Quote:
Originally Posted by steveh
haha - shows how different we all are, and how different individual guitars from the same maker can be: My experience of Traugotts vs. Kostals is almost the complete opposite of yours! I've owned both and found the Traugott more responsive and woodier, whereas the Kostals had more projection, power, and were steelier with greater separation. Both great instruments from great builders, equally impressive, but different in terms of where they are shooting sonically.
I did a short direct comparison a few years ago for this forum, which can be found here:
https://soundcloud.com/stevehhh/guitar-comparison
The first is a Traugott R and the second a Kostal OM. Listening back to this a few years later, I'm not sure what I say above is coming across in the recording, but that's how I heard and felt it with the instruments in my hands at the time.
Relative comparisons maximise the differences between the items being compared - A vs B vs A vs B etc gets very tiring and can be unhelpful unless there is a very clear preference. It's unfortunate that it usually requires an extended period with an instrument to discover how you really feel about it. I can't make my mind up - for sure - until I've lived with an instrument for a while. Usually, that's just not practical, not least when the instrument costs 23K!
Ultimately, which is the guitar you pull out of the case the most? It may not be the one that was most immediately impressive. I brought a Bown OM home many years ago that I thought was a "nice" guitar but not as nice as my Sobells. After a couple of weeks, I found that the Bown was getting 90% of the love. Why? Well, because it was beautifully refined and tremendously well-balanced. Those are not attributes that hit you in the face; they declare themselves over time. In contrast the Sobells were very impressive right away - huge projection and power, very bright - but got a little tiring after a while.
First world problems guys!
Cheers,
Steve |
I did hear what you are referring to in the sound clips.
Tough decision for the OP and I am also one of those folks who needs a little time to play and listen to a guitar before coming to what it all brings to me and what I can bring to it. A friend of mine who is a fine player, purchased a high end guitar and had a several day period to evaluate. We discovered that it had a wolf note and after we explored ways of diminishing the effects of the wolf note, she ended up returning it. The funny thing was that with my playing style, the wolf note hardly ever came into play to be an issue, but with her playing style and attack, it did.
To the OP - Good luck on making a decision that works best for you.
Best,
Jayne