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Post by dreadnought28 on Feb 16, 2021 11:24:34 GMT
Ralph's latest creation Yew and Cedar size 2
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Post by scorpiodog on Feb 16, 2021 11:49:10 GMT
This is almost worthy of a new thread or two. What makes a great guitar? What makes a great guitarist? Is a Bown objectively better than a Gibson? Is fingerstyle objectively superior to strumming or accompanying a singer songwriter or playing rhythm guitar in a band? Is discernment the better part of performance? Does anyone really care? Answering the last question first, I think in this community the answer is pretty much everybody. If you were asking the same question among a population representing the general public, the answer would be very few people. I wish I knew what makes a great guitar. Some combination of resonance, tone, responsiveness, playability I guess. But it all depends on what you want in a guitar. Clive Carroll's requirements would be different from, say, Martin Taylor's. andyhowell got this spot on. But we poor mortals can get somewhere through hard work and the effluxion of time. Some Bowns will be better for some things than some Gibsons and vice versa. I think with a luthier built instrument, if the maker is one whose guitars you generally like, you have a better chance of getting one that meets your own specific requirements than a factory built where, no matter what the brand's reputation, there has to be some compromise and standardisation in the manufacturing. This is where quality issues arise. No style is superior to any other. It's all a matter of aptitude, taste and context. Bad strumming isn't as good as good fingerpicking. Flatpicking can be an art form, but not if it's me playing (I'm horribly inaccurate at flatpicking and despite years of trying, I can't seem to get any better). Discernment is part of performance, certainly. Is it the better part? You can be as discerning as you like, but if your performance is under rehearsed or your technique is poor, you'll still sound crap. Rehearsal and practice are the way to improve performance, but if you are undiscerning, you'll choose the wrong stuff to play, or you'll use an inappropriate instrument, or be in a duff key for your singing range, and you'll sound crap that way.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 16, 2021 12:29:03 GMT
scorpiodog I don't even feel up to being a mere mortal these days! DO you think we'll get to Halifax?
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Post by scorpiodog on Feb 16, 2021 12:50:39 GMT
scorpiodog I don't even feel up to being a mere mortal these days! DO you think we'll get to Halifax? Bloody hope so. I've got some new kit to show off. Oh, yes, and I'd quite like to see you ugly lot again.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2021 20:36:59 GMT
I have one of these. Sadly I can't play it anything like as well as this.
But it too is a nice guitar.
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Post by borborygmus on Feb 18, 2021 10:23:18 GMT
When we are talking about handmade instruments I sincerely believe it comes down to the specific instrument, some are great and most are simply good, irrespective of brand. Very true. They are made from organic unique materials with often unpredictable characteristics. If you believe the idea of "moon spruce", then even the time of harvesting will affect the sound. A great luthier will make the best job with the materials at hand (maybe starting with a good choice in the first place), but sometimes the tonewoods just don't turn out as responsive or as sympathetic as expected. It happens. I was once called to quickly try out a guitar from a highly regarded young luthier, because it was so good I had to experience it before it was sent on to its new owner. It was fabulous. I played the next guitar this luthier made, and it was disappointing. I still ache for that first one... And of course this is all highly subjective. Sometimes emotion (the backstory) is as important as the hardware.
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Post by dreadnought28 on Feb 18, 2021 16:52:10 GMT
When we are talking about handmade instruments I sincerely believe it comes down to the specific instrument, some are great and most are simply good, irrespective of brand. Very true. They are made from organic unique materials with often unpredictable characteristics. If you believe the idea of "moon spruce", then even the time of harvesting will affect the sound. A great luthier will make the best job with the materials at hand (maybe starting with a good choice in the first place), but sometimes the tonewoods just don't turn out as responsive or as sympathetic as expected. It happens. I was once called to quickly try out a guitar from a highly regarded young luthier, because it was so good I had to experience it before it was sent on to its new owner. It was fabulous. I played the next guitar this luthier made, and it was disappointing. I still ache for that first one... And of course this is all highly subjective. Sometimes emotion (the backstory) is as important as the hardware. The worst time to hear an acoustic guitar is when it’s new. What it will sound like down the line can be entirely different. One of my guitars, not a Bown, built for me by a world renowned luthier, never really grabbed me despite others very loudly singing it’s praises. I hung on to it but rarely played it until 5 years passed. One day I picked it up and was amazed at the transformation. It had come alive and sounded incredible. It still does. It has an Adirondack top. These always take a long time to open up.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 19, 2021 9:06:02 GMT
The worst time to hear an acoustic guitar is when it’s new. What it will sound like down the line can be entirely different. One of my guitars, not a Bown, built for me by a world renowned luthier, never really grabbed me despite others very loudly singing it’s praises. I hung on to it but rarely played it until 5 years passed. One day I picked it up and was amazed at the transformation. It had come alive and sounded incredible. It still does. It has an Adirondack top. These always take a long time to open up. Living with a guitar as it opens up is one of the real joys of this world!
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