I don’t recall hearing about this guy. Yeah, I don’t get the drive to acquire like that. I get Joe B’s but not that. Megalomania is right.
Joe is a great “spokesperson” for the guitar, and I respect that. SigMan - cool song; sounds like a track off a new Bad Company album, and yes, I mean that in a good way. He’s playing one of his '50’s burst Les Pauls. Yeah, his collection is worth millions.
There’s a guy who hangs out on the Les Paul forum who’s guitar-board famous for a great collection of Gibsons, especially old Les Pauls. I’ve heard Joe is courting the guy, using his fame and rep as a great guitar steward to position himself when the guy sells. Hey, more power to him.
A little game -
Acoustic-Electric guitars - What would you be favoring if you had 2-4K burning a hole in your pocket.
I might be in that situation if bonus gods, the football betting gods, and the Christmas presents all line up for me.
I haven’t really had any chances to test drive any higher priced guitars although I did fiddle with a Gibson hummingbird once and didn’t really like the sound.
I’m considering looking at a Gibson J-45 standard or cutaway or the Taylor 814ce. These look to be popular in that price range.
Anybody out there have any advice or preferences that I should look at?
I’m going to take my time looking but I’d like a little feedback from more experienced players on why they would favor any model over another in this price range.
What is your history with acoustics? What do you think you know about your wants regarding size, design, key features? How do you plan to be using it - genres, techniques you use, couch vs more guitar room?
I assume by acoustic / electric, given the models you name, you want a great flattop that comes with a great pickup/built-in mic installed.
A J-45 and an 814ce are the two classic big-body models from very different makers. Toss in a D-18 or 28 and you’d have a trifecta. But each is exemplary for what they do. What have you got in mind?
If you check out J-45’s I really have been impressed with the J-45 True Vintage models. Light and it sounds like a younger version of my '46. If your guitar preferences are grounded with Taylor or Martin, they playing a Gibson takes getting used. A simpler more fundamental tone. Once you get into, it is very versatile and fun.
I would also strongly recommend you check out a smaller body like a 00 size Martin. Super versatile and perfect for the couch. You can make it sound Big so very satisfying. Also make it a point to try out 12-fret examples, where there are only 12 frets clear of the body, not 14. The bridge is in a different spot on the top so you get a richer set of harmonics.
Larrivee is a modern alternative to Taylor and Martin guitars.
Larrivee originally were made in Canada but they shifted manufacturing to California about 15 years ago.
They range from $1500 up. Excellent balanced tone. I got a used D-09 last year and love it’s tone. I could have never afforded one new. The D-09 is a Dreadnought.
Review
I’m looking for a Larrivee P-09. Their parlor guitar. I’ve been outbid on three used ones so far. Bidding on used P-09 models can be fierce. I may give up and buy a new one. That means selling one of my other acoustics. I may sell my Martin D-18. I rarely play it anymore. I prefer my Larrivee dreadnought.
Larrivee uses the L.R. Baggs pickup with EQ on most of their models. Its a good pickup system. But I think most musicians would use a microphone for serious stage or studio work.
Article and review on Larrivee. He lists the pros and cons. Every brand of guitar has its own strengths and weaknesses. Thats why it’s so much fun playing various acoustics at the store. I’m glad there’s so many great brands being made today.
This is a poorly worded and cutely biased summary of stereotypes. “Overpowering lower register of the Martin guitar?” Fuck you! (ETA: only targeted at the review website; not in ANY way at fellow Doper aceplace, to be clear!)
As I said, each major guitar maker has great examples for what they are trying to achieve. The question is what you are looking for, BubbaDog and what type of digging do you want to do.
I don’t think the reviewer meant to put down Martin guitars. It was just badly worded.
Every manufacturer has a destinct sound. Trying to describe what that is can be difficult. I think of Taylor guitars as very bright sounding. Martin has a richer bass and Larrivee is in the middle range. All three are very good guitars.
Which to use is a matter of personal taste and the type of music being played.
Too funny - I was defending Martin’s honor just above, and here I I am slagging them.
That thread on the Acoustic Guitar Forum links to an announcement about a collaboration between Martin and some watch maker to make a really stupid-looking guitar to mark the two millionth guitar according to their meticulous records tracking serial numbers since about 1898, when they estimate they had made ~8,000 guitars since 1833.
The folks in the AGF thread are heaping derision on it. Can’t say I blame them. Such a fine company and wonderful craft. Such a silly guitar.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ve had a busy weekend and haven’t had much time to soak up what you’ve suggested.
I do a lot of finger picking. Very rarely use a pick when playing acoustic. I practice a lot of ballads and blues songs.
I have a tendency to stay in open chord position and I’d really like to find a guitar where I can feel comfortable moving the action up the neck.
I might like the smaller body Martin and I’ll get my hands on a 12 fret and give it a try.
I haven’t played any of the models we discussed. I have a severe form of GAS and as such I avoid walking into any place that sells guitars. This project I’m about to undertake will take a lot of discipline.
