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Old 09-15-2019, 10:06 PM
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Default Guitarist guitar change for the better

There’s another similar thread that inspired this....Which guitar change by a guitarist we’re pleased with?

I was happy when Ed Sheeran went to a higher quality Lowden. I couldn’t stand the cheap signature Martin. He may have had more than 1 signature guitars with Martin, but there was a cheapie starter-type guitar that he played with for a while that was horrible.
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Old 09-15-2019, 10:41 PM
wattsy wattsy is offline
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I don't know much about Ed Sheeran but I seem to recall reading some blurb from Martin about the guitar he used to perform with (presumably prior to his Lowdens) and it wasn't a £400 Little Martin that the punters get to buy but a Little Martin sized guitar made for him by the Custom Shop using solid woods.
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Old 09-15-2019, 11:24 PM
Silurian Silurian is offline
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I can't claim that this is something that concerns me. Sheeran got to be the biggest pop star in the world with that guitar. Whether it was cheap or a custom build, it hasn't held him back, and the paying public couldn't care less.
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Old 09-15-2019, 11:53 PM
Wade Hampton Wade Hampton is offline
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Originally Posted by Silurian View Post
I can't claim that this is something that concerns me. Sheeran got to be the biggest pop star in the world with that guitar. Whether it was cheap or a custom build, it hasn't held him back, and the paying public couldn't care less.
Yeah, I enjoy reading about what guitars and gear prominent musicians are playing, but it's never had much effect on me, my playing or the instruments and gear that I get for my own use.

The one exception to that is that, back in the 1970's and early 80's, I kept track of what electronics Leo Kottke was using on his guitars. I don't play anything like Leo Kottke and have never bought any guitars based on his choices, but the times I've seen him in concert he's always gotten a good acoustic guitar stage sound. So I paid attention to what pickups and preamps he used. Back then in the Olden Days that was an approach that served me well.

At some point in the 70's Kottke appeared in an ad for a pickup called "The Buffalo Pickup," which had a piezo pickup with a preamp that you wore attached to your belt:



˙˙˙

One great feature that it had, unusual for the period, was that it had both volume and tone controls right there on the preamp. So if I needed to tweak either while in performance, I just reached down to my belt and took care of it mid-song.

The Buffalo was a great-sounding pickup. I didn't use it on my guitar, but on my mountain dulcimer, which is a fiendishly difficult instrument to mic. The Buffalo pickup was a godsend, frankly, and sounded better than any other pickups I'd used on my dulcimer up to that point.

I used it until it died, about five years later, and by that point the company that made it had gone out of business. So I had to find something else.

Anyway, watching Leo Kottke's choices was useful for me until I got a bit more experienced and learned to ferret out the gear that works best for me all on my own. But aside from that one period in my life and that one artist that I watched like a hawk, I haven't tracked anybody else's instruments or gear all that closely.


Wade Hampton Miller
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Old 09-16-2019, 01:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Don Liv View Post
.....I was happy when Ed Sheeran went to a higher quality Lowden. I couldn’t stand the cheap signature Martin. He may have had more than 1 signature guitars with Martin, but there was a cheapie starter-type guitar that he played with for a while that was horrible.
Why exactly could you “not stand” any particular instrument anyone might use successfully, to make millions of dollars? More correctly, how could it bother you when it didn’t bother him? What makes an unknown, unproven, unreleased Lowden “a higher quality guitar” when it hasn’t been yet seen and proven for anything? Additionally, I couldn’t care less what guitar anyone chooses, and uses, to make music. To me, the fact that he could use an entry-level instrument to do what he’s done, so successfully, should reinforce to everyone that it’s more about the player than the instrument.
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Old 09-16-2019, 06:22 AM
Oldguy64 Oldguy64 is offline
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Haven’t really paid that much attention.
But Doyle Dykes has changed guitars a few times.
I’ve noticed that he continues to sound amazing.
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Old 09-16-2019, 06:57 AM
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Originally Posted by DenverSteve View Post
What makes an unknown, unproven, unreleased Lowden “a higher quality guitar” when it hasn’t been yet seen and proven for anything?
I don't think Sheeran plays a "Sheeran by Lowden" guitar, I think he plays a "Wee Lowden", which is a specific model in the 'proper' Lowden range: http://www.lowdenguitars.com/guitar-spec-wee
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Old 09-16-2019, 07:11 AM
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I think Jack White made a good decision in leaving the pawn shop beaters behind and going with new Fenders, Music Man, EVH, and Gibson electric guitars.

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Old 09-16-2019, 07:15 AM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is offline
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Dylan's Stratocaster?
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Old 09-16-2019, 07:32 AM
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Das macht nichts. Just as it didn't matter to me if a guitarist changed guitars for the worse, it doesn't matter if they change for the better. Let's face it, the musicians that we favor can play the heck out of any guitar that's put in their hands...
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Old 09-16-2019, 08:16 AM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cmac View Post
I don't think Sheeran plays a "Sheeran by Lowden" guitar, I think he plays a "Wee Lowden", which is a specific model in the 'proper' Lowden range: http://www.lowdenguitars.com/guitar-spec-wee
And to my ears, he still manages to sound exactly like Ed Sheeran.

Best,
Jayne
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Old 09-16-2019, 08:29 AM
vindibona1 vindibona1 is offline
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Maybe it's the contrarian in me, but I tend to run away from ANY signature stuff, whether it be from musician, athlete, NFL, NBA, MLB, actor, singer, celebrity, model, spokes-person, etc. What I know is that the money that these endorsers get doesn't come from the company, it comes from the consumer who gets prices jacked up... These companies know that once one of these signature products gets traction the sheeple follow. You know you're over-paying for a John Mayer or Eric Clapton signature guitar. $500 for a pair of gym shoes?
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Old 09-16-2019, 11:13 AM
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I just looked around YouTube at Ed Sheeran and I couldn't hear an acoustic guitar in his songs. So I guess it wouldn't matter what he plays.
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Old 09-16-2019, 12:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly View Post
I just looked around YouTube at Ed Sheeran and I couldn't hear an acoustic guitar in his songs. So I guess it wouldn't matter what he plays.
Ed Sheeran plays through one of the most sophisticated pedalboard/ looper systems ever built. So, no, it doesn't matter at all which guitar he plays.

But pick anyone you want. Most of the time it doesn't matter which guitar they pick up. The music comes from the player not the instrument.
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Old 09-16-2019, 12:37 PM
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Dylan's Stratocaster?
Great reply!
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