McPherson Sable

[Joseph Hanna]

I had a chance to play a Sable for an hour or so this weekend. I'm floored by this guitar. I'm aware quick encounters with guitars can sometimes be a bit misleading but I'm not exaggerating when I say my first thought is this is the best sounding, best playing acoustic guitar I've ever encountered. It was serendipitous as I hadn't been looking for, or at these guitars, but now my way of thinking has forever changed.

If you haven't had a chance to play one of these instruments... you should

[mikealpine]

Lots of buzz on these in the Carbon Fiber sub forum. I owned one briefly. Sounded great, very balanced across the strings. I felt it didn't give me enough volume, though, and there are other carbon fiber guitars I like more. Others absolutely love them, though.

[jdinco]

I'm one of "the others", I've owned most all of the CF guitars and the Sable is by far my favorite, one of the best necks of any guitar I've played and I love the smooth balanced tone, none of the brightness that other CF guitars have. I agree with the OP, try one if you can, they are at least very interesting !

[KevinH]

I've not had the chance to play a Sable but, as mentioned above, there are a lot of positive comments in the CF forum. Also, if you haven't seen it, here is an interesting comparison of the Sable and an Emerald X-20:

[raysachs]

I’m a recent convert to the church of the Sable. I’d tried a used one a year and a few months ago and liked it, but didn’t love it and didn’t buy it. Then I tried a brand spanking new one a few months ago and was flat out blown away. Enough that I bought it and have been thinking about buying another one to keep at my daughter’s place on the west coast for when we visit out there (quite a bit). I found another cheaper used one, assuming that the difference between the first two I played must have been in my head, but it wasn’t. The second older one I played was pretty nice, I liked it, but it didn’t compare to the new one I bought back in September - I didn’t buy it either.

So, rightly or wrongly, I’ve concluded that Sables aren’t all the same, some are considerably better sounding (to my ears than others) and there MIGHT be a relationship to when they were made. If I’m gonna end up buying another one, it’s probably gonna be a new one and I’m definitely gonna have to play it before I’m sure. When I play my Sable back to back with of my Martins there are subtleties about the Martins I still love, but overall, I’m always struck by how full and balanced the Sable sounds compared to either of them.

-Ray

[KevinH]

Originally Posted by raysachs

...So, rightly or wrongly, I’ve concluded that Sables aren’t all the same, some are considerably better sounding (to my ears than others) and there MIGHT be a relationship to when they were made...

That's interesting. I would have thought that CF would be more reproducible than wood. But I suppose it will only be as consistent as their layup methods. Or, as you said, maybe the build process changed at some point. Do you recall what it was about the sound that was different? Was one more responsive than the other, different EQ, etc? Do you think one might have had old strings? I've often wondered if my X-20 sounds like another X-20.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by KevinH

That's interesting. I would have thought that CF would be more reproducible than wood. But I suppose it will only be as consistent as their layup methods. Or, as you said, maybe the build process changed at some point. Do you recall what it was about the sound that was different? Was one more responsive than the other, different EQ, etc? Do you think one might have had old strings? I've often wondered if my X-20 sounds like another X-20.

It wasn’t strings. I put the same strings on the second used one I tried as on the one I own. The most obvious difference was the low end, which is just waaaay fuller on the new one I own than on either of the two older ones. But even the mids and, to some extent the highs, sounded fuller in the new one. It’s not volume per se - I need to play the Sable with a fatter pick than my Martins (000 and 00 models) to get a similar volume out of it. But it just sounds kind of amazing. I had the same reaction to the new one that the OP had with the one he played, and I didn’t have anything like that reaction with the other two. I’m not sure I can explain it beyond that - I’m not at all good at describing tone. But there was a pretty massive difference. The new one is also a good deal heavier than the older one I was able to compare it to. Not sure if McPherson changed something about this latest generation of Sables or not, but my anecdotal experience at least suggests the possibility…

-Ray

[jdinco]

I don't doubt Ray's experience, at all, but McPherson told me no difference between the newest model and the one before that? Besides cosmetics. If the new ones are better, you sure would think McPherson would beat that drum. There are those that say the newer X20 sounds different than the older models too. I find this interesting, hopefully someone can find out if it's true and by how much.

[raysachs]

Originally Posted by jdinaz

I don't doubt Ray's experience, at all, but McPherson told me no difference between the newest model and the one before that? Besides cosmetics. If the new ones are better, you sure would think McPherson would beat that drum. There are those that say the newer X20 sounds different than the older models too. I find this interesting, hopefully someone can find out if it's true and by how much.

Well John, being Ray, I have doubts about my own experience, so I wouldn’t blame you if you did too. I mean, I don’t doubt that my experience is real, but I have doubts about whether it applies to more than the three Sables I’ve played and whether it means ANYTHING larger than maybe one fluky guitar. Assuming I get to check out another new Sable one of these days, that MAY shed additional light, but it will still be nothing but anecdotal…

-Ray