Favorite Acoustic Guitar

[Ruphus]

Howdy, Howdy!!

To the friends of the classical guitar and their sympathizers, relatives, dogs and cats.

The Mangoré guitar has arrived today.
A Fleta style lute with cutaway and spruce top.

It went from Paraguay to Argentina, to Spain, to Franfurt, to Brussels and finally after 5 days arrived in Berlin.
Been up late and when the DHL guy brought it this morning he wanted 19 Euros something although shipping had been paid for. Thought, ok, if that´s to be customs then everything is just more than fine, but it turned out DHL wanted the money for itself.
Now, you won´t care about small added bills when you´re awaiting a good guitar, but that guy hadn´t cash with himself for exchange, so I was forced to ring at the neighbours in pyama and bare foot with the charme of a mealwom. I like that.
Not enough that guy needed more signs than usually. "And here please one more signature. And one more time please in printed characters." Until we made really sure some more neighbours to have passed by and see that crazy barefoot guy in a sleeping dress standing in the stairway.

Anyway, I must be a drug dealer or something with the weird life I seem to have. At least the customs must have figured similar for my batch. Although these freaks can see every little detail through the x-ray already they yet needed to open that thing, unpack it ( which has kept them busy. Mr. Bellucci had it wrapped really carefully in bubbles ) and check whether the back side or what could be made of pressed cocain or what.
But luckily they haven´t damaged anything. thumbsup

Ok, blabla.
I am obliged to tell you buddies that this address in Paraguay is indeed serious. Everything revealed to be as promissed.

The guitar case came wrapped and put in an extra wooden box. I would say that you can´t ship it much better than that.

So, Mr. Barefoot opened that thing wrapped off a half mile of bubbles and all until the case was reached. Soft covered with a nice metal liner on the lid. No lock on the center bracket, but made with hand and love.

Inside the guitar with a nice letter from Mr. Bellucci.
It looks nice right from first impression with glissing finish and all. Yet, at first I was a little bit hold back.

The sound had something to it, especially to the A string, but ... In a way it seemd far away from the brilliance and balance that I had been hoping for.
I put it back into its case with the idea that it was certainly a finer instrument than what you can get here for that money, but I wasn´t really infected, although counting in that the strings ( D´Addario ) aren´t of my taste and even more being aware of that the guitar would be needing some time to acclimatize, the more as having been freshly build.

Three hours later I took it out, retuned it and tried again.

Hey, you won´t believe how much it had changed already in such a short time.

Such a wooden tone and deep mids and the highs have come up some more to the strength of the lower notes. The upper strings sound showing that beautiful colour that you hear only with top axes. Yet, they are not on the same volume as the bass strings, but as it has improved already in such a short time I´m sure that the spectrum will still be balancing out.

What the projection is concerned I can´t recall a guitar that had such a projected release. ( pardon mi Inglich, pliese )
It has to be mentioned that I havn´t had access to top of the line guitars in heaps, only having tried a dozen or so throughout the years and lately 8 or so Flamenco guitars ([800.00 to 5.500.00 Euros ], which despite of the typical differences to concerts yet help evaluating the general price / performance relationship ). So my experience with the top shelf range is limited, but within what I have experienced this is the most projected spreading that came accross my way.

I had been interested in a cutaway, but was sceptical about taking away resonance room from the body, thought maybe better to go with a fully shaped one. Mr. Belluci ensured me then that they had considered the circumstances and experimented until their cutaway body wasn´t taking away from the sound.
After having been told so I asked for it and they build me that model.

And indeed unlike that one cutaway Almansa axe that I returned lately ( what a dull and heavy piece that was!) the Mangoré seems to be not missing anything in sound.

There remain only two points that I´m not enthused about. The one minor point is that the edges of the head stock could be rounded off a bit more. It would taken only a quick slip with the emerly and it appears a bit cheap as it is now. Even more as this seems not to have been a question of carelessness or lazyness as you can see from the smoothed surface in the heads slots. The other point is the back of the neck. While it appears otimally at the part closer to the body it is a bit too rounded in the area closer to the head.

But this is a rather subjective point and might arise from me being used rather flat necks.


