My acoustic-choosing journey

mgaw · December 2016

unless you need a guitar with a lot of projection i would go for the sweetest sounding always...there is a lot of love for that EC series around nice guitars good luck with the hunt, did the picks arrive Tim? cheers Mark

TimmyO · December 2016

mgaw said:

unless you need a guitar with a lot of projection i would go for the sweetest sounding always...there is a lot of love for that EC series around nice guitars good luck with the hunt, did the picks arrive Tim? cheers Mark

Picks did indeed arrive - all were thoroughly put through their paces during this tryout session :-)

Both the Puretone and the Blue chip are *fast* and easy to use - I like the physical thickness of the PT but the bright sound of the BC - not sure if that's the material or the lighter weight. The big white thing takes some getting used to! lol Thanks so much for the load - very generous of you.

mgaw · December 2016

I reckon the Bluechip takes the prize but everyone has their own take on these things....

TheBigDipper · December 2016

You have to buy the guitar that "speaks" to you the most.

I'm a few weeks into my ownership of a Spruce/Bubinga Brook Taw and love it. I played several Brooks at Project Music - including a Spruce/Rosewood Taw - and liked them all, but this one was the one I kept going back to. It sounds great to me when I'm playing it (technique permitting), but sounds even better listening to someone else playing it back to me. I also particularly liked a Tavy, but that would have been my L'Arrivee L-01 upgrade and I couldn't afford both!

I've played some lovely Atkins guitars at Oasis Music as part of my search process, too - the OM model I tried beat the pants off two Martin OMs that were in the shop that day - they sounded balanced but "flat", no resonance. I also liked the Small Jumbo and Parlour models they had in stock. Oasis also had a Huss & Dalton OM in stock that was even nicer than the Atkin but almost twice the price (unaffordable to me).

I agree with the comment regarding sweet tone vs projection. If a guitar sounds the best to you but doesn't "project" into the room (not a problem with my Taw, luckily) you still have sound reinforcement options. The tone you hear will inspire your playing after all.

TimmyO · December 2016

TimmyO said:

Right, more musings, as today I went to Intersound Guitars in Dursley (Gloucestershire if you can't be faffed to look it up :-) )

They have a lovely selection, and awesome zero-pressure staff, and make cuppas.

I tried:

4 of their 6 Brooks - all stunning and in different woods, except the small-bodied one that I didn't rate.
Some 'Cole Clarks' - sound amazing, really lively and well balanced, great pickup system, but look like they have been designed by a one-eyed Dingo with heatstroke.
An Atkin 00 (the only Atkin they had) - far better than the similar-sized Brook for the size.
2 Furchs - an OM style and a deeper bodied G style with cutaway - the OM sounded a bit stifled, the G sounded *really* good but it was overly bling
One of the Tanglewood Master series 'Sanden' designed guitars - brilliant - not sure I can get over the Taglewood inlay at that price though (yes I'm shallow)
A 'Toon' - handmade thing from a local builder who mostly does very expensive nylon string instruments but who also makes this: http://www.stevetoon.co.uk/lansdown.html - really really nice guitar.
A used commission sale 000-28EC - definitely had the cool factor. I kept coming back to it.

I spent 2 hours playing them all (!) - was a fantastic time. I ended up with 3 very different guitars on stand in front of me and frankly could be very happy with any of them, but they are so different! The lucky 3 were:

Brook Tamar in Spruce top and American Red Gum back and sides.
Toon Lansdown just like the one here http://www.stevetoon.co.uk/lansdown.html ;
Used 000-28EC
Brook Tamar : really light instrument, and Red Gum is a light but very figured wood. I preferred this wood combination to the Walnut or Rosewood b&s because the latter 2 were *much* softer in the low end - a flat picked low E was far less strong on those than on the Red Gum. It's a guitar that responds really well to light strums with finger or pick, as well as to a bit of my hamfisted fingerpicking, but you can also give it a bit of cowboy chords with a flatpick too and it still sounds really nicely balanced. Downside here is that it's technically out of my price range by a few hundred quid. I'd definitely consider finding a way to address that though.

Toon Lansdown : this one was a wildcard really - it's the only one I hadn't asked to have a go on - the guy stuck in in my hands. You can see from the link it's neither one thing nor another shape-wise - the upper bouts are small, but it's still a little fuller overall than the 00 Atkin for example. It's much fuller sounding than the 00 though, a really nicely balanced sound, to the point where it was the one where I found myself listening to myself play rather than listen out for the sound of the instrument, if that makes any sense. It's beautifully made (a finger under the top revealed the feel of a very deliberately double-peaked sculpted brace) and the adornments are perfectly understated - a thin abalone rosette and wood elsewhere. They had it up at 2k and said that they could probably do something with that. I'm not sure if I can shake the challenge of resale value on an instrument nobody has heard of though (not that I set out to have resale value as a thing, but you know). Doubtless a great guitar.

