#16
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I'm really getting into this Epi. I still love the tone of my taylor for solo guitar playing - it's so alive and sparkly, but for singing and playing I suddenly find my taylor obnoxiously bright, like I'm competing with it, and really prefer the mellow sounds of my epi. I think I'll put the titanium pins in the epi and get some rosewood ones for the taylor to knock it back a bit.
It's amazing. My taylor had the voice of an angel until I spent two days playing the hell out of this new guitar, now at least when I'm singing, I really prefer mellower. I remember reading a review saying the Koa Mini is great for fingerpicking but a bit bright for strumming. I didn't agree with that assessment in the slightest before but I might see what they meant Last edited by RalphH; 11-09-2019 at 10:24 AM. |
#17
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Assuming is not knowing. Knowing is NOT the same as understanding. There is a difference between compassion and wisdom, however compassion cannot supplant wisdom, and wisdom can not occur without understanding. facts don't care about your feelings and FEELINGS ALONE MAKE FOR TERRIBLE, often irreversible DECISIONS |
#18
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I own both Big-Black-Rubber-Plugs and LuteHole covers for my guitars (LuteHole covers look classier when playing weddings and funerals). The LuteHole covers are matched to each of my three very different main guitars, and they don't change the tone of any guitar…just the output volume (and knock back some feedback). For students, I've recommended pick weight and stroke path between the sound hole and bridge. The closer you get to the bridge (further from the sound hole) the gnarlier it sounds, so there are limits to it's effectiveness. Let us know what you discover! Hope this adds to the discussion. |
#19
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Ok, did a bit of an experiment and tap-tested the guitars, recorded it with a microphone and plotted their resonances.
(basically stuffed padding under the strings to mute them, aimed a microphone at the soundhole and taped on the top beneath the bridge to make the guitar ring) Just a bit of fun - I found it interesting; it's not about the balance between bottom E and top E strings (82 & 330 hz), the difference is all the resonance the Taylor has above 1khz (all the way up to 20khz) - which the epi just has none of - that makes the difference in the sound - that's why the Taylor has so much 'air' and shimmer in the sound and the epi just doesn't. This is not as much as a 'the taylor is better' scenario as you might think though; the epi can sit easier in a mix with the narrower space it takes up in the spectrum, and while you can EQ amplified sound, you can't EQ acoustic sound. It's probably why I actually prefer the Epi for some songs if i'm trying to sing over it, though a really soft pick like a thick nylon pick (or a carpet sample) would probably soften the taylor a bit Last edited by RalphH; 11-10-2019 at 12:48 PM. |
#20
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OMG, completely solved now; putting PB strings on it was the last piece of the puzzle. Having only used PB strings before getting this guitar, which came with 80/20s, I hadn't appreciated just how different PB's and 80/20s are. To my ears it's almost as dramatic as the difference between steel and nylon. With 80/20s, you just get the note you're playing and that's it. With PBs, there's all this extra metallic harmonic shimmering that I'm used to from my PB equipped Taylor. I'd just read that 80/20s were 'a bit brighter' and PB's 'balanced' It sounds completely different now and almost exactly what I was hoping for - if anything it was a little too lively to start with, but it's settled down now after a couple of hours of playing. Maybe I can stop hankering after a gibson dreadnought, at least for now Last edited by RalphH; 11-15-2019 at 11:15 AM. |
#21
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Sometimes there are tweaks one can do, but for me custom strings and custom right hand approach is adding too much effort. I have enough variance moving between multiple acoustics, mandolin, classical, electric and fretted/fretless bass. The more commonalities I can define the better.
__________________
-Gordon 1978 Larrivee L-26 cutaway 1988 Larrivee L-28 cutaway 2006 Larrivee L03-R 2009 Larrivee LV03-R 2016 Irvin SJ cutaway 2020 Irvin SJ cutaway (build thread) K+K, Dazzo, Schatten/ToneDexter Notable Journey website Facebook page Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art. - Leonardo Da Vinci |
#22
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I actually got off lucky - once I took out the terrible piezo and put my regular strings on it, it sounds more or less like I want without worrying about changes to right hand approach.
I was buying a 'cheaper' guitar as something I could take to more places and have around the (young) children without worrying, so I just bought the best sounding one within budget. I'm pleased with how the sound has turned out. Last edited by RalphH; 11-15-2019 at 11:14 AM. |