(My first) NGD! A&L Ami Spruce

[reholli]

Congratulations! Sure hope you enjoy it. I sure enjoy my cedar-topped Ami. As you've realized, nowadays many builders call just about any small guitar below 00 size a parlor.

Nice silking visible on the spruce top. All the A&L guitars I've ever encountered have had fine tops, whether spruce or cedar. And nobody does laminate better than the cherry laminate Godin uses for most of it's sub-brands' backs and sides.

I sympthize with how you feel about the stick-on plastic rosette. That's my one disappointment with the newer A&L guitars. My 2 (a cedar Ami and a cedar dreadnought) from 2006 were built when they were still using wooden inlaid mosaic rosettes utilizing the pattern now duplicated by the plastic ones. Even earlier on, before the real rosettes, they used a simpler single-color painted design around the sound hole.

If you don't mind sharing more details of your fine birthday gift, do you know where your wife acquired the new saddle and bridge pins?

[tstrahle]

Congrats and happy NGD!

[reholli]

Originally Posted by janepaints

I also have an A&L Ami Spruce, and am deeply bonded with it.

Previously I'd owned a Seagull Grand--same size body, cedar top, 14-fret neck. Never bonded with it, too much upper-midrange for my ears, whether from the cedar or 14-frets, who knows? Sold it.

And previously I'd owned TWO cedar-topped Amis--never bonded with them either. Sold 'em.

Then the spruce Ami came along and boom! The recipe perfected.

I immediately removed the awful rubbery mini-padded-toilet-seat rosette--same as every other Art & Lutherie owner I know hereabouts. A&L's 'new and improved' rosette is the only thing they've ever done which seems like a doofus move, IMO.

I liked the Ami's tone new, but fell madly, deeply, addictedly in sonic-love as the top opened up after a few years of constant playing.

Oddly, the other Ami I like--which in no longer being made--was the cherry-laminate top with plain open gears, their 'budget' Ami. Not as loud, but wonderful for blues/slide/open tunings. A few years ago I briefly owned a GREEN sunburst top-laminate Ami which I regret selling--I hope to find another, to keep in open-G tuning. IMO the green burst was lovely, in a 'who gives a hoot about tradition'? fashion. But I'd found it at the flea market for $30 and, when I was offered $150 for it, I yielded to money temptation.

Always like encountering other Ami fans (and fans of all of Godin's lines) How can ya not love a guitar whose name means 'friend' and whose maker's logo is a tree?

Maybe not so surprisingly, those all-cherry-laminate Amis sounded great and always reviewed well. And the green burst was lovely!

I love both my A&Ls, even though they're cedar-topped, along with their headstock logos, tree (especially) included, although I really like the Art&Lutherie script as well.

[MR79]

Originally Posted by reholli

Congratulations! Sure hope you enjoy it. I sure enjoy my cedar-topped Ami. As you've realized, nowadays many builders call just about any small guitar below 00 size a parlor.

Nice silking visible on the spruce top. All the A&L guitars I've ever encountered have had fine tops, whether spruce or cedar. And nobody does laminate better than the cherry laminate Godin uses for most of it's sub-brands' backs and sides.

I sympthize with how you feel about the stick-on plastic rosette. That's my one disappointment with the newer A&L guitars. My 2 (a cedar Ami and a cedar dreadnought) from 2006 were built when they were still using wooden inlaid mosaic rosettes utilizing the pattern now duplicated by the plastic ones. Even earlier on, before the real rosettes, they used a simpler single-color painted design around the sound hole.

If you don't mind sharing more details of your fine birthday gift, do you know where your wife acquired the new saddle and bridge pins?

Hi - they're from Chris Alsop in Derbyshire. He makes saddles, nuts and bridge pins himself, and makes specific copies of the saddles for Martin, Takamine and Seagull (same as A&Ls - it fit straight in with hardly any adjustment). He can also make them to order, and sells tools and handmade stringwinders and whatnot. He even sent out a little pack of sandpaper and scotchbright for finishing the saddle and pins, and a little wooden block for holding the pins while you get them to size... and a DVD of instructions (he kind of blew me away with his service!). Anyhow, his website's here (but we found him on ebay) http://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/cg...SaddlesHeading

I hope all that doesn't seem like too much of a plug for him, but spreading the word about the nice guys seems the right thing to do here!

[reholli]

Originally Posted by MR79

Hi - they're from Chris Alsop in Derbyshire. He makes saddles, nuts and bridge pins himself, and makes specific copies of the saddles for Martin, Takamine and Seagull (same as A&Ls - it fit straight in with hardly any adjustment). He can also make them to order, and sells tools and handmade stringwinders and whatnot. He even sent out a little pack of sandpaper and scotchbright for finishing the saddle and pins, and a little wooden block for holding the pins while you get them to size... and a DVD of instructions (he kind of blew me away with his service!). Anyhow, his website's here (but we found him on ebay) http://www.chrisalsopguitar.co.uk/cg...SaddlesHeading

I hope all that doesn't seem like too much of a plug for him, but spreading the word about the nice guys seems the right thing to do here!

Thanks for the quick reply! Not too much of a plug at all in my opinion...it is the right thing to do!

[adamalltogether]

Originally Posted by MR79

Which Silk and Steels would you recommend - I've found D'Addario and two different Martin ones (one labelled 'FX' and the other as 'folk')? After my uke days, I'm well used to the long search for the 'right' strings!

I found the Martin's (the ones labelled as Folk) to be much mellower versus the D'Addario which were a tad brighter. Using them on my S&P folk, both sets sounded quite nice, just a matter of your personal preference.

[TBman]

Nice! You might have a "tan line" around the soundhole when you peel the sticker off.

[Bigjoedo]

Nice new guitar, congratulations!! Have fun