A Very Disappointing Linda Manzer Guitar

[000-18GE]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

I'm sure we'll never stop the flood of threads about how great some guitars are and how big a dud some other one is, but I think it's worth at least trying to flip the question around to "what kind of music could I make with this?" when you pick up a guitar.

Thanks for the insightful and thoughtful post Doug. It takes discipline to expand one's perspective beyond his or her normal environment. As humans our barometers are generally set in tune with the weather we are experiencing individually and not the way the same weather feels to another human.

[Jamie9]

As someone who lives in an area where there's little chance of playing a handbuilt by an internationally famous luthier this thread has done something to cure me of guitar lust and the fantasy of someday having the spare coin to go commissioning a unique personal instrument. I do just about as much internet guitar gazing as playing and now to know that there are no guarantees of getting what you dreamed of makes me that much more content with what I already have. I also through experience have found that one has to play an instrument for a good amount of time before concluding anything.
Thanks for all the enlightening.

[fmmusicman]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Speaking as someone who has been around the fine custom guitar world since the mid-1970's, what a lot of people fail to realize is that all these custom instruments are, when all is said and done, is just very nice guitars. The tone of expensive hand-built guitars will vary from one example to the next just as any other all solid wood guitar will vary...


Wade Hampton Miller

That was a really excellent essay from which I learned a great deal!
Well reasoned, well said and and well explained. It's posts like this that makes this forum so good. People who really know and take the time to share deeply.
Cheers for that, mate.

[devellis]

Some really excellent, well-reasoned, fair-minded points of view in this thread. I was kind of afraid this topic might go the other way. What a pleasure to have been wrong. AGF at its best, which is just spectacularly good.

Thanks, folks.

[stephenT]

We forget it isn't just the guitar but the combination of the instrument and the artist that makes music.

I've played guitars I couldn't get anything out of, and in someone else's hands, the same guitar is magic.

I think the OP is being a bit unfair in ****ing that particular guitar.

[Fingerstylist]

Originally Posted by talkgtr

We forget it isn't just the guitar but the combination of the instrument and the artist that makes music.

I've played guitars I couldn't get anything out of, and in someone else's hands, the same guitar is magic.

I think the OP is being a bit unfair in ****ing that particular guitar.

How is she being unfair in saying she didn't like the guitar? Because a guitar costs alot of money or is made by a certain builder it's beyond reproach? Get a grip, not everyone is going to like the same things you do.

[Kindness]

Originally Posted by Tone Gopher

FYI: Mercedes Benz cars are commonly used as taxi cabs in Europe.

Originally Posted by geordie

hi self, you didn't like the guitar then, that's ok we all have likes and dislikes.
Can you describe the 'stinking' sound, I'd be interested - I not come across that sound before.

"40 degrees humidity"

The sound was just dead. But truly due to the poor care. A shame really. Well said Wade!!!

[Kindness]

Originally Posted by rmyAddison

One person's Grail is another person's giveaway!!

In my experience nobody, including high end boutique builders, builds a great guitar every time. And then you do have to temper that with personal preference. I like warm and woody vintage voiced instruments, even a $25K modern voiced, bright, UberGit is not going to win me, but may be a fingerstlye players dream guitar.

I think Linda Manzer is getting a bit of a dis-service here, she earned her very respected reputation as one one the higher echelon boutique builders. In that price range you better be pretty darn good...........or you're gone!!

Rich,

Spot on. I was really shocked as I had read and heard so much about her guitars. I was expecting so much more when the tech pulled it out of the case. I was so excited to see a really expensive guitar for the first time, and it was such a let down.

Linda has an amazing reputation. And I am sure for a good reason. But clearly no luthier can build a perfect product every time. And again, the matter of the poor care of this guitar surely had an effect.

Please all, I am not a mean spirited person. I was just really let down. In the world of male luthiers, Linda Manzer has been a champion for many women!

[donh]

Originally Posted by itself

I was really shocked as I had read and heard so much about her guitars. I was expecting so much more when the tech pulled it out of the case. I was so excited to see a really expensive guitar for the first time, and it was such a let down.

Linda has an amazing reputation. And I am sure for a good reason. But clearly no luthier can build a perfect product every time. And again, the matter of the poor care of this guitar surely had an effect.

Please all, I am not a mean spirited person. I was just really let down. In the world of male luthiers, Linda Manzer has been a champion for many women!

The thing is that if you had the opportunity o live with this guitar for a week you may wel have come to enjoy it. Things work that way sometimes . . . .

