The Acoustic Guitar Forum

Go Back   The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #46  
Old 06-07-2023, 09:43 AM
L20A L20A is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Roy Utah
Posts: 7,512
Default

When one goes out looking for a "Better" guitar, one will find such guitar.
__________________
Happiness Is A New Set Of Strings
L-20A
Reply With Quote
  #47  
Old 06-07-2023, 09:46 AM
rollypolly rollypolly is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2021
Location: Greensboro, NC
Posts: 2,149
Default

It seems to be a recurring theme around these parts.

I started with a GPC-15, then a D-18 and 00-18. Then I got my Huss and Dalton. Now I've been looking at GEs, Authentics, Santa Cruz, Collings. The disease spreads fast!
Reply With Quote
  #48  
Old 06-07-2023, 10:11 AM
Aahzz Aahzz is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Northern Kentucky
Posts: 612
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by L20A View Post
When one goes out looking for a "Better" guitar, one will find such guitar.
Not necessarily. I found myself with a couple hours to kill in Nashville, and took the time to play some guitars I've not been able to play locally - mainly boutique brands like Collings and Santa Cruz, Martin Authentic, etc. I fully expected them to be better than my Guild D-40E. I fully expected to find a target for a future upgrade, and have GAS begin.

I didn't find a single one I considered better.
__________________
2023 Eastman E6D-TC
2022 Martin D-10E
2022 Guild D-40E
1987 Peavey Patriot bass
Reply With Quote
  #49  
Old 06-07-2023, 10:28 AM
rmp rmp is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 6,897
Default

I'm sure there's a greater guitar than the D18. No doubt about it!


But then, there's an even greater guitar then the one that surpasses the D18, and then the next round happens, and the next...


So eventually you're surrounded by 20/30 "GREAT" guitars, and the only problem you really have is which one do you play today?

While it's not a bad problem to have, you gotta have the cash for such activities....

right??
__________________
Ray

Gibson SJ200
Taylor Grand Symphony
Taylor 514CE-NY
Taylor 814CE Deluxe V-Class
Guild F1512
Alvarez DY74 Snowflake ('78)
Reply With Quote
  #50  
Old 06-07-2023, 12:36 PM
6L6 6L6 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 5,506
Default

To the OP's original question, ABSOLUTELY!
Reply With Quote
  #51  
Old 06-07-2023, 03:57 PM
Br1ck Br1ck is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: San Jose, Ca
Posts: 6,943
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by xaxinojo View Post
Search, no. Happen upon, sure.
This is the brilliantly condensed version of my beliefs. Don't go shopping aimlessly, but do play anything interesting, provided you could find a way to buy it. I walk by the $7,000+ group, and certainly the 40s D 28. I never pass up a 50 year old guitar priced about the same, or a little more than a new one. Even the $6000 60s D 18s get a twirl. Most aren't worth it, some are. But even those will get a pass for a long time, as I shot my budget with my Santa Cruz. It was the last of three guitars I played and instantly I knew I was buying it.

Such is the nature of the happen upon. Yes, in the back of my mind I was going to sell some things I didn't play, but had no idea I'd be selling and buying the same day, or be willing to trade one more instrument to do it. Stars do align now and then. Why after months of thinking about it, did I pick that day? It's a mystery.
__________________
2007 Martin D 35 Custom
1970 Guild D 35
1965 Epiphone Texan
2011 Santa Cruz D P/W
Pono OP 30 D parlor
Pono OP12-30
Pono MT uke
Goldtone Paul Beard squareneck resophonic
Fluke tenor ukulele
Boatload of home rolled telecasters

"Shut up and play ur guitar" Frank Zappa
Reply With Quote
  #52  
Old 06-08-2023, 09:39 AM
Dirk Hofman Dirk Hofman is online now
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: NOR * CAL
Posts: 7,509
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by JackC1 View Post
2 questions here:

1.

I'm very happy with my D-18 and have either already sold off all my other acoustics just because I don't play them anymore (I always reach for the D-18).

I'm wondering, if I should make some effort to explore some of the brands that I'm reading about here like Collings and Santa Cruz (and others).

If somebody likes the D-18 for everything it is; which guitar (say under $6k) would you recommend looking into?

What if the price can be moved to $8k (my absolute limit for a guitar that I can't imagine moving beyond... but I also can't believe that I'm now thinking about my D-18 replacement... oh, if we all can know the future)... I'm afraid to ask, but if price moved to $10k?

I'm curious to see if there is a guitar that I'll like more.

2.

I found my D-18 by accident; but, once found, I knew this was the guitar for me for life. Being on AGF as much as I am, no surprise that I'm thinking about something else.

How did you find your great guitar?
If you were happy and totally satisfied with a previoud guitar, what caused you to look?
Definitely have wrestled (way too much) with all the above. It's fun, but I wonder if it ever got me much of real value. I know a lot about different guitar brands and how they play and sound. Definitely cool to talk about on a forum...until it starts to get boring. Looking back, if I'd just kept the first D2H I bought, I'd be no better a guitarist and have a better guitar than 99% of people in the world. I'm not a pro, I'm not even particularly good. Others are in very different places, so will have very different opinions. All good. With that preamble, I'd maybe consider these questions...
  • Do you live in an area where more expensive guitars are available to play? If not, be deeply tempted to forget about it and enjoy the great guitar you have. Chasing tone online is...interesting, but a crapshoot no matter what people say on forum. Yes, there are consistent builders. Even among those, you get mostly very good guitars. Exceptional ones landing on your doorstep is rare. Very, very, rare. Convincing yourself yours is exceptional is easy enough, but what does that get you? What are you comparing this guitar which lands in your home to? The one you have, and likely little else. Very different from going to a store where you can play 10 incredible guitars. If you have that locally or want to travel to do that, great! Do it. But this forum can create pointless comparisons and wants rather than needs. There are always going to be a lot of people with guitars you're going to want.
  • Is there something specific your D-18 isn't doing for you? Could be tone, playability, looks, brand name, showing on a forum, feeling like you have as good a guitar as someone else, whatever. Be honest with yourself about why you're looking. Given the reason you're (possibly) looking, are any of those reasons in line with your own personal values? By spending on a new guitar, is that getting you closer to your goals and values, or moving you further away? If yes, chase on! If no, resist the urge and focus on the guitar you have. There's always another guitar to chase later in life.

