Show Your Acoustics!

[stevejamsecono]

That's really beautiful... I wish I had been made to know how great Guild guitars were earlier than I was. I would have a lot more of them, I think.

They are still pretty reasonable on local craigslist in New England should you ever find yourself in that neck of the woods. I got my 1980 D-25 for like.. $450 bucks if I'm not mistaken. Granted that was in 2011 but I still see stuff at that price now and again up there.

[Larry Mal]

Yeah, I saw a Westerly D-4NT "True American" go on eBay for a little over $200, granted, that's their economy guitar but for a couple hundred it would be a great guitar for the kids or to keep at work or something. Guild is good value.

I bought that D-40 that I have to kind of try a few things out, first of all, Guild, second of all it has an Adirondack top and I have only ever had Sitka. Also I was kind of wanting a Martin D-18 rough equivalent, and the Guild forum people assured me that the New Hartford D-40 was a tremendous value.

I'm blown away by Guild so far, it's a sweet sounding and well balanced guitar that does everything well, the Adirondack is not really any different from what I can tell but I don't have a direct comparison, I know this isn't the same as a D-18 but I don't feel much need to get a D-18, and yeah, New Hartford seems to have been a great era for Guild guitars.

Guild Guild Guild Guild... it's always nice to spend a little time with a legendary brand you've overlooked, I guess.

[Danley]

That's been my experience with maple also, that Dove that I got from Maggie is not a particularly loud instrument and has fairly restrained bass to it. That's actually why I keep it in open C, because that low C note is actually somewhat usable on that guitar instead of flabby and booming. Maple certainly can sound a little different, from my very limited experience.

I’m pretty alarmed I could tell the difference as the back/sides were laminate on both guitars, but something caused the difference and it seemed to fall in line with what I hear of maple; a bit more ‘fundamental’ and direct, toppier but not as much harmonic coloring.

Have you thought about that form factor? I know you like the Fenders, but an L-00 type guitar can be a wonderful thing, especially with it being a 12 fret neck. The sound just leaps out of the guitar. Like, I'll play my smaller bodied guitars and then move to my dreadnaughts and for a little while they just sound wrong, distant and indistinct.

That feeling always goes away, but you can really find a lot to love with the immediacy of a smaller bodied guitar.

Yep - I want to measure the body size and compare other small-bodied guitars. It’s narrower (depth) and the top bout is smaller, but the lower bout isn’t far off from standard size. I think the location:placement of the bridge on the body is as much a contributor to the ergonomics as anything.

[Larry Mal]

I think the location:placement of the bridge on the body is as much a contributor to the ergonomics as anything.

I would agree with that- despite having always been an enthusiastic acoustic player, it's been only relatively recently that I've given much of a shit about what my acoustic actually is. I had my Martin that I adore and later that Taylor 410, and those two guitars got me by for the last twenty years if not more.

But the idea of different woods wasn't something I really cared about, and I was just always like, well, the dreadnaught is good enough for all them other guys, so I'm sure it's more than good enough for me.

The last five years or so I've been making more of a study of acoustics, and feel kind of dumb that it took me so long.

Long story short, I had no idea what a difference moving the bridge back from a 14 fret to a 12 fret guitar was, how it would change the sound and the playability of the guitar. But yeah, where the bridge is on the body makes a huge difference.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Interesting to eavesdrop on your chat here.

Years of being an Eko Ranger owner got me hooked on the deep, mellow warmth of mahogany. Even though those guitars have laminated tops they could sound spectacular.
In recent years I've come to appreciate what a solid top & better construction can bring you (thanks Guild). I understand the brighter tone of Rosewood too. But, that in turn has led me to wonder what different body types & particular woods could do for me.
I've been a dreadnought player since I bought my first acoustic & would love to move to a smaller body, rather than owner 2 dreadnoughts again. But, I'm kinda pining for that mahogany tone again so am very curious about what's out there that fits the bill.

Oh, and the difference in bridge placement is completely new to me!

[Larry Mal]

Oh, and the difference in bridge placement is completely new to me!

I only know anything about it from having a couple of 12 fret guitars, that black Martin above and the L-00 12 fret. With the bridge set back that much further onto the lower bout, the top is able to vibrate a little more freely, and you get a strong bass response from that. I would also say that one could expect more sustain, also.

It's actually very cool. That 12 fret L-00 is a pretty incredible thing to play and hear, it's a lot of fun. I hope to be able to set up a good environment for recording acoustic guitars and such pretty soon, and hopefully I'll get some skills together at the same time for actually recording acoustic guitar well, I seem to be more than a little rusty and aren't all that happy with what I've been doing.

But when I get it together, I am very much looking forward to recording that L-00 12 fret with some haunting reverb played fingerstyle. That'll be a lot of fun.

[Larry Mal]

But, that in turn has led me to wonder what different body types & particular woods could do for me.
I've been a dreadnought player since I bought my first acoustic & would love to move to a smaller body, rather than owner 2 dreadnoughts again. But, I'm kinda pining for that mahogany tone again so am very curious about what's out there that fits the bill.

I guess I've been making something of a study of this, I have rosewood bodied guitars, maple, bubinga, walnut and mahogany at this point. I guess I would feel that I could make some rough estimations of what they sound like.