00028-EC : this is the mojo one for me, not because it's the EC one, just because it has that classic look, nice darkened spruce top, lovely slim body, and again, that classic timeless look. It's a used commission sale and has the basic version of the Baggs Anthemn pickup installed. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has played one of these, because one thing that struck me about it was how quiet it was. It's an extremely even sound, and much mellower than the others I tried, and that made for a very easy playing experience overall - particularly with fingers the wider spacing, flatter-feeling board, and the very level response made for a lovely experience - but all at a markedly lower volume than everything else - or maybe it just seemed that way because it was much warmer, both in the bass and top. The strings didn't seem brand new (but were on some of the others s perhaps that's partly it? Or is this how they are? I also wondered if having the pickup fitted might have had an effect. I did get continually drawn back to it though - like I say the mojo was strong and the prominently V'd neck was actually very welcoming and only took minutes to get used to.

Anyway there we are - my mini review of my afternoon out.

The collection of my faulty Larrivée is happening on Monday so I should get my refund Tuesday-ish. I may go back with fresh ears and try those 3 again then.

Interested in any thoughts from you chaps

cheers
Tim

Oh yes and I meant to also say: based on the experience of trying those out, I accept what a loon I was for trying to buy a good acoustic un-played. Definitely won't be doing that again

BigLicks67 · December 2016

If you like the 000-28EC it may be worth you trying the OM-28V which is a similar guitar, but with a standard Martin scale and forward shifted bracing. It's also about £600 cheaper when new.

TimmyO · December 2016

BigLicks67 said:

If you like the 000-28EC it may be worth you trying the OM-28V which is a similar guitar, but with a standard Martin scale and forward shifted bracing. It's also about £600 cheaper when new.

yeah if I could find one of those used I'd probably be all over it - I seem to prefer the OM scale rather than the shorter 000

TimmyO · December 2016

Oh my...

Lewy · December 2016

TimmyO said:

Oh my...

They are wicked guitars. A friend has one - played it side by side with my '57 Southern Jumbo....put the '57 back in the case.

barry2tone · December 2016

Bear in mind the origins of that body depth. Amazing player, you can hear how he'd have taken straight to electronic effects.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFWf1UFU9_w

mgaw · December 2016

might be worth trying to find one of these 2nd hand

TimmyO · December 2016

Lewy said:

TimmyO said:

Oh my...

They are wicked guitars. A friend has one - played it side by side with my '57 Southern Jumbo....put the '57 back in the case.

There's an authority *and* a responsiveness to the sound (well based on the couple of demos I listened to). Very taken with it. I'd not seen a 12 fret Dread before.

If if anyone sees one for sale any time in the future, hit me up

TimmyO · December 2016

OK - I've struck a deal
on a purchase, picking it up on Tuesday. :-)

ToneControl · December 2016

TimmyO said:

Lewy said:

TimmyO said:

Oh my...

They are wicked guitars. A friend has one - played it side by side with my '57 Southern Jumbo....put the '57 back in the case.

There's an authority *and* a responsiveness to the sound (well based on the couple of demos I listened to). Very taken with it. I'd not seen a 12 fret Dread before.

If if anyone sees one for sale any time in the future, hit me up

I have two 12-fret large-body acoustics, they are amazing
People need to try these more, they can be really something different

TimmyO · December 2016

Brands/models to look out for?

ToneControl · December 2016

TimmyO said:

Brands/models to look out for?

12 frets?
probably any good brand,
as I understand, the bridge moves down a little, and the sound changes

I have an Avalon Baritone 12 fret and a Larrivee SD60.
To me, both have an extra sound compared to the comparable-cost samer-brand models with the same body size but 14 frets that I owned at the same time

TimmyO · December 2016

Are they deep bodied too? From some of the listening I've been doing it seems to be a common factor in sounds I like (e.g. Darrell Scott's Sobell )

Lewy · December 2016

YouTube Norman Blake to hear some 12 Fret Martin dreads. He's using light strings on the top too...

ToneControl · December 2016

TimmyO said:

Are they deep bodied too? From some of the listening I've been doing it seems to be a common factor in sounds I like (e.g. Darrell Scott's Sobell )

sd60 is slope shoulder dread 4.875 inch deep

L1-320C Jumbo I think
about the same depth

mellowsun · December 2016

TimmyO said:

Cheers guys.

Anyone played any Sanden guitars?

Yep, I've got one. Sounds and plays great. Body is a bit big. Beautifully made. I picked it up at the London Acoustic Show earlier this year.

May sell as I miss having a Lowden now my tendonitis is better. Yours for £750!

TimmyO · December 2016

I'm sorted now - expect a NGD post on Tuesday

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