#16
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As I might have mentioned before in my 15000 odd contributions here, I cannot play thin "rhythm" style necks - y'know those really thin 1 & 11/16" nuts etc.
Apart from two of my archtops and my Waterloo, I would not buy a 1 & 3/42 width nut either. The Waterloo was a bit of a gamble as it had a short scale leading to a 2 & 3/8" string spacing - its "OK" but I wouldn't do it again. So, if I become aware of an interesting flat top guitar, tee first think I need to know is the nut width and the string spacing. If they meet my minimum requirements, then I may pursue it further. My most recent purchase was neither a Collings nor a Martin but an Eastman E20p. I admire Eastman guitars but I know that their dimensions can sometimes stray from the published dimensions. My proposed purchase was from a well known and highly regarded guitar shop in London that was closing down. I called and found a helpful assistant who verified the dimensions before we haggled. An agreement was made and I paid and it was shipped. It was fine, but I had the option to inspect and check quality, and fit for me and return if unsuitable before they closed their doors. Over time one learns what brands to go for, which brands to avoid, and most importantly what YOU really need. I also believe that a guitar improves totally with use and so as long as its "pedigree" is OK, I can open it up pretty quickly. So, despite the published details I had a helpful
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Silly Moustache, Just an old Limey acoustic guitarist, Dobrolist, mandolier and singer. I'm here to try to help and advise and I offer one to one lessons/meetings/mentoring via Zoom! |
#17
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Pretty much agree, and for my purposes 1 3/4” nut/fretboard/neck or greater on *any* acoustic guitar is sluggish in feel and a serious impediment to improving my skill as a guitar player and for purposes of inspiration and creativity on the instrument.
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#18
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There are some greats posts so far. A few people jolted my (evidently overloaded or just sluggish) mind about setup. It so happens that I sold my last well setup guitar to fund the Authentic. And, I had left the Marquis stock since I got it because of the bluegrass power. So, I was playing two Martins with factory setup. I took my guitars over to the shop a few hours ago, and he is filing the nut slots (a little) and will roll the edges of the Marquis fretboard to match the Authentic. I also had too much relief in the Marquis. So, in a few hours I can go back and pick them up. I suspect that it will be enough to get me over the hump for the Bert Jansch songs. I guess I could switch to light strings, but I’d rather cut my fingers off. LOL
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#19
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Neck, tone, or both?
I can report back that the setups made a difference. Not so much for the Authentic. But, it is very noticeable on the Marquis. I don’t think I sacrificed any tone in the process. But, there is no more hand pain and I learned the new music for tomorrow night. :-)
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#20
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That is great news. I have had some hand issues in the past so my two custom made instruments hit on all cylinders, playability and tone but I had to dial that in over time. A good set up does make a difference in my experience. Best, Jayne |
#21
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You asked "what drives your guitar buying decisions" and then went on further about "sacrificing tone over playability or vice versa. My first thought was, why even ask this question since that there are so many choices, there's no need to sacrifice one over the other. However, in fact once I did.
I previously posted my experience about buying a special run of Martin Custom Shop all mahogany 12 fret, 000's with Adi bracing. The tone and the beautiful mahogany grabbed me right away but I was uncertain about the soft V-neck. I was not accustomed to that profile and while it didn't feel "bad", it wasn't immediately comfortable. I took the plunge on the gamble that I'd adjust to the neck.....I did and that guitar is now a "lifer". So I guess once I did choose tone over playability, BUT it was on the bet that I'd adjust to the neck. If I had not adjusted well to that v-neck I would have eventually sold the guitar; so it is not a sacrifice I would permanently make. On the other hand, I can't see ever buying a really playable guitar that had a "meh" tone, because I can't envision ever being happy with so-so tone. As Wade says: Hope that makes sense.
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“The tapestry of life is more important than a single thread.” R. Daneel Olivaw in I. Asimov's Robots and Empire. |
#22
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Thanks! Maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to have an instrument made for me. I think if I was less fixated on the Martin D-28 pre war sound and style guitar, there would be more opportunity for that. I think my next guitar (in the hopefully distant future) will be a grand symphony sized guitar and maybe carbon fiber.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#23
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A quick comment on that last thought. I’ve cycled for a while between dreads for the tonal profile and smaller instruments for the ergonomics. My Taylor 516 balances those aspects as well as anything I’ve come across, and so the GS idea gets a thumbs up from here. |
#24
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Playability is part of the tone, so. . .
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-2017 Gibson J-45 Standard -2019 Gibson J-15 -2019 Gibson Les Paul Junior -2020 Gibson Les Paul Special -2019 Gibson Les Paul Studio -2021 Fender Aerodyne Special Telecaster -2022 Fender Telecaster 50s (Vintera) -1994 Fender Telecaster Deluxe 70 (Vintera) -Sire V5 5-string |
#25
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Dave...It'll sacrifice the guitars value (or some of it anyway) but you could have the neck on the D-28 Authentic reshaped by a qualified luthier. Just a thought. I was going to do it on mine but it sold so I never got the chance. Like a lot of folks I loved the guitar and hated the neck?
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Jim Dogs Welcome......People Tolerated! |
#26
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Jim, Yes that’s a consideration in the future. As of today I got through the hard pieces and may have adjusted to the neck. I think the difficulty of the music and lack of experience with the guitar were factors. That prompted my whining and complaining online. :-) I was planning to eventually get a pre war HD, as we discussed. This just happened into my lap and I couldn’t pass it up.
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"Lift your head and smile at trouble. You'll find happiness someday." |
#27
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Jim Dogs Welcome......People Tolerated! |
#28
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Silly question time? Well, a couple of silly Qs... I was going to ask (Dave) if he had tried the other various Martin Authentic necks to compare to his, but on looking up the M website I see the only model Authentic is this one plus the aged version and the D18. So what happened to all the other Authentics? I have the OM18 Authentic and the neck on that is just brilliant for fingersytyle. Out of interest, have you tried that neck, Dave? The thin at the top and fat at the end neck of the 37 D28A has certainly had plenty of complaints over the years and I am surprised they still make it. A superb neck and a real surprise is the compound carve neck on my Taylor 717E BE. A big elephant stamp to Andy and who knew, eh? But someone please put the Taylor compound carve neck on a Gibson J45/50 and put the Maton AP5-Pro pickup system in it and paint it bright purple so we know what it is! BluesKing777. |