Guitar to complement HD28

stickyfiddle · February 2021

I have a little bit of inheritance I'd like to put into a second decent acoustic. I already have an HD28 that I love, so looking at something smaller and probably mahogany-er.

Originally I was thinking Martin 00 or 000, but have been looking at Gibson LG-types, and specifically the Atkin 47.

Any suggestions or thoughts? I'm likely in no hurry as ideally I'd really like to pop into Coda next time I'm home, then get them to ship whatever I choose back to me in Abu Dhabi. But obviously not travelling any time soon....

Jimbro66 · February 2021

An Atkin 47 or 36 would fit the requirement very well.

stickyfiddle · February 2021

Ya. There's also a little bit of me wondering about getting a natural-back, black-top custom 47, which I'm guessing would be a very fine thing indeed. Maybe now's the time. Trouble is their sunbursts are really pretty...

meltedbuzzbox · February 2021

I really found the atkins quite underwhelming after the hype train on here. I tried several in coda and I just didn't get it.

TimmyO · February 2021

I absolutely love the differences between my D28 and 00-17S both very very good and very very different

VimFuego · February 2021

if it was me, I'd be thinking something small bodied (parlourish) 12 fretted, that kind of thing. That Brook that was recently FS would be an ideal counterpoint to the HD28.

BahHumbug · February 2021

Waterloo?

stickyfiddle · February 2021

Cheers all. I've already considered all of those so good I seem to be on the right track

Still feeling the LG-2 type is top of the list so far, then a 12-fret 00 down the line as well, perhaps.

Gandalph · February 2021

You may have already seen it but if you haven’t Glenn’s guitars has just listed an interesting looking Lg-2 legend.

TimmyO · February 2021

Martin CEO-7 ?

stickyfiddle · February 2021

TimmyO said:

Martin CEO-7 ?

I didn't know that existed - looks sort a halfway house between 00 an LG-2. I don't love the sunburst, but it certainly sounds good here:

TimmyO · February 2021

I played a really good one in GV a couple of years ago

I wasn’t impressed with the Gibsons I tried on the same visit. This, and the 12-fret 00 I bought sounded like whole guitars each with their own character, rather than a goose honking in a box like the other small guitars (including some oft-recommended ones)

meltedbuzzbox · February 2021

TimmyO said:

I played a really good one in GV a couple of years ago

I wasn’t impressed with the Gibsons I tried on the same visit. This, and the 12-fret 00 I bought sounded like whole guitars each with their own character, rather than a goose honking in a box like the other small guitars (including some oft-recommended ones)

You summed up the sound of the gibsons perfectly

stickyfiddle · February 2021

Yeah, that's what worries me around smaller bodies, and particularly about Gibsons. I can't see myself going for an actual LG-2 unseen.

The Waterloo stuff looks nice, but the headstock logo is fugly, and I'm afraid I'm that guy...

Current frontrunners are the Atkin 47 and Martin CEO7, I reckon. No hurry though.

Andy79 · February 2021

TimmyO said:

I played a really good one in GV a couple of years ago

I wasn’t impressed with the Gibsons I tried on the same visit. This, and the 12-fret 00 I bought sounded like whole guitars each with their own character, rather than a goose honking in a box like the other small guitars (including some oft-recommended ones)

I remember you commenting on a small body a while ago that surprised you for not sounding boxy, sure it was on the cheaper end of things. Can you remember??

Gandalph · February 2021

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, that's what worries me around smaller bodies, and particularly about Gibsons. I can't see myself going for an actual LG-2 unseen.

The Waterloo stuff looks nice, but the headstock logo is fugly, and I'm afraid I'm that guy...

Current frontrunners are the Atkin 47 and Martin CEO7, I reckon. No hurry though.

Not all Waterloo’s have the same logo style on the headstock, yes it still says Waterloo but the wlk is a cool vertical orange design.

Just my opinion of course.

I owned an Atkin l36 for a very short while and I’ve played a couple of the 47’s. In my opinion they didn’t even come close to any of the Waterloo’s I’ve played.

Redlester · February 2021

What do you mean by 'complement'? BTW I'm not asking you to be clearer on terms, in the manner of aggressive posters on US forums.

