I Haven't Played That Many Guitars

[Mark Stone]

I bought my Taylor 814ce DLX at a Guitar Center about 6 months ago. I'm not a real expert on Taylor guitars, it's just that this particular guitar outplayed everything in the high-end room that day, and Taylor has a great rep here at the AGF, so I took it home. It occurs to me that out of my entire nearly 50 years of playing, which includes 10 or 15 or so years of playing clubs professionally, I have played only 3 Taylor guitars - and I own two of them. The other one was a 614ce that I fingerpicked for about 15 seconds at the above-mentioned GC and handed back to the manager because it was "boxy" sounding.

So, when threads or conversations come up about Taylor here or at the 2 Taylor Bookface groups I participate in, I stay strangely silent. People ask how the V-brace compares to the X brace 814? I dunno. Never played an X braced 814. How does the 814 compare to the (for example) 414? Dunno. Never played a 414. Why did I choose the 814 over the 914? I've never even seen a 914, much less played it.

This extends to other brands, too. My favorite Acoustic guitar company has always been Gibson. But in my entire life, I've owned only 5, and beyond that 5 I've played only 2 or 3 more, and those briefly.

Here at the AGF many people say things like "Every Eastman I've played, and I've played dozens, are excellent", or "All the Gibsons I've played have a thump." Well, all the Gibsons I've played total less than 10 (in 50 years!) and I wouldn't know an Eastman if it bit me. If I listened to a recording of a J-45 and a D28 I wouldn't be able to tell you which one was the Martin and which one was the Gibson.

Back when I used to be a Moderator here, there was a real anti-Gibson sentiment in many threads. Finally, one member claimed that "all the Gibsons I've played are horrible". I asked how many Gibsons he had played - and he answered "hundreds". Really? hundreds??!? Think about the logistics involved in such an undertaking!

I know people here at AGF that have, indeed, played a lot of guitars, and can (for example) tell the difference in sound between a Martin D18 from July 18, 1966 and one made the following day.

But how many people are like me? We love playing guitar, really know quite a lot about their care and feeding, have used them professionally, and a lot of us have pretty nice instruments to boot. But, honestly, I'm kinda naive when it comes to all the brands, how they compare, what they sound like, etc. Is there anyone else like me?

[Social Exodus]

I play guitars if/when I go into a music store for other purposes, so I guess I've played quite a few in my 61 years. never catalogued them however, but plenty of Taylors, Martins, Yamahas and other brands.

It sounds like you know what you like, settle the deal and get on with your life.

Great plan actually

[mawmow]

I owned over thirty guitars in the last thirteen years or so.
I am no professional but used to play at least an hour a day since early 1990ies.
From 2006 to 2015, I would say I wanderered here and there among brands
and guitar models because I was away, had to buy online, exploring solid woods,
fingerstyle and different music styles. I owned guitars built from 1965 to 2016.
I read so many threads. Tried so many guitars. Came to refine my choices
as I recognized the specs that would fit me best.

I now own mid-range Taylors, Gibsons, Larrivees, Martin and some others
because I became some kind of a tone chaser and play some alternate tunings.

I happened to understand a reputed builder could drop a not so good instrument
while a less reputed builder can hand you a great guitar.

I did not play hundreds of guitars, but what I now know is I cannot say which
guitar I hear is a Taylor or a Martin as so many bracings and woods are used
that almost any builder could sound like any other, and strings brands and types
as well as electronics would just help puzzle my hearing.

Finally, I am glad to read a pro that help me not feeling completely lost in the acoustic forest ! ;-)

[rstaight]

When I think about it I haven't played that many my self. I'm not one to go into a store and just start picking stuff off the wall just to play it.

I will look, it is fun to "window shop" and see what's out there. If an employee ask if I would like to play one I might.

I will play different guitars if I am in the market to buy one.

But like the OP, when it comes to Taylor I have only played one and that was about three weeks ago. Was at a work buddies house waiting to go to a jam. Next thing I know he comes out with an Epiphone and a Taylor and hands me the Taylor.

Didn't make me want to go out and buy one but it wasn't bad. I could be happy with one.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Back to the days when I wasn't working out of the basement I had 2-3 shops with good inventory that I could visit on my lunch hour. I developed a good relationship with each shop and they pretty much let me play as much as I wanted. It's something I very much enjoy doing and miss it sorely.

[Earl49]

Having played hundreds of guitars over the years while visiting shops and the NAMM show twice, and owning maybe 25 in total (not all at once) I *can* hear the difference between a D-18 and a D-28 in most cases. But a buddy of mine once wanted me to pick out an electric guitar for him while I was on a working trip out of state. I had to refuse. In the electric world, there is no way that I could tell a great classic from a parts-caster hunk 'o junk.

[Br1ck]

I lived in the same town as Gryphon for about 20 years. I spent two hours there every Monday. I played eight or ten guitars every week, and everything on the used wall that I'd never played or was remotely interested in. I remember very few guitars. There was a very repaired 1930s Martin 00, a J 45 with a replaced neck, a 20s Martin 0, and a very used 65 D 18. These beat me over the head and said buy me. At the time I could not.

I played a lot of Gibsons that were dogs. More than anything else, and they were late 60s until Bozeman opened. I played boutique guitars of many stripes, and many Collings, none of which did much for me and all of which were fine guitars. Later, I cruised the vintage room at Sylvan, where I played the 39 J 35 that haunts me to this day, and my 65 Texan that came home with me.

I can not put a finger on just what these various guitars had that grabbed me, except to say they were all old wood.After I got one good guitar, my M36, I never felt a pang of regret walking out of a store wondering if only I could get this or that. And I mean, I played some wonderful guitars. All it taught me is I'm me and everyone else is them. One day I was enjoying the hell out of and old dry D 18 and a guy came up and said it was kind of nasally, wasn't it? He played a D 28 Marquis. Different strokes.....

