My main guitar is nothing fancy, just an old '44 Gibson LG2. One of those war time mahogany guitars with the poplar-mahogany laminated necks and truss rod.
It has a few dings but sounds wonderful to my ears and fingers. This old guitar came to me via eBay for a reasonable price with cracks, loose bracing, and after a little adjustment it has stood solid for me even in the dry climate of Colorado. I love the punch in the mid tones and the deep base. I've come to appreciate the light weight and how you can feel the guitar when you play it. Gosh, It sounds like I'm having an affair with my Guitar!. Well, I guess I am.
I also have a newer '91 Gibson L00. It sounds fine but just doesn't have the feel of my old favorite.
This is my first post to this excellent and informative group. It seems like a logical place to join in.
My most played instruments at the present time are my Nationals (a 2005 Style O Replicon and a 2001 Blue Polychrome Tricone) and my trio of Epiphone Bluesmasters. The Black and the Burst are set up for fingerpicking and the blond for sliding.
Due to an indolent case of G.A.S. and the fact that my wife is a "real" guitarist (she uses Buscarino Cabarets - see www.aerialweb.com) the whole roster is sort of big. It includes several electric and acoustic basses (I've played bass since '77, but have been focused on guitar for a couple of years since the acoustic blues bug bit me), a Rainsong bass and guitar, a Taylor Cujo, an 1863 Martin Parlor and other assorted goodies.
The attached (I hope!) photo shows my more frequently played guitars... Back - (l to r)- Gibson ES-135 (Blueburst), Martin OO18-SH, Martin Concept III Prototype (Firemist paint no label, no serial) Front- Blue NRP Polychrome Tricone (neck and headstock a la M2), Epiphone Bluesmaster, Bluesmaster, Bluesmaster (no Coke - Pepsi!!!), NRP Replicon
Got the Blues, Can't be Satisfied...
_tordoc_
« Last Edit: March 04, 2006, 09:02:44 PM by tordoc »
My main and only acoustic guitar is a National Delphi with a custom finish, quite similar to an old walnut triolian. Great for slide in open tunings. Now I'm thinking about getting a flat-top (a Stella?), as a second guitar, to play it in standard more than open and with lighter strings(tha National has 16-59). Maybe a wood National would be another option. I'm looking for a less strident and more organic (wood!) tone, not as "sophisticated" as a Martin, just a good tone with the exact amount of roughness for country blues. What do you think would suit me better?
1942 Martin 00-17 (beat beyond belief but amazing sound) 1930's Kalamazoo KG-11 (ladder braced) 2003 National M2 1999 Martin OM-28V 2000 Martin 00-37K2SM 200? Larrivee Koa Special Edition Parlor (a surprisingly great for slide) 1999 OM deep body mahogany/spruce (built by me) 2000 Martin 000-15S
Well, I do blues and bluegrass -which is not a problem down under where I live. So I've got a Martin D18VS, which is sensational for just about anything - its loud and sounds better than rosewood, particularly for blues and bluegrass.. I've got a Martin D12-20, which is superb for Leadbelly-ish stuff. Then there's the National Delpi (taupe) which I've got in Open E, and an Australian built Tri-cone (DonMo), which I use in open G. Then of course there'e the local built Weissenborn.
Hang on, what about my wish list? I've got a DeGruchy 12 fret OM Mahogany on order. Casey Chambers uses this Aussie built guitar, and its the loudest on the planet. And I want a wooden biscuit resophonic, a Trojan or the like. Now if my wife asks you, I won them in a poker game......
My standard guitar that I play most is my Seagull Grand (parlor). It hangs on the wall, I don't even have a case for it. For $300 bucks, it's a great guitar. I recently sold my Mossman Winter Wheat 12 string, I have another Mossman Texas Plains, (by the New Mossman owners in Texas) Beautiful sound , a great player, except it's a dreadnaught, and I prefer a small body guitar. I also have a Framus 6 string guitar/banjo which hangs on the wall in my living room...so I can play it when I want. It has a short scale, a nice player, different too!. I have a Liberty nickle- plated brass resonator...nice tone, and my newest guitar, a National Polychrome tricone. The National has killer tone...it's steel bodied, kind of brash. Plus my Yamaha Pacifica elecric (which I haven't played in 4 yrs) bloozinay
I have a hot rodded Regal Douolian with Quarterman cone and real hard bridge and funky finish Nick Lucas reissue J-45 Banner and two Epiphone Masterbilts One has maple back and sides and is a dreadnought the other just came UPS and is a sunburst 000. Don't know how I like it yet as it could use new strings but it has presence for sure but is real green since it was never played.
If anyone is looking for a wood bodied tricone, you should consider "fine-resophonic" have a look at: http://www.fineresophonic.com/ Mike Lewis built one for...Eric Clapton. Anything more to say! regards Pascal
Traded a Tacoma CR-2 for this. My Guild M-20 (00 size, short scale, all mahogany) was just played too much (practically every day since 1960) and my guitar tech pleaded with me to retire the poor thing before I blew it out completely (needed a neck set, and the bridge was re-atached so many times I had to go with an oversized bridge because the underlying wood had just splintered away, among other problems. If I fixed the guitar, it would have turned into a different beast).
I looked at Larrivees, Martins, Taylors, and others. I wanted a short scale 000 or 00, preferably mahogany, to replace the Guild. I found some I liked, especially the Martin 00-18V. Two grand was a bit stiff, but I was ready to go. What held me back was the "stiff" sound (at least compared to the 50+ year old Guild).
I thought I wanted the 1-3/4" nut (fingerstyle), and the 24.xxx scale is more comfortable.
Then I played the Blueridge. I was amazed. It sounded more open and resonant than the Larivees and Martin (maybe they would have sounded better in 20-30 years but I'm 50 now...). The scale was 25-1/2" - I wasn't happy about that, but found the guitar playable none the less. The big surprise, however, was how the string spacing (1-11/16" nut but rather narrow string spacing) actually felt comfortable. Everything I had read told me that a 1-3/4" nut would be better for individual string articulation. Maybe so, but with this Blueridge I can do the "F" chord with my index finger covering the E and B strings and my ring finger covering the A and D strings (middle finger frets the A note on the G string), and the neck is slim enough for me to wrap my thumb around to make the F note on the E string. I could not do this before (I'm 6'1", so my hands aren't exactly small, but I have a lot of muscle and fleshy palms). Within days I was playing Piedmont style key of C blues, Ragtimes, and other styles that I knew (intellectually) how to do but could not physically accomplish. What a rush!
The guitar worked out for me. Build quality is outstanding. The only thing that bugs me about the guitar is the insane amount of decorative detail (all flawlessly executed). I would have paid a small fortune to get a Martin "45" series that might approach this guitar. It's just too damn fancy. I would have paid the same amount of money for something that looked more like a "28" series. Not surprisingly, the BR-183 sounded much better than the less expensive Blueridge models (I guess they put their best luthiers on the top of the line series).
Current guitar line up: Blueridge BR-183, National Resophonic Delphi, and Guild M-20 (now enjoying a well earned semi-retirement).