#31
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That guitar that changed your mind
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This is gonna be a twofer. I think the guitars you may have referred to were when Andy Powers re-did the entire Taylor rosewood (81x) line between 2013 and 2014. I remember a Taylor Roadshow in 2014 wherein they demoed a Grand Concert, a Grand Auditorium, A Grand Symphony, and the new kid, a Grand Orchestra. All were both played through a mic and then immediately plugged in. A T-5 was played too if memory serves me correctly. It was a very impressive display. And here's my story and I'm sticking to it. I had been looking for a rosewood Taylor jumbo for some years, and never really played one I liked. I had almost bought a nice Grand Symphony about a year previously to that demo, but didn't pull the trigger. Probably should have; it was that good. So I went to this road show to see the elephants. I ended up liking the Grand Orchestra and played it both plugged in and especially acoustically. So much so that I bought the 818e at that show. Just a dynamite guitar. I eventually restrung the Elixir PB mediums with Elixir PB HD Lights. With the size of that body, I didn't need the medium gauge bass strings. I fingerpick everything with my fingernails, so the .013 - .053 works just fine for me. And the cherry on the cake was an actual rosewood pickguard to go with a lightly streaked ebony fretboard. Very tasty. Don .
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*The Heard: 85 Gibson J-200 sitka/rosewood Jumbo 99 Taylor 355 sitka/sapele 12 string Jmbo 06 Alvarez AJ60S englmn/mpl lam med Jmbo 14 Taylor 818e sitka/rosewood Grand Orchestra 05 Taylor 512ce L10 all mahogany Grand Concert 09 Taylor all walnut Jmbo 16 Taylor 412e-R sitka/rw GC 16 Taylor 458e-R s/rw 12 string GO 21 Epiphone IBG J-200 sitka/maple Jmbo 22 Guild F-1512 s/rw 12 string Jmbo Last edited by donlyn; 01-23-2020 at 08:24 PM. |
#32
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Pretty much anytime I go into a shop, I plan to buy a Martin and walk out with something from Taylor. Taylor guitars have a way of seducing me in a shop, but I always prefer the recorded sound of a Martin. It happened first with a Taylor 414ce about 6 years ago, and then again 4 years ago with an 814ce.
The conclusion I've come to is that I prefer everything about a Taylor except for the fact that it doesn't sound like a Martin. I like the Taylor sound, but just not when you pit it against a Martin. However, I can't seem to find a Martin these days that sounds like the Martin sound in my head. I'm strange for that I guess. That is why I love my Grand Pacifics so much. They actually do sound like the sound in my head. |
#33
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yes, I had every intention of buying another Collings OM2h a guitar purchase or two again. I went home with a Lowden F35 after the store manager told me to give it a try.
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#34
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I took my pickup into an automotive shop for new tires, and it turned out I needed a brake job as well. They told me everything could be done in an hour, and there was a guitar shop across the street, so I went over there. Ended up buying my first Martin while the truck was still up on the lift.
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1 dreadnought, 1 auditorium, 1 concert, and 2 travel guitars. |
#35
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This happens to me quite often. In my most recent experience, I went to my local shop a week ago to pick up a Martin 000-28 Reimagined and ended up walking out with an outstanding Taylor 517e Builder's Edition.
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#36
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My Webber OM.
1998 I went to Buffalo Bros to buy a fingerstyle guitar (currently owned a very nice Larrivee D-05). I went looking for C. F. Fox, Martin, Taylor, Larrivee, Breedlove, and many others. I had never heard of David Webber. Nothing in my $1,500 price range even came close to the Webber. I didn't want a Webber, but I couldn't not buy it. 20+ years later, and I still own it and still love it. |
#37
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Another "sort of" story. I went in to try a Martin Whisky Sunset 00-17 12 fret, with which I was really impressed and it was in my £2k budget. Then the sales guy suggested I try a second-hand Taylor 312 12 fret. Very nice, but the Martin still had the edge. He then, as all good salesmen try, suggested I play something over my budget, just to see... That was a 712e 12 fret and it was a "WOW!!" moment, but it was a fair bit beyond my budget. However, I looked around and was able to find another new one at a less wallet-busting price. This year we celebrate our fourth anniversary
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#38
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Yeah, just saving up for a 32C, after playing one a while ago. as you say, loud and bold, but just RIGHT, you know?
