HD-28: The "Action" Edition

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by janinep7

Quote: Take it to a tech and have them set it up. Unquote

Maybe at some point? Not immediately.

Good morning Janine, glad to hear that you are really digging your new Dread. That is what we all should be looking for: an instrument that inspires us to play, simply because we like hearing it sound.

I was going to weigh in late on your other setup thread, but it closed out before I had a chance. So this is part an extension of that thread.

Glennwillow in that thread actually most of what I had to say, but I do have a couple of addendums. While you may be very satisfied with how the guitar plays now, that does not mean that a minor tweak might not make you like how it plays even better. Or not; it may not need anything. My Old McAlister is still running on the same setup that it came with from Roy in late 2001, absent a few tweaks of the relief. Heh, I took it to Mike Lull, a very well known tech here in the Seattle area, about 6 months after I got it. I brought along the Froggy Bottom that he had setup for me about 6 months beforehand for comparison. He looked over Ye Olde Mac and told me that it needed nothing. (and Mike does not turn down work). The Froggy is still running on that setup too.

So I guess one point is that a good setup is usually a one-off or rare thing, once done and if the guitar lives in a stable environment.

The second is that the guitar may not need anything. Or need much. Often the tweeks can be very slight. But you will probably notice them. Think of it this way: you have bought a Ferrari. It drives great, and you love it. Would you think that you should adjust the seats and mirrors, or just drive it as you found them? Or even if it is adjusted well from the start, after 6 months of driving it, might you not find that you actually prefer the seat one click further forward, and then the mirrors adjusted accordingly.

Third: it is a new guitar. It is still settling into the change from being a pile of wood and metal bits to being a musical instrument under tension from the string. Add the fact of vibration, not that it has an owner who plays it instead of hanging on a store wall. As the guitar settles in, or as my friend who use to own a high-end acoustic store here in Ballard used to say, "learns to be a guitar," there may be subtle shifts. In geometry. A fret may lift slightly (become "proud." Your string height is only as low as your tallest fret allows it to be.) You can also have things like the nut string slots adjusted to the gauge of string that you prefer, and relative to other adjustments listed above.

I am in no way telling you what to do. But in your region (SF Bay Area, I believe), there are plenty of good tech available to inspect the guitar. As Glennwillow notes, a good well-done setup made playing much more complicated stuff much easier. Playing the guitar is hard enough. Why not make it easier if you can?

In the meantime, enjoy your new baby. Sounds like a sweet one.

[Guilty Spark]

Originally Posted by janinep7

This guitar LOVES Emajor chords.

Put that HD-28 in drop-D tuning and hit a D chord.
Then get back with us....

Originally Posted by Guilty Spark

Put that HD-28 in drop-D tuning and hit a D chord.
Then get back with us....

Ooooh!!! Yes. Neil Young, anyone?

[Guilty Spark]

Originally Posted by janinep7

Ooooh!!! Yes. Neil Young, anyone?

Harvest Moon. Perfect, easy NY tune in drop-D.
A haunting, October-type tune here in Michigan. Sounds different in the fall.
A good different, 100% appropriate and suited for the ambience of the season.

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by janinep7

Ooooh!!! Yes. Neil Young, anyone?

John Denver...Rocky Mountain High or Poem, Prayers, and Promises

Or my favorite JD song...that he didn't write...Boy From The Country

Or my favorite Gordon Lightfoot...Canadian Railroad Trilogy

There's some drop D fun for ya


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Guilty Spark

Put that HD-28 in drop-D tuning and hit a D chord.
Then get back with us....

So true! I wrote about this yesterday. I was in an all-insulation room (no drywall yet), so there was zero reverberation to add to the HD-28. When I eased into drop D I felt the thunder emerging from my torso. There’s something about the dread, forward-shifted scalloped bracing, and rosewood that gives this guitar its reputation as a low-frequency sonic marvel. And this was with lights.

The HD-28 should come with a warning label: Do not operate heavy machinery while in Drop D.