Played a few guitars today!

[leeasam]

My wife and I went on a shopping trip in LaCrosse WI today and before coming home had to stop at my favorite guitar shop( even though it is 60 miles away it is my LOCAL shop LOL) They just got in a Rainsong H-WS1000N2 . I really wanted to try the hybrid after reading about them. Also being a former CA GX performer owner it would be a good comparison. I pulled it down and WOW!!! the glass mixed must really tone down the bright graphit tone as this sounded so much like a traditional guitar it was nuts. even better than the CA GX I had. The low E string notes just were powerful a sustained very well. Nice balance. For a good grand less that what a Gloss GX went for I would take this in a minute over the CA GX. Beefier neck and WITH a truss rod!! If they would have had one of these in the shop a year ago when I dumped my CA GX I could have left with this over the Taylor 816CE.!!! Still love my Taylo and it`s not going anywhere but If I were to get a composite guitar at a VERY decent price that sounded great and close to a wood guitar this is what I would get!

Then I went over and gave the 2011 416CE a good try. REALLY like it. not quite as deep as my 816CE but has a very good mid punch and plenty of bottom end. not muddy at all. For an ovankol that GS body is a winner!

Ok then they had just got in a Gibson Advanced Jumbo. Tuned it to pitch and WOW. Was NOT expecting that kind of volume and clarity out of Gibson. Played like butter and had a strong bass and great sustain and resonance!! I would take this over about any Martin I have played. A real acoustic monster/canon! Nothing DULL about this particular guitar.

Ok then I decided to give the Martin GPCPA1 a decent try. Played one REAL briefly one day but was distracted by another guitar playing that I really liked!
OK tuned it up and played it. Hmmm-- compared to my 816CE or any guitar I had played at the shop so far was not even close to the same league. Very UNDERWHELMED by it. OK let`s give this a fair comparison. They have a 2011 Taylor 814CE over on the wall( which is what it is going against in size and price) I held them both back to back. Pretty much identicle. Tuned up the Taylor. Played it while my wife held the Martin. Just shook my heard. not even close -- the Taylor had much more bass and over all resonance and just sounded like it had built in chorus. then I told her to give me the Martin. YUK very thin and TINNY sounding. I swapped back and forth and even my wife said the Martin was thin and tinny sounding compared to the Taylor. Terrible low end resonance and sustain compared to the Taylor and the mids and highs were brittle and tiny compared to the full sound of the Taylor. Maybe the Aura F1 sound great plugged in compared to the ES but it better as UNPLUGGED the Martin was NOT an inspiring guitar at all. The 416CE was head and shoulders above that even.

So the Raisong SWEET-- Gibson Advanced Jumbo SWEET-- Taylor 416CE SWEET-- Martin GPCPA1 not so much. Of those 4 all but the Martin I would have no issue as being my only acoustic. they were good. The Martin I would dump fast as it would not inspire me to play at all.

[vintageom]

So your point is not to buy any Martin guitars or only that one model?

[leeasam]

--I like Martins-- my favorite has been a HD28V-- but the advanced Jumbo I played was even nicer IMO. Was totally caught of gaurd that the Gibby would sound that good! I had played the mahogany version of the GP models a few weeks back and that sounded much better. It could have been just this particular guitar but it did nothing for me at all.

[cuthbert]

Today I also played a guitar in a shop I visited...well two: a Gibson J-45 and a Sheryl Crow.

The J-45 was mediocre but the Country & Western was one of the best hog dreads I've ever played, and the antique finish was lovely, the only thing I didn't like were the tuners, the J-45 had Grovers and that was the only thing superior...the C&W needed some truss rod tweak but everything else was spot on, the volume was about double the 45...I know I shouldn't buy another guitar, especially because I already have my D-25 and the C&W sounded similar (didn't have mine to make a side by side comparison) but I'm afraid I'm having another of my GAS attacks.

The round shoulders was really a disappointment, while the Crow was a revelation: project, brilliancy, bass, a lot of midrange...I expected much more from a legend, ironically I don't like Sheryl's music but I've to admit that she digs guitars very well.

I also saw the new Taylorized Martins you talk about but that model didn't attract me, like I wasn't interested in the Taylorized Gibson, the Songwriter.

[vintageom]

I have also found some Gibsons that are super guitars as well. I happen to love their J-45's. I like the light build on them and how you feel them in our chest. Nice fundamentals and warm and wooden.

The traditional line of Martins work best for me. The HD-28V is wonderful. I prefer a red spruce top however.

Glad you enjoy your Taylors. I like the GS bodied line for my taste. Their 12 strings are easy to play.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by leeasam

Of those 4 all but the Martin I would have no issue as being my only acoustic. they were good. The Martin I would dump fast as it would not inspire me to play at all.

I suspect your opinion would be different if you earned your living as a gigging guitarist, playing on stage to a live audience every night.

[leeasam]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

I suspect your opinion would be different if you earned your living as a gigging guitarist, playing on stage to a live audience every night.

could be right but to own a guitar that only sounds good plugged in will not fly with me. And however I have had other players( bluegrass that never plug in) comment one eve on how good my 816CE sounded though the mic at a Community Christmas program. I then told them I was NOT going through a mic but plugged in. I could use the Rainsong with an Aura and have a guitar that would be better to GIG with daily as the guitar will not change.

Just not a fan of the PA series. Play easy etc just not acoustically pleasing to me.

[bluesbassdad]

Originally Posted by vintageom

So your point is not to buy any Martin guitars or only that one model?

I've reread the original post twice, and I still don't see any advice -- only personal observations.

