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mahimahi
Aloha
USA
43 Posts |
 Posted - 10/03/2008 : 5:10:39 PM
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Aloha....I'm in the market to purchase another guitar...just wondering if anyone has a preference to the kinds of available woods....what you like about the wood on the body and sides....the top wood...the sweet tones that resonate with your play.
I'll play with as many guitars as I can in order to make a wise choice...
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Russell Letson
`Olu`olu
USA
504 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2008 : 05:54:46 AM
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It's absolutely a matter of what sounds good to you. I have instruments in a variety of wood combinations (and body sizes and styles and makes and models), and I would not recommend any top/body formula by itself--there are too many other varibles.
My favored slack key instruments, for example, include: a Guild D-40, spruce over mahogany; a Martin 0-18, ditto (and 88 years old); a Washburn-built George Mason parlor, spruce over Brazilian rosewood (more than 100 years old); a 1993 Steve Cloutier, redwood over Indian rosewood. And a couple weeks ago at Cyril's workshop I played my Michael Dunn Daphne (Selmer-style gypsy guitar), cedar over purpleheart. For each guitar, the wood is only part of the formula that produces the characteristic sound, and there are other characteristics (scale length, neck width, body size) that affect playability as well.
Bottom line: a guitar is a system, and the only way to choose one is to do what you already plan: play as many as you can and buy the best one (best=the sound and feel you like) you can afford. Ears, hands, wallet.
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Edited by - Russell Letson on 10/04/2008 05:55:16 AM |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2008 : 07:23:55 AM
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| Guitar Solo in SF is a wonderful place to start. Wide range of instruments, great staff. |
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GUke
Lokahi
188 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2008 : 7:56:17 PM
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If you have not already try to get a copy of Inside the World of Taylor Guitars / Vol. 57 Fall 2008. The cover story is all about woods in guitar construction -- body and top woods. Good information on what the various woods add to the tone.
Still nothing beats playing the instrument. Would not be surprised that two of the same model would sound different. And of course you are the final judge on what sounds best for you. Just pray you do not get struck with GAS -- guitar acquisition syndrome.
Have fun finding your new guitar. |
Genaro
Should I? Itʻs only $, and where Iʻm going itʻll burn or melt. |
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mahimahi
Aloha
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 06:12:58 AM
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| Oh by the way GUke I've already experienced and endured the pain of FFAS and BAS..that's fly fishing & bicycle acquisition syndrome...there's more room amd space in my car than within the living quarters now !...mahalo |
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marzullo
`Olu`olu
USA
923 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 06:13:51 AM
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when you go test drive guitars, bring a friend who plays as well. i'm always amazed at how different a guitar sounds to the player as compared to a listener.
aloha,
keith
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 10:34:43 AM
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I usually like Adirondack/Mahogany the best.
Make note of what Marzullo said though. When you play, your impressions will be from the feel and vibration of the guitar, when you are in front of it you will hear what the guitar actually sounds like. It can change your mind. |
Bob |
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javeiro
Lokahi
USA
459 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 1:16:12 PM
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| I repeat what others have said.....wood species is only one of the many factors that make a guitar sound the way it does. A good illustration of that is that, after deciding which guitar to buy, my brother played three different mahogany Martin 000-15's that the shop we were in had in stock at the time and they all sounded a bit different. |
Aloha,
John A. |
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Baritone
Lokahi
USA
136 Posts |
Posted - 10/05/2008 : 9:28:57 PM
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E Mahi! Go to ukuleles.com. This is Dave Hurd (Kawika ukuleles). Kawika has a PhD in Physics. He makes guitars and ukuleles. Also, fishing nets, etc. for himself. Thing is: he describes wood-tone graphically, both before and after he works em. Somehow figured out a way to graph the sound. And, thereby "cleanup" rough spots. Still, you godda hear the instrument to decide.
