Best Woody/Fundamental Sounding guitar under $1200?

Groovingdan · #1 06-17-2021, 09:41 PM

Hey guys, wondering if you have any suggestions for me. I got have a Farida OT-22 LG2 copy with a K&K installed for my worship and other gigs. I need another guitar with the same kind of feel for worship/folk/country gigs. Do you guys have any suggestions for about $1200 or less?

Options I've looked at are:

Martin DSS-17
Martin DSS-15m
Another OT-22

I'm sure there are other options but I'm not sure what. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

zoopeda · #2 06-17-2021, 09:46 PM

Martin 000-15SM. That’s all she wrote.

phavriluk · #3 06-17-2021, 10:05 PM

Might as well find a tailor for the emperor's new clothes.

There's an infinite amount of elements to a satisfying sound, and I think no one on a forum can select something that OP hopes to find. Lots of good stuff out there.

I urge OP to road-test everything he can find in his price range and stop when one of them connects. This will take a while, and during that while standards of judgement and acoustic preferences will evolve, as I hope will OP's diligent efforts to raise his level of play. That, too, will affect his expectations.

Enjoy the journey.

Groovingdan · #4 06-17-2021, 10:24 PM

@zoopeda thanks, I'll check it out.

SRL · #5 06-17-2021, 10:26 PM

For woody/fundamental, you'll want walnut, mahogany, myrtlewood, or maybe koa. All of these are hardwoods with similar specs (hardness, density, etc) and a fundamental tone, and I would say I listed them in order of woodyness.

I'd recommend trying to find an all-mahogany or all-walnut guitar. Some examples, but a little spendy, maybe make an offer IDK:

Dreadnought: https://reverb.com/item/34389713-bre...l-gloss-finish

Auditorium: https://reverb.com/item/31547248-bre...ronics-natural

000: https://reverb.com/item/38159614-mar...-custom-walnut

Martin's all-mahogany models are great though.

Groovingdan · #6 06-17-2021, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SRL

For woody/fundamental, you'll want walnut, mahogany, myrtlewood, or maybe koa. All of these are hardwoods with similar specs (hardness, density, etc) and a fundamental tone, and I would say I listed them in order of woodyness.

I'd recommend trying to find an all-mahogany or all-walnut guitar. Some examples, but a little spendy, maybe make an offer IDK:

Dreadnought: https://reverb.com/item/34389713-bre...l-gloss-finish

Auditorium: https://reverb.com/item/31547248-bre...ronics-natural

000: https://reverb.com/item/38159614-mar...-custom-walnut

Martin's all-mahogany models are great though.

I live in Bend, the home of Breedlove, so maybe I'll check some of those out. Thanks for the suggestions.

pagedr · #7 06-17-2021, 10:49 PM

Gibson LG-2 American Eagle - pop up on here every now and then for around $1k-$1.2k. Great guitars with a very woody sound.

Groovingdan · #8 06-17-2021, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pagedr

Gibson LG-2 American Eagle - pop up on here every now and then for around $1k-$1.2k. Great guitars with a very woody sound.

I should have mentioned that I just sold one. It was a fine guitar, but it sounded too compressed to me. The Farida sounded better... kind of crazy.

Static · #9 06-17-2021, 10:58 PM

The Martin DSS-17 is almost all dry, woody fundamental and nothing else. And it's a canon. Check out the other acoustic that I own in my sig....the DSS-17 can hang with that. Nuff said.

Groovingdan · #10 06-17-2021, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Static

The Martin DSS-17 is almost all dry, woody fundamental and nothing else. And it's a canon.

How does it compare to your J-45?

SalFromChatham · #11 06-18-2021, 03:31 AM

I had the DSS15… it was as powerful as my old D18. Very loud guitar, which is surprising.

Doesnt Farida make a J45 knockoff too? Since you like Farida… stay there and save the dough?

AndrewG · #12 06-18-2021, 03:57 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d90eS-WpOy0
The Faith Mercury 'Classic Burst' model demonstrated is now fitted with a Fishman Sonitone pickup. Very good hard case included.

lowrider · #13 06-18-2021, 04:02 AM

I love the dss-17. I like it so much I had it made into a J-17 by the custom shop;

As others have said, it's a cannon. It's also a big guitar, bigger than a dread. That's why I had it made into a J-body. I've also played the dss-15 in the store. It's a sweeter version of the 17. It's a lot less rock and roll and maybe more suited to playing in church. The dss-17 is must be meant for playing the ''devil's music''! (rock & roll)

Static · #14 06-18-2021, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Groovingdan

How does it compare to your J-45?

It's a little more 'upper mids' and a little less rich sounding, but it's got a more open sound and a little but more direct sounding. More strident. There's a little bit more sustain to all the notes. The decay isn't as fast as the J-45. It's got way more power than the J-45. While the J-45 sits back a little bit more...is more polite....has a little bit more meat around the bones with each individual note....more rounded. The DSS-17 has almost a reverb-like sound quality...the overtones bloom completely differently. Overtones kind of swell around the fundamental, in a way that is very reverb-like. I find this feature to be the unique thing about this guitar that people can't quite place. Not as much undertones as the J-45. Strings aren't as slinky for bends as the J-45 because it is long scale. But notes just jump out of this thing. Hammer ons and pulloffs are effortless. It's got a very fast playing neck on it.

It's very responsive, dynamic and direct. And loud lol sounds beautiful fingerpicked and sounds like a demon strummed. This store around me (Folkway Music) described it perfectly when they said it's kind of like a early 30's slope shoulder mixed with a modern D-18 in the tone department. The owner of the shop also mentioned in his interview that he absolutely loves the DSS-17 when asked what modern guitars have him excited. That is a rather large endorsement coming from a guy surrounded by every vintage Martin and Gibson acoustic you could ever want. And I share his sentiment.

It DOES do rock and honky tonk extremely well, but with a controlled right hand....it really does EVERYTHING well. It also records very well and cuts through in a jam really well. It is definitely it's own thing. Not as much tonal depth as the J-45 or a D-18 for that matter, but still has a lot of personality and still very versatile. It will not be everyone's cup of tea, for sure, but if you want something that's kind of new and exciting and will challenge you, I highly recommend this guitar. You definitely can't just wail on this thing and have everything sound good. It's got a lot of dynamic width to be explored with varied right hand techniques, and I'd say a heavy handed strummer might not benefit from all the tricks this guitar can do. It is one of my favorite fingerpicking guitars for sweet sounding folk and yet I see some people constantly saying what a rock and roll demon it is. I recommend anyone that picks up this guitar to spend time with it and pull back and explore the dynamics....its really unique.

Robin, Wales · #15 06-18-2021, 06:06 AM

Well, if you love the size feel and tone of your OT-22 then look for something like that.

A good mantra is "for dry, go ply". So don't dismiss laminate b/s guitars like your OT. Go and play some of the Seagull, Art and lutherie and Simon and Patrick guitars. The cheaper ones use a cherry and maple plywood for the b/s that certainly produces that dry, woody and fundamental tone.