Thanks, leeasam, for sharing your impressions. I won't think any less of you if I find that I don't entirely agree.

[leeasam]

Originally Posted by bluesbassdad

I've reread the original post twice, and I still don't see any advice -- only personal observations.

Thanks, leeasam, for sharing your impressions. I won't think any less of you if I find that I don't entirely agree.

oh not at all. Like I said could very well have been that particualr guitar. I did play a mahogany model a good month ago that sounded much better. I was actually surpised that the Mahogany sounded that good. I have played many Gibson J45s over the past several month and find some good some so so. Never had much of a chance to play an Advanced that was not a luthiers choice or such. This was a standard Advanced Jumbo and was amazing!

I did also a couple of weeks ago play a HD28V that did not sound so great. totally disappointed. was the first time that one of them was not impressive. I am also thining that maybe their new coated strings are not that great as the HD28V did not have the uncoated strings on. It was much thinner sounding and not as rich and full. Martin since like the first of the year has switched to a coated string.

[dugger]

I have a GPCPA1 and I think it is great, Has good base, mids, and uppers. I play Bluegrass quite abit and it will hang with the Dreads with out a problem. Where it really shines is in the studio the AURA electronics are amazing.

[leeasam]

Originally Posted by dugger

I have a GPCPA1 and I think it is great, Has good base, mids, and uppers. I play Bluegrass quite abit and it will hang with the Dreads with out a problem. Where it really shines is in the studio the AURA electronics are amazing.

YA I was really surprised that this was not better. Even the videos I have heard were better. Could just be a not so good one. Maybe why this one is still on the wall.

[Lillygirl]

Originally Posted by cuthbert

Today I also played a guitar in a shop I visited...well two: a Gibson J-45 and a Sheryl Crow.

The J-45 was mediocre but the Country & Western was one of the best hog dreads I've ever played, and the antique finish was lovely, the only thing I didn't like were the tuners, the J-45 had Grovers and that was the only thing superior...the C&W needed some truss rod tweak but everything else was spot on, the volume was about double the 45...I know I shouldn't buy another guitar, especially because I already have my D-25 and the C&W sounded similar (didn't have mine to make a side by side comparison) but I'm afraid I'm having another of my GAS attacks.

The round shoulders was really a disappointment, while the Crow was a revelation: project, brilliancy, bass, a lot of midrange...I expected much more from a legend, ironically I don't like Sheryl's music but I've to admit that she digs guitars very well.

I also saw the new Taylorized Martins you talk about but that model didn't attract me, like I wasn't interested in the Taylorized Gibson, the Songwriter.

Your message reminded me... On Youtube there's a vid of Cheryl playing a beautiful Gibson and singing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. It is amazing - I'm not a huge fan of hers either, but I could listen to that one a hundred times. I think it's a Gibson - looked like one to me. She's so tiny and the guitar looks massive.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by leeasam

Ok then they had just got in a Gibson Advanced Jumbo. Tuned it to pitch and WOW. Was NOT expecting that kind of volume and clarity out of Gibson. Played like butter and had a strong bass and great sustain and resonance!! I would take this over about any Martin I have played. A real acoustic monster/canon! Nothing DULL about this particular guitar.

The Gibson Advanced Jumbo (AJ) is my favorite Gibson model. I was equally surprised by how good those guitars can sound, to the point where I've been using one as my main performance instrument for about a year now.

I'm so fond of mine and its versatility that I talked to the guitar builder Howard Klepper about taking the AJ idea and using it with walnut back and sides instead of rosewood.

Here's the result, a brand new Howard Klepper "KJ," with a friend of mine named John Youngblood playing it in Howard's shop a few days ago:



Howard's going to take the guitar by the home studio of an accomplished player named Stevie Coyle (of The Waybacks) next Monday to record some soundclips, then the guitar will e shipped to me here in Alaska!

No, I'm not stoked about it - you're imagining things!!

Cheers!


Wade Hampton Miller

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by cuthbert

I also saw the new Taylorized Martins you talk about but that model didn't attract me, like I wasn't interested in the Taylorized Gibson, the Songwriter.

That's an interesting interpretation of the intent and style of those guitars, particularly the Gibson Songwriter.

It does seem pretty clear that with their new Performer Series guitars Martin is trying to branch out and appeal to players who like the Taylor look. But the guitars from that series that I've played have sounded like Martin guitars to me, not even remotely like Taylors.

As for tarring the Gibson Songwriter model with that same "Taylorized" brush, again, those guitars are quite different sonically from any of the Taylors I've played. From your post it isn't clear if you've played and compared these guitars side by side with Taylor guitars, or if you're just making an assumption based on appearances.

Either way, it doesn't really matter. All of these guitar companies are in business to stay in business, and if a significant percentage of the guitar-buying public is interested in purchasing guitars with a so-called "Taylorized" visual aesthetic, then so be it.

Nothing succeeds like success, and it's unrealistic to expect long-established firms to keep on cranking out museum pieces if something else has caught the public's fancy.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[leeasam]

Wade-- that sounds like a great guitar. Looks sweet too. I really liked that Gibson today. you could feel the whole guitar vibrate. That thing was ALIVE. Even digging into like a F# to G note run etc the note rang powerful and strong. no dull thud-- excellent resonance ans sustain to on the lower notes which I have found many Gibsons lacking. Also had the classic midrange ring when strummed. If I had extra cash on hand it would have come home with me. Even though I am a Big Taylor fan I like many other brands or should I say SOME MODELS of other brands! just can`t afford them all!