I'd take a serious look at Huss & Daltons

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...DVD_OOO_SP.jpghttp://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/jrp1950/hd_.jpg

Huss & Dalton OO-SP
 

I'm loving my Huss & Dalton 00-SP.

Based on a very early model Martin 00, it is lightly braced, plays and sounds great and has a beautiful fit an finish. I searched far and wide for a 00 that did not sound small and boxy and I finally found it in my H&D 00-SP.

I just got a H&D 00-Custom.

Cedar top, rosewood b&s. 1 13/16 nut. It's simply an incredible instrument.

I have other H&D's and can certainly recommend their build quality, fit, finish, playability and tone.

I agree that you should consider one - I don't think you'd be disappointed.

David Webber does a very nice 000-12 fret right in your range. I don't think that he has ever done a 00-12, but he does love a challenge. <G>

TW

Thank you for the feedback everyone.

So I went to a nice little guitar store this past Saturday and tried a few guitars. Santa Cruz OM/PW both in mahogany and rosewood, a SC 1929 00 and 000, a Collings 00 in rosewood and a beautiful H&D in brazilian($$$$). When I left the store I was leaning towards the SC 000 but I brought my Zoom recorder and recorded each guitar as I played. After listening to the tracks I liked the SC 00 better but was torn between that and the Collings. I have to say the SC 00 spoke to me right away when I picked it up, just the right size.

The SC OM/PW in mahogany was the most flexible sounding good in all styles, but I just loved the all mahogany 00, neck was a bit bigger than what I am used to but not necessary and deal breaker.

Anyway, it was a fun day and I have some more looking and playing to do. Thanks again and hopefully I will have some new purchase news to share soon.

john

I played a friends OOO Collings a while back that was something. EIR/sitka and extremely lively. I'm a dread guy and thought it was a great guitar.

ooo or oo suggestions
 

At that price point you should also consider the Huss and Dalton ooo guitars. The Santa Cruz one are outstanding and you can't go wrong with either.

If your passion for this new guitar is high, then I definitely recommend listening to all the 00 and 000 sound clips on artisan guitars website. I like that they use the same mic setup and are somewhat consistent with the riffs they play etc. I think it is the next best thing to playing them.

So notorious I've never heard about it! How many have you seen like this?

Regardless, not something I want to hear because I do wonder about the light build. But I'm now obsessive about humidity now that I've acquired these babies.

I've never heard about it either and I've owned 3 SC guitars so far. On the other hand, I don't have nearly the experience Wade does, so who knows.

Sam, like many high end boutique guitars, SC''s are lightly built. That means that they may respond more than say a heavily built Guild to temperature and humidity changes. Living in coastal CA (in fact not far from Santa Cruz), mine have been fine, but I would think being in interior Alaska you would need to be on top of those things. Still, as far as I can tell, they are very durable.

D.

Loving my Martin Custom 00-15M from LA Guitar Sales. They also have 12 frets. Tone and volume is insane! Sounds better than guitars twice its price that I've played!

Sorry, wasn't a 12th fret.

Ludwig

FURCH/STONEBRIDGE.

You can't go wrong with pretty much any model/wood combination. They are SOOOOOO easy to play and so sweet sounding.

Martin 00-28VS

Personally I would look at H&D for a 00 and Collings for a 000. Both companies seem to excel with these specific sizes. Why? Haven't got a clue! :D

It is tough to recommend a guitar. You don't mention what style of music you play, or if you want something warm or bright, etc.. Even if you did, I probably could help very little anyway.......

I will admit that I am very much a novice when it comes to boutiques. I am not quite to the point in my life where I can justify the money for a boutique, just yet. However, I did manage to put my hands on a Breedlove Phoenix (Masterclass series) and play it. It was flat out incredible.
Breedlove has a 12 fret 000 size guitar called a Skyline. I have never played one, or even laid my eyes on one, so I can by no means attest to it being a great guitar. However, because I was so impressed with the Phoenix, I would recommend you try out the Skyline, if you can find one.

http://breedlovemusic.com/guitars/ma...uitars/skyline

Bryant