NGD: Martin D-1 Custom 12 fret all hog slope dread - Updated

[Maryc-k]

David,

The stiffness was in the fretting as well as the overall playability. It always felt like it was straining. Like when you first learn barre chords and haven’t quite mastered getting a clear sound out of the chord. Nothing worse than feeling you are fighting the instrument and it’s winning.

I had a Sean Watkins model, OMC (OM cutaway) that was probably my favorite of the Bourgeois I owned. It was East Indian rosewood and Adirondack. #6 of 25, I believe. I also had a Brazilian rosewood one, which was nice, but not as nice as the rosewood one. It’s the only Bourgeois I’d buy back.

[Deliberate1]

Originally Posted by Maryc-k

David,

The stiffness was in the fretting as well as the overall playability. It always felt like it was straining. Like when you first learn barre chords and haven’t quite mastered getting a clear sound out of the chord. Nothing worse than feeling you are fighting the instrument and it’s winning.

I had a Sean Watkins model, OMC (OM cutaway) that was probably my favorite of the Bourgeois I owned. It was East Indian rosewood and Adirondack. #6 of 25, I believe. I also had a Brazilian rosewood one, which was nice, but not as nice as the rosewood one. It’s the only Bourgeois I’d buy back.

Thanks for those observations. Fortunately, I am not having the same experience that you describe. But the guitar can feel a bit tighter to play, something I just attributed to the bigger top than the Larrivee.
David

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Deliberate1

Very interesting. Can you describe what that binding up phenomenon is, and how it feels? I have been using Pearse 80/20 that are 12-53. And they are a bit stiff to fret. I will check out the Mangans you mention. I have strung my Larrivee with DR Sunbeams and Martin Monels which I also plan to try on the Bourgeois. It is such a fine sound. Thanks for the suggestion. BTW, which of his models did you find the easiest on the fingers?
David

I'm not sure of the mechanics behind the binding but I can tell you that it felt like the low E and A string tuners were very hard to turn, like they were binding up and had gone back. The string tension was harder but I attributed this to the long scale as at the time I was playing and preferred mostly all short scale guitars. I should also mention that particular Bourgeois was ladder braced, if that makes a difference. I know that I did string the guitar with lights (Elixir Nanowebs, in my case) and not mediums.

Getting back to the NGD post, note that I have updated it again and added some final thoughts one month in, summarized a few things in the first post that occurred on following pages for convenience and also edited out a lot of the lead-in content because I hit the 10,000 character limit!