From what I think to hear in the moment, relating to how prices seem to be on the local market, I would estimate such a sound to be costing you upwards from 3000 euro. And my new baby will only be getting better in the future.



I am planning to write a more specific review on this guitar in a couple of months when a good part of the production moisture has dried out and the image to have blossomed closer to the guitars actual capacity. I shall post an mp3 then as well.

Glad to have made the leap in the dark trying out this source, despite its hypothetical risk. It has definitly paid to try. thumbsup

Best,

Ruphus

PS: Realized today that I´m having 7 guitars already. Watch out, Chap, that is already one tenth of your arsenal, and I´m coming close.

[chetatkinsdiet]

I absolutely love my early 70s Gibby SJ Deluxe. It's basically an SJ or Country & Western....same basic guitar just minor cosmetic differences in all of them. Hummingbird too for that matter is pretty close.
Records for rock and country very well.
I've got a Martin D18V that is a monster by itself, but it just overpowers everything when I've tried to use it in a song. It would be the go-to for a solo voice/guitar thing, but I end up needed so much eq on it to fit it into a song that I end up using another, every time.
I've played some other nice ones.....pre war Martins, Gibbys, etc. Some of the new Taylors and such are nice, but there's just something about a big ol Gibson that can't be beat.
Lately, I've been loving my resophonic. So, does a National count?
later,
m

[Ruphus]

Just want to add another post to my favourite thread.
Guys, my new lute has improved from day to day.
Today I thought it was time to tell Mr. Bellucci about some putative minor flaws.
Afterwards, I pulled the new baby out from the case and played some stuff. It had improved one other time since yesterday and has become so gorgeous already that I wanted to kiss the world.
Felt like an ass for every word of critisism that I had written just minutes before.
Who would had expected such blossom progress in such a short time?
Damn this thing has just been build and is still humid, in the same time it vibrates my thumb on the neck and my upper leg like you wouldn´t believe it.
Can´t imagine how it will be in a couple of months.

I´m completely blown away! ABSOLUTELY.

Ruphus

[chap]

Yeah!!!!!!!!!

[Ruphus]

Chap,

Next time that you´re on tour better make sure to come to Berlin too, otherwise when you return to home the rooms with the instruments might be locked with 5 pounds hardened steel padlocks and the toilet paper nailed under the ceiling.

Ruphus

[chap]

I'll have to tell you about the time the same guy
was waiting in my kitchen at 6 am so we could
'talk'. He had been there since 4 am.
Never left my door unlocked since.
He was a genuine story generator.

peace,
Jim

[neve1073]

I've heard of a gypsy in southern Spain whose job it is to break in guitars. He takes a new guitar and works his magic with very accurate rasgueados until the wood begins to open.

I wonder if it's true.

[chap]

does he have 2 burned fingers?
chap

[Ollie]

There are alot of great Acoustic guitars and each have their own strengths.

Martins - I prefer the mahogony guitars

Petros - Wow, these guitars are like bells going off. Beautiful and balanced

Gibsons - Many of these just sound great recorded for pop and rock. Could be that they are a little deader than other guitars.

[Ruphus]

Hey Jim, while at doors: I try not to forget to lock mine even when I´m at home. Had never been doing so before, but had to promise my sister to do, since the day I told her the story about a guy popping up in my flat.
Jeez, if not been at home I would probably had have to restart recording with a Behringer mixer as pres and an entry level mic, provided they had left the guitars at all. And I wasn´t even insured. >phew!<

Neve,

In a way the story sounds comprehensible. And distinguished rasgueados appear propperly too. ( Provided playing / resonating is doing the magic at all. What if it was just the aging? Years ago I heard a thesis going like old violins also sounded so good for the ever cautious forth and back of damping and drying [ and in the long term drying, as I would suspect ].)

However, for the one the guy burning the axes in might be getting some trouble, for the flesh under the nails beeing constantly strained while on the other side for emulating exactly that technique a machine should be relatively easy to make.

And finally playing rasguedos days in and out must make crazy, no matter how nice the technique is, which it is. ( - Hey, when that thing runs round in even cycles, that´s fireworks! )

Then again you never know ... Just my spontaneous 2cents.

Ruphus

[PinkHumpy]

There are so many good small builders out there these days.

