Any guitars you bought that were unexpectedly great?

BrunoBlack · #1 08-30-2019, 04:48 AM

This turns around the thread on which brand or guitar you tried to love but couldn’t. Im assuming we only buy guitars we expect to like. But — On a positive note, have you ever bought one that surprised you how great it actually was.

My most recent surprise was the new Collings C100. While I have been consistently pleased with the Collings brand, I wasn’t sure what the C100 would really sound like. I was attracted by the bigger body that was shaped more like a small guitar (if that makes sense) that promised a full tonal range based on a bigger lower bout (16”) and deeper body. I took a leap of faith and ordered one with a 1-3/4” nut. Since it took 5 months to arrive, I had a chance to play a couple while I waited for delivery. I was pleased, but I typically learn very little from playing guitars in noisy showrooms.

Well it arrived, I played it for a week and thought, this is another great Collings. For my taste it has a perfect neck, effortless playability, sounds very good, and has a perfect build — but the setup wasn’t perfect like other Collings I’ve received. After bringing it in for a setup, TR tweaks, and playing it for a couple of weeks I am totally thrilled. I expected a nice guitar that would provide me with a different mix, but after a few months, this C100 is a crazy good surprise. It’s nice when your guitar exceeds all expectations.

gitarro · #2 08-30-2019, 05:10 AM

I thought that the poljakoff s-1 that I now play as my sole full sized guitar would be good from its design and fit and finish from the photos but when it arrived it turned out to be spectacularly good! It's now possibly my favourite guitar ever so far...

zoopeda · #3 08-30-2019, 05:20 AM

Martin 000-15SM

I had been playing a lot of higher end Martins and figured the 15 series would be real mediocre by comparison. For the money, these are awesome sounding, and nice looking, guitars. Pleasantly surprised.

Kerbie · #4 08-30-2019, 05:24 AM

Love that C100, Paul... just gorgeous. Is that the Iced Tea burst? Sure is beautiful. As much as I like the C10, I'm sure I'd love that one.

I had owned a couple Collings 0s, one with Mahogany/German and one EIR/German. And I'm a huge all-Mahogany fan. I had owned several all-hogs and loved them all. So, putting those two loves together... one day I was perusing the websites of my favorite guitar stores. Lo and behold, there was a brand new Collings 0 all-Mahogany with all the specs I wanted. I'd never played one, but I thought it must be a sweet guitar. So, after a telephone conversation or two, it was on its way to my house.

It's not the most expensive guitar ever built, it's a stripped-down version of their 01, it's not a custom build... but I flipped and fell head over heels. It just has the coolest little personality. I knew I'd like it, but had no idea how much.

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brencat · #5 08-30-2019, 05:42 AM

Hi Paul — glad to hear you are really loving that C100! For me, it’s the 2007 Martin 000-18 Authentic I bought earlier this year. There are only 96 in the wild, and I had never played one. I was worried about all kinds of things, like the bass response, would the neck angle be good (there’s no adjustable relief in these), would I like the big neck, but most importantly since I always thought the tone of the 000-18GEs I’d played was kind of ‘meh’, would the 000-18A be that much better?

Well, I’m here to say that over 6 months later, the guitar has become my #2. Absolutely huge sounding, great bass response, no sizzling or edgy Adi — it’s warm, rich, and broken in, and has the most perfect deep C to V shaped 1937 style neck that I’ve not seen on any other modern Martin. Finally, there’s this ethereal ring off the D and G strings when this guitar gets humming that is just awesome, and shows itself especially during flatpicking. This is no 000-18GE on steroids, it’s a completely different guitar. Just like with the D/PW, I took a chance and couldn’t be more pleased!

rokdog49 · #6 08-30-2019, 05:46 AM

My Eastman E 10 00 SS. I bought it from LA Guitars sight unseen and it still blows me away every time I play it.

BrunoBlack · #7 08-30-2019, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Love that C100, Paul... just gorgeous. Is that the Iced Tea burst? Sure is beautiful. As much as I like the C10, I'm sure I'd love that one.

Attachment 26550

Hi Kerbie, I’m not sure on the burst. But I think iced tea sounds right. Sure is pretty! Love your beauty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brencat

Hi Paul — glad to hear you are really loving that C100! For me, it’s the 2007 Martin 000-18 Authentic I bought earlier this year. There are only 96 in the wild, and I had never played one. I was worried about all kinds of things, like the bass response, would the neck angle be good (there’s no adjustable relief in these), would I like the big neck, but most importantly since I always thought the tone of the 000-18GEs I’d played was kind of ‘meh’, would the 000-18A be that much better?

