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Cscapes
Aloha
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 01/19/2007 : 05:33:34 AM
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I have been browsing all of the threads on this forum to get an idea of what guitars people like to use for playing slack key. I realize that everyone hears things differently and that no two guitars or exactly alike in sound so the best thing to do is buy what sounds good to you. I would just like to hear your thoughts on what body size best suits the slack key style. From the few luthiers I have talked to the general consencis is that the OM size makes for the best overall slack key guitar for a combination of reasons that I'm not real clear of. I know that the size of the person usually determins what feels right for them but has your experience been
that the OM sized guitar is a common size in the slack key circle?
I'm on the fence about whether to get a Taylor GC or GS body size.
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 06:30:50 AM
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I would suggest that the body size first impacts the comfort, the ergonomics. I absolutely loved the sound of my dreadnaught for slack key (sounded just like some Uncle Sonny tracks), but the deep, wide body made my shoulder ache and the narrow string spacing made my hands cramp.
I can't find the specs on the GS body size, but I have seen excellent slack key players using the GC (x12), GA (x14), and Dread (x10) Taylors for slack key. And I've seen Martin size 0, 00, 000, OM, and D being used. I've seen players with jumbos and parlors, twelve strings and nylon strings. I honestly can't identify one most common size or style of guitar used in slack key.
Fran |
E ho`okani pila kakou ma Kaleponi
Slack Key Guitar in California - www.kaleponi.com
Slack Key on YouTube
Homebrewed Music Blog |
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 07:45:18 AM
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Size is only one of a bunch of variables that control "tone"--there are also bracing, lightness-of-build, top material, and scale length, just to name the immediately obvious ones. A really good builder gets what she wants by fiddling with these and other factors, balancing the various constraints against each other. I play regularly on a Guild dreadnaught, a 15-inch custom-shape, a Martin 0-18, a Martin 2-17, a Goodall Standard, and a Baby Taylor. Big range of sizes, materials, build styles, and weights, and each has its own virtues. Interestingly, the biggest instrument (the Goodall) and the third-smallest (the 0-18) probably have the sound most players would find most desirable for slack key. But the Baby is no slouch, either. Short answer: it depends, and you gotta listen to each instrument until you find the sound that you're looking for. For what it's worth, on many of the Dancing Cat recordings you're hearing Martin dreads (Uncle Ray, Sonny, Cyril, Leonard), and Uncle Ray's gigging guitar from the late 1980s onward has been a big Lowden O.
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slackkeymike
Lokahi
440 Posts |
Posted - 01/20/2007 : 8:36:03 PM
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Hmmm, perhaps size matters. But me thinks practice, practice, practice, is WAY more important.
Amen??
Mike |
Aloha, Mike |
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