Not gonna help you select your guitar, but....... Me? I'm sticking with totally koa from Kau on the Big Island. Why? I'm Hawaiian: the old growth is disappearing, as we are, so I want a piece of my heritage. And, Po Mahina does some GOOD work so he put together a baritone ukulele, a tenor ukulele, and 2 parlor size guitars for me. Now, that's going over board but they look and sound BEAUTIFUL, too! So...who gives a care.
I'm not trying to be controversial but the (your!) luthier will not let his reputation go to pot by releasing a lousy instrument and should work with you, as mine did to get these beauts created correctly. You have a Taylor so shoot for a custom job!?! Or, you may just get whimsical and select the wood from your favorite tree or your state tree or tree from Granpa's or.....and get it done-up. May not sound "fantastic" but it'll be yours and will sound great to you.
Be good to yourself
Herb
PS. Try to visit Honolulu in November. That's when the Ukulele Guild of Hawaii holds its annual show-n-tell. Tis a get-together of players and luthiers where the players tell the makers what the players want the makers to put into the(ir) instruments, bass, guitars, ukuleles, violins, no autoharps yet...www.ukuleleguild.org. In 2005, for example, one of the largest Honolulu supplier of woods to luthiers lectured on how-to/the-selection-of and the varying qualities of woods for instruments, Instrument Quality Woods, back in 2005. Attending this symposium solidified my confidence in Hawaii luthiers for their skill, materials, cross-talk, and shop conditions. Though I've preferred Dennis Lake of Po Mahina there are a bunch of others, e.g. Grimes, Kamaka, Goodall, Souza, Gomes, Moore, Hurd...
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Edited by - Baritone on 10/06/2008 07:54:29 AM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 10:59:56 AM
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| Chrai look at the cover of Musician's Friend catalog which came in today's mail. One BEAUTIFUL koa guitar on the from of the catalog. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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javeiro
Lokahi
USA
459 Posts |
Posted - 10/06/2008 : 12:28:25 PM
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As GUke pointed out, the fall 2008 issue of Wood & Steel put out by Taylor guitars has an interesting and long article about how wood affects the sound of a guitar. It has lots of nice pictures too. If you can't get it at your local Taylor guitar store, you can see it complete online at the Taylor web site at http://www.taylorguitars.com/news/community/woodandsteel.html
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Aloha,
John A. |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2165 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2008 : 10:39:19 AM
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| Take yer time, try as many as you can. The advice of extra knowledgable ears is good. The instrument will be an extension / appendage of yours while playing music. A good fit will make you soar, a bad fit will make you sore. |
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rendesvous1840
Ha`aha`a
USA
1055 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2008 : 09:18:09 AM
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Never be in a hurry to buy. The more guitars you hear, the more variations you'll hear. Even in the same make and model, subtle differences in the wood can make a difference in the sound. Type of soils in which it grew, amount of rainfall and sunlight, even the lattitude and elevation have effects. Slower growth rates are supposedly better for musical instruments. Spruce grown in a cold climate will sound different than spruce grown in a warm area with a long growing season. If you ever gardened, you have noted the soil/sunlight recomendations on seed packets. Plants differ in their needs. Only your own ears can tell you what wood combination sounds best to you. Let them hear as many as possible- and savor the experience. Don't be afraid to play guitars you can't afford, you may find one you have to have, even if you have to save a while extra for it.
Paul |
"A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes.It's the person who can touch the most hearts." Patrick Costello |
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Leonard
Lokahi
USA
124 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2008 : 11:24:54 AM
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| Baritone: when and where is that ukulele event in Honolulu? I think I will be there in November, probably the week of the 17th. LRR |
Be the change that you wish to see in the world. M. Gandhi |
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Allen M Cary
Lokahi
USA
158 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2008 : 2:26:16 PM
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Aloha
There is a nice article on the Luthiers Mercantile International website on tone woods that is quite interesting. It goes into the future and availability of various woods and some of the comparisons. There are a lot of issues these days about not just tone, but trade offs of tone vs availability/sustainability. The advantage of the LMI site is that you can also look at lots of different woods that they have for sale, and get a sense of the damage some might do to your wallet. The link is www.lmii.com
Aloha,
Allen |
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