#76
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Mine sounds better and better with play. Like a small dreadnaught. My RK 000 12 fret has actually been the most pleasant surprise out of all my guitars. Try some DR Sunbeams on it. Made a world of difference on mine. What model is it?
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Roy Ibanez, Recording King, Gretsch, Martin G&L, Squier, Orange (x 2), Bugera, JBL, Soundcraft Our duo website - UPDATED 7/26/19 |
#77
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Rescue Guitars!
I agree with what a few others have said about some players picking out guitars mostly with their eyes instead of with their ears and hands. Brand loyalty is another one that can quickly land one in dud territory. Every guitar builder makes a certain percentage of duds. This cannot be avoided. Call it a minor inconvenience of living in a less than perfect world. I call it reality.
I'm poor, by the dictionary definition of the word. So poor that I can't afford to let my eyes decide for me. I would rather play an ugly cannon than a polished turd. My poverty makes me fortunate in some ways. With no wiggle room in my budget, I can't make impulse buying decisions. It would be financial suicide, because I like to keep my lights on. So when I try out guitars, I often close my eyes while I play it to soak in the tone and its nuances. I go during off peak hours. I always let the salesperson know that I'm just looking. This way, the salesperson gives me my space. I do an A/B/C comparison between three guitars without looking at the price tag or the materials used. I figure out what sound and feel I like the best before looking at the price tag. Try it. You'll be surprised. Sometimes its the $3000 guitar, and sometimes its the $600 guitar. I kid you not. Sometimes they have a sweet sounding guitar that has just been in the store far too long. They often have scratches and minor dings on them. I politely point out that the guitar has some aesthetic issues. The salesperson usually confesses that that the blemishes have made it hard to sell, making it somewhat of a resident guitar. Think of a dog at a no-kill shelter that never gets adopted. Its just kind of sad that nobody wants to take it home because its not pretty and has a few scars. The salespeople often feel the same way about the guitar. This opens the door for a great opportunity to get a nice guitar for at or below the dealer's cost. Because after all, ugly guitars deserve loving homes too.
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Dolly Parton Grand Ol' Opry Big Beard Parlor Brain Song Imaginary Fiber Derailer (My go-to travel guitar) Glibson Super Duper Jumbo Deluxe Extreme (with birds on it) Martino Cinco De Mayo (First Edition) Louden Silent Guitar Lowvation 12 String Salad Bowl Albatross Merrytime with Red Tide Sunburst http://portraitsinpencil.tumblr.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/TheDerrickRyan |
#78
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You are of course correct on the guitar issue the one thing you can't tell about that economy guitar is what the longevity is though, some of the cheap ones are not built to go the distance....or at least not like the higher end brands. This of course is jmho. Last edited by Mcrafty1; 03-30-2015 at 12:02 PM. Reason: content |
#79
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I started playing 2 years ago with an old Sigma dread that just killed my shoulders. Recently sold it.
Went to guitar center with no knowledge at all and they sold me a Little Martin LXME. I still have it as a laptop youtube guitar, but it sounds terrible. Then bought a GS Mini, lovely tone but could not bond with the size and sold it. Bought a Ibanez AC240 and found my perfect size, but not crazy with the tone. Next? Stay tuned. |
#80
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Maybe someone could start a Willie Nelson guitar lookalike thread...
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Wayne Hollyoak Martin DC-1E (gen1) Laurel Canyon LA-100 |
#81
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Guitar Flop
Well, since you've asked...yup. Of all the many guitars that have come and gone...most are still here...since they are all wonderful Collings and Martins...of various incarnations. Three stand out as disappointments...one was a 1973 Guild F-40...pressed Maple back and sides, Sitka top. Big box, huge neck, NO sound beyond about three feet away. (very odd indeed.) The next was a mid 90's Taylor 714, Indian and Sitka. Very nice neck, ok tone, but couldn't hold a candle to the Collings OM I traded for. The absolute largest disappointment ever, was a 1968 re-issue Martin D-45. Yes, it had the beautiful Brazilian, yes, it had a fine "German" top... and yes, someone had attempted to shape the top braces by hand, through the sound hole. (Unknown to me at the time I bought it.) After many failed attempts to coax music and overtones from that thing...I finally gave up and traded it (plus a ton of cash).. for a new 2001 Martin Golden Era OM45, with aaaBrazilian, and Adirondack for the top. The icing on the proverbial cake, was that the neck on the '68 was actually installed "off center" to the box..and the intonation was never, ever right on. Very, very disappointed in the whole thing. I kept it for many many years...but when I played the new OM45, that's all it took. I realize the old '68 was messed with, and would bring a lot of money these days, for the Brazilian alone....but the guitar itself just sucked the life out of the room...and brought me down every time I tried to play it.
For all of you who have had weird experiences like that...I say don't wait too long to find a guitar that works...and move on to one that you will eventually love. Now, out of all my 14 guitars, that OM45 Golden Era is the best of the best. So, for someone who might now own that old D-45...enjoy the "wall decoration." A very beautiful and expensive work of flawed art, and a perfect example of how looks can be deceiving. P.S. NEVER mess with the braces of ANY instrument, especially through the sound hole. It's just a real stupid thing to do. Oh, and when installing a neck, surrounded with abalone inlay, make sure it isn't crooked! My best.. 1folksinger |
#82
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I've not been disappointed with any guitars that I have purchased, but I was, after a while, disappointed with a guitar my wife got me for my 60th birthday, and that's 7 years ago now.
