mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Dec 20, 2021 14:02:19 GMT
Well, it wasn't that long ago that someone taped a banana to a wall and sold it for $120,000. By comparison, 32k for a guitar seems fairly reasonable
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Dec 16, 2021 18:50:09 GMT
I bought a used Furch last year and it's very quickly become the instrument I pick up most often. I think the equivalent model now would be around £2.5k, though I paid a lot less than that. I'd have been very happy with it even if I'd paid the new price for it, so getting a used one in mint condition was an absolute steal.
For all I love the Furch, though, it isn't in the same league as some of the higher-end luthier-made guitars that I've played. Those guitars just had something extra - a bigger dynamic range, more depth of tone, more clarity. Those guitars just made everything I played sound better. How much better, and how much it's worth paying for it, will always be subjective, but for me there's no doubt that the difference is real.
That said, better and expensive aren't always the same thing. However good the guitar is, it's still got to be the right guitar for the player. I've got my list of guitars that sound great when other people play them but don't really work for me, and some of those guitars are very much at the higher end of the market.
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 27, 2021 17:49:31 GMT
I think it's still a fairly good choice. As someone who travels by train the nearness to the station is a big plus. I think the function room is pretty much ideal for our purposes. The rooms are ok - admittedly, they're no more than ok - but I think we'd struggle to get much better without significantly pushing up the cost. We definitely don't want to price anyone out of coming.
I did miss the breakfasts, for the conversation as much as the food. Hopefully they might have a functioning kitchen again by next year. If it looks like the lack of food might be a long-term issue then I could see a case for looking elsewhere. If they get that sorted though I'm happy enough where we are.
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 26, 2021 17:42:51 GMT
I hadn't spotted these before. I've been using the earlier version of D'Addario coated strings for a while and I generally prefer them to Elixirs. I'll be needing to order some new sets soon so will give these a try.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 7, 2021 10:43:02 GMT
Lovely work as always, Nigel. I really like the rosette on the Session King - it's very striking without being at all "blingy".
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Post by mandovark on Sept 6, 2021 17:36:46 GMT
I play slide with a .13 first string and it works fine. That said, I do think Ian is right about going up a gauge or two for a fuller slide tone. I use a .13 mainly for the convenience of being able to get standard string sets, and partly because I don't play enough slide to make it worth while having a guitar set up specifically for it. The .13 works as an acceptable compromise for me. The other consideration is what kind of slide you're using. A .13 string should be fine with a fairly light slide, but if you're using a heavier one you might also want the extra tension from a heavier string gauge to avoid any rattling on the frets. I have 2, a glass slide, which doesn't fit well, and a Dunlop 222 which fits like a glove. I had a fairly heavy Dunlop chrome one for a while. It sounded great, but it never fit properly and it was fairly heavy so it was hard to avoid catching the frets. I still use a Dunlop, but it's a smaller one that fits much better. Means I can fret notes while wearing it, which was pretty much impossible with the heavier one.
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Post by mandovark on Sept 6, 2021 15:25:34 GMT
I play slide with a .13 first string and it works fine. That said, I do think Ian is right about going up a gauge or two for a fuller slide tone. I use a .13 mainly for the convenience of being able to get standard string sets, and partly because I don't play enough slide to make it worth while having a guitar set up specifically for it. The .13 works as an acceptable compromise for me.
The other consideration is what kind of slide you're using. A .13 string should be fine with a fairly light slide, but if you're using a heavier one you might also want the extra tension from a heavier string gauge to avoid any rattling on the frets.
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Post by mandovark on Aug 25, 2021 10:10:28 GMT
"You should only buy guitars appropriate to your skill level." "Indeed. That is why I have bought this custom-made guitar, hand built by one of our finest luthiers." "But you are, um, not a very good player." "Quite so. And therefore I need all the help I can get."
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Post by mandovark on Aug 24, 2021 11:06:07 GMT
I've never really understood the logic of "only buy the guitars you can get the best out of". Whatever guitar I buy, a better player will be able to get more out of it than I can. If Martin Simpson and I were to play the same £50 plywood guitar from the Argos catalogue, no-one would mistake my playing for his. A better player is a better player, whatever the quality of the instrument they're playing.
For me, the better way to think about this is "buy the guitars that will get the best out of you". Buy the guitars that suit your playing style, that feel right in your hands, and that give you the range of sounds that you want - and, obviously, the ones that you can afford without mortgaging the house or selling one of the children.
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Post by mandovark on Jul 14, 2021 14:54:28 GMT
For me it would have to be something in the mini-jumbo/grand auditorium range. They can still have the clarity of an OM, but with a bit of extra bass that I like to have available. I don't use a thumbpick, so I don't quite get the bass punch from a smaller guitar that other players might. The slightly bigger body shape gives me a balance between bass and treble that seems to work for me.
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Post by mandovark on Jul 13, 2021 12:42:30 GMT
I guess a few people on here will know this one, but:
Sandy Denny was the only guest vocalist to appear on a Led Zeppelin studio album.
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Post by mandovark on May 25, 2021 13:22:33 GMT
Event insurance does seem to the big issue. I have a friend who is on the organising committee for an arts festival that has had to cancel for the second year in a row. The problem they've had is that most of the financial outlay for a festival is made in advance, and then recouped through people actually turning up. If the event has to be cancelled or run with a reduced capacity, the financial impact could be ruinous without insurance. Organisers are left caught between a situation that looks more promising for the summer and the awareness that if things change for the worse they're risking the financial futures of their events (and possibly their own as well). It ends up being a choice between cancelling for one year, or going ahead knowing that you're risking the event's long-term future if things go wrong.
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Post by mandovark on Apr 23, 2021 15:11:38 GMT
leoroberts I fully agree. Perhaps we should start a "Shallow Owners of Guitars" club (awkwardly worded to avoid confusion). Much as I admire the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson range, I shan't be buying one, but I might buy a Gibson. Strangely, though, I don't feel the same about Fender Telecasters. But I do care about the colour. Truly, truly shallow. I also like shiny rather than satin. Proves my point. I suspect I'm not the only one of us who could also be called a "Shallow Non-Owner" of a particular guitar. I once decided not to buy a guitar I liked very much because although it sounded great, played nicely and was very reasonably priced, it came with a truly horrifying pickguard.
Shallow? Undoubtedly. But any of you who remember Stonebridge/Furch's "sick-dalmation pickguard" phase will understand.
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Post by mandovark on Mar 31, 2021 11:11:24 GMT
Interesting comparison. Both sound good, but to my ears the 'tonewood' one is better. The trebles sound similar, but for me the scrapwood one is muddier in the bass and low mids.
That said, I wonder if it's a bit of a false comparison. What he's calling 'scrapwood' is what I think most luthiers would call 'reclaimed tonewoods'. I wonder if this is aimed at a more mainstream audience, where people might be more inclined to think that if a guitar isn't made from mahogany or rosewood it isn't really a guitar, or that something can't be a tonewood if it used to be a bookcase. I can think of a few luthiers who probably make most of their guitars out of 'scrapwood' by this definition!
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Post by mandovark on Mar 29, 2021 20:08:20 GMT
This video features a Brook Torridge and Teign and the Teign (dread) always sounded good to me years ago when my hearing was fine. It still sounds good..... Oh absolutely, I've played a Teign and I thought it was a really nice guitar. The thing is, dreadnaughts don't usually suit me, and I think I liked the Teign because it didn't sound like a classic dreadnaught. I could imagine that someone who leans more to a classic Martin dread might not get on well with the Teign.
Basically, to my ears it sounded like a Brook guitar disguised as a dreadnaught
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