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  #31  
Old 08-20-2018, 10:05 AM
DesertTwang DesertTwang is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars highlight my poor technique.
^^^^^ This. ^^^^^^
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  #32  
Old 08-20-2018, 10:12 AM
bufflehead bufflehead is offline
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Originally Posted by merlin666 View Post
I completely agree. I am a fairly sloppy player, and as I play mainly for fun I didn't really notice and care much. So when I ended up buying my first higher end guitar (Guild Orpheum Jumbo) I quickly realized just how sloppy and bad I was because the guitar is just so super responsive. I took this as a challenge to improve my playing, and though the guitar is still way,way beyond my skill level I feel no longer intimidated but appreciate it as a tool for improvement.
I feel that way with Guilds. I started out on a Guild, which was my sole guitar for 30-some years. When I finally converted to a Martin, I appreciated how almost instantly made me sound better. After a decade playing mostly Martins, now, I try out a Guild every now and again, hoping to recapture some of the old magic, but they always seem to magnify my mistakes.

I find a similar situation with kayak paddles. My best paddle, a $500 carbon-fiber Werner, lets me get away with a sloppy stroke, and if I use it exclusively my technique deteriorates. So I make it a point, periodically to use a less expensive wood-and-carbon paddle that flutters whenever I get lazy, and it keeps my form up.

If the analogy holds, I should probably buy another Guild, at least for training purposes, but....
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  #33  
Old 08-20-2018, 11:44 AM
tippy5 tippy5 is offline
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The brighter and more clear the more reward. Pure fundamental tones show mistakes. I can see why Colling's were mentioned.
Even with Telecasters at gig level volume. Their clarity demands better technique than other guitars where 90% is good enough.

My Goodall Macassar ebony Standard gets a little compression from the Englemann top and the great James build, but there is less mud on the lows and low mids.
(One of the reasons I have not brought this out. Like being on a tight rope. I rather play a Gibson or my GC Goodall Sitka/Koa.)

The more concentration and less musical relaxation ratio for gigging.
Use a more normal guitar? Or choose clarity and sit up straight.
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  #34  
Old 08-20-2018, 12:27 PM
Johnny K Johnny K is offline
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Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars highlight my poor technique.
^^^^^
This

But of all my guitars I sound the worst on the resonator
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  #35  
Old 08-20-2018, 01:13 PM
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justonwo justonwo is offline
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Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars highlight my poor technique.
This. Acoustic guitars in general are very hard to "fool," though I think guitars with less mids presence are probably a little easier. My electric guitars, on the other hand, are quite good at covering up poor technique. Add distortion, call the flub a "dissonant improvisation," and you're good to go.
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  #36  
Old 08-20-2018, 01:34 PM
BFD BFD is offline
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Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars highlight my poor technique.
I ask all my guitars to highlight my poor techniques . . . as well as reward my good ones; and they all do. Sometimes happily, sometimes grudgingly
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  #37  
Old 08-20-2018, 03:00 PM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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I don't think it's the guitars, I think it's the strings. As soon as you put strings on guitars they start to show my limited technique.

Seriously, I'll second the narrow necks. It's gotten worse as I've gotten older and the distal joints in my fingers don't work well anymore leading to more unintended muting and buzzing.
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  #38  
Old 08-20-2018, 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by TBman View Post
Another member who has the same brand guitar as I do mentioned when he first got his Avalon that it was harder to play. I immediately thought, it must be the setup and mentioned that. He said no, it is actually just harder to play, it takes more work.

So I scratched my head over that one, but didn't let it stop me from evaluating Avalons online. I decided to buy one and I'm really happy about the robustness and tone of the guitar. The one drawback is.......

its harder to play.

And it's really kicking my butt a bit. I was just recording myself in a practice session and on playback I hear every little movement, finger on string (not squeak), hand movement on back of neck, right hand fingertips on wound strings, etc, etc

Then I recorded the same thing using my D-120ce (about a $2,000 downward difference in retail) and I hear almost none of the offending sounds, but of course I don't hear the clarity and brillance of the Avalon either.

Back to the woodshed I guess. I'm not letting the Avalon sit and gather dust

I would ask for tips, but it'd be like asking directions on how to get to Carnegie Hall...

Practice, practice, practice.
Classical presents the same problem. If the fingernails are not conducive to a silent release I hear it. I have a small practice amp with an earphone jack that gives me the opportunity to listen and correct on the fly.
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  #39  
Old 08-20-2018, 04:10 PM
vindibona1 vindibona1 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars highlight my poor technique.
Yeah... Me too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa View Post
I've got a JM1000/JM3000 matched pair of 6- and 12-string jumbos - not only HD but resounding volume as well , which leads me to:


You're absolutely right in saying that it takes a different approach to wring the best out of an acoustic archtop - one that very few players who started after about 1970 (when the majority of teachers - at least in the major urban population centers - were still in-the-trenches veterans of the Big Band and early-Bop eras) understand, much less master;... - here's an example:

Man... One of my main guitar teachers back in the late 60's played a D'Angelico New Yorker and that type style of music (that he attempted to teach me :0 ).
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  #40  
Old 08-20-2018, 04:39 PM
Arthur Blake Arthur Blake is offline
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Default Is it only me?

I enjoy improving my technique. Every time I discover a better way of playing something I at least smile and often laugh out loud. Right hand, left hand, thumb on the back of the neck, changed fingering, that's one of the most fun parts for me -- discovering a way to play the same thing and make it sound better. So I'm always trying to perfect my technique and sometimes I succeed. If the guitar didn't recognize my efforts, don't think I'd have as much fun.
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  #41  
Old 08-20-2018, 05:53 PM
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Pura Vida Pura Vida is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
All my guitars highlight my poor technique.
Just in case anyone missed this quote from the first page.


I've always thought that better guitars can force us to become better players b/c they often expose more flaws. At least, this has been true for me.
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  #42  
Old 08-20-2018, 08:09 PM
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Jim Owen Jim Owen is offline
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Barry,
Yes. Gurian size 3 R. It’s also a really fine sounding guitar. I’ve owned it more than 40 years and played many gigs with it.

As I’ve aged, my precision ain’t improved, and the very unforgiving nut width highlights any error I make. But paradoxically, I still play it.
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  #43  
Old 08-21-2018, 09:22 AM
ezcawi ezcawi is offline
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I've found that nylon string guitars and classical songs in general are less forgiving of poor technique.
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  #44  
Old 08-21-2018, 09:48 AM
zmf zmf is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pura Vida View Post

I've always thought that better guitars can force us to become better players b/c they often expose more flaws.
Not disagreeing with this, but it can also be pretty tough to get consistently good tone out of a cheap guitar if it has those tinny trebles that are hard to make sweet. Finger strokes have to be just right every time.
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  #45  
Old 08-21-2018, 10:25 AM
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Pura Vida Pura Vida is offline
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zmf, good point. Maybe a better way to say it is that there are trade-offs with different guitars, and whether better or worse, they may require different playing to achieve the desired result. For example, string spacing on two comparable guitars can make a big difference in playability.
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