Life is short...Enjoy it!

[Kh1967]

Hi All,

Some weeks back, I posted a thread about the "sound you hear in your head." I was referring to that particular guitar sound that anchors us when we go hunting for a new guitar - the tone that we chase.

After I posted that thread, I recognized my own responsibility and interference while looking for my particular guitar sound. Being in my own way has caused a lot of trial and error, buying and selling, kicking tires, etc., when it comes to guitars.

Let me preface what I am about to write with very clearly stating that I really do truly enjoy exploring different guitars. I like different tones, different woods, different builders. I like the experience of the nuanced differences, so I don't have regrets with buying and selling over the years.

Yet, I have come to recognize that the tone I crave flies in the practical face of the guitars I typically acquire. I have typically owned OMs and smaller size guitars. I have enjoyed the majority of them, and still have a couple that I truly love. But, but, but....the sound in my head? That particular sound is a rosewood dreadnought - horror!

I am small in stature and dreads are big. I am a player with a light touch, and "dreads need mediums, and you have to dig in to get the right tone," and "dreads are bluegrass guitars, they are not meant to be played finger style." The list goes on and on of all the things that dreads are "wrong" for, and the same applies in reverse - "you cannot strum a single 0!"

Bottom line....life is short. Period. We all have a finite time on this earth, with a finite amount of resources, and a finite amount of time to play guitar. We cannot outrun the inevitable.

Recognizing the time crunch that I face, I am now enjoying two rosewood dreads - those pesky, big guitars, that are totally wrong for me. And, I am loving every minute of it. Down the road, the time may come that I can't wrap myself around the "bathtub of guitars" but for today, I still can, and so I will.

Because life is short, I am having my dessert before my meal, playing the "wrong" guitars for however long I can, and just to get really crazy, I might even wear white after summer ends.

[dylanheeg]

Couple of beauties too !

Your post resonates with me as I move on through life. I was once obsessed by what everyone said on this forum about what I ‘should’ look for in a guitar. Now I could care less about the headstock and just want a comfortable neck and a good tone that suits my versatile playing styles. No more trying to work through the minutia of the tonal difference between Cuban and Honduran mahogany [emoji1787]

I have also found a guitar that fits me perfectly. I play mostly light picking/strumming and finger style, and against ‘generally accepted notions’ ended up with a Martin D18 reimagine as my go to. Went though many hyper expensive axes including Olson, Goodall, many hand built, etc, and ended up back where I started!

Oddly enough this d18 is one of the most responsive guitars to my light playing that I’ve ever owned. Go figure [emoji2]

She can really bark too when you want her to! Great guitar without a doubt

[Sugar Bear]

Well, you certainly picked two beauties when you decided to upsize! Congratulations and enjoy them!

I have the opposite problem. I'm a big oaf, and when I play my wife's Gibson L-00 I feel all hunched over and unconfortable.

I typically can be found with a Gibson Jumbo-shaped guitar in my paws. I wouldn't mind a J-185 and an SJ-200, either.

But as nice as the L-00 is, it's too small for me.

[Wadcutter]

“Bathtubs of guitars?” Hey, My HD-28 is totally offended! 😂

[Scolaguitar]

Very nice pair there! Bucket list worthy for sure!

I’m small too and have small stubby hands. I need the bass and rumble of a Dread so until some laws of physics change I’ll suffer through it.

[Glennwillow]

Wow, those are two beautiful dreadnoughts! Good for you!

The sound I hear in my head is mostly the sound of a spruce/rosewood dreadnought. I use light gauge strings on mine because otherwise I just couldn't play them for long because of my arthritic fingers. And I finger pick mine 95% of the time.

- Glenn

[Kh1967]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Wow, those are two beautiful dreadnoughts! Good for you!

The sound I hear in my head is mostly the sound of a spruce/rosewood dreadnought. I use light gauge strings on mine because otherwise I just couldn't play them for long because of my arthritic fingers. And I finger pick mine 95% of the time.

