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View Poll Results: Would you like the great inlay offer?
Yes, I'll take the inlay. 17 30.91%
No thank you, I'll keep it plain. 38 69.09%
Voters: 55. You may not vote on this poll

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  #1  
Old 11-10-2012, 10:24 AM
ukejon ukejon is offline
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Default Snazzy vs. Plain Poll #2 (variation)

OK, a slightly different scenario: You are all set to buy a Martin D18 or an 00-28 because you love the sound of that instrument. The rather Satanic looking store owner comes up and says "Pal, because I'm such a prolific dealer I actually can have the Martin custom shop add D-45 style top quality abalone binding and fretboard markers, or a lovely tree-of-life motif, or some other similarly ornate inlay to your new guitar for only $1.00 extra. The only caveat is that you can never sell the instrument and make an obscene profit on my nice gesture. In fact, you can't show it to anyone else, or at least not to a ton of people--I don't want you bragging all over the place about what a great deal you got. You see, I'm doing this so you can have the guitar of your dreams for the rest of your life. This is about what you really desire and not what will impress others or line your pocket with cash down the road. So which do you want, the one that is plain or the one that is adorned?"
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Last edited by ukejon; 11-10-2012 at 10:44 AM.
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Old 11-10-2012, 10:28 AM
BluesBelly BluesBelly is offline
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For an extra buck I'd go with the bling. If I ever wanted to sell it I'm sure a resonable price could be ascertained without considering that price obscene. There could be profit in a one of a kind Martin guitar.



Blues

Last edited by BluesBelly; 11-10-2012 at 11:07 AM.
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Old 11-10-2012, 10:29 AM
ukejon ukejon is offline
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Sorry, just made some slight modifications to the story....
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....and about 5 really nice tenor ukuleles at any given moment

Last edited by ukejon; 11-10-2012 at 10:44 AM.
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Old 11-10-2012, 10:48 AM
kydave kydave is offline
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I've got guitars that cost enough I could've easily bought a 40 series instead... They just don't appeal to me. Especially when you get into that "tree of life" stuff. That just doesn't belong on a guitar that one is playing. Maybe if you bought it to put in a frame...

I could see having an older 40-something, where the brightness of the shine and bling had died down and it looked like a used guitar, but the new ones are just over the top.

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Old 11-10-2012, 10:52 AM
Ed422 Ed422 is offline
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I chose plain, but given a real choice, I'd want to play both and walk away with the one that sounded better.

Ed
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Old 11-10-2012, 10:54 AM
s2y s2y is offline
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Still no middle of the road option.
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Old 11-10-2012, 11:17 AM
ukejon ukejon is offline
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Quote:
I could see having an older 40-something, where the brightness of the shine and bling had died down and it looked like a used guitar, but the new ones are just over the top.
That is a really interesting point. Cool looking guitar, Dave. I love that kind of wear...but the person must have had a rather abrasive right elbow!

Quote:
Still no middle of the road option.
That is correct. Look, there is little doubt that most of us probably would fall somewhere along the continuum between snazzy and plain, although with a relatively strong contingent of stubborn "plainers". But the addition of a middle option to this poll simply waters down the more fundamental question about whether we really want our guitars ornamented or not. Hence the two opposed options. These polls also do raise valid points about classy vs. tacky ornamentation but such subjective valuations also put us on somewhat of a slippery slope.
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....and about 5 really nice tenor ukuleles at any given moment
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Old 11-10-2012, 11:25 AM
aknow aknow is offline
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Bling here, only if it sounds great!!
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Old 11-10-2012, 11:26 AM
kydave kydave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ukejon View Post
Dave. I love that kind of wear...but the person must have had a rather abrasive right elbow!
Probably the Judge's wool suit sleeve...



Story and photos courtesty of my friend Bob.
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Old 11-10-2012, 01:35 PM
FrankS FrankS is offline
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I pondered a while and then answered in favor of inlay. It was a tough choice as there is typically a difference in woods and constructions with the 40s series guitars over the 10s and 20 series. As much as some inlay is good, it is still not the pieces that come together in a 40s series guitar. Sorry, did not mean to complicated this poll too!

I am awaiting my first custom built guitar and my first choice was tone. So was the second choice. Since tone and final fit and finish was up there, I chose a Bourgeois. At third was the figure of the back and side woods. Last was the wood binding all around with fossil ivory fretboard markers. No abalone at all. Plain white, even grained spruce top. Gold tuners and pyramid bridge finish it off. Less than 30 days to go but I am sure it will exceed my expectations.

