The BEST SOUNDING Guitar you've EVER Played is...
 

In the name of sharing knowledge and experiences (and for something interesting to read):

1). What is THE BEST SOUNDING acoustic guitar you've ever played?
(Manufacturer, model and Top/Back/Side wood specifics if you have them).

2). Why was it so good? (Great highs, mids, lows, all, volume, balanced, super tone, etc.)

3). The TWO (2) reasons you believe it sounded SO GOOD? (ie. The Design, Top wood, Bracing, Back & Side wood, Age, etc.)

REMEMBER we're talking 100% SOUND here, not looks.


Mine: 2006 Taylor GS-KS Limited
Sitka Top, Koa back & sides, with W. African Hard Ivory
Saddle & FWI Pins.

Super tone ALL around...Great highs, Mids, & Lows (like I never
heard before after playing hundreds of high end guitars),
great harmonics, great volume, great playability.

Design and Good KOA Back & Sides

It has to be my 912CE

Fabulous highs and lows, incredible bass when needed, extremely articulate high notes for accentuation on Simon and Garfunkel and other stuff, major volume when needed. And when played softly....the most wonderful arpeggios and accompaniment.

It gets no better


Bigsbee

Lowden F35. Spruce on maple, I believe. It was balanced, bright, and shimmery. I think I liked it because of the body shape and the maple back and sides.

My D-15 runs a very close second though. ;)

My Simon Fay.

great punch, loud as heck, easy to play, the richest pianoesque bass Ive ever heard, great mids and highs. It absolutely sings. And it is not a large bodied guitar.

Two reasons, heck I'll give three reasons why I think its sounds so good:
1. Radical bracing design, extremely light bracing.
2. Sinker Redwood top: tap tones that would send shivers up your spine
3. Well over 40 hours of hand rubbed french polish. This baby had a LOT of love.

...Ok #4, Simon Fay.;)

Guild D55. Spruce top, Rosewood back & sides. Warm, full and balanced in every way. Best neck I've ever played with best action I've ever played.
Don't know why it sounds so good to me...

Last year I got to play both of Martin Simpson's Sobells whilst attending a weekend guitar workshop with him. Enough said, Sobells are amazing guitars and on that basis I've ordered a Martin Simpson Signature model from Stefan. Two year wait though...

Why are they so good ? The sound is very distinctive. Fantastic projection and depth of tone. Very sonorous bell like chimes from the trebles and a bass that roars like cannonfire all coupled with an incredibly articulate separation between the notes. These are not flat top guitars as such and certainly do not have an American sound. Sobells have a curved top which is under tension and is quite a unique design coupled of course with Stefan's own idiosyncratic bracing patterns which together produce these quite extraordinary instruments.

In the meantime I'm just going have to continue slumming it with both my Collings guitars which were two best guitars I'd played before the Sobells.

A 1944 Martin D-28

Adi top
Brazilian Rosewood back and sides
Scalloped bracing
strung with D-Addarrio EJ17's


The perfect balance of strong fundamental tones and incredibly lush undertones, making it sound full. The bass is round and pronounced but not overly dark, the mids are very pronounced and the trebles sparkle. It sounds amazing played very softly. It sounds amazing played very, very hard and loud. It's crisp yet full. Pretty yet forceful. It's the sound I hear when I think acoustic guitar.


No doubt age has something to do with it. Not only is it old, it looks and acts like it was played hard. It's built very, very light. Probably right on the edge of imploding. Light bracing, thin top, etc, I also believe the large metal non adjustable truss rod, the construction with hide glue and a very special old growth Adirondack log and perfectly quartered old growth Brazilian Rosewood has much to do with its magic.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27...0es4copy-1.jpg

max

A secondhand Larrivee D10 I found in a guitar shop not far from where I live. Played in by a Bluegrass player who traded it in on a Martin D42S. Mint condition, not a mark, Rosewood back and sides, Sitka spruce top, tasteful abalone inlays. Sheer class in a purple-velvet lined case. There was a hint of "royalty" about it.

I picked it up and played it - a clear, sparkling sound emerged, even from my well-out-of-practice fingers. The balance across the strings was superb, the clarity of each note breath-taking. Flatpicked it became a powerful, loud yet still perfectly-balanced guitar. The neck felt comfortable, the pickguard was a clear plastic that was almost invisible. The sound of it matched the look of it - and this guitar wasn't short on looks by any means. No matter how I played it, this one "rang like a bell".

