The guitar that (almost) made you switch teams?

[warfrat73]

I'm not a Taylor guy.

But the old 714 with the cedar top and rosewood back and sides almost came home with me on more than one occasion.

[Inyo]

A guitar that almost made you switch teams, eh?

I'm not a Yankees guy, but this Woodrow Yankees guitar almost made me a New York Yankees fan.



I still like my Los Angeles Dodgers, though. A Woodrow Dodgers guitar:

[Tycobb73]

I don't have a team. If I like a guitar and can afford it, I buy it.

[warfrat73]

Originally Posted by Inyo

I still like my Los Angeles Dodgers, though. A Woodrow Dodgers guitar:

Well, at least it's not the Cubs.

[Mandobart]

Originally Posted by Tycobb73

I don't have a team. If I like a guitar and can afford it, I buy it.

Same with me. That said, I've yet to find a Taylor, Gibson, Yamaha or Fender acoustic I liked enough to buy. But I still test drive them when I see them.

[rounder]

I like Martin acoustics, but years ago I bought a Gibson ES345 stereo used mainly because I liked the way it looked and thought it might be nice to have. It sat in the case and I sold it for what I paid for it. Not that long ago, I thought it might be nice to have another electric, so I bought an American Telecaster Professional II brand new. It is a perfectly nice guitar but I do not play it and it sits in the case. I plan to sell it but have not done that yet. It is not a matter of changing brands or teams. Some times you have to go with what you like.

[FingahPickah]

I love to "test drive" (as Mandobart put it).

My acoustic keepers have been carefully selected (2 Martins, 2 Guilds, 1 Larrivee, 1 USA Breedlove, 1 Eastman, 1 custom build by luthier Alex Edney in Maine).

I owned a X-braced Taylor 324e for a couple of years (the only Taylor I ever owned). Very nice guitar - I just didn't bond with the mahogany top sound after a while. I don't dislike or dismiss Taylors in general. If I were to get another it would more likely be a Cedar top model (my son has one that sounds great).

I have never owned a Gibson.. but recently test drove an Advanced Jumbo that could've changed that. (Note to self: you snooze > you lose).

I avoid duplications. If I have a favorite team; it's an All Star one.

[Mbroady]

My team has always been the great guitar at a great (frugal) bargain team

It’s probably why I don’t have more of the great luthier built options.
I got lucky with the 2 I do have

[ifret]

I'm obviously a Taylor girl, but I do try other brands when I'm at Elderly. I wouldn't say that Taylor is my team, just that, for how and what I play, it consistently fits the bill. The one thing that bugs me is how some people generalize about a brand. You'll never see/hear me bash a particular brand. Guitarists play differently and like different types of music, have certain financial resources, and prefer a particular tone. You look for the guitar that fits you. It doesn't make the other brand bad. For example, I don't own/play a jumbo Gibson guitar, because it doesn't fit with my style. It doesn't make it bad. It bothers me when the other teams are talked down. I'm just happy that we have so many great choices out there, one (or more than one) to fit everyone. Love what you love.

[BlueBowman]

Originally Posted by Mbroady

My team has always been a great guitar at a great (frugal) bargain.

I guess we’re teammates then

I have no loyalty for the most part, though I do have a very soft spot for Larrivee. There are certain brands that have never done much for me. I always play Breedlove and Bedells when I see them, and while they are fine, they never jumped out at me.

To answer the question, I played an American-made Bedell recently (the 1964 SE Adirondack/H. mahogany dread) that was very hard to put down. It was light, responsive, had great balance, and I loved the tone. I think the fine tuning of the resonances at the factory has really improved the Breedlove and Bedell’s that I’ve played recently. I’m eager to play more, so I guess I’ve opened myself up to another “team” (though, truly, I’m open to most; a good guitar is a good guitar).

[Bob Womack]

I'm either not a team player or I've got a couple of teams. Something like that.




Bob

[RP]

I used to be a big-time Taylor fanboy, but their move away from pure acoustics in the 400-800 series moved me to Martins. Yes, I know that one can special order Taylors without cutaway or electronics, but I also have a bias against runout and I don't want to commit to buy a guitar that may have runout...

[Steve DeRosa]

Gibson J-15 - priced right, never played a bad one, played a few that I absolutely loved (and should have bought...), and one of only two Gibson flattops (the other being the early-2K's AJ) that I would consider owning...

[L20A]

My first great guitar was my Martin D-35.
Still love it today.

One day, I was in a music store that has several Collings guitars.
I played them all and I was very impressed with them.
I left without one and went back home and played my D-35.

The D-35 is all the guitar that I need and I soon forgot about the Collings Guitars.

[Rev Roy]

I was never a team player if you mean the usual suspects (Martin, Gibson, Taylor) though I’ve owned many of each. But if you mean that term more broadly I remember when I changed from Team Usual to Team Boutique. By chance I played a Collings while picking up a Gibson repair at a shop. Angels sang. Didn’t buy that one. But thanks to the used market I’ve been on the boutique (and/or single luthier) band wagon ever since. Still not on any particular team. But I’m a very happy guy.