influenced by Jerry Garcia's Tiger) coming soon. Pics of these guitars in progress and the finished shop will be up momentarily. Thanks again to my patient customers who have waited during the construction of the shop. Congrats to the Sox!
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| Almost there! |
Posted by: olson on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 11:03 AM
The new home of AO Guitars is nearing its completion! This is the reason why my site here has been lacking new photos and pictures. We've been constructing a timber-frame barn that will be all of AO Guitars from start to finish, including a sort of showroom. Thanks to those of you that have been so patiently waiting for instruments. I'll be putting photos of the new shop in the gallery. Go Pats!
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| New aoguitars Player! Ryan Montbleau |
Posted by: olson on Thursday, March 02, 2006 - 12:50 PM
Ryan Montbleau is the head of one of the new up and coming bands out of Boston, aptly named The Ryan Montbleau Band. Alongside his Martin D-16CE and Fender Telecaster, he now has my #016 Bubinga/Wenge Venus MultiLam (see photos in the gallery). The band was here in Portland last weekend opening for Assembly Of Dust and I brought this guitar down to him, and now its out on the road. I'm extremely happy to have Ryan playing one of my guitars, as he is such an extreme talent in all aspects of his music, and I respect the amount of work that he and the band are putting into making it in the business. Above all, though, the music is killer.
I highly recommend checking these guys out as they promote their new album, "One Fine Color" which was just released on February 14th at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA. Check out clips and order the album at www.ryanmontbleau.com.
From the band's site:
"Ryan Montbleau Band is building a bridge between 70’s soul, ragtime,
blues-folk-Americana, and the contemporary singer-songwriter vibe of
artists like Martin Sexton, David Gray and Ray Lamontagne. Having
begun his career playing Boston's coffee shops and folk venues as a solo
artist with an infectious, percussive, fingerpicking guitar style, the
charismatic Ryan Montbleau has evolved into the front man for the
dynamic, eclectic ensemble that bears his name. In addition to Ryan, the
band is comprised of Matt Giannaros (acoustic upright bass, electric bass,
vocals), Laurence Scudder (viola), Jason Cohen (piano, organ, clavinet,
Rhodes) and James Cohen (drums). The sound that emerges is akin to a
cross between Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder and The Band. While the
arrangements and intriguing instrumentation bring about this alchemic
transformation in the music, it is all anchored firmly on Montbleau’s
meaningful lyrical content and an unmistakable voice that carries it to the
audience. Rest assured, the audience responds."
Go check them out and buy the album!!
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| The Score |
Posted by: olson on Monday, October 24, 2005 - 04:19 PM
Hi all--
For you CT folks, my good friend Dave (who is the owner of #012 Spalted Maple MultiLam in the Gallery) is in a rockin' band called The Score out of the West Hartford area. Check out their site: www.thescorerocks.com and drop in on them next time you're in the area. I happen to know that Dave is shredding his AO Guitar out of a new Mesa these days, so watch yourself...
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