McPherson Sable

JerryM · #1 10-23-2017, 11:03 AM

I have been lurking looking at these since they were first introduced, and only yesterday realized they are triple o size, exact size as my SC and a RS Shorty in the body but std. scale. When they used the description full size guitar I assumed 16” bout or dread size. Ya I know,,Duh! Yesterday I went to there new factory tour video they have on the Tube and was really impressed with what it shows, and the sound demo is awesome! Their wood guitars are true beauty and I am thinking about one of these really hard. What appeals to me is having two triple o size one wood and one CF, and both have identical specs for ease of change. Even the neck profile is like my Santa Cruz. Only difference in the Sable is 14 vs 12 on my SC. Have not had this bad gas’s for a while!”

Matt McGriff · #2 10-23-2017, 02:56 PM

I’ve got a sable and really like it. I haven’t been able to get a good sound with the Element though, so I’m swapping it out for an Anthem.

JerryM · #3 10-23-2017, 05:35 PM

That seems strange since these are supposed to be individually tuned for the pickup. Did you contact McPherson about It?

jdobrick · #4 10-24-2017, 05:22 AM

JerryM- not sure if this will be helpful at all:

Long time lurker, but my first time posting. I have been messing around with guitars for probably five years but have just started getting serious and taking lessons six months ago. This started when my nine year old daughter decided she wanted an acoustic guitar and I picked up a Taylor GS Mini. She plucked the strings a few times and lost interest. Dad on the other hand really started having fun with the instrument.

I really like the GS Mini. Nice sound, not too expensive, and pretty easy to play but I decided since I was just starting to learn in earnest I should pick up a full scale guitar. I don't actually know that this is a valid line of thinking but hey, it was a reason to go guitar shopping! I was looking at the classifieds here and after staying awake until 3AM one night browsing, I knew I had to make a decision and just pull the trigger on something.

Living in a NY apartment with a child I found CF appealing as a low maintenance option. I didn't have a lot of composite instruments I could test locally. Guitar Center has some Rainsongs and Sam Ash has the McPhersons. I would have liked to try the Blackbird El Captain but didn't have a chance.

I ended up ordering one of the 2017 limited edition McPherson Sables. From what I can tell, just a few changes vs. the standard model. Gold colored fretwire vs. nickel on the standard model and gold colored tuning machines. If there are any advantages to these changes, I'm clearly not a good enough player yet for them to matter. I went this route because I found the stock design a bit boring but the Rainsongs I tried I found a bit too flashy. More importantly while I couldn't directly compare the instruments compared to the Rainsong I liked the McPherson sound better (more on that later)

The guitar arrived a few days ago. Here are my observations keeping in mind I don't have much experience so my impressions are fairly uneducated. The hard case seems nicely made and the guitar fits snugly in the case. The guitar itself seems very well made. The smoothness of the neck stands out to me, it is sanded to a very smooth matte finish and I find moving around the neck quite comfortable. The profile of the neck also fits my hand well. Not too chunky but not too thin either. The guitar comes with two saddles, and shipped with the low saddle installed. The action seems nice and for new guy, I was able to easily hit barre chords that I can't nail on the Taylor. The body of the guitar is a bit heavy and I find for me this settles the guitar into a comfortable playing position in my lap.

If there are “regrets”, right now I have a few. First off, it is a bit silly that I purchased such an expensive guitar, I'm sure I would get as much from an instrument at a much lower price point but considering I almost pulled the trigger on a much more expensive instrument on the classifieds section, maybe I got off easy. Second, the guitar doesn’t sound as nice in my apartment as it did in the store. The tone is fairly bright for my taste and there is a lot more reverberation (the sound rings a long time) than I am used to which makes music a bit muddy. I assume the latter is more my lack of technique. There is a lot of complexity to the sound which I didn’t notice in the store. This isn’t a bad thing per-se but right now I’m not a big fan. I expect I will get used to the sound in time. My final comment is that after a few hours playing between the slightly wider nut and the longer scale, everything is in the wrong place compared to the Mini. Guess I need to keep practicing to get used to things! Comments on the sound are unplugged. I'll try the guitar through an amp this weekend.

Happy to answer any questions. Thanks to all the regular posters here, I’ve learned a lot lurking.

Matt McGriff · #5 10-24-2017, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryM

That seems strange since these are supposed to be individually tuned for the pickup. Did you contact McPherson about It?

It may be, but it is still a piezo and has all of the quack one would expect. When I plug in I am listening to myself through IEMs so I have been very sensitive to changes in the tone. I’ve tried both the new Zoom DI and an Aura Spectrum paired with the Element. The Anthem with the Session DI that I have used with my Taylor has been most pleasing to my ear, so I’m going to try and replicate that in the Sable.

SuperB23 · #6 10-24-2017, 08:30 AM

I've owned a bunch of McPherson wood guitars over the years. I like the brand. I too have been waiting for the MG sized or 16" wide CF guitar from them. I'm always drawn to the sound of larger instruments and I don't care much for 15" models from any brand. I'll likely buy one once they start making them. I heard they plan to build it, I'm hoping at 2018 Winter NAMM they release it.

#7 10-24-2017, 09:12 AM

JD;

Nice initial review. You took a big step in starting with such a quality instrument, but it pays off in a lot of ways; it commits you to striving for a quality level of play and it saves you moving-up-time from one guitar to another(as so often happens with beginning players). In short, you've started with a keeper, a guitar that can take you as far as you are willing to go. I look forward to hearing more from you as you familiarize yourself with your new family member.

JerryM · #8 10-24-2017, 10:01 AM

Jdobrick Great reply! Thanks so much for taking the time to do so. One of my priorities in my new search is bottom end bass and less jangle or brassy sounds which seem to be the only complaint with cf for me. Your comments are interesting because the videos I have seen seemed to show bass and warm tone on the Sable. Same old problem though where I live on the coast there is no way to play any. Thanks again, Jerry

Ted @ LA Guitar Sales · #9 10-24-2017, 12:29 PM

Nice review, jdobrick. Welcome to the forum.

vadare · #10 03-06-2018, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt McGriff

I’ve got a sable and really like it. I haven’t been able to get a good sound with the Element though, so I’m swapping it out for an Anthem.

Did you ever add the Anthem? If so, were you happy with the result?

byudzai · #11 03-20-2018, 12:56 PM

Just got a Sable a few weeks ago so I thought I'd chime in here.

The OP's review makes sense to me. Fabulous to play, great bass response, little jangly in the upper end -- but -- every time I sit down with my favorite wood guitars to compare tone, that difference gets smaller. I just got some polyweb elixirs to see if that mellows down the upper register even more, but on the whole it's got a somewhat-less-warm but overall super clear and appealing sound.

Amazing to play. Zero worries about humidity. I don't slog through taking it in and out of case and putting humidipaks in and out. It looks cool.

I love it.

jdobrick · #12 03-21-2018, 07:19 AM

For toning down the high end, my favorites so far are Thomastik Infeld Spectrums. Currently playing on Santa Cruz parabolic tension mediums, and I like them too.

jdobrick · #13 03-21-2018, 07:20 AM

@byudzai btw- congrats and enjoy the new guitar!

kramster · #14 03-21-2018, 07:24 AM

It is a really nice playing guitar.. the set up is great I think.

byudzai · #15 03-27-2018, 11:12 PM

i was playing outside in the rain today (under a gazebo), low 50s, and noticed the guitar was sharp a few cents. Tuned it down. Checked again when I got home, flat a few cents. Humidity may not touch it but looks like temperature does -- which is duh when I think about it, but still funny.