- Glenn

I think we share some similarities, my friend. Enjoy those light gauge strings and playing that dread all wrong. Hope all is well with you!

[SRL]

Nice guitars!

This is why I have a big sitka/rosewood guitar too. I like my smaller guitars but as a they say in the auto hobby, "there's no replacement for displacement". That big body sound just has that oomph!

[Kyle215]

Dang, thats putting your money where your heart is!

[J Patrick]

….I grew up playing Rosewood Dreadnought guitars and every time I think I’m done with them I just can’t quit them….I played them pretty much exclusively from the time I was 18 until I was 50…. they’re so familiar to me and I have never found other guitars that can replace that feeling….I reckon they’re in my DNA…..

[CASD57]

I'm so glad that the bigger guitars don't bother me physically....Because thats the tone in my head

[LakewoodM32Fan]

Originally Posted by Kh1967

Hi All,

Some weeks back, I posted a thread about the "sound you hear in your head." I was referring to that particular guitar sound that anchors us when we go hunting for a new guitar - the tone that we chase...

Hi Kh1967. First of all, two absolute stunners right there, and you're correct, life is short, enjoy them in good health!

So much of what you wrote resembles my experience as well, which summarized my pandemic purchasing spree of 2020-21. It culminated in my trip to Chicago to buy the 1934D. Unfortunately for me, I found out the tone I was chasing in my head was Adi over Braz. Not a cheap or easily available combination. It was first a beat to heck 1967 D35 that made me realize BRW was that tone for me. I had played a few which were uninspiring but that one showed me the potential. Steve at Down Home Guitars has quite a few Braz which I played and the 1934D was "the one". How did I know? It was the only guitar I've ever played where suddenly I could conceive of it as being "my only guitar." Okay, I'd always have a second guitar, as this isn't something I'll take everywhere, all the time, but you know what I mean. That answer to the semi-frequent poll here "if you could only have one guitar", and we all as acoustic lovers kind of roll our eyes at? I now have that answer, and it's an easy answer.

Your point about dreads and body size (both the dread's body size and my own) also resonates. Luckily for me, the SCGC 1934D is shallower than a standard D and that little bit of difference was enough to make the guitar feel considerably more comfortable for me. I don't feel I give up much in ergonomics when I go from my OMs to the 1934D.

[6L6]

All of my acoustics are dreads.

Neil and I turned 76 today, so who knows how much time is left?

Dreads only to the finish line.

[hifivic]

For the record, yes you certainly "strum" smaller 0's and double 0's and yes you certainly finger pick dreads!

[Kh1967]

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

Hi Kh1967. First of all, two absolute stunners right there, and you're correct, life is short, enjoy them in good health!

So much of what you wrote resembles my experience as well, which summarized my pandemic purchasing spree of 2020-21. It culminated in my trip to Chicago to buy the 1934D. Unfortunately for me, I found out the tone I was chasing in my head was Adi over Braz. Not a cheap or easily available combination. It was first a beat to heck 1967 D35 that made me realize BRW was that tone for me. I had played a few which were uninspiring but that one showed me the potential. Steve at Down Home Guitars has quite a few Braz which I played and the 1934D was "the one". How did I know? It was the only guitar I've ever played where suddenly I could conceive of it as being "my only guitar." Okay, I'd always have a second guitar, as this isn't something I'll take everywhere, all the time, but you know what I mean. That answer to the semi-frequent poll here "if you could only have one guitar", and we all as acoustic lovers kind of roll our eyes at? I now have that answer, and it's an easy answer.

Your point about dreads and body size (both the dread's body size and my own) also resonates. Luckily for me, the SCGC 1934D is shallower than a standard D and that little bit of difference was enough to make the guitar feel considerably more comfortable for me. I don't feel I give up much in ergonomics when I go from my OMs to the 1934D.

Hi Lakewood - Like many here, I followed your journey in finding the one with great interest. You did exceptionally well in your choice, and I think I missed you by just a few minutes at Down Home when you were out this way.

I hope your 1934 brings you years of joy!