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Post by andyhowell on Mar 30, 2018 17:08:15 GMT
I keep being asked about my Lucas guitar — and about the process of commissioning it. I've written a blog about this but as nobody reads anymore I thought I'd better get with the kids and make a video!
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Post by dobro on Mar 31, 2018 0:23:48 GMT
Excellent! Looking forward to your next video!
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Mar 31, 2018 8:51:29 GMT
I always enjoy your chatty videos and this is no exception Andy. Very engaging and I look forward to the next one. Phil
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Post by geddarby on Mar 31, 2018 11:35:23 GMT
Very informative Great hair by the way
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Post by andyhowell on Mar 31, 2018 11:50:21 GMT
I always enjoy your chatty videos and this is no exception Andy. Very engaging and I look forward to the next one. Phil Good. There are two more coming. SaveSave
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Mar 31, 2018 13:55:57 GMT
Excellent vid, Andy - very much enjoyed watching that. Couldn't agree more with all you said about knowing what you want and trusting the maker to provide it without tying them down to your own preconceptions. Pretty much the only thing I'd add would be that it can help remove at least a little of the "uncertainty" factor by playing, where possible, as many guitars as possible from the maker(s) you are considering, either at their workshop (if they have any "spare" or attainable!) or by pestering existing owners. That way it can be possible to get a better idea of whether or not the maker(s) instruments as are in general to your taste sound and feel-wise, and if there are any particular things/sizes/features you like a lot, or less that may be incorporated/excluded in/from your final design. Looking forward to the next vids! Keith
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Post by vikingblues on Mar 31, 2018 18:39:45 GMT
Very good video Andy, very thoughtful, and it shows your ability to have organised thoughts (something not all of us have!). That building up of a close relationship and a fair amount of playing for the luthier to better judge what will work, makes a great deal of sense and it also helps to lessen how big a leap of faith is needed for getting a guitar that will end up suiting you. Your search for a different sound, something different to the usual Americana sound of Martin, Gibson et al, rang bells with me. I'm sure your Lucas has a much smaller waist in proportion to the lower bout than standard. Similar to, though far better quality than, my Vintage Giltraps. Which I have felt owe a fair bit of their rather different brand of sound to the narrow waist - something normally only found on luthier built instruments. Generally, mass produced factory guitars seem to be so very conservative and "safe" in their design. That uniformity of design I think has, in part at least, informed our "prejudices" on the typical sounds of different woods for soundboards. I am given to understand that design and bracing can influence the sound even more, so where these are design features specifically tailored for each guitar the wood type is much less important. The only Sitka Spruce guitars I have ever liked the sound of when I've played them have been luthier built. All mass produced factory made ones with Sitka I've tried have had sound ranging from at best tolerable to, at worst, really horrible. Shame I can't use your experience in the video to practical purpose as I don't see myself being anything but too skint for years and years, but I enjoyed the viewing. Mark
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Post by andyhowell on Apr 1, 2018 9:22:38 GMT
Mark, You raise some interesting points. The Martin sound has become a kind of standard as happens in so many areas of life. There were other makers but they fell y the wayside mainly because of business considerations _ most of the old manufacturers had tog et through the depression for example. Nigel Forster's work in promoting the Howe Orme guitars is a case in point. This company made very good guitars, adopted technology for volume manufacture and did things very differently. I've heard Nigel's Howe Orme which is now very old and it is a very interesting guitar. Martin has a sweet and mellow tone which is fine for a lot of stuff but the narrow waist gives more punch, power and separation to the treble. You will see this shape becoming very prominent in the work of many new luthiers, including those in the US and Canada. But remember, outside of the jumbo ranges Gibson used this share on it smaller bodied guise and they are prized by many blues players precisely because they have more edge, more penetration. Sitka interests me in that it seems far more popular with European makers than many in North America and I wonder if this is something to do with pronounced tone. Funnily, enough all three of my guitars have Sitka tops. The J40 has quite a mellow tone but really copes with you digging in — it is a guitar favoured by flat pickers in the US and folk players. This guitar has quite a lot going for it but it is far too heavy and over built. the build quality of this is very poor – you just look at it for bits to fall off. 35 years or so ago when I bought it this was one of the only ways that I could get some of the sound I was looking for. It is still a fine guitar but that mellow Martin tone doesn't really require lighter build. The Santa Cruz OM also has that vintage tone but is more lightly built and is far more responsive. Although it is styled as a pre war guitar it has a more contemporary sound which I believe is due to the lightness of construction. I suspect the top is thinner than on a standard Martin. An individual luthier will build to the piece of wood that she or he finds. I like sitka because of the attack it provides for some of the music I play. It has greater dynamics I think and that is probably a consideration. As I said in the video the woods used in my guitar were chosen by Adrian and I was happy to leave it at that. I wouldn't say my guitar is particularly sharp, indeed it has a warm tone but when you dig in it does respond. It is only really in the last 15 years or so that boutique and luthier built guitars are more easy to find, play and hear. These makers get the best of their material. If you are London any time soon go and visit Ivor Mairants. There you will be able to play Brooks and Santa Cruz guitars and then compare them to Martins — the all have more of an edge to me. The Santa Cruz OM Grand clearly owes a lot to the Martin tradition but blows away many guitars at the same price. No doubt Martin can do this in their