NGD: Did a bad thing this weekend, Collings OM2H followed me home

[PorterhouseMusic]

Key is to be you. Be the best you can muster.

I'm very comfortably settling into this ^^^

And it is good.

 

[RFR]

Very good!

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Well this comes as a huge relief, as does the fact that while I was at a Paul Gilbert show last night (humbling!) I actually saw him make a mistake or two including completely flubbing the rhythm part on one his new songs, and if Paul fuckin; Gilbert can fuck up, then so can I! :rocl:

 

[Bill L]

Well this comes as a huge relief, as does the fact that while I was at a Paul Gilbert show last night (humbling!) I actually saw him make a mistake or two including completely flubbing the rhythm part on one his new songs, and if Paul fuckin; Gilbert can fuck up, then so can I! :rocl:

Edit: you weren't in RI.

We're you at The Odeum in East Greenwich?

That was a great show.

That's Paul with a bobblehead of me.

And my seat for the evening:

And for shits and giggles, Greg Koch.

And Paul's pedal board

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Nice! No, I was up in NH. I completely lucked out on seats though - we bought them the week before the show and the front row center table musty have re-opened at the last minute, or had been reserved and then released unused, becuase I sat basically dead center, closer to Paul's pedalboard than he was for most of the night.

Incredible player, it was really just shocking how effortless his picking looks.

 

[SHEPPARDB.]

Went into my local high end acoustic shop with my Martin, a mid 90s MC16-GTE, to start the process of shopping for a nicer acoustic (I love that guitar, but it was the best thing I could afford 25 years ago, and I'd been putting cash aside for a few years planning on eventually buying something a little nicer) just to figure out what sort of guitar I was interested in, and maybe within a month or two take something home. I sort of overacheived, lol

2021 model, German Spruce top, cocobolo back and sides. I played a ton of different woods and body styles and was kind of gravitating towards either an OM-sized guitar or possibly another 0000 (same shape as my MC), which surprised me because at the start I'd have figured I'd have ended up with a dreadnaught... but within the first couple notes this one arrested me. It just sustained more on single notes than I'd expected from an acoustic, and sounded extremely articulate and balanced, almost piano like at times. I was going to put a deposit down on this one and come back this coming weekend (they're only 8 minutes away) but as I played the last few phrases it occurred to me that this was pretty much exactly how an acoustic sounded in my head, so what the hell.

Playing is a little rough here - I'm not used to uncoated strings anymore so my fingertips were raw, and I played this thing enough the night that I brought it home that the Martin phosphor bronzes on it were already losing some life. But, what an awesome sounding, playing guitar.



I should probably learn how to play an acoustic like an acoustic now, huh?

Very nice. Picked up the same guitar in a trade deal a couple of weeks ago. What an awesome playing and sounding guitar. Couldn't be happier with mine.

 

[SHEPPARDB.]

Thank you! That's actually exactly what I have on it now, Elixir phosphor bronze Nanowebs. I have some of their new Attune strings to try next, as well. Honestly the Martin strings may have sounded a HAIR nicer, but even just the smoother feeling under my fingertips and slightly reduced string squeak would be worth it, my fingers were RAW here.

Nothing like more guitar than chops to make you practice though!

I am a long time user of Elixir strings. Mine came strung with phosphor/bronze uncoated strings. Wore them out in short order, and put Elixir nano webs on. Sucked the life and tone right out of it to my ears. Restrung with Daddario phosphor /bronze, and all of the magic came back. I like the life span of the Elixers, and still prefer them on electric, but this particular guitar needs old school strings, imo.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I am a long time user of Elixir strings. Mine came strung with phosphor/bronze uncoated strings. Wore them out in short order, and put Elixir nano webs on. Sucked the life and tone right out of it to my ears. Restrung with Daddario phosphor /bronze, and all of the magic came back. I like the life span of the Elixers, and still prefer them on electric, but this particular guitar needs old school strings, imo.

Give the Attunes a shot. I don't like the feel of uncoated strings, and it's a good thing I'd had a week or two of playtime on Martin SPs before trying the Attunes, because they feel a LOT like uncoated strings. It'll take a while before the string squeak goes away, I think, as my fingers get used to them. I haven't decided if I'm going back to regular phosphor bronze Nanowebs eventually, but what I WILL say is, while the SPs sound great brand new, they last about 24 hours before sounding lifeless for me, so I won't be going back.

I still have a set of XPs in the case the prior owner left there, and I've used them in the past now and then - they're good, but at least on my Martin I've always still preferred Elixirs.

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

If you believe in the technology, the Ernie Ball M-Steel sets are new. Check em out. You just might be surprised.

"Ernie Ball M-Steel electric guitar strings are made of a patented Super Cobalt alloy wrapped around a Maraging steel hex core wire, producing a richer and fuller tone with a powerful low-end response."

