"Building" a stage guitar - Page 2

steverok · #16 10-20-2006, 01:05 PM

Actually, regarding the Guild, Florentine cutaways are not cool either, or really, any cutaway, for that matter. OK, let's form a list - the following appointments are NOT cool :

1) Flamed or quilted maple of any kind.
2) Abalone anywhere on the guitar.
3) Cutaways.
4) Froofy inlays - some inlays are cool, some are froofy.
5) Strap-locks where the neck meets the body - NOT COOL !
6) Anything that can be described as "pretty".
7) Any finish other than natural, black, or a nice smokey burst.
8) A headstock with the name "Taylor" on it.

Did I forget anything ?

J-Ron · #17 10-20-2006, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steverok

J-Ron, what is your opinion of the K&K Fantastik UST ? I was thinking of upgrading a guitar that already has the mini on there.

I think is has a strange name! Besides that, it sounds very good. Mine runs into a 2 channel K&K onboard preamp (inside my guitar) with the pure western mini on the opposite channel. If I could only choose one of the pickups, I'd choose the mini, but I'm glad i don't have to choose just one. I prefer the sound of the mini, but the fantastik adds a great deal of versatility and is great when needing to cut through the mix of a full band. The combination of both pickups and my Gibson Jumbo make for an absolutely enormous sound. I would describe the fantastik as an excellent UST as far as USTs go. It is warm and shimmery, but it still has the characteristics of a piezo. Alone, it would leave me wanting (sort of like the Fishman Acoustic Matrix I pulled out of this guitar a few weeks ago). With the mini, it sounds awesome! Even when playing alone, I still dial in some of the fantastik. The blend of the two is still very natural. I hope this helps...

steverok · #18 10-20-2006, 11:35 PM

J-Ron that sounds fantastik. Got any sound clips ? I'm a Gibson jumbo man myself, I love it for bluegrass style, even though I don't know bluegrass ! Which one do you have ? The K&K upgrade would be for a J-45 that I'm sure most people here would love !!

J-Ron · #19 10-21-2006, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steverok

J-Ron that sounds fantastik. Got any sound clips ? I'm a Gibson jumbo man myself, I love it for bluegrass style, even though I don't know bluegrass ! Which one do you have ? The K&K upgrade would be for a J-45 that I'm sure most people here would love !!

No sound clips yet, but will be working on that within the next few weeks! I play a '98 SJ-200 and the k&k setup sounds beautiful... I installed it myself and have to push upwards of 110 decibels on stage before the western mini even begins to fuss (although my favorite is to play this thing softly as it just sings!). Even at higher sound levels on stage, it is no problem to tweak at the board. I'm surprised at how many here have had problems with feedback on the mini. I wonder if I just got lucky, or if some have had some installation issues? Anyways, the fantastik adds a great deal of depth and color (when I want it!) when added to the mini. I'll see when I might have a few moments for some soundclips. It's been busy, but it is time to record this new setup...

guitaniac · #20 10-21-2006, 01:25 PM

The J-45, which is a slope shoulder dread body style, makes a pretty good stage guitar because it has a quicker note decay, and is less feedback prone, than most big-bodied guitars.

Interestingly, Mama Bear's J-45 "target guitar" is my favorite compromise set-it-and-leave-it target selection because it works decently well for all playing styles. It has a strong, but tightly-focused bass end which isn't too boomy in the low mids.

Here's a link to the Gibson website's J-45 page.
J-45

If you don't already have the J-45, my advice would be to order it without the factory-installed electronics (and install your own electronics) because having a volume control at the soundhole rim might prevent you from using a feedback buster for high volume applications. (I presume a feedback buster is OK. I didn't find it on the "uncool" list.)

As I mentioned before, I use a Schatten Design "Black Box" for passive volume control of the high-headroom UST systems (DTAR and PUTW) which I prefer. With the K&K PowerMix system, of course, the volume control would be on the outboard blender.

Hopefully, this rig and some treble-heavy EQ will be enough to get you by in high volume situations. It would be a shame if you had to resort to some hideously "uncool" hybrid design stage guitar just to be heard.

Gary

steverok · #21 10-21-2006, 06:00 PM

That is too funny. What is Mama Bear exactly ? My J-45 may be too special for gigs.

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...erok/J45-1.jpg
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...erok/J45-5.jpg

It is my favorite, but only has a K&K mini, which is sort of thin on the high end for my tastes. Not sure what to do. Combining it with a UST may help, but I would want an off-board pre-amp.

guitaniac · #22 10-21-2006, 07:20 PM

Here's a link to the D-TAR Mama Bear webpage.
http://www.d-tar.com/mama_bear.shtml

Here is Rick Turner's description of the guitar which was used to create Mama Bear's target guitar #7.

"7) Slope Shouldered Dreadnought The J-45 and J-50 series of Gibsons are among the great enduring models much sought after by fingerstyle blues players. Our recording was of a 1944 “banner peghead” model that features a gold decal scroll on the peghead saying “Only a Gibson is Good Enough.” A similar instrument was Buddy Holly's favorite song writing guitar, and D-TAR engineer Rick Turner got to restore that guitar to playing condition in 1989 for actor/singer Gary Busey who bought Holly's leather covered guitar for $250,000.00. That particular instrument had the odd distinction of having a J-45 neck on an SJ decorated body, a war time artifact from when Gibson was just putting together anything they could ship and not worrying at all about sticking to specifications."

LOL, Steve. That "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" decal on the peghead would be an example of something that's very "uncool" from my perspective. Glad I'm only using a digital facsimile of the guitar.

Gary

steverok · #23 11-06-2006, 11:34 PM

It's a done deal - picked up an excellent J-45 at GC today, for a very fair price. It has the LR Baggs Active Element w/ soundhole volume control. Plays wonderfully, and sounds great unplugged. Bass is full and open sounding, it has that sweet J-45 tone. Plugged-in sound is good with this pick-up, I can dial in a nice smooth sound with lots of oomph. It weighs about half as much as my custom J-45, which is good for long hours of playing. I'll tell ya', Gibson offers some really great guitars - killer looks, warm balanced full tone, world-class finish, already equipped with a good all-round pick-up, and ready to go - at prices significantly lower than the more-coveted models in the Martin and Taylor line. I think they are still a good value, if that's what you are looking for in a life mate.

GeographyRocks · #24 11-07-2006, 12:07 PM

The best sounding acoustic you can buy, with the most natural UST or SBT you can find, maybe a mix of the two, with a lute hole cover to stop feedback. There.

I'm for a grand auditorium size, with Dynamic Trio PUTW pickups, with suitable dual-source preamp/mixer, along with a quality passive DI and attractive lute hole cover. $1500... ish. If you're shrewd on your choice of guitar; it needs to sound nice, I suppose, but not perfect.