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Darin
Lokahi
USA
294 Posts |
 Posted - 03/13/2004 : 10:42:50 AM
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Does anyone own, or has anyone played a Steve Grimes "Beamer" model guitar? How do you describe the playability, sound? What do they sound similar/different to? Also, if you have a dream guitar (whether you currently own it or not), I'd love to hear about it and why. Thanks!
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Darin
http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/ |
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Bing
Lokahi
USA
100 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2004 : 1:23:25 PM
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Darin,
Since no one is jumping in here, I will. I have a Grimes Beamer guitar that I bought from Fernando Cruz on this website. I meet Steve grimes at the first Aloha camp where he was giving a talk about guitar care. I also checked out Keola's Beamer and thought that I would love to have one, but the three year wait was too long for an old guy like me. Any way when Fernando put his up for sale I bought it. I also have a Martin D2R and a baby Taylor. I used to keep the martin in F-wahine and my Beamer in Taro Patch but lately I've found that I prefer to change the tuning's on the Grimes because it sounds so much better and has a much better playability. Now if anyone has a grimes/Beamer nylon string for sale I'd be all over it. |
Bing |
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enr1co
Aloha
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2004 : 6:57:06 PM
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Hi Darin,
Had the opportunity to visit Steves shop in upcountry last year. Very gracious
fellow and took the time to show me some beautiful jobs in process. He did have a
Beamer steel string that he kept as a "demo"- beautiful tone and extremely nice
detail and quality. After visiting him, was preoccupied with figuring ways to raise the ~$6K for one of his guitars.
4 months later I was able to attend the Healdsburg CA Guitar Festival which is only
held every other year. Many of the finest guitar luthiers today gather here to showcase
their work. If you see them in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, it was a good chance they were
there. If considering a custom guitar, attending this is a must do
for the opportunity to meet and talk with builders in person and be able to try out the guitars they would bring to the show- total candy store!
I tried a whole bunch of great guitars but gravitated to Kevin Ryans booth and ended up buying one of his rosewood/cedar tops.
The tone and quality of his guitars are fantastic. Even though
I thought this was one of my dream guitars, GAS struck again and I ended up selling it a few months later to purchase a Ryan made of koa with a adirondack top. My other favorite guitar is my Goodall all koa grand concert.
I had gone thru dozens of guitars prior to finding these as the perfect tone and feel
for me.
Good luck with your dream guitar search and dont rush it- The search is all the fun! |
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Darin
Lokahi
USA
294 Posts |
Posted - 03/30/2004 : 10:34:35 AM
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| Thanks for the feedback, guys. Much appreciation. Hey Enrico, how is the fret spacing on the Ryans? Aren't they a little wider than normal between frets? I had a chance to hear Pierre Bensusan play one. Beautiful instruments. I was sitting next to a guy who also has GAS. He was a big Ryan fan too. |
Darin
http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/ |
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enr1co
Aloha
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 03/31/2004 : 06:11:55 AM
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Hi Darin,
For myself nothing even noticible. Its 25.7 scale vs. other builders norm of 25.5 so
its .2 spread over the entire lenght. Every Ryan Ive played is so easy to play
so this nominal extra dimension could contribute to this feature.
FYI- heres my ebay post for my as new Ryan Quilted Mahogany Cedar Mission Grand Concert-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3714401037&category=2385
After selling my Rosewood/cedar MGC, sellers remorse led me to purchase this one from a mint collection. The Koa Ryan became available from this same collector recently and was immediately seduced ;^)
Normally, Ryan ( like Grimes) are not even readily availble to audition as they are made to order with ~ 1yr+ lead time. Ive been lucky to be able to try out a few with different wood flavors and they all were fabulous in tone regardless. Kevins construction and bracing techniques bring out the finest tonal attributes of the select woods he uses.
I imagine I may have purchased a Grimes if one was available but timing was what it
was and its likely more so that I have no delay gratification to wait out the lead time for
an order ;^)
Aloha, e |
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enr1co
Aloha
USA
40 Posts |
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Darin
Lokahi
USA
294 Posts |
Posted - 04/03/2004 : 6:45:12 PM
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| Thanks. I actually can't play jazz to save my life, so I'm not so interested in the archtop. You've got some great instruments. |
Darin
http://www.hawaiiguitar.com/ |
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