The "road trip" guitar above is a means of getting my guitar out and about for players to play, record and review. This guitar has been on the road since October of 2006 and may remain out indefinately. Above are some recordings of the road trip guitar, generously made by several of the participants. Following are several reviews by some of the players involved.

Following review by Stephen Talkovich:

I was lucky enough to intercept the How Concert before it left GA and John was kind enough to let me spend a couple weeks with the guitar. Bill Sheffield had it for a few days of those two weeks.

I don't think I'll post specs, you can get them from John's site. I guess I'll start off with the bottom line, I want a How Ladder Braced Concert, want one bad enough to sell my Merrill OM (someone help me out with this, would ya?).

Tone:

I'd say the tone is bright and punchy, I play with flesh and a little nail and was able to get some lovely fatter tones out of the treble strings for single note "lead style" playing. There is very good string separation when doing ragtime style playing but when I'd play some comp style chords the strings blended together very nicely and produced a warmer tone that's very cohesive, great for vocal backing and rhythm playing. I know the ladder braced top is supposed to produce a dry middy tone but there is a slight amount of reverb (overtones) in the small box that is very pleasing and doesn't muddy up the sound at all. To my ear I thought I could use a (just) bit more volume from the bass strings (though I'd happily take the How concert just as she is) and John mentioned this was not a problem, when he was at the Little Bro. Acoustic jam last month John got to play a few more Stellas and found the backs to be lighter in general and was going to adjust his build accordingly. I also suggested a very slight amount more pitch to the neck to facilitate a small amount more saddle height to drive the top just a little harder and give one more room to adjust the string height/action over the life of the guitar. All and all I found the tone very pleasing and balanced. Adi and mahogany are my favorite tonewoods. There was a fear on my part that the red spruce top would be too stiff for a small body guitar, but no,...John's got the formula down. There's a huge amount of headroom, the harder you pluck the more you get but the build is light enough where you get a lovely tone with minimal pressure as well.

Playability:

Shoulder pain is a problem for me, even on my Merrill OM or my small Go Type 2 Parlor I'll feel that burn come back to my upper arm after a half an hour of playing. Not with the How LB Concert, a few factors make the How extremely comfortable for me. One is body depth, the thinner the body, the less one has to jack (one's) arm away from the body to accommodate the guitar's size. This is a big deal, small details in size make for a huge difference in playability. Another is the 12 fret to body combined with the scale length. My hands rest in the the right places on the How and the size brings my left hand in closer to my body, less reaching and twisting,...and my right hand is over the soundhole and closer to my left,..I hope this makes sense, my hands are closer together, there's less stretching and it makes for a more natural playing position for me. This is the first 12 fretter I've played that I don't miss the usual 14 frets. The wide nut and saddle (Nut - 1 13/16" Saddle - 2 5/16" string spacing) give me all the room i need, once I got used to the wider nut my other guitars seem a little cramped even at inch and three quarters spacing and I have small hands (make no assumptions). The neck has a soft V profile that is very comfortable and allows for quick changes in position. Certainly an A+ in playability from me.

Fit and finish:

Great fret job, lovely lacquer finish, beautiful vintage style shading on the top, way cool bridge shape, love the bindings and the trim,... all make for a stunning looking piece. I'd be proud to show it anywhere. I understand this was John's first of this model but I would require better tuners. The current tuners fit the "Stella-ness" of the guitar's concept but wouldn't cut it for pro use. It's not that they don't stay in tune, they just aren't very precise and one spends a little too much time finding the right pitch. I'll say right here, I'm not a die hard fan of vintage Stellas, I love the sound and looks but I hate the playability and the cost of getting them right (neck pitch and saddle height, etc.). John's take on the Stella concept and size corrects all those short comings and puts the Stella vibe in a high quality package with all the right stuff (tuners are a non issue since it's a easy fix).

Like I wrote earlier, someone buy my Merrill so I can buy a How Ladder Braced Concert....you'll love the Merrill, save me from eBay and save my shoulder, life's full of enough pain!

