#31
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Quote:
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Santa Cruz | Huss & Dalton | Lakewood Fan (and customer) of: -Charmed Life Picks -Organic Sounds Select Guitars -Down Home Guitars |
#32
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A couple of things...
I love the whole "Goodall Hype" nonsense... (sarcasm font). The guy has been building great guitars since the late 70's, and it's "hype"? And you haven't even played one? Doesn't give me a very high opinion of your perspective... There are three distinct "eras" of Goodall guitars... possibly 4? He started out building in the San Diego area in the late 70's; Tim Luranc (Bob Taylor's right hand man in the shop for a LONG time) actually got James his first "job" in guitar making, at American Dream Guitars... James and Bob and the Breedlove brothers were all friends growing up in the San Diego area; interesting that they all have become so noteworthy as builders! James moved up to Fort Bragg, CA., in the early 80's... and then moved on to the Big Island of Hawaii in 1992. That was where he really came to prominence for the exquisite instruments he builds. By the time he left the Big Island, he told me he had 10-12 folks working on the guitars, and that he had become more of a 'quality control manager" than a builder! Moved back to Fort Bragg in 2009; we both came to that town on the same day in January! I am pleased to call him a friend (Jean and Luke, as well!), and I spent a lot of time with them as they built the new shop and then began building guitars there. Just the two of them, James and his son, Luke, are doing the building, while Jean runs the front office (sometimes with help from Luke's wife, Megan). They do have a guy who does their urethane spraying for them, but everything else is James and Luke. I absolutely love their guitars! Not every one is one "for me", but, man! I've never heard so many consistently great sounding and playing guitars from any other company... I'm not a big fan of "bling" and other manner of the current vogue in adornments, so James' not doing any of that stuff fits perfectly with my own aesthetic. No shoulder bevels, no soundports, no wild and crazy inlays... just tremendous sounding and playing instruments! I've been fortunate to play well over a hundred of their guitars (around 30 from the Hawaiian era, as James brought 50 or so instruments with him when they first moved back to town). Never have played a "dud" or any that were "less than"; if a guitar doesn't meet their standards, it isn't sold... My favorite size/shape of Goodall is the Concert Jumbo; basically a mini-jumbo. Plenty of size to produce big sound and volume, but very sensitive to a lighter touch, as well. My first Goodall was a redwood topped Grand Concert (OOO-ish) with lovely flamed "beeswing" Honduran mahogany; a wonderful guitar, but just a bit too small for me, at least for my "only" guitar... I got this idea, about 2 months ago, that I wanted to pare my guitars down to 'just one" of each type I play... one acoustic 6 string, one 12 string and one electric. For my only 6 string acoustic, I wanted a Goodall Concert Jumbo in some sort of rosewood b/s with either a spruce top or Port Orford cedar. Fortunately for me, one of our members pm'd me to say that he had just such a guitar and was thinking of selling it! So I sold my Grand Concert (thanks, Rob) and bought my Concert Jumbo (thanks, Mike!). It's Honduran rosewood back and sides with a German spruce top and a soft, Venetian cutaway. After nearly 2 months of playing the new one, I'm feeling much more familiar with it and the sounds it makes... VERY different than my Grand Concert or my Mark Angus #35 (German spruce over maple) that I owned and played for 40 years... this Concert Jumbo is a guitar I can easily play "for the duration" of my guitar-playing life, however long that may be. I personally don't "get" the whole "too many overtones/too much sustain" thing... heck, that's why folks palm mute... I can always make a guitar sound "less" in the sustain and overtone department, but if it ain't there, you can't fake it when you want it! My Concert Jumbo is incredibly responsive to a lighter touch, yet it just GROWLS when I lean into it a bit... In my opinion (having played many, but not all, of the higher end acoustic out there), James and Luke Goodall build the best sounding and playing acoustic guitars on the planet... they are simply the finest instruments I've ever played; articulate, responsive, accurate... and beautiful! Oh, and you can't just "go to the shop and pick up your guitar"... James takes care of his dealers by not having folks order through him, IF there's a dealer anywhere near where you are... I got around that by being well over 300 miles from the nearest Goodall dealer... but, as a matter of course, one does not "go there" to get your guitar. Hope all this brings something valuable to the discussion...
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"He's one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith. Spread your arms and hold your breath, always trust your cape..." "The Cape" (Guy Clark/Jim Janowsky/Susanna Clark) |
#33
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jseth, rather than quote your excellent post, I’ll just thank you for posting it. You said a couple of things much better than I would have, and I agree with each point.
