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  #166  
Old 10-05-2021, 10:44 AM
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nootis nootis is offline
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Originally Posted by warfrat73 View Post
Mark, now that you've built a few guitars with the float wood sitka, I was wondering if you could share your thoughts about how it performs as a tonewood... in general, in relation to "normal" sitka, compared to other common options?

My interest is largely selfish, as I have in imminent build that's scheduled to use some, and have hemmed and hawed a bit. But I bet some other folks are curious as well.
Hi Warfrat73,

I imagine Mark's answer might hold more weight, but I have owned the first Red, White and Blue parlor for about a year now. To be honest, it sounded a bit dull to me at first. It just wasn't as alive as I expected. Perhaps it needed time to open up? I'm predominantly a rosewood guy, so I was thinking it was perhaps the sepele dryness that was turning me off? I changed strings using Santa Cruz low tension strings, and I don't think that helped much. I have plenty of guitars, and while I have played it here and there, I really hadn't played it much. I then went to B.I.G. and played the 3 Hatchers that were there. The RW&B Greta sounded very similar to mine at home, albeit a bit more volume due to the size difference. However I was more impressed with the EIR/Cedar Greta. I've been told that the softer woods like Redwood and Cedar tend to have a quicker "break in" time, so perhaps that was a factor. Tom had mentioned to me that his first impression also felt a bit flat, but later told me that he changed the strings on the RW&B Greta and it made a world of difference. So I tried another set of strings too (this time Martin SP's), and I am happy to report that my little RW&B Parlor has finally woken up.

As far as a sound specific to the float wood, I'm not so sure I can discern any difference from non-float Sitka. I have only one other Sitka topped guitar, but I also have Adirondack, Carpathian and Engelmann tops. They all sound like spruce, but of course with different flavors of warmth and/or headroom.
The mineral deposits in the wood could have an affect on sound, but I'd be hard pressed to discern what that would be. For softer woods like Sinker Redwood, the mineral deposits seem to "harden" the wood to where there is a noticeable gain in headroom and sustain, but for float wood Sitka, it's not as noticeable because, well, it's already Sitka. As long as you like Sitka and the uniqueness of the color and of course the history of float wood, you shouldn't second guess your decision.
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  #167  
Old 10-05-2021, 02:35 PM
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warfrat73 warfrat73 is offline
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Thanks for the thoughtful response, nootis.

The top on my build won't have the blue color, but I can't imagine that has much affect on the tonal properties.

I've been sort of torn between the raft stika and Adi, but have found some of the Adi guitars I've played a bit harsh sounding to my ears, and don't really need the added headroom on an OM.
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  #168  
Old 10-08-2021, 10:04 AM
Dustinfurlow Dustinfurlow is offline
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The Bloodwood Greta model is currently hanging out at my place and we are getting along just fine...Matt Thomas and I have a special demo in the cue to edit but I threw this mono recording with a Neumann TLM-105 together this morning and loved the sound. If I had to pick one word to describe this guitar it would be "alive".

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  #169  
Old 10-09-2021, 09:19 AM
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Erithon Erithon is offline
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Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow View Post
The Bloodwood Greta model is currently hanging out at my place and we are getting along just fine...Matt Thomas and I have a special demo in the cue to edit but I threw this mono recording with a Neumann TLM-105 together this morning and loved the sound. If I had to pick one word to describe this guitar it would be "alive".

That bass is so full! Full, but not overpowering the other registers or lacking definition. It's like being wrapped in a warm blanket

Thanks for recording this, Dustin. Looking forward to the stereo iteration.
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  #170  
Old 10-09-2021, 10:04 PM
Dustinfurlow Dustinfurlow is offline
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Originally Posted by Erithon View Post
That bass is so full! Full, but not overpowering the other registers or lacking definition. It's like being wrapped in a warm blanket

Thanks for recording this, Dustin. Looking forward to the stereo iteration.
Well said, man... It's definitely a very 3d, omnidirectional guitar. The culprit is likely the way Mark lattice-braces his backs to be very lively, in conjunction with the top. This thing is really a lap piano, if there ever was one.
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Dustin Furlow

-Award-winning songwriter/guitarist, Visual storyteller
-D’Addario, G7th and K&K Sound Artist
-Music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube: www.youtube.com/dustinfurlow
-New album "Serene" (Oct '23) and tablature
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  #171  
Old 10-11-2021, 10:31 AM
Dustinfurlow Dustinfurlow is offline
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Just uploaded a proper demo recorded with a stereo pair of Schoeps microphones (no EQ/effects) and a spoken review of the guitar to my channel.

The first clip is in standard tuning and my friend Matt Thomas later in the video plays a brilliant arrangement of "Ashoken Farewell" in DADGAD tuning. The frequency range of this guitar is just mesmerizing. Sending this back to Mark today so I'm not responsible for any more drool on the soundboard. What a fine instrument.

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Dustin Furlow

-Award-winning songwriter/guitarist, Visual storyteller
-D’Addario, G7th and K&K Sound Artist
-Music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube: www.youtube.com/dustinfurlow
-New album "Serene" (Oct '23) and tablature
available at www.dustinfurlow.com
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