Mahogany is pretty versatile, though... so, I had that J-35 and then bought a J-45, I assumed that the J-45 would render the lesser priced guitar obsolete. But they are actually very different guitars, although they are completely the same other than the bracing pattern on them.

The J-35 uses what Gibson calls their "advanced" bracing pattern (mainly known from their Advanced Jumbo guitars) in which the braces are thinner than the J-45 and in a different spot. Go to about minute 3:00 to see the bracing.

It makes a considerable difference, the J-35 is much brighter, you hear a lot of the string, it has a quick attack and a lot of the fundamental, with relatively restrained bass. It's a sound that at first I would probably have said was "worse" at first, but then I started noticing that microphones really like it. It is an easy guitar to record because it doesn't have a lot of extraneous audio information (to my ears at least). It's a little less versatile than one might want, especially compared to the J-45, but what it does it does excellently- mainly strumming with a light pick. Good note separation in the chords.

Otherwise I would say that maple seems to be bright and clear, with less bass response, rosewood is just like... the majesty, capable of breathtaking beauty, clarity and power, bubinga is kind of like mahogany more or less, very good sounding, and based on my limited experience with walnut it's a fantastic wood.

My J-15 has this powerful and kind of, like, raw quality to it. I wonder about myself when describing it since I wonder if I'm just letting my mind's association with walnut color my opinions. But it's a clear, powerful sounding guitar with strong and tight bass, fantastic high end that doesn't get harsh, and there's this still kind of wild quality to it.

I would buy more walnut bodied guitars in a heartbeat.

[stevejamsecono]

Yeah, I saw a Westerly D-4NT "True American" go on eBay for a little over $200, granted, that's their economy guitar but for a couple hundred it would be a great guitar for the kids or to keep at work or something. Guild is good value.

I bought that D-40 that I have to kind of try a few things out, first of all, Guild, second of all it has an Adirondack top and I have only ever had Sitka. Also I was kind of wanting a Martin D-18 rough equivalent, and the Guild forum people assured me that the New Hartford D-40 was a tremendous value.

I'm blown away by Guild so far, it's a sweet sounding and well balanced guitar that does everything well, the Adirondack is not really any different from what I can tell but I don't have a direct comparison, I know this isn't the same as a D-18 but I don't feel much need to get a D-18, and yeah, New Hartford seems to have been a great era for Guild guitars.

Guild Guild Guild Guild... it's always nice to spend a little time with a legendary brand you've overlooked, I guess.

Guilds are really special guitars. My parents got matching ones as a wedding present from friend in the late 70s and I heard those guitars constantly as I grew up, so I had to have one for myself. There's just something about them that no other acoustic has ever really matched. They have a nice brightness to them but they still sound full and when you dig in you get a real punchy rhythm out of them. They also ALL seem to have this, as I have yet to play a real dog out of them yet. Magic.

[Larry Mal]

Watch this.

[PorkyPrimeCut]

Watch this.

Ha! I watched that yesterday after I first commented here.

Then, I followed a link to an old Mark Agnesi "Guitar Of The Day" and, for the first time, appreciated what that guy had before he took the job at Gibson. Knowledge & the chops to go with it, without the slightly goofy immaturity of Michael Lemmo.

I kinda miss him now

[bdf83]

To chime in on acoustics, I spent a long long time playing the Chester by Auden when they opened up their workshop a couple of weeks ago and was massively impressed with it, especially for the money. I've played a fair few similarly priced Gibsons in guitar shops and you get a lot more guitar for the outlay with the Auden. Definitely saving up to get one this year.

[MechaBulletBill]

here is the aforementioned resonator, with mega-chunk v-neck. i *think* it's a national student model, maybe sold under different brands, possibly a tampered-with finish. my grandad got it in the 50s and he gave it me when i turned 18.


and my '66 caballero (LG0). bit of a rough dog but didn't cost very much, proper rosewood bridge (probably had a plastic bridge as stock) and a teeny tiny neck for my electric hands. i'd love a waterloo but fear the nut widths just aren't for me, i need a smaller neck.


i have an eko ranger too but you all know what that looks like.

[MechaBulletBill]

what's everyone using for strings? i really hate the sound of your standard phosphor bronzes, so i've got nickel bronze on the epi and monel steel on the rezzie

[Larry Mal]

I've come to think that overall the John Pearse 80/20s are the best things out there for me. Great sounding strings. When money seems like an issue, I'll still stick with D'Addario 80/20s.

[Jaguar018]

I feel like a square with some compared to some of you, and sookwinder hasn't even posted his amazing guitars yet, but here is mine: an OMC 16RE with the totally not cool cutaway. The first time I played it I finally heard the acoustic sound that I hear in my head (when I was a kid we listened to a good amount of bluegrass and folk music on the radio). Previously I had a decent entry level Yamaha dreadnaught. Like most of us, I'd love to get a few more fancy acoustics but I don't have the $$$. When I go to the guitar stores around here I've tried some pretty nice new acoustics from Gibson and Martin (and a few others) but nothing has really left me with that haunted "I gotta get that guitar" feeling.