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  #16  
Old 07-20-2020, 04:45 PM
boombox boombox is offline
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Congrats on your new Vintage - and I wish my playing could match yours! I am really enjoying my Gordon Giltrap model too - they take a bit of tweaking, but seem to be nice guitars.
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  #17  
Old 07-21-2020, 02:40 AM
Robin, Wales Robin, Wales is offline
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Originally Posted by boombox View Post
Congrats on your new Vintage - and I wish my playing could match yours! I am really enjoying my Gordon Giltrap model too - they take a bit of tweaking, but seem to be nice guitars.
That Gordon Giltrap guitar you have looks gorgeous!

How are you finding playing an all mahogany guitar? My Vintage Statesboro' is the first all mahogany guitar I have played. I didn't actually bother to think much about the woods when I bought it last week, just the size and price!!! I'm finding the tone very different to what I'm used to - it is a bit like playing through a warm tube amp; and there's that little element of overdrive to the tone. It is going to take me while to really learn how to work the tone - but that's half the fun of playing guitar!
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  #18  
Old 08-29-2020, 11:37 AM
Robin, Wales Robin, Wales is offline
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Default 6 Weeks in - still loving it.



Well I have had my cheap little 99 GBP (about $130) hog guitar for about 6 weeks now – and it is the only guitar I have played in all that time. On average playing an hour or so a day. And it has been on a two week camping trip. It seems to be surviving our constant 70% to 80% humidity here in Wales OK. I’m still loving it. It has a great sound and plays just fine.

I’ve been experimenting with different bridges - the original I think is NuBone or similar plastic and I’ve tried Tusk (rubbish sound, way too shrill) and bone. The first time I tried a bone saddle it sounded lovely apart from the 1st string. The saddle was compensated at the first string with the release point coming of the front of the 3mm thick saddle. This effectively decreased the 1st string break angle compared to the original saddle (not compensated) and I ended up with 5 strings sounding like a guitar and one sounding like a banjo!!!!! On close inspection and measurement I realised the fretboard had a 14” radius but the bridge was around 20” radius (that’s the bridge, not the saddle – the saddle was 14” radius after shaping) so there was a lot less saddle showing out of the bridge slot at the ends than in the middle. Some careful sanding of the bridge (effectively a partial bridge skim) gave me a more uniform saddle protrusion (excepting the bass to treble height fall) and increased the 1st string break angle to around 20 deg. Result, no more banjo!!!! The skim didn’t really take any ‘meat’ out of the bridge, just slightly reshaped it.

The bone saddle, now properly fitted, is really nice – it has more projection than the original and is a little more ‘balanced’ as the best way I can describe it. Not a great change, just subtle like you get with a change in pick material and thickness. I’m loving the ‘valve amp’ type of warm overdrive from the mahogany top. The guitar sounds really sweet in its own way. I can’t say it sounds just like a …………..? because it doesn’t actually sound like anything else I’ve played.
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I'm learning to flatpick and fingerpick guitar to accompany songs.

I've played and studied traditional noter/drone mountain dulcimer for many years. And I used to play dobro in a bluegrass band.



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  #19  
Old 08-30-2020, 07:23 PM
jpmist jpmist is offline
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Originally Posted by Robin, Wales View Post

Well I have had my cheap little 99 GBP (about $130) hog guitar for about 6 weeks now – and it is the only guitar I have played in all that time. . . .On close inspection and measurement I realised the fretboard had a 14” radius but the bridge was around 20” radius (that’s the bridge, not the saddle – the saddle was 14” radius after shaping) so there was a lot less saddle showing out of the bridge slot at the ends than in the middle. Some careful sanding of the bridge (effectively a partial bridge skim) gave me a more uniform saddle protrusion (excepting the bass to treble height fall) and increased the 1st string break angle to around 20 deg. Result, no more banjo!!!! The skim didn’t really take any ‘meat’ out of the bridge, just slightly reshaped it.
Have been enjoying your report on this. I recently got a Gretch 12 fret that really knocked me out with it's tone and playability. China can make a nice guitar as long as it's designed well. A shame about your bridge - I'm impressed you managed to shave it down, but just wanted to add you also have the option to ramp the peg hole for that high E string to increase the break angle. See pic where a slot was filed in.





https://www.bryankimsey.com/bridges/slotted.htm

That should help with your string angle as well if you feel like carving on it some more. . .

The 12 fret on their site piqued my curiosity . . .
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  #20  
Old 08-30-2020, 07:33 PM
3notes 3notes is offline
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That thing sounds great.!! Nice playing too. It sounds a lot like my Recording King parlor. I love it. Yours and mine. wink.
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  #21  
Old 04-11-2021, 02:28 PM
Zonular Zonular is offline
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Hey, I have to ask what's a hog guitar?
I'm in the market for a blues box guitar
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  #22  
Old 04-11-2021, 04:42 PM
Mirosh Mirosh is online now
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hog = mahogany
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  #23  
Old 04-12-2021, 01:56 AM
Robin, Wales Robin, Wales is offline
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I have just been away on holiday with the guitar again. This time to Mwnt in Wales. The top had some belly, so I fitted a bridge doctor. I expect it was due to the top being a little "raw". It still has the same set of monel strings on it I fitted last year!