Last edited by Dirk Hofman; 06-08-2023 at 09:45 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #53  
Old 06-08-2023, 09:55 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Chicago
Posts: 11,283
Default If you've found a great guitar, should you continue to search greater?

My GAS comes and goes. Usually after buying a new guitar I have a honeymoon of a month or two where I stop looking. Then, if I grow unhappy with the purchase, I start looking again. Unhappiness with the purchase usually says more about me than it does about the guitar. I often buy similar dreadnought models hoping for different results. Or I try something other people seem to like and realize I’m not other people. My online purchases (buying before trying) is universally a disaster. I end up motivated by the “deal” not the sound. “Deals” usually mean “duds” in my experience.
__________________
"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday."

Last edited by martingitdave; 06-08-2023 at 05:05 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #54  
Old 06-08-2023, 10:18 AM
Tenn Tenn is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 229
Default

I drive mainly to work and to church. I love my Mercedes 500 but want a sportier car. So I get a vette. It was great but now I want Euro...so I get a porsche. Well ya but I think the Italians really make great sports cars...so I get a Ferrari. Man what a beast but there are other Italian cars....I get a Lambo. Sweet....rode in a friend"s McLaren...sold the Lambo for a McLaren. But....... now I really want a old push rod American thing. So I kept the McLaren and bought a Shelby mustang.

All this even though all I do is drive to work and church. And I have never driven over 85
Reply With Quote
  #55  
Old 06-08-2023, 03:36 PM
personatech's Avatar
personatech personatech is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Roanoke Rapids, NC
Posts: 1,039
Default

Should I? No.
Do I? Yes.
__________________
2022 Yamaha Red Label FGX3
2022 Guild Westerly Collection OM-120
2016 Taylor 416ce-R
2010 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster
1974 Rickenbacker 4001 Bass
Reply With Quote
  #56  
Old 06-08-2023, 03:57 PM
SRL SRL is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 816
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by JackC1 View Post
If you've found a great guitar, should you continue to search greater?
I think about this one a lot. What's your time worth? Would you rather spend it playing, or shopping/collecting? When you're too arthritic to play anymore, will you feel like you spent your time wisely and that pursuing guitars was time well spent?

I dunno. I definitely don't want to be one of those guys with $20k of guitars lying around but can't play more than a few basic chord-strumming songs, and not even very well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JackC1 View Post
I'm wondering, if I should make some effort to explore some of the brands that I'm reading about here like Collings and Santa Cruz (and others).

If somebody likes the D-18 for everything it is; which guitar (say under $6k) would you recommend looking into?
If you found a really good D-18, I don't know if you're going to find a much better guitar from another company. They might be different-sounding, but they probably won't be much better.

If you're hell-bent on spending more money, I'd probably look at a Bourgeois D-18 copy where the whole guitar is torrefied ("Aged Tone" as they call it). I played one of those that was absolutely phenomenal.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JackC1 View Post
I found my D-18 by accident; but, once found, I knew this was the guitar for me for life. Being on AGF as much as I am, no surprise that I'm thinking about something else.
That's one of the worst things about this forum, unfortunately. It's like a bunch of old winos sitting around debating which wine is the best. You end up drinking a lot of wine to find out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JackC1 View Post
How did you find your great guitar? If you were happy and totally satisfied with a previoud guitar, what caused you to look?
Mainly by churning guitars and also by playing a ton of them in music shops. I'd say I've got six great acoustics at the moment, from different builders, different woods, etc. I'm not sure any one of them is the best of the bunch, since they're all US-made with new retail prices between $2000-7000, the expectation should be that they're all good instruments.

To me, it's not really a pursuit of "can I find the best guitar ever made" but "can I find a great guitar for me". I also like variety. I've got two GAs, two dreads, two small bodies with 12 frets to the neck (00-ish size). They all do different things well, sound different, and always inspire me to play, even when I don't really feel like it.
Reply With Quote
  #57  
Old 06-08-2023, 04:09 PM
abn556 abn556 is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2023
Location: Kingwood, TX
Posts: 1,139
Default

One truth that I have learned about guitars is that if you’re not looking, only rarely does one that you really want jump into your lap and demand to be bought. If you go to a nice shop however, its difficult to walk out the door without getting GAS.

+
__________________
Gibson and Fender Electrics
Boutique Tube Amps
Martin, Gibson, and Larrivee Acoustics
Reply With Quote
Reply

  The Acoustic Guitar Forum > General Acoustic Guitar and Amplification Discussion > General Acoustic Guitar Discussion

Thread Tools





All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:57 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright ©2000 - 2022, The Acoustic Guitar Forum
vB Ad Management by =RedTyger=