Kevin Kopp - Trail Boss Rides!
Hank Alinger
Folks:
On Thursday, I celebrated Christmas early in Maryland...that is, a new,
exceptional guitar arrived!
Almost exactly one year ago I ordered a guitar from Kevin Kopp of
Bozeman, Montana. Kevin is a former Gibson custom shop guru who is now
building guitars on his own. The model I purchased is the "Trail
Boss"...a 12 fret soft cutaway jumbo based on a Gibson J-200 from the
30's. It's sunburst Sitka/Mahogany (with a one piece back-unusual for a
jumbo, right?) It's lightly braced and I'm told has a very thin lacquer
finish - it's a very light guitar. As you can see from his web site
Kevin primarily builds guitars in the Gibson tradition...i.e., basically
best described as "Gibsons on steroids". :-)
Anyway, the guitar came well endorsed. I had played one that a friend
of mine (OK a pig)in CA had ordered last summer and I was hooked. His
was number 4 or 5 and mine is number 10 (of the TBs). The prototype and
the first two TB models (6&12 string) were purchased by? ...you guessed
it...Leo Kottke. Not a bad endorsement, eh?
I can't say enough about the Trail Boss. It's had strings on for less
than one week and it's much more "open" than anything else I own.
The tone of the low E alone is worth the price of admission. :-)
I'll bring it to Pugh Stock for anyone attending to test drive. Of
course Norm will require adult supervision with it at all times. :-)
Back to Nivana, aka the "Trail HoG",
Happy/Hank/Hoink
PS:
Check out these links if you're interested:
http://gregboyd.com/instruments.html?family=Guitars&sound=Acoustic&maker=Kevin%20Kopp
betsey
hank--
congrats on your new guitar...the pictures look luscious...
now, in keeping with the trail boss theme, i think you need to come up
to southern NJ with it, and have a picture taken sitting on my
palomino...that way, you can have as your christimas card, the whole
"Trail boss" theme....trigger (macho in disguise), hank and the trail
boss, singing "happy trails to you...."
betsey
Ed Edelenbos
"Hank Alinger" <hoi...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:xI-dnZ6ESri4Xv3b...@comcast.com...
Good for you Hank! The pics at GregBoyd are damned nice. I'm sure you'll
do it proud... or it you... or something.
Ed
Hank Alinger
Palomino in NJ eh...did he wander over from PA? :-)
Happy Trails!
Hank
betsey
>
> - Show quoted text -
Hank...
there's lots of palominos in NJ...just come to the NJPEA show in
august and you can see "more stupid yellow horses" than you ever
thought possible.
macho was actually born in ny state...but, his bloodlines are western
ranch horse things. he wants a cow.
betsey
Chuck
Chuck
wa...@triad.rr.com
i can *not* wait to hear that thing hammered on for hour after hour at
the next ec gathering. great talent deserves a great guitar.
wayne harrison
Tom from Texas
--
Tom from Texas
(The Tom Risner Fund for Deserving North Texas Guitarplayers is not liable
for any slander, hurt feelings, pointless moaning, or achy-breaky heartache
any
post under this name should cause. Yall want some easy cash or sympathy...
ya can kiss my grits!! )
"Hank Alinger" <hoi...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:xI-dnZ6ESri4Xv3b...@comcast.com...
>
shrimer
Congratulations on the Kopp Trail Boss, Hank!
I've known Kevin for years, from his days back with Gibson's Custom
Shop, and have visited with him (and he with us) over the years. He
builds a mean 'Gibson', and your guitar, judging from your description,
sounds like it is on par with the other stellar instruments of Kevin's
that I've played.
Fred
Misifus
back to EC to hear it.
-Raf
--
Misifus-
Rafael Seibert
mailto:rafse...@suddenlink.net
blog: http://rafsrincon.blogspot.com/
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rafiii
home: http://www.rafandsioux.com
hank alrich
> The pics at GregBoyd are damned nice.
That's a great place. Greg just sold my Somogyi. My wife is pleased.
Bought it from a pawn shop for $304. Sold it for $3K, less commission.
--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam
hank alrich
> Have ye glued a Guild logo to the headstock yet?
My gawd, man, is there no depth to which ye will not stoop?
Misifus
> Ed Edelenbos wrote:
>
>> The pics at GregBoyd are damned nice.
>
> That's a great place. Greg just sold my Somogyi. My wife is pleased.
> Bought it from a pawn shop for $304. Sold it for $3K, less commission.
>
Geez, what would a new one cost you now?
Misifus
> Tom from Texas wrote:
>
>> Have ye glued a Guild logo to the headstock yet?
>
> My gawd, man, is there no depth to which ye will not stoop?
>
Tom? Why, no.
hank alrich
> hank alrich wrote:
> > Ed Edelenbos wrote:
> >
> >> The pics at GregBoyd are damned nice.
> >
> > That's a great place. Greg just sold my Somogyi. My wife is pleased.
> > Bought it from a pawn shop for $304. Sold it for $3K, less commission.
> >
>
>
> Geez, what would a new one cost you now?
This is a very unusual Somogyi. It's a small-bodied classical of
Brazilian (which is what caught my eye in the pawn shop) and spruce, in
the syle of a French "parlor" kind of guitar. Ervin is not at all famous
for his nylon stringers, and this one needed a rather expensive neck
reset, given the way Ervin put it together. He wanted a very pretty
penny for that in spite of the reality that his own less than stellar
design and workmanship, in this particular case, had much to do with the
need for the work.
That said, it's a very nice sounding guitar, and terrific for nylon jazz
work. I bought it to resell it, and even offered it here years ago. The
response, IIRC, was that it was priced so low that something must be
questionable about it. But it was merely not a famous kind of Somogyi
and in need of some work, yet fine sounding.
It went to a man who deals into Japan and who has a luthier associate
there who apprenticed under Ervin, who will do the repair work. I'm sure
the next step in the marketing chain will next lots more cash, in Japan.
I think Ervin's guitars presently start around $15K.
Misifus
>
>
> I think Ervin's guitars presently start around $15K.
>
That's about what I thought.
Larry Pattis
<rafse...@suddenlink.net> wrote:
> hank alrich wrote:
> >
> >
> > I think Ervin's guitars presently start around $15K.
> >
>
>
> That's about what I thought.
>
> -Raf
Ervin Somogyi is starting at $20,000.00 now...as of about a year ago, I
believe...
--
Larry Pattis
email: LP "at" LarryPattis "dot" com
http://www.LarryPattis.com