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Post by scripsit on Jul 15, 2013 13:07:06 GMT
Ha! Perhaps not as far south as you can go after all, and wrong continent. Think great white sharks, searing heat in the summer and kangaroos.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 14, 2013 23:29:14 GMT
Thank you for putting those up, Michael, that's very interesting and informative, even through my cheap headphones at work. I'll definitely listen on better speakers when I get the chance.
And I only wish I could. Several thousand kilometres of geography separate me from your collection, which is why these types of comparisons are so useful for guitar tragics like me.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 12, 2013 15:29:17 GMT
Nylon strings? I believe they would take silk and steel at least. No truss rods, so the neck condition would be a factor, but the cracks in the top don't look significant.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 11, 2013 23:47:31 GMT
That comment by Jonny is a very useful guide to evaluating the specific sound of an unfamiliar guitar: And I now have to try out my own familiar guitars over the weekend to see what I can hear using that technique.
Anyone have notions of other ways of testing out what a guitar sounds like for comparison purposes? I remember reading somewhere that when picking up a new instrument classical players will always immediately go up the neck to the 12th fret, while most steel string players work around the cowboy chord area for the first few minutes. An indication of where we usually play, or something to do with what sort of sounds we are looking for?
I must admit (sorry Keith) that I usually immediately put the instrument into DADGAD.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 11, 2013 8:50:51 GMT
Or you could fret that, bung it on a box and make a very short scale guitar.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 11, 2013 3:24:41 GMT
Dave, thank you, that would be both useful and interesting.
Some sort of direct comparison gives a clearer picture of what different instruments are capable of. Reading descriptions of the sounds of various guitars can be as frustrating as wine tasting over the Internet.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 10, 2013 13:50:38 GMT
Thanks for that Jonny, have a good trip.
So, Dave, are you measuring and X-raying everything, tapping and poking inside? You could take the back off and have a decent squiz.
What is a Sobell like compared to something like, say, a Kostal? Not that I've got any live experience here, either, but all of the feedback on the Somogyi clan/lineage of makers seems to be about being light and 'resonant'. It's really hard to tell, even from recordings, what the damn things sound like, given how easy it is to alter things with placement, types of microphone and all.
Sometimes it's very frustrating being a long distance from access to the instruments.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 9, 2013 23:48:03 GMT
Anyone here actually owned/played a Sobell for any length of time that can do some sort of a review? I've never had access to one and it seems unlikely that any will find their way down here.
It has always seemed like the holy grail to me since I got interested in the fingerstyle guitar thing, but I wonder how much of that is the Martin Simpson factor, that is, he could make any decent guitar sound really really good.
I'm torn between wanting to keep the unattainable GAS dream alive and putting it to bed once and for all as a bit of romantic tosh.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 5, 2013 14:43:35 GMT
I obviously need more good guitars.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jul 5, 2013 6:27:19 GMT
Interesting topic, and I'd like to know more from those people who regularly alter tunings.
I've found (13s on all guitars) that tuning the B string up to C doesn't cause much hassle, and taking bass strings down for the various C tunings is fine, but anything that disturbs the G string can quickly lead to breakages of that string.
For this reason I actively avoid open D (because the G has to go down to F#), and only muck about with DADEAE (Ed Gerhard's 'Handing down' and several other interesting pieces) in the last couple of days before I change strings. I've had the G string break in both tunings on several guitars, including some old 'beaters', even when its down a few semitones.
I usually have one guitar in standard, and alter that to dropped D or double dropped D at need, and another lives in DADGAD but can be retuned to the various C tunings easily. I notice that the strings become deadened quicker if there is much retuning.
I assume the thin wound G objects to retuning because of its (small) size, but the breaking thing is definitely real. I've used the old electric guitar trick of graphite in the nut slot, but it doesn't seem to make much difference and the string usually breaks at the bridge.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jun 29, 2013 1:45:34 GMT
Lovely sound, with lots of overtones going on.
Are the strings newish? 12s or 13s?
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jun 29, 2013 1:25:08 GMT
Beat me to it, Keith, this was going to be my first post in this section.
This is the best guitar accompaniment to a song I've come across. Love the way a single guitar becomes quite anthemic in the solo instrumental verse, but drops back intelligently behind the singing. June Tabor gets the melancholy tone just right, too. The rest of this concert is good, but this track is a stand out.
And some notions for another thread or two: 1. Who would like Martin Simpson to keep to guitar playing and back away from the singing? Apart from his versions of 'Boots of Spanish Leather' and 'She Slips Away' I don't think his vocals work. I wish he'd make another 'Cool and Unusual'. Or do some more duets with Tony McManus.
2. Am I the only one who doesn't get Richard Thompson? Some of the songs are clever, or like 'Strange Affair' quite beautiful, but I don't understand the fascination with his guitar playing. The electric stuff in particular is ... ordinary.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jun 18, 2013 13:06:26 GMT
Sarod. Still remember the first time I heard Ali Akbar Khan.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jun 17, 2013 9:48:33 GMT
I think you'll find the blobs on the inside of the top will stay there: they're part of the technique of embedding the carbon fibre threads which run across the wooden 'bracing' in epoxy. It's similar to the process used in boat building where fibreglass or carbon fibre in epoxy provides the strength and the wood is more or less a spacing device.
The technique is used on steel string guitars, too. You could try googling Gore and Gilet's 'Contemporary Acoustic Guitar' set of books for detailed descriptions of the theory and practice of 'falcate bracing' with carbon fibre. The books are expensive but a fascinating read for anyone interested in what can be under the hood of acoustic guitars (there's a lot of stuff about traditional bracing and construction, too).
I've noticed from seeing (and hearing) on other forums that the Gore and Gilet methods seem to allow others to create good sounding and looking guitars, even relatively inexperienced luthiers, which to me is an indication that there is something in the techniques they describe.
Kym
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Post by scripsit on Jun 9, 2013 0:43:13 GMT
Agree with you on avoiding some of his more unfortunate pop choices, and I [shameful admission] don't like the music of the Beatles [/shameful admission], but on the right tune his playing is masterful.
I find it amazing he gets so much tone without nails or thumbpick, and he has no trouble gliding in an instant from delicate touch up to full-on digging in.
This is exactly the sort of piece he plays so well, and that video makes it clear he can do that rare thing and lose himself in the tune without the mechanics suffering.
I must get the CD. I notice from reviews that all of the tunes on this are in DADGAD, which is another unusual accomplishment. Thanks for posting this video.
Kym
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