S
soundchaser59
Reluctant Commander
Just a "for what it's worth" post.......
Ok, I got to sit for a couple of hours and work my way around the acoustic guitar wall at the local dealer. Not much subjective detail here, but I think these views generally confirm the prevailing public opinion.
I will start off by saying that they only had one Washburn, about $500, and it was not even close. Wont touch that one again. Felt like a first time guitar that an unwitting parent buys their kid for Christmas before he ever learns to play. Say no mo.
They did not have any Taylors.
Takamines were first. The $500 Tak's were noticeably inferior to the $1500 Taks. They were dull, thin, hard to play. The better Taks were smoother but too bright, too much high end sound. Kinda like the Ovation, but none of them played as well as my Ovation Legend.
The best $500 guitar on the whole wall was an Alvarez. That was also the first taste I got of the Elixir strings. Smoother, quieter, but nothing dazzling about the tone. But the guitar was easy to play, great tone all the way up the neck, consistent feel on all frets, but it just didnt' have the big sound like the big-bodied guitars have. It didn't have a price tag on it, and I mistook it for one of the more expensive guitars just because of the way it feels. This guitar was better than all the other sub-$1000 guitars on the wall.
Next was a Gibson J150, with J200 strings. $2200 dollars, beautiful guitar all the way around, nothing whatsoever to complain about here. I was amazed, and it made me wonder if I've been overlooking the Gibson electrics for too many years! This was an absolutely awesome guitar, best acoustic I've ever had in my hands in this little corn town!
Last on the wall were the Martins with SP+ strings on some of them. I assumed, apparently correctly, that the bigger the number the better the guitar, but with one exception. I tried a D16 ($1500 maybe? )and a DCAURA for $2600, but was not impressed. Sound was uneven and inconsistent, very nice in the middle of the neck, but hard to play and hard to hear down low or up high. The D15 for $800 was dull and lifeless, my Ovation is much better than that one.
Then I picked up the D28 for $2000 and the D40 for $2900. The D28 was nice, nicer than all the other guitars except the Gibson. The D40 was noticeably better than the D28, easy to play, perfect consistency in sound all the way up the neck, full tone, but again it was just not quite as nice as that Gibson.
The only Martin I played that was a tiebreaker with the Gibson was the D35 for $2600. It was obviously better than the D28, noticeably better than the D40, and it was just astounding to have that kind of smooth perfect tone and smooth perfect playing in my hand, all the way up and down the neck, it almost played itself. It was almost effortless and easy to play every song I know without making mistakes or sour notes. I loved it.
But it would definitely be an all day brain twister to try and choose between the Martin D35 and the Gibson J150. If I had to choose on the spur of the moment, based on what I remember about playing them both today, I would take the Gibson.
And I did notice how the heavier strings had better tone and more sustain in the sound. Harder to play, but I enjoyed heavier strings on a top notch guitar like the D35 a lot more than I liked lighter strings on a $1500 Takamine. My fingers would eventually adjust, and the improvement in sound would obviously be worth it. This fact alone is reason enough to toss out all those Earthwood lights and extra lights I have laying around. I will not use extra lights on my acoustic again.
They were limited on strings, so I am only testing 3 sets of strings - Elixirs, Gibson J200, and Martin SP+. The Earthwoods are history......
SC
Ok, I got to sit for a couple of hours and work my way around the acoustic guitar wall at the local dealer. Not much subjective detail here, but I think these views generally confirm the prevailing public opinion.
I will start off by saying that they only had one Washburn, about $500, and it was not even close. Wont touch that one again. Felt like a first time guitar that an unwitting parent buys their kid for Christmas before he ever learns to play. Say no mo.
They did not have any Taylors.
Takamines were first. The $500 Tak's were noticeably inferior to the $1500 Taks. They were dull, thin, hard to play. The better Taks were smoother but too bright, too much high end sound. Kinda like the Ovation, but none of them played as well as my Ovation Legend.
The best $500 guitar on the whole wall was an Alvarez. That was also the first taste I got of the Elixir strings. Smoother, quieter, but nothing dazzling about the tone. But the guitar was easy to play, great tone all the way up the neck, consistent feel on all frets, but it just didnt' have the big sound like the big-bodied guitars have. It didn't have a price tag on it, and I mistook it for one of the more expensive guitars just because of the way it feels. This guitar was better than all the other sub-$1000 guitars on the wall.
Next was a Gibson J150, with J200 strings. $2200 dollars, beautiful guitar all the way around, nothing whatsoever to complain about here. I was amazed, and it made me wonder if I've been overlooking the Gibson electrics for too many years! This was an absolutely awesome guitar, best acoustic I've ever had in my hands in this little corn town!
Last on the wall were the Martins with SP+ strings on some of them. I assumed, apparently correctly, that the bigger the number the better the guitar, but with one exception. I tried a D16 ($1500 maybe? )and a DCAURA for $2600, but was not impressed. Sound was uneven and inconsistent, very nice in the middle of the neck, but hard to play and hard to hear down low or up high. The D15 for $800 was dull and lifeless, my Ovation is much better than that one.
Then I picked up the D28 for $2000 and the D40 for $2900. The D28 was nice, nicer than all the other guitars except the Gibson. The D40 was noticeably better than the D28, easy to play, perfect consistency in sound all the way up the neck, full tone, but again it was just not quite as nice as that Gibson.
The only Martin I played that was a tiebreaker with the Gibson was the D35 for $2600. It was obviously better than the D28, noticeably better than the D40, and it was just astounding to have that kind of smooth perfect tone and smooth perfect playing in my hand, all the way up and down the neck, it almost played itself. It was almost effortless and easy to play every song I know without making mistakes or sour notes. I loved it.
But it would definitely be an all day brain twister to try and choose between the Martin D35 and the Gibson J150. If I had to choose on the spur of the moment, based on what I remember about playing them both today, I would take the Gibson.
And I did notice how the heavier strings had better tone and more sustain in the sound. Harder to play, but I enjoyed heavier strings on a top notch guitar like the D35 a lot more than I liked lighter strings on a $1500 Takamine. My fingers would eventually adjust, and the improvement in sound would obviously be worth it. This fact alone is reason enough to toss out all those Earthwood lights and extra lights I have laying around. I will not use extra lights on my acoustic again.
They were limited on strings, so I am only testing 3 sets of strings - Elixirs, Gibson J200, and Martin SP+. The Earthwoods are history......
SC
On the cheaper end, I really like Yamahas. Just a really nice, well-playing, everyday guitar.