custom shop but a comparatively priced Santa Cruz will always be more interesting to my ears I suspect because that company is more focussed on getting more sound out of the thing. You see far more cedar than you used to do. I've played some lovely guitars in it. If I was looking for a folk finger style guitar, or a ragtime guitar, I'd happily go for cedar. Fylde, Lowden and others produce wonderful guitars with it. And I wonder if we will see every more options. The recent guitar that I played from RosieTGC had a cypress top — which you usually associate with classical or flamenco instruments. This was a lovely guitar and it felt like cedar to me — the guitar seemed made for James Taylor !!! Now, let's consider more affordable guitars because this high end guitars are — for most of us — one of purchases (if we have the luck to be able to do that). Your Giltrap Vintage will be a good guitar. It is built to the design of Rob Armstrong who is , sadly, no longer making guitars. He comes from near me and over a long time now I've played a nu,her of his guitars _ always great. The Giltrap was built on a tried and tested design. An original Armstrong would have had more — the woods would have been more carefully worked and so on. But a good Vintage guitar is very good indeed. Finally, I suspect that because of the focus on building here we tend to over emphasise the quality of the guitar. What do I mean? Well, as much if not more of a player's sound comes from his or her's technique. I know you admire Martin Simpson. On his residential you get to here him play a lot over days, just a few feet away from you. What strikes me is his technique. It is astonishingly clean and precise. His guitars are designed to have great clarity but his playing would seem ultra clean on any guitar. Playing country blues or ragtime you can happily slutr and fudge notes, indeed that can add to the sound. But Simpson's stuff (love or hate it) really need a super precise technique. Work with the best guitar you can afford works — just concentrate on being the best Mark that you can and you entertain many. Technique is not just about speed it is about precision, using vibrato well and so on. technique tends to shine whatever the guitar and whatever the woods!
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Post by vikingblues on Apr 1, 2018 19:39:10 GMT
Work with the best guitar you can afford works — just concentrate on being the best Mark that you can and you entertain many. Technique is not just about speed it is about precision, using vibrato well and so on. technique tends to shine whatever the guitar and whatever the woods! Very good piece of advice - one to keep a permanent copy of I feel. Anyway, regarding that whole last post of yours, thank you for that very interesting response Andy. Plenty of interesting information in there. I note your comments on the Santa Cruz and the lightness of construction, thinner top, and more contemporary sound. I've had a long term (well relatively long term given my fairly recent conversion to acoustic playing) liking for cedar tops or mahogany. But as we all know for trying out many guitars you hear all sorts of different sounds and tones from different guitars made from the same types of woods. It's just that, to date, the four most special have been 2 cedar and 2 mahogany soundboards. You're right in saying cedar is becoming more common for soundboards - certainly my experience locally - even just 5 years ago when I first started looking there were very few on offer. I agree too that the players own technique and style have a big influence on the sound. I recall guitar comparison videos I have seen where I'd preferred the sound of guitar A, but when I played them for real preferred the sound of guitar B. I do have a copy of an interview with Rob Armstrong and Gordon Giltrap in which Rob mentions being gratified that Vintage managed to duplicate so much of his original design in things like the internal struts and the neck build, which he believed vital to the sound. The laminate back and sides are also faithful to the original, where Rob used them for strength that allowed the top to be thinner and move more freely without compromising the constructional integrity. I would love to play the real thing! The copy is very good indeed already and I never tire of mentioning to people I'm grateful that Rob Armstrong and Gordon Giltrap were happy that a "signature" guitars should be at such a budget level - usually the word "signature" boosts the price a hell of a lot. Sad to hear that Rob Armstrong no longer builds guitars. I believe that he had been making hand crafted instruments for well over 40 years and even after the major fire back in 2010 (I think) that destroyed so much of his workshop, hand crafted tools, and guitar moulds, would have destroyed many builders desire to go on. Mark
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davewhite
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Post by davewhite on Apr 2, 2018 10:11:53 GMT
The recent guitar that I played from RosieTGC had a cypress top — which you usually associate with classical or flamenco instruments. This was a lovely guitar and it felt like cedar to me — the guitar seemed made for James Taylor !!! Andy - you've played more cypress topped instruments than you probably realise. The first one was probably the 2015 HB7 "All English" Prize Guitar made by colins and won by David Hutton that had a Lawson's Cypress top from my front garden tree. Then there were numerous ones with Cypress tops I have brought toHalifax meets - an all cypress flamenco guitar, the Piccolo guitar, the five course octave mandolin and the re-made first guitar I ever made. Plus you'll get the chance to play another later on the current "An An Féa Caol" road trip. There aren't many Cypress topped flamenco guitars out there - European spruce is the main top wood used for these with Cypress for the back and sides.
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Post by andyhowell on Apr 2, 2018 12:31:37 GMT
There aren't many Cypress topped flamenco guitars out there - European spruce is the main top wood used for these with Cypress for the back and sides. Thanks Dave !! One of the nice things about this forum is that I don't have to worry about accuracy the much— there's always somebody more knowledgeable to drop in :-) SaveSave
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Post by davewhite on Apr 2, 2018 13:08:11 GMT
One of the nice things about this forum is that I don't have to worry about accuracy the much— there's always somebody more knowledgeable to drop in You should always worry about accuracy
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Post by andyhowell on Apr 2, 2018 13:29:38 GMT
:-)
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