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Old 02-19-2019, 08:59 PM
Deliberate1 Deliberate1 is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Maine
Posts: 2,522
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Originally Posted by bmh1 View Post
Hello David-

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the world of the acoustic guitar! There is something wonderful about playing a guitar and feeling the sound vibrate in the box. It's a great way to make music! And I also love the Martin mahogany sound.

I went back and checked out your last thread, as I was intrigued by a clarinetist posting on AGF. I started my musical journey playing clarinet as a 4th grader and then bass clarinet through jr high and into high school. And then I picked up the French horn in 9th grade and that became my primary instrument all the way through college. My dad had a nylon classical guitar that he never learned to play, so I picked it up and learned basic cowboy chords as a kid. The lessons and the time went into the other instruments, not guitar.

And then about 7 years ago, my church needed a guitar player for a very small service they run each week and I got drafted. And after having gotten a not great starter guitar at Guitar Center, I quickly realized I wasn't happy with the tone of the instrument. I went to a nice guitar store locally, and ended up walking out with a Martin OM15- which is a 14 fret Mahogany model. The tone was warmer and richer than the others I played that day and I fell in love with it, in spite of it's more expensive price tag. I loaned the Martin to a friend a few years ago, but I'm getting it back this summer as she is moving home to South Africa. And I'm looking forward to having it around again.

What I was told by one of my guitar teachers early on was that I had a good ear. And what I've wrestled with is my ear has always been ahead of my playing. I could hear and feel the siren song of a great guitar way before I could play it in any way well. But having a great instrument and loving the tone that it makes, even if I'm just strumming a simple chord, has been deeply fulfilling. And I've found as I've ventured into the world of luthier built instruments, I've continued to gravitate towards a warmer tone, cedar and redwood topped guitars, etc... They work beautifully for finger style and learning the steel string guitar as a lyrical instrument has been really fun and fits my background as an instrumentalist. And I still find myself gravitating towards picking up the all mahogany guitars when I'm in a local guitar store.

All that to say... I would encourage you to trust what sounds best to you and feels right to your soul. If it's an all mahogany Martin, you may get covered up if you are playing with others who have spruce topped dreads and they're thumping on them. That happens... And maybe if you gravitate towards bluegrass eventually and want to flatpack with that bright sound, you may find yourself wanting a second guitar that can do other styles. The variety of tone available depending upon the woods and the builder is one of the wonderful things about acoustic guitar that is different than wind instruments. And it can make it difficult for some of us to find just "the one."

I'm interested to hear what guitar you end up gravitating towards and to eventually hear the music you make with it. I'm sure it's going to be wonderful!

My best to you-

beth
Beth,
OP here. thanks for sharing your story. You have had quite an interesting musical journey. While I ended up with the $50 Bundy clarinet, I really wanted to lay the French horn, like you. It was so cool looking - like steel intestines. Good for you for developing the embouchure skills to play two very challenging instruments at opposite ends of the spectrum.
The disconnect between your skill level in the beginning and your ear is something that I will confront as well. Having played for woodwinds for well over 50 years, and being a performer, I have definite expectations about the music I make. With the guitar, my brain will most certainly be well ahead of my hands. That said, I wonder if your skills as a musician transferred in some fashion, or that a conceptual understanding of music helped you to understand the guitar. You came to the guitar knowing what a scale sounds like. I recall grabbing a stand up bass once. And after a short time, I figured out the intervals and could put some scales and even a few decent notes together. Same is true when I picked up a mandolin. I am hoping that something similar will happen once I pick up my new obsession.
I hope that you still find time to pick up the clarinet and French Horn from time to time. I have a bass clarinet as well. It is a bit of a beast to play, but those low low octave notes shake the floorboards.
By the way, this should be in my mailbox in a few days:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Larrivee-Cu...8/392235179200.
Most people, and guitars, go south to Fla this time of year, not north to Maine.
Best to you.
David
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