Everett -
my bro played one of these for many years, so much so that it had to get refretted by kent everett himself recently. imo the coolest looking acoustics out there. very meaty sounding. here's a pic of it

he recently put it up for sale at a local shop on consignment because he found...

Lowden -
I don't know which model number - F something. F25? I dunno. It's spruce/rosewood. Beautiful for fingerpicking. Tons of soul. We recently popped in my active ibeam pickup and it sounds pretty awesome live too. Here's an audio clip of a tune I recently recorded him playing: http://www.recordingproject.com/bbs/...ic.php?t=11756

Goodall -
I almost bought one of these several times. I dig the parlor the best because I have a soft touch on the acoustic, and this thing is very resonant and responsive. Under hard strumming or picking, it's not my fave, but it's still very nice. The parlor I dug was spruce/rosewood and had lots of clarity and sweetness.

Santa Cruz -
Cool guitars. I played several om pw's that i liked a lot, but i didn't find one with good enough intonation.

Taylor -
I still play my '95 taylor 410 frequently. it's a nice dread.

Gitane d500 -
I have this lil cheapy django style d-hole and dig it a lot! it has a fat neck like a classical, so it's great for sloppy lead players like me. it has tons of attitude and is very different from what you normally see being played around my parts. i can't play django worth a damn, so i'm a bit of a poser with it. what ya gonna do?

Takamine ec132scx -
my only nylon classical jaun. quite nice. i play it more frequently now than anything else in my collection, mainly b/c the strings don't rust. e

Godin Multiac Duet -
my live "acoustic". great stage guitar alternative to the chet atkins style deal. i always get compliments on this one when i play live. i just love it love it love it!

[chap]

Good taste!
Lowdens are wonderful. I first heard Richard Thompson play one in a solo show. His sound was enormous as was his playing. I bought mine 14 years ago and while it's persnikity, it's tough to put down and sounds unique.
Mahagony body, cedar top and a wide neck make it a fingerpickers delight.

The Goodalls: I have 2. I had originally bought a Santa Cruz that was ok but not ok for the money.
It became less ok when, after 2-3 months, the body split in half. I took it to the dealer and we did a core humidity reading. A bit low but more a sign of green wood. Upon speaking with their repair dept., I was informed that 'this is nothing and ALL good instruments crack down the middle'.
This was news to me and I pondered why any of my 70 guitars hadn't cracked (some, over 60 years old). Did they suck? Should I crack them?
He told me 3 days and I'd have it back.
Six weeks later (after dodging my phone calls)
I got Mr. Mellow on the phone only to be told that I had mistreated this fine instrument
He stressed their reliance on science.
So, I asked him about the core humidity of the guitar. 'What's core humidity?' says Mellow Science Man. I explained that furniture makers use these measurements (along with luthiers, violin makers etcc). 'Well, we use science' says he.
Finally, I asked why a 2-3 day job was up to 6 weeks. His answer ' This guitar will make someone a fine instrument but needs to be treated with TLC. I'm not so sure it was'
I answered rather defensively that it had never left my house and was in a room of other humidified guitars. That's when he confessed to having dropped a belt sander on the guitar.
I said that the guitar will, indeed make a fine instrument for someone else. Keep it and sell it to those guys who love that 'belt sander' sound.

I went to my dealer a little on edge. After explaining and confirming the story, the dealer told me to pick out a guitar. I spent hours playing everything until a
Goodall Pacifica caught my eye. Looked astonishing but I'm not a cosmetic guy. Played amazing and sounded fantastic. I drove away with my first Goodall.
Last year, I called James Goodall and we put together a custom baritone. Stunning looking
(even for me) sounds and plays incredible and he really listened to what I wanted from the guitar then built it.
In addition to a collection of old Gibson acoustics and mandolins, I think I'm done with that portion of guitar corner. Now, I need a really nice, hand made F Hole with carved top that doesn't require me to sell my child.
Does it ever end?

I'll be running a 12 step program so contact me
for details.
My name is Jim C and I have a problem
Join me. Together we can beat America's number one killer of credit cards and relationships with signifigant others. GAS (gear aquisition syndrome) can be beaten. But...................................................................
WHY?

Jim C. (chap)
ps- I spent $2500 today. How do I tell my daughter that she's going to the Morse School of Business and Fingernail Polishing?