It is a pity that the neck angle is just a bit flat (it was built that way). I'm sure that this will vary from guitar to guitar. So if I see one with a stronger neck set then I may pick it up. But this one is OK for the task at hand.

It is possible that I may hand the guitar on soon though to a friend as my Art & Lutherie Legacy is just a much nicer instrument to play, and super stable for camping trips.
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I'm learning to flatpick and fingerpick guitar to accompany songs.

I've played and studied traditional noter/drone mountain dulcimer for many years. And I used to play dobro in a bluegrass band.



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  #24  
Old 04-12-2021, 02:20 AM
MinorKey MinorKey is offline
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Yea I do like that Parlour, lovely guitars.
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  #25  
Old 04-12-2021, 02:23 AM
MinorKey MinorKey is offline
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Originally Posted by Robin, Wales View Post
I have just been away on holiday with the guitar again. This time to Mwnt in Wales. The top had some belly, so I fitted a bridge doctor.
What is meant by "belly" and what is a bridge doctor?
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Tanglewood Discovery Super Folk DBT SFCE TBL
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Deacon MA100 Mandolin
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  #26  
Old 04-12-2021, 05:09 AM
Robin, Wales Robin, Wales is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MinorKey View Post
What is meant by "belly" and what is a bridge doctor?
Belly, or excessive belly, is where the bridge pulls up the rear top of the guitar, often with a corresponding sinking in front of the bridge. In this case, I expect that the mahogany top was not a well seasoned or well cut piece of wood and also it really needed a little better bracing.

A bridge doctor, or bridge truss rod, is a block of wood mounted under the bridge plate with an adjustable dowel running to the tail block of the guitar. This pulls the bridge back straight. It is not the "correct" fix for the problem, and it can have an effect on tone (not that it is noticeable in this case). Breedlove guitars fit them as standard to many models. This is a $120 guitar so a $20 fix was far more appropriate than flattening and re-bracing the top and then doing a neck re-set (neither of which I have the tools for).

I bought the guitar on-line simply because I needed something quickly to take away last year. It is a lovely guitar for the price but if I had been shopping in person I would have looked for one that had a stronger neck set and didn't have such a fresh wood smell. But I have this one playing nicely and sounding sweet, so what more can you ask for the money!

I have an Art & Lutherie Legacy that I bought second hand on Ebay and the neck angle and stability of that guitar is very, very good - plus it sounds fantastic for my playing style. I will have to spend a LOT more money to get something more suited to me. And if I ever do buy my dream guitar, the Legacy will take over the job that this Vintage Statesboro' Parlour performs.
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I'm learning to flatpick and fingerpick guitar to accompany songs.

I've played and studied traditional noter/drone mountain dulcimer for many years. And I used to play dobro in a bluegrass band.



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  #27  
Old 04-12-2021, 11:29 AM
MinorKey MinorKey is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robin, Wales View Post
Belly, or excessive belly, is where the bridge pulls up the rear top of the guitar, often with a corresponding sinking in front of the bridge. In this case, I expect that the mahogany top was not a well seasoned or well cut piece of wood and also it really needed a little better bracing.

A bridge doctor, or bridge truss rod, is a block of wood mounted under the bridge plate with an adjustable dowel running to the tail block of the guitar. This pulls the bridge back straight. It is not the "correct" fix for the problem, and it can have an effect on tone (not that it is noticeable in this case). Breedlove guitars fit them as standard to many models. This is a $120 guitar so a $20 fix was far more appropriate than flattening and re-bracing the top and then doing a neck re-set (neither of which I have the tools for).


.
Thanks.
Have you seen Paul Brett's Vintage branded Viator guitars? He has a little 6 stringer like this one, and one about this size but with 12 strings. It sounds amazing.
I also like the look of Tanglewood's Crossroads parlour. £99 and it gets amazing reviews (one of my guitars is a Tanglewood Discovery)
Cheap laminate guitars all the way for me
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You don't stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing!
Fender DG5 natural
Tanglewood Discovery Super Folk DBT SFCE TBL
Tanglewood TU13M ukulele
Brunswick BU4B baritone ukulele
Valencia VC204H hybrid
Deacon MA100 Mandolin
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  #28  
Old 04-12-2021, 01:56 PM
Rudy4 Rudy4 is offline
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Being in the US, we have the Orangewood guitars as a dirt cheap option.

The problem is the reviews all indicate that they don't need to be modified in any way.
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  #29  
Old 04-12-2021, 08:29 PM
Iain1231 Iain1231 is offline
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have you tried those from China- in particular Cort Guitars
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  #30  
Old 04-13-2021, 01:01 AM
MinorKey MinorKey is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Iain1231 View Post
have you tried those from China- in particular Cort Guitars
Distributed by Tanglewood I believe
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You don't stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing!
Fender DG5 natural
Tanglewood Discovery Super Folk DBT SFCE TBL
Tanglewood TU13M ukulele
Brunswick BU4B baritone ukulele
Valencia VC204H hybrid
Deacon MA100 Mandolin
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