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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
 Posted - 06/05/2008 : 2:18:48 PM
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I recently traded my Taylor 714CE-LTD in on a Taylor DDSM at Buffalo Bros. (I took advantage of their 100% trade-in allowance. I bought the 714 from them about seven years ago.)
It sounds great plugged in. The bass is fantastic and has great note separation. It also sound good unplugged. I really like the short scale and fast electric like neck.
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Dusty |
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alohaweb
Aloha
3 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2008 : 2:25:58 PM
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"Nope, it's his Martin D12-20. He used to borrow mine for the Kanikapila concerts at UH. Now that I think about it, it wasn't such a good idea."
Hey, that's cool. thanks for the info! |
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basilking
Lokahi
124 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 2:57:05 PM
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I have [and play slack key on] a variety of guitars [mostly Martins] from 5-18 to 12-fret-dread size. Each has its charm, ineherent advantages, & diadvantages/idiosyncrasies for dropped/open-tuned fingerpicking. I usually like the "middle" sizes, 00 or 000 for the "balanced sound" as noted somewhere above. Last coupla days have had my old 5-18 [22.3" scale, skinny-neck, small-body!] in open A [~taropatch + 2 frets] and having great fun. Low-end isn't huge on some smaller-bodied instruments but when playing alone the alternating bass is "accompaniment", just need enough to support the tune. The little 5-18 even handles what I call the key of "L" [for Leonard K & Ledward K] = taropatch w/more-dropped 6th string = open G/C bass or open A/D bass.
As always it's individual to the guitar in hand and the hands/ears on the guitar. My $.02 and worth it...! |
Edited by - basilking on 06/08/2008 3:09:44 PM |
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Allen M Cary
Lokahi
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - 07/16/2008 : 3:02:57 PM
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I have two guitars I use for Slack. One is a Taylor 614 Cotton (all that seems to mean is that it's got little cotton balls for fingerboard decoration. I think it is a signature type for somebody I don't recognize). It is really good for some tunings, including Leonard's F, Taro, Drop C, Open D, DADGAD (not really slack) and others that are bright and use a lot of open string over tones. It has a very good fingerstyle action and tone.
My Alvarez Yairi nylon is really nice in the more moody tunings, expecially Keola's C, and the strange CFCGAD that goes with his E Ku'u Morning Dew arrangement. However, it lacks the brightness that is characteristic of most Taro Patch tunes.
my two cents worth,
Allen |
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cpatch
Ahonui
USA
2187 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2008 : 06:41:24 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by wdf
I recently traded my Taylor 714CE-LTD in on a Taylor DDSM at Buffalo Bros. (I took advantage of their 100% trade-in allowance. I bought the 714 from them about seven years ago.)
It sounds great plugged in. The bass is fantastic and has great note separation. It also sound good unplugged. I really like the short scale and fast electric like neck.
I've heard Dusty play this guitar and was incredibly impressed by how good it sounds plugged in (I haven't heard it unplugged). In fact, it sounded so good I asked him what the pickups were as soon as he finished playing! |
Craig
My goal is to be able to play as well as people think I can. |
Edited by - cpatch on 07/17/2008 09:20:15 AM |
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wdf
Ha`aha`a
USA
1153 Posts |
Posted - 07/17/2008 : 06:58:05 AM
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My DDSM has a L.R. Baggs Hex pickup. Each string has its own bridge/pickup.
Here's a link.
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Dusty |
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Allen M Cary
Lokahi
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2008 : 06:35:22 AM
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One of our astute readers pointed out that the proper tuning for E Ku'u Morning Dew is CGCGAD. I realized this when I got back to my guitar. In the arrangement you play about three bars before ever hitting the 5th string, but when you do, it really clunks if you've tuned it to F.
sorry 'bout that
Allen |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 07/18/2008 : 07:19:26 AM
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Aloha all -
I wasn't going to get too specific on this topic, as I feel that the best guitar for slack key is which ever guitar you are playing at the moment, as long as you play from the heart. I have heard masterful players create chicken skin moments on Baby Taylors, borrowed junker beach guitars, a student's low end Yamaha... etc etc etc.
However...
I received the first Dennis Lake "Territorial Model" at last month's Aloha Camp. It is a simple little 12 fret slot head with koa body, top neck & bridge. It is built along the lines the guitars made on King Street in Honolulu in the 1920s -- though without the horrid neck joints they used back then.
In short,this is a guitar designed expressly for slack key.
Playing this guitar is like stepping back into one of those old time photos like you see in Ozzie's book. It sounds and feels so right.
Sweet does not begin to describe the voice of the Territorial Model. The first time I played it I told Dennis that it had an old soul.
I'll get some pictures & sound clips off to Dennis when I have a minute.
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2008 : 06:25:46 AM
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quote:
Playing this guitar is like stepping back into one of those old time photos like you see in Ozzie's book. It sounds and feels so right.
i was one of the lucky ones who got to test mark's new guitar before AMC. it's a beauty, and the tone it has is wonderful.
lustfully,
keith
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2008 : 06:42:46 AM
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| Hey Mark, How 'bout posting a picture or two of it. I didn't see one on his web site. |
Bob |
Edited by - RWD on 07/20/2008 02:29:01 AM |
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steam-powered
Aloha
15 Posts |
Posted - 07/19/2008 : 2:36:15 PM
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| My newest guitar, which I keep exclusively in slack key, is a Martin D-18VS. Sounds so amazing that I'd almost think it was designed/built for slack key! |
Amor et Hilaritas |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2008 : 11:54:50 AM
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aloha all,
this is my new travel guitar. it's a dennis lake "punahele `iki" (little pet) with a spruce face and mango sides and back.
Here's a shot next to a cigar box `ukulele, just for size comparison. It's small enough that even in a hard-shell case, it fits in most airplane overheads:
Here's a back shot which shows the nice pattern in the mango, and how the koa accents the mango:
Here's detail shots of the two sides, so you can see the blush in the wood:
Here's the inlay - a humuhumunukunukuapua`a (I was adopted by one at black rock):
It sounds lovely. Unplugged, it sounds like a small guitar - I string it with medium strings, and the midranges dominate. Plugged in, it's a monster: I have to watch it overdriving the bass.
aloha,
keith
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 07/20/2008 : 1:48:25 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by wdf
I recently traded my Taylor 714CE-LTD in on a Taylor DDSM at Buffalo Bros. (I took advantage of their 100% trade-in allowance. I bought the 714 from them about seven years ago.)
It sounds great plugged in. The bass is fantastic and has great note separation. It also sound good unplugged. I really like the short scale and fast electric like neck.
Dusty was struttin' his stuff at a BBQ on thursday, unplugged. John Keawe gave his guitar a test drive and was impressed with the action. It's a beauty.
aloha,
Keith
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Fran Guidry
Ha`aha`a
USA
1579 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2008 : 05:24:18 AM
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My luthier buddy, Tony Yamamoto, came by yesterday with his latest creation - a 27" scale semi-baritone. Tony designed this guitar to have a big voice in dropped tunings like taropatch and he succeeded spectacularly. He used black acacia, a very close relative of koa that grows in Australia. Here's the back:
He used red spruce for the top and included a cutaway:
But the sweetest part for me is the wedge shape he used for the body. This makes the very large guitar fit easily under the arm, avoiding damage to old fogey shoulders:
The deepest part of the body is a hefty 5 1/2", while the shallow part that fits under the arm is a dainty 3 1/2".
Ohhhhhh, I hated to see him leave with this beauty.
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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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 07/21/2008 : 06:36:41 AM
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fran, that's a cool idea with the wedge. It's a beauty...
aloha,
keith
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