Praise for the Cathedral Grand Fingerstyle
    I've played many high-end guitars from the boutique manufacturers as well as solo luthiers so I have some basis for comparison here. My Mission Grand Concert used to be the standard against which I compared every guitar I played. I Ioved the clarity, richness, separation, and most of all, the piano-like bass that the guitar produced. It only got better as time went by and the Adirondack top opened up. When you agreed to build me another guitar, I wanted the same sound as the Mission, but more of it.
    The Cathedral had only been strung up for five days or so when I got it, but from the first strum, it was clear that the sound surpassed the Mission I already had and it was only going to get better. The intonation is perfect all the way up the neck with no dead spots. The highs are crystal clear and the bass is very piano-like. The guitar has a lot of presence and everyone who has played it has agreed that this is a very special guitar (that includes another world-class luthier). The workmanship is flawless as expected with some very nice touches such as the embossed Ryan logo on the neck block and the way the Macassar ebony bevel blends with the ebony of the binding.
    Not many people have the privilege of owning the best guitar they've experienced, but I can safely say I belong in that select group. The bevel makes the guitar feel like most of it is behind you and as a result, feels more comfortable than my other guitars. It is a very nice touch. The guitar has made me want to play more music and can handle anything I throw at it. What more could I ask for?
    I may be imagining things, but the Cathedral has made me a better player. I just started playing alternate tuning stuff (Don Ross, Laurence Juber, etc.) with lots of bass hammer-ons and harmonics and they just come out so easily on the Cathedral. The strings are dead as heck, but it sound fabulous even like that. If I hadn't gotten the Cathedral, I really don't think I would have gone down this path. I find I'm trying to be more articulate and get all the notes in there (it's very easy to hear when anything's missing!) This is one special guitar! It's made me notice how flawed a lot of guitars in the guitar shop tend to be, but I guess I'm comparing apples and oranges.
— Gerry N.

How Full and Powerful the Guitar Is
   I still feel compelled to tell you how great the Cathedral you made for me is. It eats other guitars for lunch and spits them out. I was comparing some guitars last night with my Korean distributor of high end guitars. He had eleven top notch instruments at the house here. I went through them all. They sounded nice in their own ways, but then I told him I would bring out the "secret weapon" and that it would change his concept of fine guitars forever.
I warned him that it could spoil him for life. He seemed to just think I was just being silly and exaggerating.
   When he hit the first note, I saw expressions on his face of amazement, confusion, and disappointment. He was blown away by how full and powerful the guitar is. Absolutely perfect tone. Then he was confused at how anyone could produce a guitar that sounded this good. Then his head sank with a look of defeat and disappointment as he realized he had eleven fine and expensive instruments that would never even start to sound
1/100th as good as my Cathedral. As he packed up the eleven instruments he had brought over, it was apparent that he had lost all enthusiasm for them, and he regarded them as anemic and sickly in tone. It was truly a pathetic situation, and my heart went out to him. I did warn him though!
— Trevor L.

Top Bevel Is a Great Idea
    I received the Cathedral. What an incredible piece of work! The top bevel is a great idea. Much more comfortable to hold and play. The sound (Adirondack), is powerful and balanced. Please don't come out with another model, or I will have to buy it!
— John B.

A Beautifully Crafted Instrument
   Please share with Kevin (yet again) how thrilled I am in owning such a beautifully crafted instrument (it's perfect - so easy to play). This Cathedral sounding better and better the more I play it.
— David G.

 Such Great Karma
   Well, on top of the incredible surprise of being able to get the Cathedral that I had given up on, it seems that I've coincidentally stumbled onto an exceptionally beautiful instrument (and historic!).
My concentration and work productivity is pretty much shot for the day (week?). I didn't have such a fancy Cathedral in my sights when I placed the original order, but getting the prototype Cathedral feels so right, and will be soooo appreciated. Now I got to try to figure out what I did to deserve such a great Karma.
— Geoff C.

It's Brilliant
IT'S HERE! And it's brilliant. With all the pictures I wasn't prepared for the real thing. It's so much nicer, more subtle, more beautiful and more refined. It's simply amazing. It really blows my other guitar out of the water. Where it surprised me most was its playability. I have been playing just my other instrument (since I don't own another guitar for one thing ;-), but the Ryan really is so different. I have been playing for two hours straight and I don't trip on the things that usually do, like strings flying off the fretboard and such. It's really incredible. I thought I was just imagining it, but I checked and I wasn't. It has quite a deep voice and it has a shine or shimmer to the sound. It feels really solid and like I said the playability is absolutely wonderful. It has the medium strings and the scale is longer but everything feels easier.
     I just love it, that's all there is to it.
— J.A. from Holland
 

The Workmanship is Precise and Beautiful
     I took delivery of a Cathedral made of African Blackwood and a very bear-clawed European Spruce top.  I never could imagine a guitar that sounds so good.  I literally can feel the vibrations of the booming bass, yet the trebles sing out loud and clear.  But what really floors me is the sustain that never seems to end with beautiful overtones, yet the overtones never cause any individual note not to be hear distinctly.
     The playability is wonderful.  The workmanship is precise and beautiful.  I am simply awestruck.  I am so grateful for your efforts to make such a wonderful instrument that I will keep for my lifetime and that will be passed down to the next generation.
     I am certain that your art brings a great deal of joy to many people.  Thanks again,
— Craig J.