A quick tally of all the different guitars I've tried in the last two months

Twenty-seven different guitars. Shall I list them?

Yamaha loaner guitar from my friend Ann, nylon strings ca. 1973
PRS Tonare (rental guitar)
PRS Angelus 60 SE
Santa Cruz parlor guitar
Luna parlor guitar
My neighbor's red Epiphone with the bad neck repair that basically makes it unplayable
Same neighbor's old Ovation - it has a strange smell from the way it's been stored, otherwise plays great/sounds great.
Ovation Balladeer
My friend Paul's Taylor 114e
Several other Taylor's ranging from $700-$3,500 at the local Taylor dealer. I can't remember all the different Taylor models, but different sizes and body styles.
Various Martins
000-18, 00-15, 000-15, OM-21, A D something, CEO-9, Mexican Martin Dread new, Road Series Martin used
Yamaha F 335
Yamaha FG 800
Washburn WD1000
Epi Butterfly
Breedlove entry level model
Ibanez can't recall the model
and of course the winner,
NORMAN

It was so much fun! It was really tough to contain my excitement about buying my own guitar, but it was well worth it. I had enough time to try lots of different brands, prices, body styles, etc. And I learned so much. Today when I made my decision, I felt like I was basing it on personal experience and it gave me to confidence to pull the trigger.

Still 8 more days to go...

[rule18]

Wow, that's a lot of valuable first hand experience! There's no beating that kind of exposure to help make a decision. Congrats on the Norman, I'm sure you two will be very happy together!

[DownUpDave]

Good for you, that’s paying your dues and getting an education at the same time. There is no substitute for playing a bunch of guitar until you find the one that really grabs you.

I read your NGD post, so glad you loved the Norman. I am Canadian and we are proud of the Godin company and there family of instruments. All built in a small village in Quebec

[Jim Owen]

Well done, Janine. The Norman was a good find. Godin makes some dandy guitars.

[mawmow]

Congrats !

I am impressed by your long trial journey !

I am quite surprised you chose a Norman over a Martin OOO-18 or a Taylor :
I guess price had something to do in your choice.

That said, I do like my Godin's Seagull Performer and Godin 5th Avenue
as much as any Taylor or Martin I still own.

[jaymarsch]

That’s a good list of candidates. What’s better than playing all those different guitars? Finding which one’s the keeper. :-) I hope that the next week flies by.
Best,
Jayne

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by janinep7

Twenty-seven different guitars. Shall I list them?

Yamaha loaner guitar from my friend Ann, nylon strings ca. 1973
PRS Tonare (rental guitar)
PRS Angelus 60 SE
Santa Cruz parlor guitar
Luna parlor guitar
My neighbor's red Epiphone with the bad neck repair that basically makes it unplayable
Same neighbor's old Ovation - it has a strange smell from the way it's been stored, otherwise plays great/sounds great.
Ovation Balladeer
My friend Paul's Taylor 114e
Several other Taylor's ranging from $700-$3,500 at the local Taylor dealer. I can't remember all the different Taylor models, but different sizes and body styles.
Various Martins
000-18, 00-15, 000-15, OM-21, A D something, CEO-9, Mexican Martin Dread new, Road Series Martin used
Yamaha F 335
Yamaha FG 800
Washburn WD1000
Epi Butterfly
Breedlove entry level model
Ibanez can't recall the model
and of course the winner,
NORMAN

It was so much fun! It was really tough to contain my excitement about buying my own guitar, but it was well worth it. I had enough time to try lots of different brands, prices, body styles, etc. And I learned so much. Today when I made my decision, I felt like I was basing it on personal experience and it gave me to confidence to pull the trigger.

Still 8 more days to go...

I did about the same thing but with a lot less guitars.....27 WOW!!!
I ended up with the Taylor AD17e BlackTop...
Not that I tried a lot of upper models but this one was the closes to what I wanted to hear in a guitar and it's enough different from my Alvarez that it's interesting..

But again WOW!!...27 guitars in 60 days

[lar]

So what did you learn, and what guitars stood out (other than the Norman)?

[jdinco]

Congrats on finding the one ! What would have been your 2nd and 3rd choice? What was your budget? Good post...