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#39
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I played it last night unamplified to a crowd of about thirty and the volume really helped, at home though I am developing a softer touch with it - it can be quiet if you need it that way but it’s fun to drive it hard. |
#40
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I have two, related but separate...
In the early '70s, in the Toronto area, I was a budding fingersylist enamored of Bruce Cockburn and other local guitarists. In the early '90s I discovered Michael Hedges and realized that I was being limited by my old guitar...it just wasn't up to the task. So I set out on my first ever guitar shopping trip and quickly found that I was very attracted to jumbo-bodied guitars. What can I say? I like big bouts (and I cannot lie). In late '91 I found a Taylor 615 that I liked at a local shop but the very next day I found a Larrivee J-09 at a different shop that also sang to me. Went back and forth between the two and finally, in early '92, decided on the Larrivee (one of three in that shop...when I started lessons with Don Ross shortly after the purchase (a whole other story) he said, "Oh, good, you got the good one!"). I still have it, now some 30 years old, and it still sings to me. Fast forward 10+ years and I'd finished a PhD and was now in Austin, TX. The Larrivee had been my only guitar and I decided that I really needed a second. Went out looking for something smaller, an OM or a GA size was my focus, something to complement the Larrivee but not compete with it. But there hanging on the column in the acoustic room at the Guitar Center was a massive Tacoma baritone, a BM6C with it's 6" deep 18" lower bout (yep, I still like 'em) and 29" scale. Got bit by the baritone bug that day...and the Tacoma one, too. I did eventually get that small-body guitar, another Tacoma, a dream ECM38c that I also still have. Sold the BM6C 'cause the scale was just too long for my small hands but I still love baritones and have re-purposed the Larrivee as a short-scale semi-baritone (3 strings down two whole steps and the other three down one) that does remarkably well. Recently ordered a Emerald X-30 (yes, a jumbo) fan fret (but that's another story, too). Phil
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Solo Fingerstyle CDs: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back (2021) One Size Does Not Fit All (2018) I play Crosby, Emerald, Larrivée, Lowden, Rainsong & Tacoma guitars. Check out my Guitar Website. See guitar photos & info at my Guitars page. |
#41
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Last minute change of mind
Saved up the money. Went to try the HD28 i dreamed of for a long time in a few different stores nearby. Came the day to pull the trigger, while waiting in the acoustic room, i heard a guy playing a guitar that sounded absolutely out of this world. When he finished, i picked it up and played it. After a few minutes i was hooked. I brought it home. It was a 2016 Boucher Bluegrass Goose Master Grade Flamed Bubinga. Just has the right amount of everything.
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#42
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Total surprise
Had a custom order SCGC F which fell short of my expectations and responded to a listing by a local member Tadol for one all mahogany which I thought would have the more mellow tone I was after. Took my new F to compare and was disappointed but he has a lot SCGC guitars so ended up playing a number but none was what I was looking for.
Then he pulled out a SCGC which, based on the wood and body size, wouldn't be expected to have the tone I was after. It was a OOO 12 fret with an adi top and koa sides and back. It was exactly what I was seeking. The 12 fret configuration combined with a slightly deeper body made all the difference. It went home with me.
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Yamamoto Jumbo 27 - Bashkin Placencia FanFret Cedar/EIR - Leo Posch DS12 Adj/Hormigo - Ovation Legion shallow body - - Taylor 562 GC 12 String - C. Freeborn Alto- Froggy Bottom H12C Adj/EIR- Ryan Nightengale Engelmann/Af. Blackwood - Kostal MD Last edited by Racerbob; 02-29-2020 at 03:33 PM. |
#43
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Chris Stern Guitars by: Bown Wingert Kinscherff Sobell Circa Olson Ryan Fay Kopp McNally Santa Cruz McAlister Beneteau Fairbanks Franklin Collings Tippin Martin Lowden Northworthy Pre-War GC Taylor Fender Höfner 44 in total (no wife) Around 30 other instruments Anyone know a good psychiatrist? www.chrisstern.com |
#44
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I've tried to buy a D28 at least twice, starting before they were re-imagined. First time I came home with a D18. Second time a Southern Jumbo. I came to the conclusion that I was a mahogany guy and gave up on rosewood dreads.
Recently, I picked up a used pre-re-imagined D35 in a store and wham! There it was. Apparently, I was looking for the wrong guitar. |
#45
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John |