I can pretty well say with certainly that many if not most folks would hate or at least dislike my Texan. I'm the one that counts. Buy yourself a guitar you can live with, and when someday you pick up a guitar and can't put it down, the guitar that makes time go away, buy it. Don't think on it overnight. Thinking just gets in the way. There is no harm that can be done. There is only that feeling you must learn to recognize and trust. Because the one you choose could be very beat up, it could have an ugly sunburst, or a skinny neck everyone in the world tells you is bad, or even an adjustable bridge from a company's worst era. Or it could have a logo most folks would see and figured you paid $400 for. But there will be one person that is happy every single day. That's the one that counts.

[WordMan]

I am like a Bird Watcher or a Wine Nerd: I keep a mental Guitar Experience Journal. I try to play the guitars that are well known across history and brands, and what is hot today. They’re guitars, I’m a guitar nerd - any questions?

My favorite “I understand that reference!” experience because I have my mental journal: There’s a clip on YouTube of Tommy E playing a Parker Archtop backstage. He’s using it to its fullest, when he stops and says to his wife (I assume) “I gotta tell Frankie about this - it’s a Selmer you can actually play!!”

I assume he’s talking about Frank Vignola - who can rock a gypsy jazz guitar with the best of them. But have you played an original Selmer Maccaferri? I got to, at Lark St. That thing was unplayable!! It had a trapezoidal neck that was practically concave on the bottom! It had NO Lows! None! It sounded like it was a piccolo guitar or something? It made what Django got out of one even more impressive and made me realize I was even *more* unworthy!! But it was fun to immediately grasp his remark

So, yeah - I think it’s fun to try guitars.

[Rosewood99]

I hear you. Even If you played hundreds of Gibson guitars because you visited guitar center, does that really mean you can comment on their quality? Who knows if the strings were dead, etc. for the five minutes you were playing.

[Ed66]

Originally Posted by Mark Stone

But how many people are like me? We love playing guitar, really know quite a lot about their care and feeding . . . and a lot of us have pretty nice instruments to boot. But, honestly, I'm kinda naive when it comes to all the brands, how they compare, what they sound like, etc. Is there anyone else like me?

Hey!!!! I resemble that remark

Although I've only been playing about 6 years, I've dug in pretty seriously so I know names, can do quite a bit of basic work on my guitars, play passably well and definitely (largely due to AGF) know more than the average player on guitars as a whole. I don't feel like I can do a great job at identifying one nice guitar from another consistently (without seeing it) because I don't know what tone signatures to specifically listen for on other than a couple major builders. I am enjoying learning though.

[David Rance]

I've only been on AGF for a few months but I get what OP is saying. There are people on the forum who use it for interest and to get and stay informed, people who are collectors and there are new players. It's an invaluable resource for all of them but it does seems likely that only people who collect will have played hundreds of Gibsons (although many non-collectors who have been browsing guitar shops regularly for a decade or four will have tried a fair few!).

For anyone buying the right guitar to match their pocket and the stage on their musical journey AGF is a godsend.

If only I could have looked at it before I bought that Gibson Mark 53 in 1979!! 😣

[Rinaz]

I owned 3 Taylor guitars. I guess I like Taylor then. I did try both V bracing and X bracing. I would say they sound almost identical but same as YouTube experience, the X bracing has more low end. V bracing doesn’t necessarily sound bad, but it’s different and most folks here want guitars that have low end I noticed. Having owned old and new Taylor guitars, their new sound is bright and sweet. The old one I have is a 1996 710 BRW is also bright (if compare to Martin) but it’s definitely darker, more low end, and boomier than new ones. I compared my 710 to a Martin 1967 D28 BRW, they sound similar, probably the same, except The Taylor is bright like an angel singing and the Martin is dark like an old soul telling a story. Then a 1969D35 with BRW, this one definitely sound different, it’s super bassy and boomy, like a boosted low end Martin sound. I’m not a fan of Gibson, never liked them, so I don’t know much about them except their guitars are good for country music...

[Bluesra]

I've been playing just shy of 20 years and really haven't played many guitars at all. I played my first acoustic for 8 years before buying my second. That one I played then for 5 years before buying another, that was before I started to chase tones. I don't really go into the store and try out guitars very often but after I found this forum I started to try more at the store but the one by my mostly has low end guitars. So I really have never played a Martin or Gibson or Taylor and at this point I'm fine with that because I'm really happy with my guitars and if I tried a nice high end one that may change things, plant a seed in my mind type of thing. So for now ignorance is bliss until my kids are grown and the money is there.

[musicman1951]

Not me, I like playing different guitars. I worked in a fairly large music store during college and got to play a ton.

Aside from the too many I've owned, a trip to The Music Emporium is an opportunity to play a lot of guitars before deciding which one steals my heart. And I admit to playing more than a few just to satisfy my curiosity.

But I don't think it's of much consequence. You don't need to play a ton of guitars to buy one - you're living proof of that. And the guitar you're playing doesn't really care how many guitars you played in the past.

Find one that makes you happy and play it. If you can do that quickly you're a better man than I (or, at the very least, a different man).

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Mark Stone

But, honestly, I'm kinda naive when it comes to all the brands, how they compare, what they sound like, etc. Is there anyone else like me?

Think I know what you mean. I've owned only a few guitars, and haven't played that many. But I do think I've played a decent cross-section of the guitars out there, ranging in price from $200 to $10K -- enough to get a sense of what works for me and what doesn't -- independent of price.

If you haven't done it, it's worth the time and money to visit shops with a great inventory, and sample the wares. Heck of an education, and a lot of fun.