Originally Posted by mawmow

Congrats !

I am impressed by your long trial journey !

I am quite surprised you chose a Norman over a Martin OOO-18 or a Taylor :
I guess price had something to do in your choice.

That said, I do like my Godin's Seagull Performer and Godin 5th Avenue
as much as any Taylor or Martin I still own.

Thank you!

I think I let go of the idea that I *had* to buy an expensive guitar for whatever reason I'd originally believed that.

Friends I trust kept telling me it was absolutely not necessary, that there are a lot of fabulous guitars you can buy for just a few hundred dollars. When I went out to test the theory for myself, turns out it was true!

Of course, the Martins and Taylors and Santa Cruzes of the world are amazing beautiful, premium instruments. And if I really felt like I wanted one, I would have bought one. I set my original budget for a 000-18 but realized I didn't need spend that to be happy.

I am playing just for fun, with friends, in the park, in people's living rooms, at home, in garages, in the redwoods camping, at cafes, etc. I don't need a $3K guitar for that, and I don't want a guitar I feel intimidated to play or that gives me performance anxiety, if you know what I mean. I'm very much a beginner. I'm trying to remove as many obstacles as possible to my learning and growth.

I felt like the Norman ticked all the boxes. I'm finding out that the Godin guitars have an excellent reputation. That's just a bonus. I had never heard of them before yesterday.

Originally Posted by CASD57

I did about the same thing but with a lot less guitars.....27 WOW!!!
I ended up with the Taylor AD17e BlackTop...
Not that I tried a lot of upper models but this one was the closes to what I wanted to hear in a guitar and it's enough different from my Alvarez that it's interesting..

But again WOW!!...27 guitars in 60 days

Yes, I did go a little crazy... but it was worth it.

Originally Posted by jdinaz

Congrats on finding the one ! What would have been your 2nd and 3rd choice? What was your budget? Good post...

My original budget was as much as I felt like I needed to spend to get a good guitar, but trying to keep it under $3,000. But then I realized I didn't want to spend that much, and I wouldn't have to. I went to GC with the goal of playing as many different guitars under $500 as I could.

Second choice would have been the Yamaha FG800, followed by the Yamaha F335. I also like the Washburn WD100DL. They were $219, $169 and $169 respectively. The Guild Bob Marley sounded good, too. It was $399.

Any or all of them would have been fine, too.

Originally Posted by DownUpDave

Good for you, that’s paying your dues and getting an education at the same time. There is no substitute for playing a bunch of guitar until you find the one that really grabs you.

I read your NGD post, so glad you loved the Norman. I am Canadian and we are proud of the Godin company and there family of instruments. All built in a small village in Quebec

I think there is another connection for me to the Norman being Canadian, but I didn't realize it until later after I'd put my deposit on it and went home. When I was in graduate school, the man I was married to at the time was a musician, and he was studying composition. He did his thesis on a Canadian composer named Clermont Pepin. We became very good friend with Clermont and his wife and went to Montreal to visit them several times, and also we were able to travel around Quebec. Clermont was the most beautiful, gifted generous and kind human being and, also, an incredibly original and talented composer.

I feel certain he was smiling down on me yesterday when I picked up that guitar from the back corner of the acoustic room in GC. I can't describe it, but it was almost like I was being pulled to it. I'd kind of decided on the Yamaha 800, but I couldn't quite get myself out the door. And then I looked inside the Norman and saw that big maple leaf, and something in my head just went DING!

Winner!

LOL. I hadn't thought about Clermont in a very long time. He passed away in 2006. His music is pretty amazing, in case you're interested. I'm glad to have that connection rekindled. It will make playing the guitar even more special.

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

That’s a good list of candidates. What’s better than playing all those different guitars? Finding which one’s the keeper. :-) I hope that the next week flies by.
Best,
Jayne

Thank you, Jayne.

Originally Posted by lar

So what did you learn, and what guitars stood out (other than the Norman)?

I learned that the elders know. They advised me to not drop $3K on my first guitar, and they were right.

Also, that I wanted a bigger bodied guitar, and there are smaller size dreads that are comfortable for me to play.

Definitely the Yamahas stood out as value value and more value for the money. But really, there were so many good choices. I was really surprised.