Review – Gopher Wood G620EQ / G820 4.5RWhile cruising around the NAMM show this past January with my worship leader friend, Marvin Mumford, we ran into the Gopher Wood Guitar Company. The beauty of the guitars caught our attention and we spent a good bit of time visiting with the folks behind the guitars. We met Paul Nam, the builder and designer and were totally impressed with his work.The guitars are widely known in China and Korea, but essentially unknown in the USA. I continued to visit with Paul after the show and it worked out for me to get a couple of guitars to review. When the first guitar arrived, I was absolutely impressed with the detail not only with the guitar, but even the gig bag was top-notch. Starting with the bag… a dense brown fabric with plenty of form-fitted padding, a firm neck rest with Velcro wrap to secure the guitar in place, oversized pockets to hold whatever is needed, and extremely comfortable, padded, and balanced shoulder straps. The guitar I received is the G620EQ.It’s all gloss with solid cedar top, solid rosewood back, and laminated rosewood sides with a rosewood fingerboard. A sharp cutaway and beautiful flamed maple binding dress the guitar well. The most unique feature, something I had never heard of before, is a “Sound Pillar.” I asked Paul about it and he told me, “The starting point of Gopher Wood Guitars was our interest in the sound post.I had heard that there have been many tries and also many fails to introduce it into the guitar. I wanted to find out how to make a better sound with an accessory. And I wanted to make various sound changing options. Our research team studied the principle of the sound post and modified its structure.We applied a totally new-concept with a small tool into the guitar. We failed many times. Most people told me, ‘that is impossible’ and ‘you are crazy.’ It was just like Noah building the Ark. However, the South Korean government showed faith and supported our company. The sound pillar was created as a result.” Paul is a believer and it was because of the similarities to the doubt that Noah faced that he themed these guitars around the story of Noah’s Arc. Gopher Wood is the wood that God instructed Noah to build the ark out of. On the fingerboard at the 12th fret is an inlaid image of a dove. The soundhole rosette depicts the olive branch that the dove brought back to Noah and the headstock boldly displays a carved cross. The back of the headstock also displays the company’s motto: “You are worthy of all the glory.”I was most interested in the sound pillar. It comes with the guitar and includes five different tip options. Each has it’s own EQ characteristic and to test it out,I strummed an “E” chord while watching the sound displayed on an RTA sound analyzer. I tried each of the different tips for the sound pillar, retuned the guitar, and played the same “E” chord. You can watch my test on the embedded video. The EQ change for each is visibly noticeable on the RTA. The G620EQ is equipped with proprietary electronics as well. In discussing with Paul, I found that the Gopher Wood team developed the pickup system to work well with the sound pillar. The system includes an under saddle piezo pickup and a condenser mic mounted on the endpin jack. Sound hole mounted controls include master volume, tone, and mic level. In visiting more with Paul, he was explaining his newest innovation with the introduction of “roasted” wood.I asked Paul to give me the details on it… “The roasted woods undergo a unique high heat drying process.It has a similar level of the water content percentage with wood that has been naturally dried over a long time. It allows richer reverberation and a more vintage tone. The roasted wood is classified as an exclusive material. However, we have our own technology developed by our research team for this process. It allows for a more competitive price. The combination of the unique sound propensity of roasted wood and the sound pillar is a strong advantage for the Gopher Wood brand.” I was able to try the G820 4.5R with roasted wood top to compare with the G620EQ. The G820 has a solid roasted spruce top with solid rosewood back and sides and the same electronics.

Dusty is an Ohio native, living in and around Dayton for the last ten years. He met his wife, Nicole, at Wright State University, where he finished his BA. in Music Performance. He is currently working towards finishing his MATS at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.Dusty and Nicole have one child, Declan, and a Great Dane named Charlie. Dusty is passionate about all things musical and theological, and loves to spend time recording, writing and listening to music. His other passion is in the “coffee arts”, which includes roasting coffee, brewing it and crafting caffeinated beverages for his friends.