Stainless steel Ernie Ball Paradigms are almost unbreakable. Long lasting strings. If you need that protection.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

If you believe in the technology, the Ernie Ball M-Steel sets are new. Check em out. You just might be surprised.

"Ernie Ball M-Steel electric guitar strings are made of a patented Super Cobalt alloy wrapped around a Maraging steel hex core wire, producing a richer and fuller tone with a powerful low-end response."

Stainless steel Ernie Ball Paradigms are almost unbreakable. Long lasting strings. If you need that protection.

I don't, and certainly not on an acoustic!

 

[LazerBeakShiek]

Awe, you gotta BELIEVE!

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Awe, you gotta BELIEVE!

Honestly, I used Ernie Balls for a bit WAAAAY back in the day, and they're fine... but by the time I switched fully over to Elixirs, they weren't even my favorite traditional strings. Thjough that was so long ago I couldn't even tell you what they were.

These days, if I wanted traditional strings on my acoustic, it'd absolutely be Martin SPs. But I think Elixir Nanoweb phosphor bronze strings were a better overall option even before the Attunes, and I'm not 100% sure I could tell the difference between the Attunes and SPs brand new, and only after a few days when one had tarnished and deadened and the other hadn't.

 

[SHEPPARDB.]

Give the Attunes a shot. I don't like the feel of uncoated strings, and it's a good thing I'd had a week or two of playtime on Martin SPs before trying the Attunes, because they feel a LOT like uncoated strings. It'll take a while before the string squeak goes away, I think, as my fingers get used to them. I haven't decided if I'm going back to regular phosphor bronze Nanowebs eventually, but what I WILL say is, while the SPs sound great brand new, they last about 24 hours before sounding lifeless for me, so I won't be going back.

I still have a set of XPs in the case the prior owner left there, and I've used them in the past now and then - they're good, but at least on my Martin I've always still preferred Elixirs.

I will give the Attunes a shot. Same fire me. Uncoated strings sound great when they are brand new, but one long play session and they are dead as a door nail. I have several brands I would like to check out. When I find a string I like, I tend not to experiment any further. I’ve been on the Elixers since they came onto the market, and haven’t strayed. Lots of new tech has come along, and this guitar really deserves the perfect match string wise. I hope that eventually I can find a coated string that does it justice. Something in my chemical makeup just destroys uncoated strings a lot quicker than other players I know. I was dreading the string squeak of uncoated, but for some reason it hasn’t been an issue, but I have changed strings 4 times since my original post. About the time I get them good and stretched out, they lose the magic, so I’m open to any and all suggestions. Doesn’t help that I live in the Deep South. The humidity and sweat don’t help. Hope you are still enjoying yours as much as I am mine. I have been chasing my perfect acoustic for about 10 years now, and haven’t strayed had some really fine instruments. Most sounded incredible, but the feel just wasn’t there, or some other thing that kept me from bonding with them. The minute I picked this guitar up and the neck was in my hand, I knew I had found the one. That’s a good feeling, because I really don’t enjoy chasing the gear like I used to, but you do have to try a bunch to know what works.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

I will give the Attunes a shot. Same fire me. Uncoated strings sound great when they are brand new, but one long play session and they are dead as a door nail. I have several brands I would like to check out. When I find a string I like, I tend not to experiment any further. I’ve been on the Elixers since they came onto the market, and haven’t strayed. Lots of new tech has come along, and this guitar really deserves the perfect match string wise. I hope that eventually I can find a coated string that does it justice. Something in my chemical makeup just destroys uncoated strings a lot quicker than other players I know. I was dreading the string squeak of uncoated, but for some reason it hasn’t been an issue, but I have changed strings 4 times since my original post. About the time I get them good and stretched out, they lose the magic, so I’m open to any and all suggestions. Doesn’t help that I live in the Deep South. The humidity and sweat don’t help. Hope you are still enjoying yours as much as I am mine. I have been chasing my perfect acoustic for about 10 years now, and haven’t strayed had some really fine instruments. Most sounded incredible, but the feel just wasn’t there, or some other thing that kept me from bonding with them. The minute I picked this guitar up and the neck was in my hand, I knew I had found the one. That’s a good feeling, because I really don’t enjoy chasing the gear like I used to, but you do have to try a bunch to know what works.

I'm still on a big acoustic kick, and using this as an opportunity/challenge to try to learn how to play the thing properly, I've been working through Doc Watson's Old Brown Case recently. From the shred background, the picking itself isn't a huge challenge, once you get used to the heavier strings, it's just some of the motifs feel very... unusual, I guess, to me. I feel like I'm learning a new vocabulary, more than new techniques.

Still think those Attunes are the closest things Ive tried to an uncoated string - they're almost too squeaky to me, though my fingers are getting used to them and my technique is starting to adjust (there's a much higher cost to sliding your hand in contact with a string, so you just don't do that if at all possible). Tone still sounds brand new, and I've logged a LOT of play time on this set over a few weeks.