I'm just interested in the sort of criteria you have in mind. I was on a similar path myself a few years ago. I wasn't looking to spend big cash (over a grand), but I was willing to go up to £750 or so.

I was after something to complement- and on reflection it ended up being more like 'contrast'- with a dreadnought. I ended up with a Taylor GS Mini, which is somewhat ubiquitous, but to me feels like a 'jack of all trades' but surprisingly is master of lots.

But I tried quite a lot of guitars. It was a very open ended process to start with, but once I started playing and listening to things, my sense of what I wanted sharpened up a great deal and in short order.

Cheers.

TimmyO · February 2021

Andy79 said:

TimmyO said:

I played a really good one in GV a couple of years ago

I wasn’t impressed with the Gibsons I tried on the same visit. This, and the 12-fret 00 I bought sounded like whole guitars each with their own character, rather than a goose honking in a box like the other small guitars (including some oft-recommended ones)

I remember you commenting on a small body a while ago that surprised you for not sounding boxy, sure it was on the cheaper end of things. Can you remember??

The one I bought was the 00-17SE - combination of the 12 fret (compared to the regular non-S version) and really light mahogany blew me away.

There may have been others I liked in the same foray but don’t recall them all

TimmyO · February 2021

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, that's what worries me around smaller bodies, and particularly about Gibsons. I can't see myself going for an actual LG-2 unseen.

The Waterloo stuff looks nice, but the headstock logo is fugly, and I'm afraid I'm that guy...

Current frontrunners are the Atkin 47 and Martin CEO7, I reckon. No hurry though.

If you see a Martin 00-17 (or better still 17S ) Black Smoke or Whiskey Sunset used take a punt and flip
it if I’m wrong. IMHO they are/were very much under rated

Andy79 · February 2021

TimmyO said:

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, that's what worries me around smaller bodies, and particularly about Gibsons. I can't see myself going for an actual LG-2 unseen.

The Waterloo stuff looks nice, but the headstock logo is fugly, and I'm afraid I'm that guy...

Current frontrunners are the Atkin 47 and Martin CEO7, I reckon. No hurry though.

If you see a Martin 00-17 (or better still 17S ) Black Smoke or Whiskey Sunset used take a punt and flip
it if I’m wrong. IMHO they are/were very much under rated

There’s been a black smoke on Reverb for ages. Good price too

Gandalph said:

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, that's what worries me around smaller bodies, and particularly about Gibsons. I can't see myself going for an actual LG-2 unseen.

The Waterloo stuff looks nice, but the headstock logo is fugly, and I'm afraid I'm that guy...

Current frontrunners are the Atkin 47 and Martin CEO7, I reckon. No hurry though.

Not all Waterloo’s have the same logo style on the headstock, yes it still says Waterloo but the wlk is a cool vertical orange design.

Just my opinion of course.

I owned an Atkin l36 for a very short while and I’ve played a couple of the 47’s. In my opinion they didn’t even come close to any of the Waterloo’s I’ve played.

Doesn’t the WLK weigh , like, 3oz. I I’ll likely never own or even play a Kel Kroyden but I would dearly like to play that WLK

earwighoney · February 2021

stickyfiddle said:

I have a little bit of inheritance I'd like to put into a second decent acoustic. I already have an HD28 that I love, so looking at something smaller and probably mahogany-er.

Originally I was thinking Martin 00 or 000, but have been looking at Gibson LG-types, and specifically the Atkin 47.

Any suggestions or thoughts? I'm likely in no hurry as ideally I'd really like to pop into Coda next time I'm home, then get them to ship whatever I choose back to me in Abu Dhabi. But obviously not travelling any time soon....

What's your budget?

Do you have a preference for body size. There's quite a difference between a 00 & 000 especially a 12 fret 00 and a 14 fret 000.

For the price of an Atkin 47 or so you could get a 50's 'Mystery Spruce' 00-18, or a 00-17. I played a 1951 or 1953 Mystery Spruce 00-18 in Wunjo a while back which was just over £2.5k which was exquisite.