The How is on it's way to Bill Gault in Mississippi, I'm sure it'll feel at home there but Bill, I think John wants you to send it right back to me!

Stephen Talkovich

Following review by Mike Crixell:

Hey Folks,

Well, the time has come. By the good graces of luthier John How, I have had the honor of hosting his road trip guitar at my home for a memorable while. Here are my observations:

First of all, I am impressed. John How is a builder on a mission, and that is clear. His work sounds as good as it looks, and it looks damn good.

Size

This is a faithful repro of a Stella concert model. In essence, it is comparable to a Martin O or, in more recent history, what Larrivée refers to as their Parlor (the Larrivée is arguably too large for a traditional Parlor, but that's another story). John has obviously spared no effort to recreate this little guitar true to Stella Concert dimensions.

Materials

True to its roots, this a classic build of Adirondack/Mahogany with a solid Mahogany neck. A touch of class (John couldn't help himself!) are the MadRose bridge and fingerboard. Very tasty combo throughout.

Fit & Finish

I have always been taken with John's joinery. He prides himself on doing it right, and it shows. The finish on this guitar is stunning, with an overall caramel-coloration scheme that Stellas could only have dreamed of. The effect is that of a brand new vintage guitar, but one that glows with richness. Non-players and players alike were struck by the visual beauty of this How, and everyone appreciated its attention to detail. Upon very close inspection, there were a few pinholes in some of the binding gluing, but nothing significant in terms of structural consideration. Being essentially a prototype for this model, such issues are inconsequential.

Playability

This is where John How lives. This little guitar plays like a dream. John's setup was dead-on perfect in my estimation, as I have felt with other Hows I've played. The action was low and fast, and the Light strings on the guitar were perfect for fingerstyle or flatpicking work. The neck sported a V-shape that was substantially deep, but not too deep as to be an impediment to moving quickly. The 2 13/16" string spacing at the nut felt just right to me, as did the 2 5/16" spacing at the bridge. I have always appreciated having more string spacing on either end of a short-scale small-body, and this How gave me that.

Tone

This was the single most remarkable aspect of this How guitar. The tone John pulls out of his ladder-braced guitar was at once reminiscent of a vintage sound and the embodiment of a contemporary acoustic build. This is no easy feat, but John pulled it off, in style. Given this guitar's model, making blues and ragtime sound authentic was understandable and expected, but the degree of resonance this little guitar belted out belied its traditional construction materials: it sustained like a dream when required, something that would not be expected from a tiny Ad/Mahogany box. This guitar's balance across the strings was impeccable. It worked amazingly well with contemporary tunes and even classical pieces, as my daughter so beautifully demonstrated. To characterize this How as being versatile in its tone would be to damn with faint praise. It is remarkable. Period. Some purists might not care for the introduction of modern tonality in such a faithful-looking Stella repro as this, but I sure do. I dig vintage-y guitars, and I appreciate them even more when they can play outside of their intended genre, so to speak. Music is varied, and I prefer to have the option of having a guitar go with me wherever I want, musically. This necessitates that the instrument be versatile in its response and tone. John How's guitar is all that. Another surprising aspect of this guitar (although, not really, having played some of John's previous work) was its projection. This is a small-body, but John's artful blending of materials and technique yields a tremendous amount of sound: This guitar is loud and proud. What makes this all the more valuable a feature is the aforementioned quality of that sound. I threw everything I had at this guitar, and it just smiled sweetly in return. I played some hard rhythm without having the Ad top even think of breaking up. The tender fingerstyle stuff made this How respond with crystal-like purity. Everything in between felt and sounded as if it had been written for this guitar, as the tones cascaded from it elegantly.

Bottom Line

I'm impressed. John obviously has a discerning eye for vintage esthetics and a very deft hand at building eminently playable guitars. While that could be enough for some, John also has a knack for creating a signature tone that straddles the chasm between vintage and contemporary sensibilities. Another aspect that can't be ignored when referring to John How is his character. John is a caring individual. That caring is front and center in whatever he does. The care he feels to be true to his muse and to his players is realized in his builds. This one is no exception.

Mike