News
FROM THE SHOP
Both a 12-string model and a nylon string classical model have joined the ergo lineup. We'll post details and more photos soon.
New Charles Fox designs to be shown at this spring and summer Newport/Miami and Montreal guitar shows: The Muse combines Charles' extra-responsive ultra-low mass double-top with his rigid rim unibody construction and a removable neck, in a performance-quality contemporary/traditional fingerstyle guitar. The Stag Leap is Charles' updated take on the solid body electric guitar, the first such creation since his seminal GRD electric instruments of almost three decades ago. Stay tuned for more photos and information on these new models.
GUITAR FESTIVALS AND SHOWS
See and hear Charles Fox guitars:
APRIL 16 - 18: Newport/Miami Guitar Festival
(www.newportguitarfestival.com/wp/)
JULY 2 - 4, 2009: Montreal Guitar Show
(www.montrealguitarshow.ca)
PERFORMANCE
Legendary classical guitarist John Williams (playing a Greg Smallman guitar)and virtuoso jazz guitarist John Etheridge (playing the Charles Fox ergo) are recording and touring as a steel string - nylon string duo, featuring new material showcasing the two distinct and complementary voices of these instruments.
The duo's album: "Places Between - John williams & John Etheridge, Live in Dublin" was recently released by Sony Classical.
REVIEWS
Gitarre & Bass:
"The ergo has high tone quality to offer indeed. No one frequency range dominates; be it basses, mids or highs, none of them are over-emphasized - they rather complement one another to make up a perfect whole. I've never with any other guitar heard notes of the same pitch played on different frets and different strings sound as much alike as they do on the ergo - the perfect unison .......... truly skilled virtuoso players will find the ergo an instrument that puts across each and every nuance in technique and expression ........... the ergo noir is a perfect guitar through and through - a guitar that produces a well-balanced, absolutely harmonious sound and offers outstanding ergonomics at the same time .......... Even when amplified the ergo noir is astonishing - I cannot remember ever before hearing an amplified sound that is so balanced and true to nature as the ergo noir."
Fretboard Journal:
"...with the ergo, [Charles Fox] finally brings [double top] technology to steel string guitars. The result is a strong, light and resonant guitar with no braces in the lower bout. In short, it's a soundboard that can sing to its heart's content, with nothing to slow it down."
Vintage Guitar:
"The ergo's domed top and tapered body produce tones that are more detailed than those of a typical flat-top........ each note in every chord [is] audibly delineated - single notes, long tones, arpeggios and fast runs all have a strong, immediate attack and good sustain. The brace-free lower bout of the top makes the string response very quick, and lightly picked notes and hammer-ons materialize clearly and cleanly. The notes jump off the guitar. Played with a plectrum or finger style, the ergo's tone has elements of a good arch top or Selmer-style guitar, but without the bark and startling treble presence that often characterize those models. This refined, articulate voice makes the ergo a particularly distinctive jazz guitar........ All of this adds up to a guitar that has redefined the acoustic steel-string...... [the ergo is] one of the first notable lutherie achievements of the new millennium."
Downbeat:
"[ with the ergo] Charles Fox has broken new ground in both acoustic guitar design and tonal response....... the ergo is an innovative and exquisitely hand-crafted instrument that plays like a dream and roars like a cannon....... Acoustically, the volume, balance and clarity are amazing....... this is not your average guitar. Its design, feel and sound place it in a category by itself."
Jazz Improv:
"Lush, rich, stunning - words that hung in the air when John Etheridge and John Williams met up in the studio with the first ergo to come to Europe. [John Etheridge says]...."It has the best note separation and tonal balance I have ever heard. When I'm playing fast runs and arpeggios, the notes are all clearly distinguishable. You simply cannot outrun this guitar......it's depth and expressive range are remarkable! It's like I'm playing a grand piano - it's that full and rich. .....[the neck is] very fast and the string spacing is perfect for both fingerstyle work and fast picking.....The wedge-shaped body is just so comfortable. It feels like you're playing a much smaller guitar. I can sit and play this guitar for hours." ......the ergo represents the emerging steel string 'super guitar'.....and it suggests dramatic future developments for the instrument as it evolves in the 21st century."
Acoustic Guitar:
"While he has long been at the forefront of contemporary American lutherie, Fox has surpassed even his own past accomplishments with the forward-thinking design of his new Ergo model."
20th Century Guitar:
"The ergo is a stunning, high performance fingerstyle guitar......The tonal character [of the ergo] is 'golden'. The notes, especially noticeable in the trebles, are sweet, round and gorgeous......It is a refined sound, with energy behind it. With just the right amount of sustain, decay and harmonic overtones..........it is so musical and expressive."