[Ruphus]

Brendan,

Rosewood / Spruce might be a nice combo indeed. My new killer box is made of such too.

Chap,

Tell us. What´d you bad boy buy?

Ruphus

[chap]

Ordered the new m/s summ fifference device from Dangerous Music.
Got the Vienna Orchestra library (educator's price!) for TV work.
Moving HD3 to a new computer so I started that hell ball rolling and did 3 sessions.
Back to the grind.
Next week I'll get the Great River EQ for my Great River mic pres.
I gotta stop it. But, like most folks here, if some is good, more is better.

there has to be a 12 step program

back to the grind so I can pay for all this useless beauty.

chap

[Ruphus]

Wow, the Vienna Orchestra Library!
Bl.... ba....!



Loved their demo clips. Really stunning to me.

Ruphus

[altruistic8]

Try out Lowden guitars, they have a sound of there own.

[6dyslexicelephnt]

I have a Gibson Hummingbird Custom Shop southern special or something like that. It is a nice hummingbird with a flamed maple or koa back that i got used and beat up for an okay price. It has a tone better than the reissues, which I think is because it's brighter because of the back which is usually mahogany. It records a little bright too... I think a lot of people with experience recording acoustic know that an acoustic that records best is not necessarily the best sounding to the player!

Because we listen to the bass strings more than the treble strings because they're closer to our head, we might have a tendency to want a guitar with a brighter sound so that it sounds the most even. I think it's a good idea to have a good friend come with you when you play so you can switch off playing and listening and getting both sides of it.

Acoustic guitars are one of the hardest things to record, just like vocals... you want them to be natural and pristine more than anything else. I prefer analog for vocals and acoustic even if it's 4 track. Also crappy classical guitars always sound cool recorded

[chap]

I love my Lowden but for tracking I've been leaning on my old Gibsons
and some Goodalls. And of course, my crappy classical.

peace,

chap

[JP66]

My two favorites are Santa Cruz and Martin. The Santa Cruz Tony Rice model may be the nicest acoustic guitar in production. It's just an absolutley stunning sounding guitar, and one of the only guitars a ever played that I felt was perfect. There isn't a single thing I'd change about them. I also love their pre-war om model. As for martin is concerned a trusty vintage d28 is always nice but for current production models the eric clapton signature 000 is a phenomenal guitar.

[chap]

I'm sure the Tony is nice. I had a Santa Cruz.
Not only did it split down the middle of the top (after 3 months) but when I sent it back,
they assured me that is common for all good guitars. I explained that it was in a humidified room with 60 other 'good' guitars and none had split. Should I split them?

Then the repair dude for Santa Cruz admitted he had dropped a belt sander on it but I'd have it back in 3 months. I called my dealer, told him he now owned a Santa Cruz, went down and took a Goodall off the wall. I liked it so much that I had James build me a baritone koa model. The craftmanship between the 2 was night and day.
The sound of the Goodall was much more unique and it still hasn't split. Maybe it's not good enough?
I'm sure Santa Cruz makes some nice guitars but their quality control leaves something to be desired.

cheers,

chap

[dacart]

I just wanted to put in a vote for Avalon guitars. I got a Gold 200 series last year and have been VERY happy.

Checkthem out at:
Avalon Guitars

And also here's a little example going through a TLM49>Chandler TG2>Apogee Rosetta200

Dan Carter
* DACARTmusic

[chap]

I have a Lowden. Don't they have some connection to Avalon?

[dacart]

Originally Posted by chap

I have a Lowden. Don't they have some connection to Avalon?

Yeah,
I think he left the company (or the company left him, I don't remember the details) but they, Avalon, have gone and moved to Ireland. There are some guitars which have the finishes done in Eastern Europe where they aren't constrained by such things as environmental considerations which allows them to use finishes that are more "old school" if you will.

I got my D200 for around $1200 and I think it's worth twice that not to mention it sounds great and is still a young guitar.

Dan Carter

[chap]

George (Lowden) is from Ireland and they've always been built there.
Very British Isles sound. I got mine about 15 years ago. The cedar top is hard to maintain but it sounds great in the right situation. A fingerpickers delight.

chap