She heard me play a Taylor GS8 in our local guitar store and liked the sound a lot, so she worked out a deal to buy it for me as a surprise. It was very nice of her, but she will never buy me a guitar again, as this didn't work out. The GS8 is designed around medium strings. I have been fighting worsening osteoarthritis in my finger joints for the last 25 years. I didn't even notice the medium strings in the store, but when I had the guitar at home and played it for a while, I realized that my finger joints were killing me. Then I realized, hey, these are medium strings. So I put light strings on, and all the volume seemed to disappear. It sounded totally anemic with light gauge strings. So at that point I started a 3-year effort to make this guitar work for me. I was not going to tune the guitar down a step or two because I just don't care for that sound and really don't want to play with a capo anymore than necessary. First I tried DR Sunbeam (round core) strings that are a little easier to bend. They helped quite a bit, but the thick high E and B strings were still killing my fingers. So then I had the DR people make me up some bluegrass sets, and that helped even more. But my fingers still hurt with those medium wound strings. So then I tuned the guitar to DADGAD so that some of the strings were a little looser and that helped even more. But for some reason that GS8 in DADGAD had the most horrible metallic tone at least to my ears. And still the guitar hurt my finger joints badly. I stopped playing the guitar. My wife finally commented, "You're not playing that guitar?" Well, no, it kills my fingers. It just hurts too much. So we finally agreed that I should get rid of it. I traded it for a Taylor NS74CE and some money. Somebody got a beautiful, used GS8 guitar for a good price without a mark on it. For most players, particularly younger players, the GS8 is a killer guitar. It was just not the right combination for me because it used medium strings on a 25.4" scale at standard pitch combined with my osteoarthritis issues. I have always felt badly for my wife that this guitar was such a problem for me. - Glenn
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My You Tube Channel |
#83
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Sorry to hear that Glenn. But it wasn't a dud, it's just father time. I know at 56 my hands aren't as limber as they once were and my middle finger pops and carries on sometimes as well.
I have never had what I would call a dud. But I have never had what some here would call high end guitars either so I wouldn't know. All I know is how they sound to me and how they feel. My Epiphone feels great to play, but being a Thin Line I'm not as pleased with the sound as I am with my other guitars. Because of this I will always be skeptical of Epiphones deserved or not. It's okay plugged up, but I don't like to plug in just to play for myself. I am disappointed that both my Yamaha and Takamine has gotten that milky haze on them, and I have taken care of them. Kept clean and in their case.
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Some Martins |
#84
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Exactly,... The GS8 was not a dud, it was not the real problem; the real problem was my aging finger joints that ache from arthritis. I'm lucky I can still play at all. I have to be very careful. Regarding that milky haze on your Yamaha and Takamine, my Gibson AJ is susceptible to this same problem and I found that Virtuoso cleaner http://www.amazon.com/Virtuoso-Premi...guitar+cleaner works wonders. The polish, to me, is not necessary, only the cleaner. Regards, Glenn
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My You Tube Channel |
#85
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I think it's moisture between the wood and the finish, most likely from being built in Taiwan and Indonesia and their high humid climates, or the wood not being cured properly. It took years for it to develop though. The Yamaha is a 1989 model and it started 5 years or so ago, the Tak is a 94 it started a little later is not as bad as the Yamaha is. Right now I am trying out those rechargeable desiccant canisters. It may be my imagination but it looks like it has helped the Takamine some. But I don't think it will ever solve the problem. And of course I'm hesitant on leaving them in the case for too long.
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Some Martins |
#86
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What could have ended up a thread bashing guitar brands has turned out to be an entertaining and informative read with many mature and at times humorous comments....
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Finally, I have now reaIised what is important in life ,focus on your faith, family and friends and guitar; have you ever heard of a man on his deathbed say he wished he had worked a day longer! I consider myself to be a great player;.... pity my ears and fingers disagree!!!!!! |
#87
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Only one I ever bought that I didn't care for was an Adi topped mahogany Santa Cruz OMPW. I bought it unplayed (big mistake) and this was before I knew I didn't like the sound of an Adi topped guitar. An expensive lesson on my part, but after trades and purchases, it ended up being a Collings OM2 that is the cat's meow. At least to me!
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John |
#88
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I received a new Larrivee L-03R a couple of weeks ago that was severely dehydrated. The wood grain on the sound board, just below the bridge, is popping (elevated relative the the rest of the soundboard) and the fretboard is cracked from the 12th fret to the sound hole. It has been at a luthier since the day after I received it undergoing more intense humidification than I can provide. In short, I have yet to play it because of these issues. I'm not disappointed with Larrivee; rather, I am disappointed in the dealer for (A) storing this guitar in conditions that caused this to happen and (B) letting this leave their store in this condition. Now it's my problem and I am dealing with it but I am not happy. I had hoped for so much more for this guitar.
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#89
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I know here is Australia that would constitute grounds for an immediate refund, do you have the same option????
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Finally, I have now reaIised what is important in life ,focus on your faith, family and friends and guitar; have you ever heard of a man on his deathbed say he wished he had worked a day longer! I consider myself to be a great player;.... pity my ears and fingers disagree!!!!!! |
#90
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I got a faulty Fender "Sonoran" once. The brace where the neck adjuster went through was cracked. Not only did it go back, I never patronized that dealer again. I'm sort of mystified at people in this forum, who seem to have the mindset that, "I'm a consumer, therefore I'm automatically a victim". |