Made Up My Mind!

[cherokee6]

OK. I called a buddy of mind about the choices of acoustics, and his advice was the same as by the members in my recent quest for a decent acoustic. He said " sounds like you made up your mind! If it feels good it IS good! (- Duke Ellington).

As I had taken the day off, I had an errand to do and on the way back checked out the local shop again and found 3 I liked (Larrivee, Taylor and Martin). Problem was, why spend $150 - $350 more for guitars that sound almost the same, and feel almost the same except for a little (very little) inlay work and a different finish?

I drove back in the afternoon after calling my friend, and grabbed the Larrivee D-3! It sounded better than the D-5 and a bit better than the L-3. The sound was cleaner and more robust than the Taylors and Martins in the same and higher range. In fact, unless I spent roughly $500 more I wasn't getting what I expected from the competition. Besides it felt "just right" and that's the important thing! There was another in the stockroom and it wasn't the same: the frets weren't filed enough! Took the advice from you guys checked the action/ buzzing (It needed a very slight neck adjustment). It'll need a bit more care as it has the satin finish and an ebony board, but I'm no pro, so I won't be gigging with it; just got me a fancy humidifier with it. (yes, there were one or 2 Seagulls in stock and they were pretty good, too; but this was the one that caught my ear) Thanks for the advice!!

[Southpa]

Congrats on your new acquisition! I hope you have years of enjoyable playing, learning and recuperating from your previous affliction. I'd trade Lyme for GAS anyday. You have the very same model as my friend's Larrivee (the one I recently repaired).

There definitely IS a price line that you cross where the guitars don't play / sound any better, but they look prettier!

[fryovanni]

There definitely IS a price line that you cross where the guitars don't play / sound any better, but they look prettier!

That is a wise statement . Although I personally feel like "sound any better" would be more like "sound different", and the different sound becomes much more subtle(that is just kinda the way I percieve them).

You know I bet it would be easier to choose the best guitar if there was some way of hiding all the brand names, lables and price tags while you test them.

Good to hear you found the right guitar for you. Enjoy!!

Peace,Rich

[cherokee6]

Thanks. I hope my git doesn't end up like the one in Southpa's pic!

[Southpa]

Thanks. I hope my git doesn't end up like the one in Southpa's pic!

Then make sure you take that big wad of keys out of your pocket before you play!

And @ fry , the blindfold test would definitely be something people should try. A lot of folks would be dismayed by the results. I have a 1981 Fender - Gemini II that a lot of my friends (who own Martin, Larrivee, Taylor and Gibsons) covet. Partly by the way I have it set up but mostly the tone. I guess they used the right pieces of wood on this one. There definitely are a few gems around that most people wouldn't look at twice. Its sad that too many people are influenced by the name on the headstock.

BTW, if you look closely at the pic I posted above you will see an object laying on the side of the guitar between my spool clamps. I fashioned very light, pyramid shaped mahogany splints to straddle across the split inside and used magnets that I salvaged from an old computer hard drive to apply clamping pressure. One inside and one outside.

Edited April 3, 2007 by Southpa

[Myka Guitars]

There definitely IS a price line that you cross where the guitars don't play / sound any better, but they look prettier!

I do see what you mean though but there are two things that I think need to be pointed out:

1. The price line is relative to the brand/maker

2. Tone is 100% subjective

What is considered expensive is also quite relative. You can spend more than the price of a few guitars for a set of air dried Brazilian rosewood from the 50s (if you can find it). But does it sound better? Who knows? I have a client that owns some very nice old Brazilan/Adirondack acoustics (a pre-war Martin and a couple handcrafted instruments). Well, he prefers his Cherry/Adirondack guitar (with a cherry neck). Go figure.

Of course with a factory guitar you really have to find one that has what you want tonally because each one is usually not matched for wood tone vs. overall desired tone or carved differently to make up for the inherent inconsistencies of the wood itself. It is just as likely to find a low end gem as a high end one when you are running the racks.

~David

[Mattia]

What David said.

Let's also not forget that in the grander scheme of the world of musical isntruments, guitars are dirt and dirt cheap. Whine at a woodwind, brass or violin player about the 3000 dollars that fancy woods/abalone purfling/high-end tuning machines acoustic costs, and he will justifiably laugh at you. Guitarists are cheapskates with collectors' tendencies, really. We want lots of guitars, and we don't want to spend too much on them, ta!

That said, there's often not a big difference in sound between 1000 and 2000 dollar guitars, overall. I rarely find sub-1000 dollar guitars I'm really all that charmed with, with a few notable exceptions (Taylor Big Baby for one). A lot of players buy with their eyes; the shiny, high-gloss abalone purfling acoustic is going to get a lot more attention than the no-frills, plain binding, satin finish guitar next to it, on average. Except the shiny blingy thing may well be a crafter, and the other could be a Lowden....

[fryovanni]

I think David is really on the money. Tone is really subjective, and one mans gem is not really what someone else may prefer. However future value and collectable values are based on brand and favor of a particular make or maker(not that that changes the sound). As for the bling. Well hey, these are hopefully going to be played and enjoyed for a very long time. If the details, elaborate inlay, type of wood or what have you make a guitar more special to the owner then that is great(of course you have to pay for that fancy material and the skilled craftsmans/artists time to install).

Mattia also makes a good point. Most of the time guitar buyers fall in that cheap catagory compaired to many other types of musicians. I think a big part of that is probably because most are just starting to play or giving it a try and don't want to spend a lot. Some of it comes from a disposable attitude tward guitars(lets face it many people do not think of a guitar as something they see themself having around in 30 years or handing it off to the next generation as a family heirloom). I guess there is no point in placing judgements on the market, but if you plan to have a guitar around for the long haul and cherish it spend a little more to get just what you want.

Peace,Rich

[cherokee6]

I was thinking I had to go to the $1200 or so range, but something made me pick up this guitar sitting almost buried, on the back end of the rack. At this point I had almost ruled out Larrivees. I guess this is the one with the right wood. I imagined getting something a bit fancier in inlay work, but this git seemed to outshine the others. (They did have a Martin 12 string for about $990 that had a smooth, phenomenal sound. HMM, maybe next year). Anyway, I'm ecstatic about it as all my gits, with the exception of the rebuilt Les Paul, have all been used (but great players). It sounds great and I don't sound too crappy on it - just semi-crappy!! By the way, I put Elixirs on it and they are fantastic; 12's feel like 11's or even 10's!

My understanding is the shop I bought it from sells quite a bit of them. They seem pretty consistent and everyone seems to love the sound of these models; works for me!

[Vinny]

Very cool Tom. congrads! -Vinny

[cherokee6]

Thanks. One of these days you'll have to check it out!