I pondered ordering a guitar from Sweetwater just based on popularity and reviews but I’m hesitant as I’m just not sure if I’d like it.
One problem I have is going to a place like a Guitar Center and just getting any time and space to test drive a guitar. My local friendly small shop doesn’t carry too many higher priced guitars and the ones they do tend to be Gibson.
C’mon, you have to know that all name-brand guitar companies are silly at their roots. Even my beloved Danelectro re-launched with a very, very silly Traveling Wilburys guitar. I still love them.
That name on the headstock of your guitar? If I can recognize it, they’ve done some sort of silly promotion. It’s like taking GM or Ford or Toyota seriously as an ideal.
Missed the edit window, but: Wait, that thing is supposed to be a Gretsch homage to a Dano? Sillier than I had remembered, and still makes me look sillier.
You want silly? Other than it being made of plastic and sure to fail someday, the Behringer EM600 Echo Machine that my nephew is getting for Christmas is the coolest sounding sub-$200 delay pedal I’ve ever fooled with. I’m gonna have to buy one and transplant it to a more durable case.
That’s all true - there are fugly examples across all the brands. And then examples that started fugly but ended up cool like Flying V’s and Explorers.
BubbaDog let us know how it goes. And yeah, a 00 could be worth a try, and 12 fretters as well. They strum supergreat because of how the bridge is repositioned. A dreadnaught 12 sounds like a cathedral, and smaller-bodied guitars tend to sound a bit bigger.
Thanks guys
My guitar quest process may take a while or it could just come to an abrupt close if I fall in love quickly.
In any case I will jump back in here with the results.
Wordman & Aceplace as usual have great advice so I don’t have a lot to add but…
If you’re going to drop serious cash on a guitar don’t buy it online unless the return policy is really good and it’s exactly what you want.
Gibsons, especially, are notorious for sounding like the Voice of God in one guitar and a plank of OSB on the one next to it that’s exactly the same model. I personally experienced it trying out two different Hummingbirds. One had that sweet booming presence that made you want to play all day, weeping for joy. The other would have made great fire-starter.
I have a bias for Taylors and if you have the opportunity try one of the 600 series maple guitars. If I had the means I’d add one to my collection along with a custom redwood Baritone 8.
Have fun!
Rainsong. Worth trying as something a little different.
The OX has a very nice sound and is great for bad weather transporting and open mic playing. It’s so durable that I don’t think twice about treating it daintily when I travel.
It’s drawback of course is that it’s tone will never mature.
I finally figured out what you mean by 12 fret guitars. I kept looking at pictures and there was more than 12 frets there. Then I found this explanation. https://goo.gl/images/rmoHhr
It’s 12 frets to the heel of the guitar. Standard scale is 14.
I had no idea these critters existed. that’s why I learn so much from this cool thread.
The different bridge placement is obvious in that photo too. The bridge has to slide back on the shorter scale guitars to keep the correct string length.
Norman’s Rare Guitars sold a 1940 Epiphone Emperor guitar to Frank Stallone. Even better, it came in a case with hand tooled leather, Sons of the Pioneers.
What a bit of history. I didn’t know Frank played. He mentioned owning quite a few guitars.
I’d love to visit Norman’s and check out their stock if I ever take another trip to California.
OK, so here’s an example of why I don’t walk into guitar stores very often.
I have a Composite Acoustics OX that plays well and sounds good. As a carbon fiber guitar it has a very nice sound and I have no fear of subjecting it to harsh environment like excessive heat/cold/humidity. But the interior nut on the jack at the base of the body has come loose and I can’t get my arm through the sound hole to tighten it.
So I packed it up and Saturday morning drove over to my local guitar store and dropped it off for their luthier to re-set the nut on Monday.
I thought that I was safe because I didn’t think this shop carried any of the guitars that you had mentioned. As I walked to the door though I saw the Taylor logo and thought to myself,“This could get ugly”.
Surprisingly enough the store was somewhat deserted and the guy said for me to help myself to any of the display models. I pulled a Taylor 814ce off the wall, sat on a bench, strummed then picked a few cords…and fell absolutely-freakin…IN…LOVE.
Yep! the first damn guitar I tried. I have no will power.
Amazingly I didn’t buy it immediately. I told the guy that I wanted to go home, grab my two Yamaha Lunchbox amps (ThR5a and THR10) and plug into them in his store. I love these little amps and use them constantly more that my Fender Blues Jr. They lack performance volume but are great for the practice room. I can get some great tones out of the 5a(acoustic) and can get a bunch of tones from clean to blues to Eddie V screaming out of the 10.
So I went back to the store and plugged the 814ce into each and noodled for a bit.
The sales guy (young) was blown away by these little amps.
The THR10 actually helped me seal the deal. I told the salesman that Sweetwater would drop the price 10% just for a phone call so if he could drop his price enough to cover taxes and 10% I’d not only buy the 814ce I’d let him take my lunchbox THR10 home for a week.
Since Saturday I’ve been playing till my fingers hurt every day.
that’s why I learn so much from this cool thread.