I think occasionally 0-18 NY's crop up as well in that price range for a 12 fretter.

thermionic · February 2021

https://i.imgur.com/0wsbWlb.jpg

stickyfiddle · February 2021

@earwighoney No specific pref on body size, just “smaller than a dread”. That said, I don’t think I want to go any smaller than 00, and as noted am leaning towards the LG sort of thing, and then perhaps slot in a 12-fret 00 at some point down the line. Budget wise I reckon I can justify up to the 3k sort of mark, but I don’t have to!

I’m sure I would love something old, but I’m in Abu Dhabi, so it’s tricky and shipping is risky unless coming from a reputed shop. And CITES...

Gandalph · February 2021

Doesn’t the WLK weigh , like, 3oz. I I’ll likely never own or even play a Kel Kroyden but I would dearly like to play that WLK

It is ridiculously light in fairness. Feels solid in the hand though, it’s just a little beast of an acoustic!

If you’re ever up Yorkshire way mate your welcome to come try it.

stickyfiddle · February 2021

@Redlester I guess with "complement" I'm looking for something to provide a different vibe, while not going to the other end of the spectrum, e.g. I had a Taylor a few year back and that's a great sound for a certain vibe, but it's not what I want right now. I would definitely say the Martin "thing" is my baseline for what a good acoustic sounds like, followed by old Gibsons and basically anything used in classic recordings.

As noted above, I'm in Abu Dhabi, so my local market is heavily limited. Ideally I'd go via Coda and Guitar Village the next time I'm heading to see family and try EVERYTHING, but at the moment that's obviously not an option.

meltedbuzzbox · February 2021

Have you thought about a classical @stickyfiddle ?

Tannin · February 2021

This may be logistically difficult in your circumstances, but I have found that the most useful tactic is to have the existing guitar on-hand as a control when you try the new one. Whenever I buy a new guitar (which is rather more often than it probably should be) I wander around and play everything of potential interest and narrow it down to a manageable short list: just the three or four that I really like. The next time I go in to town, usually a few days later, I take one of my own guitars in, and play it side-by-side with the ones I'm thinking about buying. (With several to choose from at home, I try to take the one which is most similar to the new one, or the one which I'd most likely play the same things on.)

This live comparison with a familiar instrument of known qualities is really useful. It can quickly show that Guitar X, while nice enough in its own way, is in practice quite similar to an existing one, and that Guitar Y really is different enough to be worth buying.

Given that an HD-28 is your existing instrument, at a pinch you could use a stand-in for it: a different rosewood dred picked off the wall at the shop would at least give a rough idea of whether that (e.g.) all-Koa parlour you have your eye on is likely to do it for you.

jellyroll · February 2021

Tread carefully...buy a second guitar and then spend the rest of your life A/Bing them, trying to decide which one is your favourite.

Not speaking from personal experience (cough).....

Tannin · February 2021

^ Ahh, but that's the good outcome. The other possibility is that you get a dred and a parlor, so naturally you really need an OM to match up with them, just for balance. Oh, and something in mahogany 'coz you've already got a rosewood dred. And a 12-string, of course. Oh, not to mention a baritone, and I guess a maple jumbo goes without saying. And you need a resonator for the three minutes a year you spend playing slide. It's not being obsessive, you can give it up any time you want. Honestly. Cross my heart. And you are not going overboard, I mean, it's only one extra guitar. Well, one at a time. Just one more can't hurt, surely. Did I mention a bass?

It is endless. If you don't run out of money you run out of space.

stickyfiddle · February 2021

Logistics aside, I actually don’t think AB-ing with a loud dread would actually help much, as everything will sounds small and quiet in a direct comparison (volume is tone, etc etc). Ideally I would absolutely line up 4 or 5 guitars in a shop and take my favourite home. Thought in this case possibly not an option, even once I am allowed to visit home. We’ll see.

meltedbuzzbox said:

Have you thought about a classical @stickyfiddle ?

No. Nice vibe for occasional recorded parts I guess, but not my thing at all.

jellyroll · February 2021

Might also be worth consider a second large body since thats the size you like right now....SJ200?

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Guitar to complement HD28

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