Did your favorite brand of acoustic guitars change over time?

[aeisen93]

I thought this would be an interesting idea for a thread.. For about 15 years, my favorite brand for acoustics was Taylor. I bought my 814ce in 2006, and it was always my favorite guitar.

However over the last two years, I purchased two Gibsons… a G-45 Studio and a G-00.

The Taylor is louder and more powerful but I definitely now prefer the tone from the Gibsons… I would say my favorite brand is Gibson now. They sound so clear, crisp…

Did your favorite brand change over time? Did you once prefer brand “A” but now prefer “B”?

EDIT: I see how this can be interpreted in different ways. I meant did your personal preferences change over time (rather than the brand themselves changing).

[Rev Roy]

I cycled my way through many nice Martins/Gibsons/Taylors over the years. But once I finally played my first boutique guitar (a Collings D1) my entire understanding of what a quality guitar plays and feels like changed. I’ve been securely on the boutique bandwagon ever since…with a slight detour into the Martin Authentics (which are boutique quality).

[Dirk Hofman]

Yep. Started out really liking bright, zingy sounds. First nice guitar was a LOUD Taylor 810. Slowly evolved to warmer sounds, but always have loved clarity. Moved to Collings, Santa Cruz, and eventually landed on a couple of Martins, a D-28 1937 Authentic and a 000-28 EC. All those brands have a ton to offer but happy where I am now.

[KevinH]

Yes, every time I buy a new guitar .

I've gone through many brands to figure out what tonal qualities I like in a guitar. Then it's another adventure to figure out the brands that fit in that space.

But now I find I don't really have a favorite brand so much as a favorite sound, body size, scale length, etc. Many brands can fit in there.

[cliff_the_stiff]

I have been a big fan of Martin guitars. I still am, and don’t intend to sell any of the three I still have.
Like the OP, Gibson guitars, their tone and iconic look has me. I haven’t liked the Gibson nut width, so none have stuck for me, but the Gibson inspired guitars I have like my Haxton “Special” Nick Lucas like 00, my Collings CJ45T and even the C10 all seem to be based off vintage gibson guitars.
So is Gibson my favorite now despite my not actually having one? maybe.
The guitars I think will always be with me have Collings and Martin on the headstock.

[Kh1967]

Other than really early experimentation, my tastes have been pretty consistent: Martin, Collings, H&D, and Santa Cruz.

Desert island guitar would be a Collings.

[jacot23]

Well, I THOUGHT my favorite brand was Martin. Then @Taylorcrazy traded me a Gibson J-35...

Now I have 3 Gibsons: J-35, 60's Reissue Hummingbird, and a J-165.


Probably gonna sell the J-165 though and get another banjo...

[TBman]

Initially I always wanted a Martin. Even though I had a great Guild, I longed for a Martin. Finally I got one, the D-16GT, but that was before I realized a 1.75" nut was a better fit for me. I discovered this and bought my Larrivee. I still loved the sound of my Martin but I found I was gravitating towards a more modern sound, something with a bit more "built in reverb."

I had bought a J-45 too, but only because I was into the blues at that point and the GAS was terrible. I moved on from playing bluesy stuff and fell into the Celtic/folk type of music which sparked the quest for "reverb."

The Avalon brought me close, the Furch closer and now with the Pellerin I'm where I want to be at. Now that I have time to play I'll be switching back and forth between almost all of my guitars of various manufacturers.

[mr. beaumont]

Sort of. I didn't really have a favorite but I thought Martins weren't my bag.

Then I discovered they were actually very much my bag.

[rstaight]

Hearing and preference in sound changes over time. So I will not at all be surprised "when" my preference for Takamine changes.

[AZLiberty]

Every change Larrivee has implemented to make their guitars more "Martin Like" has made me like them less and less.

[fretfile100]

I started in the 60’s an all Martin guy. I later discovered that Martin 12 strings needed a lot of maintenance and the 70’s regulars have well documented issues. A friend told me than an Olson was better than a Martin and one was for sale at Gruhn’s. It was $400 at the time because James Taylor had not started playing them in the 70’s. I also bought a beater Guild that I loved and a Loprinzi in the 80’s. In the 90’s I discovered Taylor, and Larrivee. Most recently , I discovered Goodall, Collings and Bourgeois. I have a few representatives left from the era and enjoy sampling the different tones each brand imparts. Yeah, I have had GAS most of my life…seems incurable.

[Br1ck]

Expanded more like. More tones. I rotate through three guitars, each for up to a month. This week I moved from my D 35 Custom to my Epiphone Texan. Now the right Martin dread is magic, but that dry bass Gibsonesque tone is just wonderful, and when I rotate to my Guild D 35, I'll revel in its clarity and great neck.

I have four mandolins and they are all very different too. I like the variety.

[Taylorcrazy]

Originally Posted by jacot23

Well, I THOUGHT my favorite brand was Martin. Then @Taylorcrazy traded me a Gibson J-35...

Now I have 3 Gibsons: J-35, 60's Reissue Hummingbird, and a J-165.


Probably gonna sell the J-165 though and get another banjo...

Well, I obviously love Taylors, have and still do. I have owned a pretty large number of brands. The trade mentioned above brought me a Halcyon 000 that I love. I haven’t found a new brand but I have switched to preferring short scale necks and mahogany instead of rosewood!

[Silly Moustache]

I bought my first guitar somewhen in the mid '60s. My first influence was seeing Tom Rush at a folk concert in Cambridge.
he was playing an Epiphone Texan.
Back them American guitars were kinda difficult to get hold of for a late teen/twenties even if you could afford them , which I couldn't.

Maybe because fellow AGF member Andy Guttry turned me on to country and bluegrass, I regarded Martins as the holy grail of guitars.

I worked up slowly and my third guitar was either a Levin, or a Harmony - I got the Harmony.
I worked up trading and dealing through Gibsons, Epiphones, toguild, then ultimately (I thought) a Martin. I started trading Martins without even understanding why D28s looked different to D18s!
Most of the guitars I bought were those that needed work and were being sold on until, I got a '73 D35 in 1975 which I kept for 21 years.

In 1999, I discovered a Collings and got (I was told) the second one to come into the UK - which also stayed with me for 20 years until I sold it whilst in a blue funk.

I never managed to find a Gibson flat top that I gelled with, including a J50, and an SJ200.

I don't know when Taylors came on the scene - first time I saw threm was sometime in the '80s with Nanci Griffithsand some of the Crickets -and they sounded awful (guitars, electrics, or p.a. - I don't know).
Anyway, they weren't in my spectrum.

I know have only one Martin, a D12-20, and four Collings.

Defence rests.