Don McEachern

I first met Oliver through a mutual friend Greg Esposito. I had been looking for a builder to take on an imagining that had been developing for some time. Being a lover of many genres of music, I had first imagined the need for several instruments. Through further explorations I realized the need for a single instrument that would encourage the eclectic expression of the many styles at once. The instrument would definitely be a nylon stringed acoustic of mahogany spruce and ebony.It would have extra scale length to add tension and pluck and allow for a larger top to be sounded.The neck to be all but full in profile with a radiussed fretboard. The body to be large in the hips and comfortable with a taper from top to bottom and balanced overall. It was suggested the guitar would naturally play jazz with influences of the soulful Spain, Brazil, Argentina, and Cuba in mind. With this arduos task I turned to Oliver. He listened well took on the specifics intellectually and the large artistic ideas heartfully and turned his enthusiasm for creative adventure loose. What he did in fact was make this mere idea possible and more. The instrument he crafted encourages the expression of many styles. It is of full and even voice bottom to top and throughout its dynamic range. The tone is already richer than I had imagined and with each playing there comes a new discovery, a new joy and wonder.