Tom Sands MMD Build Thread

[barcafan]

Congrats nice collection of Sands, must be great to hear the differences between models from the same Builder!

Bryan-

[Adamski]

Here's a quick sound check of the three guitars (excuse the playing) recorded on my iPhone 7 (on a tripod) with an iMic on a boom in front of the guitar. I will do some "proper" recordings of them over the next few weeks where I spend a little more time getting the acoustics right...and practice first! :-)

https://youtu.be/w-jzk44aV1A

The piece is an excerpt from Martin Simpson's "Mother Love"

The tuning for this piece is CGDGCD.

The strings are D'Addario EJ16's (light gauge phosphor-bronze) on the MMD and the OM, and D'Addario EJ26 (custom light phosphor-bronze) on the 00.

[Adamski]

And so can you now Bryan!

Thanks...I am loving them.

I'm off to see Martin Simpson for a lesson tomorrow...question is, which one should I take!

Originally Posted by barcafan

Congrats nice collection of Sands, must be great to hear the differences between models from the same Builder!

Bryan-

[Wolfram]

Originally Posted by Adamski

And so can you now Bryan!

Thanks...I am loving them.

I'm off to see Martin Simpson for a lesson tomorrow...question is, which one should I take!

Take all three

Just make sure you get some lesson, and don't just spend your time drooling over guitars...

The new MMD looks and sounds fabulous - can't wait to meet it in person!

Cheers,
David

[dennisczech]

All 3 sound excellent, and your playing is very pleasant on the ears Adam. You've done very well to gather these world class instruments together so lovingly and enjoy them so much. It would be fun to compare them in person! Hopefully at Ian's in July... Dennis

[cigarfan]

Wonderful sounding guitars! Nice playing too! Personally, I don't think the Nitro has affected the MMD negatively in any way. Tone is tremendous.

You are a lucky guy!

[steveh]

Originally Posted by Adamski

https://youtu.be/w-jzk44aV1A

Seriously, this is impressive.
I say that because I've played both the OM and the 00 and know them to be very fine sounding guitars indeed, some of the best I've played anywhere.

To my ears, the MMD is the standout as it has the most appealing balance to my ears. From what I can tell, it retains some of that MD lower end growl while being a fair bit smaller. As you know, I had a Kostal MD the sound of which I loved but it was a big guitar.

Always very difficult over YouTube but given how good I know the OM and 00 are, you have a killer guitar in your hands.

Cheers,
Steve

[jmagill]

Adam,

You mentioned in an earlier video that you thought your OM was the finest guitar you've played. After playing that magnificent MD, what say you now?

[Adamski]

Oh...that's a tough one.

The OM was the first guitar I commissioned, it was Tom's first commission, it has had 9 months of being played pretty much every day...it truly is a remarkable instrument.

The new MMD is better made, more solid, feels more durable, is prettier (both woods and design) but hasn't yet been played-in.

So it's hard to compare them fairly. As it currently stands the merits of the guitars are as follows:

00 - it plays itself, incredibly responsive, great balance & sustain, very "sweet" sound, big sound for a small body

MMD - perfect to look at, simply breathtaking. Lovely mellow big voice (already), great volume. AMAZING sustain.

OM - quite bright, like a Sobell...but much better. Incredible separation, sustain, articulation, response, volume.

I guess the OM is probably a better guitar for the moment but, and this is a big but, both the OM and the 00 are very lightly built. The front of the 00 is so thin you can see the bracing pattern. The back of the OM feels like the skin on a drum. Both need to be handled with care. No Michael Hedges. No Nic Jones. 😂

The MMD feels like it will need a little playing in but could be your only guitar. Tuning up and down...easy (it doesn't move at all), robust - yes, protective finish - yes, good and solid -yes, beautiful- yes, sound already brilliant and much more to come.

Over the weekend I will try and record some more like bits on each of the three. Different tunings. Some more sustain. Some more quick bits. So you can get more of an idea.

Originally Posted by jmagill

Adam,

You mentioned in an earlier video that you thought your OM was the finest guitar you've played. After playing that magnificent MD, what say you now?

[Adamski]

Thank you.

Originally Posted by cigarfan

Wonderful sounding guitars! Nice playing too! Personally, I don't think the Nitro has affected the MMD negatively in any way. Tone is tremendous.

You are a lucky guy!

[Adamski]

Thanks Dennis

Originally Posted by dennisczech

All 3 sound excellent, and your playing is very pleasant on the ears Adam. You've done very well to gather these world class instruments together so lovingly and enjoy them so much. It would be fun to compare them in person! Hopefully at Ian's in July... Dennis

[Adamski]

Here's another comparison of the three guitars in DADGAD

https://youtu.be/tX0ZCruq5kc

[Adamski]

A couple more...

https://youtu.be/_J4rw8EAkmo

https://youtu.be/EYOr0auVikc

[Adamski]

...worth having another look at this!