The bass is rich and deep without the growl of the Martin dreadnaughts, especially the D28 and HD28. The mid-range is crisp and clear, trebles likewise. Intonation is excellent. Quality of construction is evident on careful inspection via the soundhole. Overall it is an elegant guitar, with tasteful looks and huge sound.

It came home with me soon afterwards, and I have it still. Played-in and at half the normal retail I would have kicked myself had I turned it down, and it has not disappointed me. It became the first of my growing collection of quality dreadnaughts.

For me:
1. Collings DS-1A...12 fret dred.... adirondack top, mahog back and sides
2. deep, soulful sound, balanced tone low to high, great neck - low fast action, LOUD.
3. Why it sounded so good? design maybe, combo of woods?...good to sing along with (drowned my singing voice?!?)
Soothing to my ear.

A '42 J-45. Big, clear bass. Fat, forward mids. Round, bell-like trebles. All in beautiful balance and LOUD. It had a bit of that blended rhythm sound, which works for me but might lack the note separation some require. It fingerpicked, flatpicked and strummed equally well, responded readily to a light touch, yet had a ton of headroom. Did I metion it was LOUD?

Mahogany. Probably Adirondack. Big baseball bat neck that would have taken some getting used to and would have been worth it. I did not buy it/do not own it, but I must say it's great that so many people own what they think is the best-sounding guitar they've ever heard. It's good to want what you have.

Tim

Burchette guitars = the best ever! (In my book anyways!)
 

The best sounding guitar I've ever played was a Burchette acoustic. Gray Burchette is a local luthier who builds his own guitars and they are simply amazing. I was doing a recording session with a guy that had one. During the session, I played my Tak, picked up his guitar and played it, then I played my Tak again. My guitar all of a sudden sounded like it was filled to the brim with cotton balls after playing the Burchette.

I will have one one day!

http://www.burchetteguitars.moonfruit.com/

I don't remember what all kinds of woods he used, but I do remember the Eucalyptus smell.

I've played all kinds of Martins, Taylors, in addition to other guitars. Burchette guitars gets my vote! :up:

My Lowden 012. The loudest, most even tempered guitar I've ever played.

Now if I can only find a shallower bodied guitar to match, I'll be all set.

Dan

Overall, the best sounding and playing guitar I've ever used is my 2002 Taylor 710 LTD. I had spent a year and a half looking for a new guitar when I came across it at an Atlanta Taylor dealer. Apparently, it had been overlooked by many due to the fact that it had no electronics. The price had been steeply reduced, probably for the same reason.

The action was a dream, very similar to the way I had my 1969 Martin D-18 set up when the neck was reset. I had played a few Taylors in North Carolina; but, had not heard the bright, distinct tones that this guitar exhibited. It has a good balance presenting separation that my old R&R damaged ears cherish. Even the vibrations though the bady and neck are favorable. It has resonance.

The best thing about it is that it has improved with age, mellowing out in the mid-range and developing an organic signature in the high range while still providing crisp definition throughout. The low action allows me to play hours on end without discomfort. The only problem that I've had is that the size and shape of a dreadnaught, accompanied by my "not slim" physique can be uncomfortable. The Vee neck is very useable for me in preference to a more rounded shape. This allows my arthritic hands to gain a better purchase in forming chords and fingering, in general.

My second favorite guitar is my Martin D-18 that a fellow band member bought new and had for a couple of years until I talked him out of it. It is a stereotypical Martin and an old friend. Though it does not have the brilliance and separation of the Taylor, it is an entity unto itself. It has soul and can drag those bass notes to the top of the hill and brighten them with a disciplined mid-range amid sparkling highs. It likes the "Blues."

This John Walker Slope Dread. Adirondack top, Honduran Mahogany back & sides.

The tone was well balanced throughout.

WHy I think it was good? Construction mostly, but materials almost as equally.

http://www.thepodium.com/pm-15212-33...el-bsoldb.aspx

http://www.thepodium.com/images/Prod.../ae00-3215.jpg

Three in particular that were special to me.

1. Michael Bashkin Placencia OM Cedar/Mahogany
2. Kevin Ryan Mission Grand Cedar/Cocobolo
3. the coup de gras , 1994 Olson SJ Cedar/EIR

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