It took the best guitar (to my ear) that I’ve ever played, to take the place of my Goodall GC as my “one” guitar. None are just average, and many are superb. If I were looking for that special guitar, I’d plan a trip to the shop with the biggest inventory and feast my ears upon one of the best instruments made.
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McCollum Grand Auditorum Euro Spruce/Brazilian PRS Hollowbody Spruce PRS SC58 Giffin Vikta Gibson Custom Shop ES 335 '59 Historic RI ‘91 Les Paul Standard ‘52 AVRI Tele - Richie Baxt build Fender American Deluxe Tele Fender Fat Strat |
#34
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I started playing guitar a year and a half or so ago. Early on, I had a loaner dreadnought and decided I would replace it with a smaller body instrument of my own. Based on reading here on AGF, I decided I would get a used Goodall because it seemed that many people liked them, spoke highly of their tonal characteristics, and they were "something different" from the standard music store fare. The only one I could find locally was a baritone so it wasn't much of a comparison opportunity, though it had wonderfully rich tone and I could tell that it was well-crafted. I checked the websites of all the dealers listed on the Goodall website, daily, and after a while found two used Grand Concert models for sale - one walnut and spruce, the other maple and spruce. I had also decided that I wanted North American woods, so that further limited available options.
I contacted jseth (above) and with his advice and some sound clips of the two guitars, I ended up with the maple guitar. It is Adirondack/Oregon Big Leaf Maple made in +-2005 in Hawai'i. It was, admittedly, a whim purchase, based on little experience or direct knowledge, and I couldn't be happier with it. I know it far outclasses my abilities, but it is also a forgiving and supportive friend as I go through my learning process. Its tone is rich and warm and it sounds good even with my limited skill. I also find it very beautiful and both qualities make me want to play it, and happy when I do! I also enjoy hearing it in far more experienced hands. Per earlier, I would describe the tone as warm and rich with very clear articulation. It is resonant, but does not have the overtones that my ear associates with rosewood, and probably has less sustain than a similarly sized rosewood guitar. A larger body instrument would likely have more sustain and depth of sound, but the GC is the right body style and size for me, especially for learning. On a daily basis, I feel pretty lucky to be able to have and play an instrument of this quality. |
#35
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I currently own 4 Goodalls (2 Hawaiian, 2 Ft. Bragg) and I’ve owned about 20 since 2000. I also currently own 3 Kevin Ryan guitars, a Froggy and several other high end brands. IMO James and Luke build some of the best guitars you can buy. I personally think that Kevin Ryan guitars are better but only slightly. I can’t think of any other brands that I’ve played (Traugott, Olson, Henderson, Isaac Jang, etc) that sound better to my ear. However, it’s all so subjective that it’s really up to individual tastes. I also think that the Ft. Bragg guitars are generally better than the Hawaii Goodalls but I wouldn’t sell either of two Hawaii guitars that I own under any circumstances short of dire financial need.
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Stumbling as I fall from grace... |
#36
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Quote:
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McCollum Grand Auditorum Euro Spruce/Brazilian PRS Hollowbody Spruce PRS SC58 Giffin Vikta Gibson Custom Shop ES 335 '59 Historic RI ‘91 Les Paul Standard ‘52 AVRI Tele - Richie Baxt build Fender American Deluxe Tele Fender Fat Strat |
#37
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IMO when they moved back to texas -the prices went up -
the quality was the same - they all sound good - im lucky to have mine - it has a different but outstanding tone.
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--------------------------------- Wood things with Strings ! |
#38
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That BRJ is one I’ll have for the rest of my days. I also have a Ft. Bragg BRGCC that is one of the best guitars I’ve ever played.
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Stumbling as I fall from grace... |
#39
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Are you talking about Goodall? I thought they were in Northern California.
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Santa Cruz | Huss & Dalton | Lakewood Fan (and customer) of: -Charmed Life Picks -Organic Sounds Select Guitars -Down Home Guitars |
#40
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My 2006 THR000 is the only Goodall I've ever played. It was the sole survivor of a herd thinning exercise 10 years ago. Included in the group that went were a couple of Lowdens. I started buying again and have some nice guitars. I've started thinning again and, still, the Goodall is a keeper.
I'd love to play a bunch of different ones together in one place. Aren't too many dealers where one can do that, and closest would be a 24 hour drive. If there was still a Goodall dealer here in CO, I'm guessing I'd be even more of a fanboy.
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Goodall, Martin, Wingert |
#41
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Ft Bragg is in Northern California. Goodalls have never been built in Texas. He started in San Diego in 1976, then moved to Ft Bragg around 1980 or so, then to Hawaii in 1992, and finally back to Ft Bragg in 2010.