Frank Sanns

Last edited by FrankS; 11-11-2012 at 08:33 AM.
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Old 11-10-2012, 01:45 PM
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i love a well done tree of life
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Old 11-10-2012, 01:56 PM
billgennaro billgennaro is offline
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i, personally, don't like plastic binding on my guitars. as a great luthier once said, "good furniture doesn't come with any plastic on it. why should guitars"? and i agree with him. plastic is the epitome of cheap for my personal aesthetic. my choice would be a nice wood binding. i also really like abalone, especially the blue or green paua type. however, i don't like lots of it. just enough to make a subtle difference. as far as wood goes? the more beautiful the grain the more i like it.

so i don't like really "blingy" guitars, but i don't like run of the mill plain looking guitars either. i guess i'm somewhere right in the middle. and if i had my choice of only really blingy or really plain, i guess i'd take really plain.

bill
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Old 11-10-2012, 04:15 PM
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Plain, because I don't like Martin's blingy inlay. Too much shell is gaudy IMO. I think inlay should lend style, not sparkle.

Besides, unless you play in front of a mirror or spend hours gazing at your guitar sitting there, who sees the inlay work except other people?
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Old 11-10-2012, 04:48 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Actually, Ukejon, I had a real life experience quite similar to your fictional scenario, although I wasn't given the same degree of say in the matter.

Back in 1987 I ordered a copy of a pre-war Martin 000-28 from the guitar builder Scott Baxendale. I wanted herringbone trim on it, nothing fancier than that. As we discussed what sort of tone I was seeking, Scott got quite animated and told me that he had the perfect top of heavily silked Sitka spruce he'd been saving for a special guitar that he'd like to use on my instrument. The only issues with it were that he'd already cut a soundhole sized for a dreadnought into this top, and had inlaid abalone in the rosette.

"But I could use that top and put herringbone purfling around the edges of it, it'll just have an abalone rosette. I really do think it's the best-sounding top I have for what you're seeking."

I told him that would be fine, and he proceeded to start building the guitar.

But like many of the luthiers I know, Scott ran behind and didn't meet the projected finish date that we'd agreed to. Which was no big deal to me, because I'd ordered custom instruments from other builders prior to Scott, and having them run a bit late is almost a given with a lot of them.

But it bothered Scott that he was six months past when he told me the guitar would be finished, so without even asking me he trimmed out the guitar as a 000-42, with abalone all around the top and the snowflake and slotted diamond pearl inlays on the fingerboard.

He didn't charge me any extra: it was his way of apologizing for the delay.

Believe it or not, I was not exactly enthused when I learned this. Not because I was bound and determined to have herringbone trim, but because back in 1987 guitars all tricked out with abalone trim were still quite rare, and among me and many of my friends a fancy-pants guitar like that was often the sign of a person with more money than musical ability.

Like, "Can you play guitar well enough to justify all that extra gingerbread on it?"

I didn't feel I was a good enough guitarist to be able to justify that fancy an instrument.

But two things happened: first, despite my initial trepidation, I fell in love with the tone of the guitar itself.

The second thing was a societal trend: with the invention and introduction of Abalam (veneered abalone pre-cut in any shape and length you want) guitars with abalone trim became much more common, and much, much less expensive.

Scott didn't use Abalam on the 000-42 he built me - I'm not even sure Abalam was commercially available yet in 1987. So he cut and inlaid all that shell the old fashioned way.

But the guitars around me changed, making mine considerably less noticeable as a result.

Anyway, I guess my answer to your question is that I was given such a deal without even asking for it, and now I love that guitar, even though at first I was a bit dismayed by all that extra decoration.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller
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Old 11-10-2012, 05:31 PM
ukejon ukejon is offline
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Great story. Even though I voted "plain" you actually could send me that guitar and I'd be perfectly fine with it. Might even dress a little better when I played it.....
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2014 Pono N30 DC EIR/Spruce crossover
2009 Pono koa parlor (NAMM prototype)
2018 Maton EBG808TEC
2014 Hatcher Greta 13 fret cutaway in EIR/cedar
2017 Hatcher Josie fan fret mahogany
1973 Sigma GCR7 (OM model) rosewood and spruce
2014 Rainsong OM1000N2
....and about 5 really nice tenor ukuleles at any given moment
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