“I learned to play the guitar as an 18 year old Bible College freshman. From the moment I played that first chord, I knew I was going to use the guitar for worship. It had never even crossed my mind before that, but that first chord was the spark in what was to become a wildfire in my life.”Born and raised in a small town in southern British Columbia Canada, Cam returned home after Bible School and quickly got involved in the music ministry there. His passion for Worship music deepened and he grew both musically and as a leader in his hometown church."I believe that the desire to worship something bigger than us has been ingrained in us since creation. When God breathed that very first breath of life into Adam, the desire for closeness with the Father was established. Something very powerful happens when we as believers gather together and sing profound truths with each other. Some of my favorite experiences leading have been when the different churches in the community gathered together for a service. There is something awesome that happens when we put aside our doctrinal and preferential differences and just focus on Jesus together."Cam now lives and works in the mountains of southern British Columbia with his wife and two young boys. He attends and leads worship at Oliver Alliance Church in Oliver BC, Canada.

Rob Ditona is a follower of Jesus, a husband, a father, a son, a singer, a musician, a songwriter, a seeker of truth.He is a worship leader residing in Bakersfield, California. Currently, Rob serves as one of the worship leaders at Canyon Hills Church.Having been in music ministry for over 15 years and being influenced with traditional and contemporary worship, Rob has come to believe wholeheartedly in ushering the people of God into His presence and challenging others who are in search for something deeper by stepping into God’s courts with praise through song.He's been blessed to witness the great benefits of powerful praise and worship and believes the music he creates is defined by Psalm 66:2 “Sing[ing] the glory of His name; giv[ing] to him glorious praise”.

A native of South Korea, Jeemin Moon has been serving in the worship ministry more than 10 years.He served the military as a chaplain’s assistant from 2009 to 2011, leading worship every week at Camp Jackson and Garrison Yongsan in South Korea.Jeemin is actively serving at LaGrange Baptist Church in LaGrange, KY as a resident intern in worship ministry. He is also the leader of a Louisville-based worship band, Cannons Lane Collective.Jeemin earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree with a concentration in Worship Leadership at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is now pursuing a Master of Theology (Th.M.) degree in Biblical Counseling at SBTS.He is married to his beautiful and godly wife YehSul, who is a Korean-Canadian, and now they are living in Louisville, KY. They strive to live a life dwelling in & teaching the word of Christ and singing with thankfulness (Colossians 3:16).Endorsed Model: G410E

I’ve been a worship leader for 8 years and have been a musician for 15 years. I recently moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado from my home, Atlanta, Georgia to be a full time worship pastor, and a singer-songwriter. I am also a worship leader with an international collective of worshippers called “Worship Mob” based out of Colorado Springs. I have the absolute privilege of leading and recording worship moments with Worship Mob regularly to post on YouTube as well as serve the church and community locally by hosting a weekly worship night called ‘Friday Night Fire’.God has allowed me to travel across the USA, and to other countries to lead worship, share the gospel message, and create deeply intimate spaces where the believer and the non-believer can encounter Jesus. It is the joy and call of my life to see Jesus get his full reward for His sacrifice in me and in others. I believe that my partnership with Gopherwood Guitars will support the global Church and her mission to reveal Jesus, be His hands and feet, and make the whole Earth look like Heaven.Thank you so much for this opportunity and God Bless Gopherwood Guitars.

I am a music teacher, performer, worshipper and licensed busker in Melbourne and Geelong, Victoria, Australia. And I believe music is from God and created by Him to worship and give God all the glory. I am very excited to be a part of the Gopherwood Guitar family.Performance (2018 – 2020) Opening performance for Humans in Geelong Expo 2019 / Several performing gigs at South Geelong Farmers Markets / Busking shows in Melbourne and Geelong city and surrounding towns in Victoria Australia.Private Teaching (2014 – 2020) I have 7 years teaching experience on acoustic guitar/ukulele with over 600 students from ages 6 to 65. One-on-one, small groups, large groups up to 30 students at a time, as well as online Skype tutoring.(2017) - Attending Winter NAMM show in Los Angeles- Participated in the 2017 Thomas Leeb percussive Guitar boot camp.- Performing at Christian Assembly church’s Fusion café (Tommy Walker, is the worship leader at the CA church.)(2016 – 2019) Being a music missionary with Hanguel Camp USA, Los Angeles This nonprofit travels the world teaching English and music camps for primary school kids. As a teacher for them, I have taught students in Myanmar, Taiwan and South Korea.(2016) 1st place at the national Fingerstyle guitar competition in Taiwan(2014) Selected opening guitarist for Masaaki Kishibe.(2013) Receptionist of guitarists : Tommy Emmanuel and Martin Taylor