New guitar on the way

swsman · #1 02-03-2011, 05:15 PM

Bit the bullet and purchased used La Patrie Motif that Elderly listed on their website. Since I have owned three Seagull guitars I am familiar with cedar/wild cherry combo (still own Entourage Mini Jumbo).
I have been playing my Yamaha C40 quite a bit lately, really getting into fingerstyle/fingerpicking material and these nylon guitars are just the recipe.
My C40 puts some of my steel stringers to shame, bass is huge, it takes more finesse to coax the trebles to their best but overall it works great, especially for what I paid for it.
This time around I wanted something a little more balanced and smaller body, Motif fits the bill perfectly. Solid top was a must as well.
Wish me luck, not to keen on buying without playing first, but it seemed like a good deal with hardshell case and all.

Play2PraiseHim · #2 02-03-2011, 06:44 PM

Should be a winner. Let us know
Congratulations.

GuitarVlog · #3 02-03-2011, 08:41 PM

I like the Motif. It's kind of like a Panormo guitar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swsman

My C40 puts some of my steel stringers to shame, bass is huge, it takes more finesse to coax the trebles to their best but overall it works great, especially for what I paid for it.

Try using Savarez Alliance trebles (your choice of normal or hard tension). These are made of carbon rather than nylon. They should be noticeably brighter. I use the Savarez 540ARJ set on my C40 and it brings the guitar to life.

mk49 · #4 02-03-2011, 09:26 PM

I'll receive the same guitar tomorrow

swsman · #5 02-04-2011, 01:42 AM

Mine should be here sometime next week or so. Just played my C40 for a bit and I am looking forward to play Motif soon. It should be very comfortable guitar to play on sofa/recliner etc.

GuitarVlog I did try Savarez, hard tension, did like them and still have an extra set, think 500ARJ, also recently ordered some Doyle Dykes GHS strings with the wound G string and I will give them a shot before I use Savarez. As for C40 I am using D'Addario Pro Arte normal tension at the moment - not too bad, I use D'Addario for all of my steel stringers, good quality strings for sure.

mk49 · #6 02-04-2011, 07:34 PM

I just received one a few hours ago. The first impression of the sound was tight and dry. I even checked the string size, and it's like a normal size.

I lowered the nut slots, and kept playing for about an hour, and it's already not as tight. It's still tight, but seems like it'll get better. A differnt set of strings could help, too.

It's the cheapest guitar I've ever purchased, but overall, I'm pretty happy.

Bluewyatt · #7 02-04-2011, 08:17 PM

Congratulations swsman! That's a little beauty!

MK49...you might want to try Thomastik-Infeld S series rope core strings which will give you more sustain and clear bright highs. They're a little pricey but well worth it in my opinion.

Vic9mm · #8 02-05-2011, 07:11 PM

yeah LaPatrie guitars love Savarez strings I use 520R on my hybrid and 520J on my Etude.

swsman · #9 02-12-2011, 12:45 AM

Well it came in yesterday. Elderly did great job packing it and I am very happy with their service, this being my first purchase with them.
Onto the Motif - just what I was looking for.
It sounds good, action is low, no need to change anything other than strings - plan is to throw some hard tension Savarez on it and see how it does from there. It came with real nice Gator hardshell case so that saved me some money for string experimentation.
Very portable for sure.
Nitpicking - glue visible around kerfling(sp?), tuners are so-so but they keep it in tune

, rosewood they used for bridge and fretboard are dry as dry can be - noticed that a lot with Seagulls - it can be taken care of.

Taylorplayer · #10 02-15-2011, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swsman

Well it came in yesterday. Elderly did great job packing it and I am very happy with their service, this being my first purchase with them.>>>>>>>>
.

Congrats on your new guitar. And +1 on Elderly - they are hard to beat!

swsman · #11 02-15-2011, 08:36 PM

Thanks TP. Still loving the instrument. It seems I caught a bit of nylon string bug at the moment. Play Motif and my C40 all of the time. My steel strings haven't been outside the case for last 4 weeks or better. Even my Ca Ox is out to pasture at the moment. Might add bband dual source pickup for Motif down the road. That would complete it for me.
Today sold my last Seagull to a fellow that bought my Seagull 12 string - installed JJB330 into 12 for him - always fun

So this Motif keeps LaSiDo tradition going.

swsman · #12 02-22-2011, 05:16 PM

Thought I would update,
Still enjoying my Motif - put a set of Savarez ARJ500 strings on it and it sings - awaiting a JJB pickup so I can install it and enjoy it plugged in as well.
Out of all the guitars I have, this one is the most comfortable, plays like butter and it has me seriously thinking about adding small body steel string guitar to the fold.
With Savarez mixed tension strings it feels tonally balanced, trebles aren't muffled, bass is still there, not owerpowering.
Next string change I will try all carbon/hard tension and see how those sound - especially treble strings. Will update this thread in a few months time to report again.