New acoustic odyssey

TimmyO · July 2019

ToneControl said:

how many acoustics does GV have?
I know that Coda had 55 Lowdens, plus all the other brands

Dunno - tbh I was there to try Martins and spent ages going that - didn't even go in the room with Lowdens in

I think it's a potentially misleading measure - Coda had "more" Martins but on that occasion I went to GV because the mix of models in stock were more interesting.

TimmyO · July 2019

(both have reliable websites to check this)

Lewy · July 2019

ToneControl said:

how many acoustics does GV have?
I know that Coda had 55 Lowdens, plus all the other brands

About 300 going by their website

Andy79 · July 2019

https://reverb.com/item/26218370-1983-martin-m-38-150th-anniversary
Maybe worth a look. Slim chance of trying it out though

monkaiboy · July 2019

Well, that was very interesting, fun and informative. Spent a number of hours over the weekend in Coda, GuitarGuitar and TheNorthAmericanGuitar playing a bunch of lovely instruments.

To summarise - I was right in the first place, I do need 2 guitars, and those guitars are a Collings D1 and a Collings 01-T

What I learnt:

I prefer mahogany sides
I suspected as much but now I know

The Martin sound is not for me
Too scooped - I prefer a bit more midrange action. Thus...

I love Collings.
I was totally won over by a lot of the Collings guitars I played, they had a sound and playability that really spoke to me. I played and OM1 and the action and playing feel was possibly the best of any guitar I have played. I also loved the sound for finger style and melodic picking. For strumming, not so much - too scratchy and slightly boxy. Which brings me to:

An OM is not for me
I played a bunch over the weekend - Collings OM1 and OM2, SantaCruz OM and Grand OM, and various Martins including a lovely sinker mahogany one. And in general, I just don’t like the way they sound strummed (lovely though they may be otherwise). There is a bit of a boxy thing going on that I don't like. Of course this is a generalisation and will vary between guitars, and others will perceive differently. But on balance over the weekend, this was my conclusion. The SantaCruz Grand OM and Martin M36 were better, but still didn’t really float my boat - seems I’m an all or nothing kind of guy...

A smaller guitar may be the answer
Interestingly, I much preferred the sound of an 0 size guitar strummed to an OM - in particular a Collings 01-T that I played but also a Collings 01Mh (12 fret, all mahogany) that I fell in love with. I think because they have less bass, they are missing that bass resonance that OMs seem to have, which troubles my ears. Of course they do not have the authority and aggression of a dread but they had a lovely crisp and very useable strumming sound.

I prefer fingerpicking on a smaller guitar and flat picking on a dread
No massive surprise here, but I was interested at how much easier it felt to fingerpick on the Collings OM1 than the D1. Is that all down to the nut spacing I wonder? When I had the Collings OM1, I just found myself noodling finger style for ages. And likewise when playing the D1 I was much more inclined to attack it with the pick. (I really did love the D1 too - really made me want to dig in and could take being hit hard, but had a great balanced tone that I miss in the more scooped Martin sound….)

So there we go. Where does this leave me? I think I’m, going to look for a small guitar first, as I already have the jumbo to cover heavy strumming duties, and a small responsive thing would be a welcome addition.

One issue- the standard Collings 01 is 1 11/16” nut, I think I want 1 3/4”. The Traditional has this, and that was the guitar I played that I connected with most. But the price, ouch.

So, we shall see....

Andy79 · July 2019

You sir have expensive taste

monkaiboy · July 2019

It's my curse...

TimmyO · July 2019

Productive day out

rustneversleeps · July 2019

I had a M36 big regret selling it.Its a great all round guitar and very comfortable.Some people used to say it was Martin’s secret weapon,Still hard to find as Martin don’t produce them in great numbers.
Had many Martin’s over the years still have,but for some reason the M36 always stood out.

thomasross20 · July 2019

OP I have done what you've done many times, mainly for electric. That is, go to a shop and try as many as possible to get to the bottom of what you like. Often with surprising results.

I broke my own rule yesterday and bought something that I hope will be special, totally blind! The deal was too good. So fingers crossed for me. And for you - what will you do?

monkaiboy · July 2019

@thomasross20 nice what have you ordered?

What will I do ? An excellent question. Not going to rush into things. I think I need to figure out how much I care about nut width, which may mean another excursion at some point.

Aside from that, I just need to wait for some second hand Collings to show up

Ideally an 01 with a 1 3/4 nut (just missed on on ebay, dang). Although if a D1 with a 1 3/4 nut show up that may be tempting too...

In the meantime I'm going to get my Jumbo set up and enjoy playing that for now...

thomasross20 · July 2019

Secret until I get it

Good on you for trying the lot out!

jellyroll · July 2019

monkaiboy said:

...just missed on on ebay.....

......<cough, cough> "NGD" ....

monkaiboy · July 2019

you???

jellyroll · July 2019

monkaiboy said:

you???

Indeed. I bought it a week ago. 01 sunburst with 1.75 nut. It’s pristine although I’m not entirely sure it’s for me.

monkaiboy · July 2019

Ah, how is it? Be very interested to know your impressions

jellyroll · July 2019

It sounds.....like a Collings. It really is just like a smaller, quieter version of their other guitars, with that balanced Collings tone. It has a tiny hint of boxiness to it but far less than any other 0 size I've played. It's a finger picker's dream....but I play with a pick

....and I think I might be more of a Martin person. Honestly not sure whether to stick or twist with it. It is also the only guitar I've ever owned that I have considered keeping just for the way it looks

Jimbro66 · July 2019

Just out of interest @monkaiboy did you try one of these?

https://www.coda-music.com/atkin-essential-0.html

If so, what were your thoughts?

monkaiboy · July 2019

@jellyroll interesting. Yeah O1-T I played was lovely. I found it better for strumming than the OM1, but yeah, fingerpicking is the thing for sure.

If you do decide it's not for you, please let me know....

@Jimbro66 sadly not - the 01 was not really on my radar until after I played the 01-T at GuitarGuitar the following day. I played a couple of Atkin dreaks which were lovely to strum, but way too scooped for my. I'd like to give that one a go - they are beautiful looking guitars - he has the style right down.

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New acoustic odyssey

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