Dear Kevin and Barb:

As promised, I wanted to follow up with you both and thank you again for the wonderful Ryan!  Kevin, when you told me it was goal to exceed my expectations when we first decided to work together, I must confess that my expectations were pretty darn high.  You not only exceeded them, but you BLEW ME AWAY with this guitar!  I’ve have played a ton of guitars over my lifetime and this guitar is truly the best I have ever had the privilege to play. 

The tone and volume that my Nightingale produces is simply stunning.  The trebles are fat, crisp, and articulate up and down the entire register.  The bass is tremendous, powerful yet articulate (it’s always fun when I play those notes and get that nice rumble out of the body).  The mids are the perfect compliment to the trebles and bass, produce that nice transition tone that is full, articulate and powerful.  Amazingly, with the standout tone of each part of the guitar (treble, mids and bass), when put together they are amazingly balanced and produce such a nice, beautiful harmony together, unlike any other that I’ve played. 

Usually, a guitar takes a while to open up, however this Nightingale sounds more “open” out of the box than any other that I’ve had (including guitars I’ve owned and played regularly for over 10 years).  The top is extremely responsive to the slightest of touches and really expands the artistic palate and range that I am capable of drawing from.  The sound is remarkably resonant and goes on forever and has a nice gradual dissipation rate.  The volume on this guitar is amazing – the Nightingale really “plays bigger” than the size would suggest, easily dominating many dreadnaught and jumbo sized guitars (almost like Charles Barkley in the low post vs. all those wanna be’s). 

The attention to detail and quality of the build is unmatched.  First the selection of the woods is absolutely top notch.  The European spruce top is incredibly tight grained and the silkiest top I’ve seen – exactly what I dreamed of.  The Brazilian back and sides are spectacular and just an amazing testament to the “before” and “after” of woods and how they “blossom” in the finished form.  The headstock and fret board blue paua inlay is “absolutely lovely” in the way that the two blend into one another to form a simple, elegant and beautiful accent to the instrument.  Every time I play the guitar and look down at the blue flecks in the fret board I get that extra bit of special inspiration.  The bevel flutes and the slightly larger than “standard” sound hole are a really nice touch producing this full “stereo” sound to the player and audience alike.  The bevel and the flutes are as striking beautiful as they are artistic.  The custom fret board termination with the tapered end and the carved termination are so sweet.  The paua inlay in the top is such a nice touch.  The truss rod cover engraving is sweet and a reminder for why I play and where my inspiration truly comes from.

When you put all this together, what do you get?  Simply the best guitar I’ve every played.

The only thing better than a Ryan is two Ryans right?  Kevin, drop me a line when you shake free for a bit so we can begin dreaming up the next one.

Blessings,

Patrick    
from Connecticut

Nightingale