“Big thanks to Oska for building this beautiful guitar! It was a pleasure to meet him. He invited me down to his workshop in Glasgow and we had a lot of fun choosing the various woods. The craftsmanship is exquisite and puts on display the care he takes in his work! The guitar itself feels really well made and is a dream to play. The neck is very comfortable under my hand, and I love its full, balanced tone. This is the guitar I’ve wanted since I started playing as a boy, and I look forward to many happy years of music! Oska has also done a few other little jobs for my other instruments, and every time he has been a joy to interact with!”
DAVID MATTHESS – England, UK
“I bought this stunning baritone guitar from Oska and couldn’t be happier with it. The playability and tonal qualities are astoundingly good. Oska is a great craftsman and makes sure to involve you in the whole process, matching the design materials of the instrument with the player.”
DANIEL GRANT – Glasgow, UK
“I had been interested in one of Oska’s baritone instruments ever since I played the first one he made several years ago. When I heard he was making two more I knew I had to come and try them out! After testing both models (this and the rosewood back/side version), it was this one that immediately jumped out as the way forward for my musical ideas. A year later I can confirm that the baritone guitar is a truly exceptional instrument that has really opened up new possibilities in my writing and playing.
I play exclusively fingerstyle with a lot of contrapuntal melody lines and the baritone is absolutely ideal for this sort of playing. The extra long scale length gives the instrument a superbly deep and resonant low end, while the generous cutaway makes sure that it is highly playable all the way to the top of the neck. I also find the wider string spacing (compared to my standard pitch instrument) helps to keep each note clear and defined when picking complex passages.
The tone from the Black Walnut/ Spruce wood combo is rich but direct, without the overtoney ‘zinginess’ of a Rosewood instrument, and lets fundamental harmonic relationships really stand out. Two and three part harmonies are simply gorgeous and dripping with depth! The tone wood offers more sustain than a Maple body and sits, I would say, somewhere between the two in terms of general character. The overall tone has only improved as the instrument plays in, and I haven’t had any issues with setup in the first year – despite living on a boat where humidity is often less than ideal. The Hiscox cases that Oska supplies as standard are pretty indestructible and seem to do a good job of buffering the instrument from fluctuations in the ambient atmosphere.
The build quality is excellent throughout, and Oska’s attention to detail shows through everywhere. I particularly like the curved veneered volute on the back of the headstock, as well as the arm bevel – which is both stylish and functional. Though initially sceptical of the benefits, after playing the baritone as my main instrument for a year now, I can say that I definitely appreciate the added comfort whenever I go back to playing my other instrument! The build quality is complimented by an excellent finish job, which has so far resisted my best attempts at bashing it off of various things.
While the instrument is easily loud enough to be heard unamplified in a lounge or small outdoor setting, I have also had Oska fit a K&K pickup to it, which makes gigging and open mic’s much easier to deal with. Using this in conjunction with the K&K belt mounted preamp offers a beautiful rendition of the natural tone of the instrument and allows me to fine tune my own EQ and volume on the fly.
My whole experience with purchasing the baritone has been overwhelmingly positive, and I can vouch that these instruments offer outstanding value for money, easily competing with higher price tag models in terms of both tone and craftsmanship.”