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1972 Yamaha FG200 My 1st guitar 2003 Yamaha LL500 2007 Larrivee JCL 40th Anniversary Edition 1998 Larrivee OM05-MT All Mahogany 1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian “Flying Eagle” 1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle" 1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan |
#42
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My #1 Goodall was a GC (Cocobolo/Spruce) and I’ve long held that it may be the perfect guitar shape in the hands of someone like James Goodall. I consider it in the top 5 guitars I’ve eve played and I imagine the Braz version even raises the possibilities.
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McCollum Grand Auditorum Euro Spruce/Brazilian PRS Hollowbody Spruce PRS SC58 Giffin Vikta Gibson Custom Shop ES 335 '59 Historic RI ‘91 Les Paul Standard ‘52 AVRI Tele - Richie Baxt build Fender American Deluxe Tele Fender Fat Strat |
#43
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I wanted to replace a roswood/Sitka dreadnought with something powerful, but in a more comfortable shape. I like OM's, so I set out to get something like a deep-bodied Santa Cruz OM. After playing plenty of guitars, I bought a Goodall Concert Jumbo (Koa/Adirondack). Beautifully made, balanced tone, powerful but can get delicate as well. Just a really wonderful guitar. It's a recent Ft. Bragg build.
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"It was late in the evening, and I blew that room away..." - Paul Simon --------------------------------------------------------------- Acoustic gear: 1999 CFox 'Frisco' concert w/ Trance Amulet MV 2016 Taylor GS Mini-e RW 2020 Goodall KCJ Fishman Loudbox Mini |
#44
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I have to say this thread is in a nutshell why this forum is head and shoulders above any else if you want to uncover the crazy complex world of fine acoustics.
Such a varied and informative (and most importantly, informed) array of comment and commentary alike. I really cannot think of anywhere else that so much information could be gleaned within less than 48 hours of posing a question So thank you all! And in the spirit of nudging things along here’s a small reflection on Goodall guitars; whisper it so it stays so but here in the UK at least they are little known, if at all. That’s great from my perspective as what happens is the odd gem pops up for crazy prices - only a few weeks ago I came across an absolutely Mint Goodall OM from 2000, 1 careful pet free non smoking lady owner no less and all for the princely sum of just over $3k I’m guessing the same guitar anywhere in the US could fetch twice as much And finishing off the observation with a question - if you had to pick a single other brand that was closest which would it be? My shout is for Froggy Bottom Yours? Thank you R J
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Martin OM Custom Sinker Taylor Custom GC Coco/German Collings O1ASB Martin D-42 Santa Cruz PJ Braz/Adi Froggy C Custom Lowden S-50 Master Honduran Rosewood, Cedar combo 1971 Kohno No:20 Rosewood Classical Fender Strat ‘59 masterbuilt Paul Waller Les Paul CS ‘60 Fender Tele CS ‘52 Rickenbacker 330 12 Les Paul Custom ‘57 black beauty |
#45
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Thanks to the generously of one AGF member (Larry Martz) who used to live 15 mins from me, I was invited to play some of his Goodalls after reaching out to him for advice on the brand. I ended up purchasing a Fort Bragg made TRD in Adi/EIR and a Kona HI made TROM in Adi/BRW. I also got to play a few others including a few CJs, two 000 12-frets, and a custom TRD in all mahogany which was cool.
It became clear early in the demos that I was leaning toward the Traditional line (TR) over the regular and heavily overtoned non-TRs. My musical focus is largely bluegrass flatpicking, and the TRD and TROM sounded closest to the Martin voicing which I prefer. In time, both guitars were sold. The TRD neck was a bit too small (James and Luke slimmed down their traditional medium/fat C neck upon return to Ford Bragg in 2009), and the weight of the TRD also bugged me at close to 5 lbs. The TROM was sold after I took delivery of a Martin 000-18 Authentic, but in retrospect I never played it all that much either. I guess I just realized that the Martin vintage voicing and the Authentics and Santa Cruz sound were better suited for how I play and for the music I enjoy. PaulÂ’s (Haasome) comments on having too heavy of a hand masking some of their nuances may have some merit. I would note that neither my TRD or TROM were ideal played fingerstyle and seemed to sound better (to me) when used with a flatpick. The non-TRs that I played at LarryÂ’s were the opposite.
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Merrill | Martin | Collings | Gibson For Sale: 2023 Collings D2H 1 3/4 Nut, Adi Bracing, NTB -- $4250 shipped |
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america, goodall, luthier, premium |
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