NGD coming soon Cole Clark

YamahaGuy · #1 01-30-2021, 08:37 AM

I've been after a Cole Clark guitar ever since I bought my Takamine P5DC. I'm going for the best collection of plugged in guitars I can get. The Tak is great with the optional contact pickup. My ART equipped Yamaha guitars are great, as is the SRT2 AC3M Deluxe, and the Atmosfeel in the FGX5. So I figured why not try a Cole Clark. I was perusing Sam Ash's website and they happened to have a FL1E-BM discounted by $300. Needless to say, I promptly ordered it. Stay tuned for more information, pics and my thoughts.

Dru Edwards · #2 01-30-2021, 09:11 AM

Congrats, YamahaGuy! I've never played or seen a Cole Clark before but I've read great things about those Australian guitars. Have you ever played one before?

rokdog49 · #3 01-30-2021, 09:27 AM

Supposedly, they are at the top for a plugged in acoustic, especially in a band setting. I’ve not heard many compliments about them when playing unplugged.

YamahaGuy · #4 01-30-2021, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Congrats, YamahaGuy! I've never played or seen a Cole Clark before but I've read great things about those Australian guitars. Have you ever played one before?

There's a music store near me that has them. I played a few there. They sounded pretty good unplugged. The fit and finish were great on them. I have never played one plugged in though, so in a way I'm flying blind by buying sight unseen and sound unheard.

rokdog49 · #5 01-30-2021, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YamahaGuy

There's a music store near me that has them. I played a few there. They sounded pretty good unplugged. The fit and finish were great on them. I have never played one plugged in though, so in a way I'm flying blind by buying sight unseen and sound unheard.

I never played one period and I have learned that opinions on this forum are just that...opinions. The only ones I trust are the ones that are from folksI have become acquainted with over time.
If you liked the way they sounded unplugged and are satisfied, great!

Tannin · #6 01-31-2021, 05:05 PM

Nice one YamahaGuy. It is a guitar from the bottom of the Cole Clark range but the company only makes good ones (no plywood, nothing made in China) so you still get the customary CC build quality and playability straight out of the box. They use the exact same methods to build a $1200 FL1 as a $6000 Angel 3; the only differences are the choice of timbers and the bling. Visually, 1 Series Cole Clarks are very plain to the point of ugliness, but who really cares about that anyway?

Cole Clark guitars vary from one to another more than any other brand I am familiar with. If you pick up a Gibson, a Takamine, a Martin, a Maton, a Guild, a Taylor, chances are that the sound of it will be immediately familiar to you. Gibsons tend to sound like Gibsons, Martin has its trademark sound, and so on. Cole Clarks, however, all sound different. This isn't sloppy quality control, it is a direct consequence (and indeed the whole point) of using all those different tonewoods.

Suppose you have played an all-Blackwood Cole Clark dreadnought, what does this tell you about the sound of a Bunya and Queensland Maple one? Or a Redwood and Silky Oak one? Very little! You can play seven, hate four, be indifferent to two, and love one enough to take it home. You just have to try each combination until you find the one you like.

Your choice of Bunya and Queensland Maple should give you a fairly bright sound with a fast attack (that Bunya top at work: think of it as a slightly brighter spruce) and a well-rounded but defined middle (Queensland Maple is good for that, rather similar to mahogany) and moderate bass response - somewhat reduced because QM isn't a very bassy tonewood, but still there because the big dreadnought body is good for bass.

I don't play amplified and can't comment on that side of things, except to observe that the majority of plugged-in players seem to go for all-Blackwood, which probably works well for that purpose. To me, Blackwood always sounds over-controlled, almost strangled, but I guess that works well as a basis for an amplified sound. Your Bunya and QM will have a richer, more open sound than the Blackwood models. Enjoy!

YamahaGuy · #7 01-31-2021, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tannin

Nice one YamahaGuy. It is a guitar from the bottom of the Cole Clark range but the company only makes good ones (no plywood, nothing made in China) so you still get the customary CC build quality and playability straight out of the box. They use the exact same methods to build a $1200 FL1 as a $6000 Angel 3; the only differences are the choice of timbers and the bling. Visually, 1 Series Cole Clarks are very plain to the point of ugliness, but who really cares about that anyway?

Cole Clark guitars vary from one to another more than any other brand I am familiar with. If you pick up a Gibson, a Takamine, a Martin, a Maton, a Guild, a Taylor, chances are that the sound of it will be immediately familiar to you. Gibsons tend to sound like Gibsons, Martin has its trademark sound, and so on. Cole Clarks, however, all sound different. This isn't sloppy quality control, it is a direct consequence (and indeed the whole point) of using all those different tonewoods.

Suppose you have played an all-Blackwood Cole Clark dreadnought, what does this tell you about the sound of a Bunya and Queensland Maple one? Or a Redwood and Silky Oak one? Very little! You can play seven, hate four, be indifferent to two, and love one enough to take it home. You just have to try each combination until you find the one you like.

Your choice of Bunya and Queensland Maple should give you a fairly bright sound with a fast attack (that Bunya top at work: think of it as a slightly brighter spruce) and a well-rounded but defined middle (Queensland Maple is good for that, rather similar to mahogany) and moderate bass response - somewhat reduced because QM isn't a very bassy tonewood, but still there because the big dreadnought body is good for bass.

I don't play amplified and can't comment on that side of things, except to observe that the majority of plugged-in players seem to go for all-Blackwood, which probably works well for that purpose. To me, Blackwood always sounds over-controlled, almost strangled, but I guess that works well as a basis for an amplified sound. Your Bunya and QM will have a richer, more open sound than the Blackwood models. Enjoy!

Wow! Thanks for the info. All makes perfect sense.

I've never been into buying a guitar for "the name" or "the look." By that, I mean, I don't have the have the guitar that everyone else has. I buy them to plug in and play. And I want them to sound great plugged in.