Playability or Sound?

For a little over 4 years I used a wonderful Gibson acoustic that definitely had the tone to die for. But now I'm gigging a $399 Epiphone acoustic that for me is much more enjoyable because of (among other factors) its playability. There are many more factors to playability than neck and action - there's balance (meaning how does the guitar act when you're standing and using a strap), body size, depth, finish (my hand goes all over the fretboard so it needs to move against the finish on the back of the neck) etc. The Gibson beat the heck out of the Epi in tone, but the Epi kicks butt with playability. Both instruments have the same setup from the same luthier. And since I play through BigBill's sound board - the electronics basically null the Gibson's tone advantage on stage.

I'm saying there's a lot more to playability than the neck and the action.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Dut4907

While playing my DN4 a thought popped into my head. Im picky about my tuning on everything I play. If it doesn't play in tune, no matter what the instrument sounds like, im turned off by the poor playability.

I ones had a HD28V that had the worst intonation problems and traded it for a 410CE.

So I was wondering what would everybody else would prefer.

Would you had a choice from a Brazilian Rosewood Martin that played horribly and the worst intonation., and a Generic guitar that had the best playability in the world. Which do you prefer?

If I was locked in a room and these two guitars were my only choices to play on, give me the one that intonates well. The Martin would drive me nuts otherwise.

In the real world I would pass by both and get one that satisfied me on all points.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

A great sounding guitar I can't play is no good to me. A great playing guitar that doesn't sound good is also of no use to me. It's not an either/or proposition.

Yes, those two aspects have to go hand-in-hand for me or there's no deal. That said the majority of new guitars need the same kind of tweaking that an off-the-peg suit might in order to get it as comfortable as possible for me. I guess it's all part of a learning process. I'm sure many guitars get passed over by the less experienced because the factory set up is unacceptable, with them not knowing that a guitar is much like a suit-and I hate seeing someone in a suit with concertina trouser legs!

[vindibona1]

Originally Posted by Dut4907

While playing my DN4 a thought popped into my head. Im picky about my tuning on everything I play. If it doesn't play in tune, no matter what the instrument sounds like, im turned off by the poor playability.

I ones had a HD28V that had the worst intonation problems and traded it for a 410CE.

So I was wondering what would everybody else would prefer.

Would you had a choice from a Brazilian Rosewood Martin that played horribly and the worst intonation., and a Generic guitar that had the best playability in the world. Which do you prefer?

The answer is simple. As a semi-professional trumpet player, years ago one of my mentors made one statement that has stuck in my mind for years and will be locked in the forefront of my mind forever:

"If you don't play in tune, and you don't play in-time nobody is going to want to play with you!"

The trumpet analogy carries over to guitar nicely. While as a trumpet I'm only responsible for one note at a time, it is critical that intonation on every note is perfect. Perfect intonation is what allows resultant harmonics and that big ringing sound that we all (at least most of us) strive for.

What makes Taylors so desirable is the lingering overtones, which I believe is largely due to the overtones being nearly perfectly in tune to the fundamentals. Traditionally, Martins, to my ear, have many overtones that sound ever so slightly flat to the fundamentals, have quicker overtone decay and fewer resultant harmonics. Hence traditionally less "shimmer". I believe that Martin has been quietly addressing this in models like the HD28, the new D28's and D18's. Just listen to them for what I've described above and perhaps you'll agree?

[fnesnor]

I always look for the right sound first. Then I look for opportunities to improve the instruments playability. And it doesn't hurt if it looks good too...

[Quebec Picker]

Playability and tone are inseparable to me. If I can play it better, it will sound better.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by vindibona1

Traditionally, Martins, to my ear, have many overtones that sound ever so slightly flat to the fundamentals, have quicker overtone decay and fewer resultant harmonics. Hence traditionally less "shimmer".