Well, I’m here to say that over 6 months later, the guitar has become my #2. Absolutely huge sounding, great bass response, no sizzling or edgy Adi — it’s warm, rich, and broken in, and has the most perfect deep C to V shaped 1937 style neck that I’ve not seen on any other modern Martin. Finally, there’s this ethereal ring off the D and G strings when this guitar gets humming that is just awesome, and shows itself especially during flatpicking. This is no 000-18GE on steroids, it’s a completely different guitar. Just like with the D/PW, I took a chance and couldn’t be more pleased!

Hey Brendan, yeah there’s no shortage of things you can worry about. Looks like you found the unicorn. The top on your guitar is amazing!

Rosewood99 · #8 08-30-2019, 06:17 AM

I had never heard of a top, back and sides Ovangkol guitar until Martin recently came out with one. It has a deep rich tone with good overtones. A tad quiet of a guitar but can't wait to see how even better it will sound once it opens up.

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Kerbie · #9 08-30-2019, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulzoom

I had never heard of a top, back and sides Ovangkol guitar until Martin recently came out with one. It has a deep rich tone with good overtones.

Well, your dog seems rather unimpressed.

UncleJesse · #10 08-30-2019, 06:44 AM

I appreciate the responses but I have to laugh because of the mention Collings and Martin Authentic? They'd better be great! That's kind of like saying I hope the Porsche I buy online is fast

Kerbie · #11 08-30-2019, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleJesse

I appreciate the responses but I have to laugh because of the mention Collings and Martin Authentic? They'd better be great!

Yeah, but sometimes even those two companies can exceed our wildest dreams.

Dustinfurlow · #12 08-30-2019, 06:57 AM

My first encounter with Larrivee was like that. I mostly just wanted a guitar that wasnt a Martin, Taylor, Yamaha, guild or Gibson, because for whatever reason even when I was 22 I was highly underwhelmed by each one I played at Guitar center unless it was over $2500. So I took a jump on a L-05 online and realized a few things about Larrivee that suit my playing. Not just tonally but setup, neck and fretboard radius-wise, they seemed to suit fingerstyle- playing better, at least for my hands and preference. I ended up buying and selling around a dozen before I custom ordered my own. Great guitars for the money.

beatcomber · #13 08-30-2019, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoopeda

Martin 000-15SM

I had been playing a lot of higher end Martins and figured the 15 series would be real mediocre by comparison. For the money, these are awesome sounding, and nice looking, guitars. Pleasantly surprised.

Same for me, but for somewhat different reasons.

I'd played a 000-15M (the 14-fret, non-slothead model) at Guitar Center and was completely unimpressed. It sounded dull, dark and muffled.

In May, I walked into the Music Emporium here in Lexington, and saw that they had a 000-15SM in stock, and was immediately drawn to it. (I'm a sucker for slotheads.) This guitar didn't sound dark like the 000-15M at GC, it was warm, yes, but had plenty of 'life' and bloom.

The next day I went back to TME with some trade bait, and worked out a very fair deal with the shop for the Martin.

The guitar has only gotten better and better since, and I have completely bonded with it. As many have stated, the 15 series is probably the greatest value in Martin's USA line, and the 000-15SM might be the best model in the 15 series.

As for the dead 000-15M at Guitar Center? My guess is it had old strings and/or the action was high enough to suppress the treble response.

MHC · #14 08-30-2019, 07:03 AM

Yeah. I bought a Martin 00-21 because I was so in love with my Huss & Dalton OM that I didn't want to take it out of my apartment for lessons, to friend's houses, etc. (I live in NYC so that means subway). The intention for the Martin 00-21 was to have a nice little guitar to toss in a gig bag, sling over my shoulder and take out.

But that little guitar far exceeded my expectations. It's rich, loud and responsive. A real joy to play. I consider it the equal of my more expensive Huss & Dalton, but with a different voice. Many people have commented on how rich and loud it is for such a compact guitar.

It's a clean, simple instrument, nothing fancy, but I got lucky on that one.

jpricewood · #15 08-30-2019, 07:05 AM

My Eastman E10D and E8D. They even surprised my luthier. He mostly works on Santa Cruz and Collings and had never played an Eastman. He told me that he couldn’t believe the Eastmans only cost around $1k (and I got them used). He said the E8D compared favorably to his personal Santa Cruz Brazilian rosewood dread. I told him thanks, but he could tell I thought he was just being nice, so he walks over to the corner of his shop and brings back this Santa Cruz. He told me to compare them for myself. This particular guitar is definitely the most expensive guitar I’ve ever played, but he was right, there wasn’t much of a difference in sound quality. Anyways, Eastmans have killed my GAS for pretty much everything, except for maybe an SJ-200.