[jackcooper]

Originally Posted by donh

The thing is that if you had the opportunity o live with this guitar for a week you may wel have come to enjoy it. Things work that way sometimes . . . .

I agree. I've ended up really liking guitars that I didn't bond with straight away.
I've also got rid of guitars that I initially thought were great.

[Ed C.]

Having visited several Healdsburgs and Newport guitar festivals, playing very expensive guitars by every Luthier at these shows, I have found out that my tastes are my tastes. While I may listen to other peoples opinion, the one that matters on my guitars is mine.

What was a good friends favorite guitar may be a dog for me and vice versa. Fortunately, I also figured out that I did not fall in love with any of the super high end guitars (15K plus (well maybe a TJ Thomson would be nice)). Each of these high end Luthiers has a signature tone. It may not fit your needs. Sounds like Linda Manzer’s doesn’t fit Lisa’s.

On another occasion, I went to CA to play all kinds of guitars. I had decided to go overboard and purchase a $10,000 guitar from a famous luthier. After playing several guitars, the tone didn't do it and I ordered a beautiful guitar from Mark Blanchard.

A reason to be careful about criticizing any of these high end guitars is that guitar might be the holy grail for someone much better than you. I have heard of a Sobell (a guitar that was designed to sound tight) that the was very hard to play, and sounded like a dream in the hands of a famous guitarist.

[SteveA]

I guess I can understand one's dismay at not sounding great on a 15k Guitar. That's exactly why I hire "Session Players".........

[bohemian]

Not once, never...have I played a custom made boutique builder guitar that
caused me to say I want one...

This is aside from price.

As to the humidity issue.. hard to judge any guitar in less than optimal condition.

And as usual, I enjoy the pablum-matic , sit on the fence, really no definitive opinion or statement responses crafted to please everyone. Always humorous.

[sfden1]

Originally Posted by itself

Rich,

In the world of male luthiers, Linda Manzer has been a champion for many women!

And rightfully so. A little hard to judge a guitar that's suffered humidity and poor care issues, don't you think? Thoroughbreds can be touchy at times.

I once bought a used custom guitar that the seller had advertised as having been under his bed for a number of years. Unfortunately what that meant was that it was dried out and suffered from it (had other issues as well, all the result of a clueless owner). I had it repaired by Frank Ford at Gryphon and it turned out to be a beautiful guitar, but when I first played it I thought I had made a big mistake.

Seems to me that you may have played a thoroughbred under far less than good circumstances. I think you have to allow for that and keep an open mind. Linda Manzer didn't get her reputation by accident.

Dennis.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by Fingerstylist

How is she being unfair in saying she didn't like the guitar? Because a guitar costs alot of money or is made by a certain builder it's beyond reproach? Get a grip, not everyone is going to like the same things you do.

Whoa dude. Guess you didn't read my post. My point was this, There's a guitar for everyone, there's a chance the OP lacked the skills to get a good sound out of the guitar. Did she just strum the thing, how long did she play it, long enough to warm up the top?

Let's look at the post again.

A Very Disappointing Linda Manzer Guitar
I just had my guitars in with my tech. He has a Linda Manzer in there that a guy spent $15k on. I could not believe how plain the guitar was, with wood that just didn't jump out a bit. To me, when you spend this much money, the guitar should be drop dead gorgeous.

The sound stunk, but understandable, when you do not humidify a guitar, it kills any chance of good sound. Proper humidity is critical. I have learned that my guitars in this climate are best sounding at 40 degrees humidity.

I was expecting so much more.

So she didn't like the looks, that's certainly subjective. She spends more time on the looks than the tone of the guitar. What's the tone critique? "The sound stunk". Hardly a measured opinion and what about the sound stunk? She gives the thumbs down mainly due to her expectations.

I was expecting so much more.

So yes, it's an unfair review, the builder spends a lifetime to gain his or her skills and ON AN INTERNET FORUM someone takes the time to give a big thumbs down based on what, a minute of playing time and her expectations?

and then there's this,...

LOVE Carbon Fiber Guitars!!

And finally, it's ok for the OP to criticize a $15K guitar she comes across in a repair shop, but it's not OK for me to critique her 2¢? That doesn't wash.

I've played some high priced guitars that didn't move me but one thing I won't do is post on the internet how much I didn't like so and so's $15k guitar. I have more respect for builders and I have no interest in making the owner of that expensive instrument feel bad. It's common courtesy.