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Post by surfguy13 on Nov 23, 2013 16:37:50 GMT
Hi Guys 'n Gals
Just a quick one to ask if anyone has heard/tried/owns a Lakewood A32? I am checking one out tomorrow and I don't seem to be able to find out much about them. Spec is out there but no 'opinions'. Looks like a very nicely spec'd guitar but there are clearly not a lot of them about. This one is about 13 years old and not the cutaway version with electrics that are available now.
I know little or nothing about Lakewood other than they make decent quality guitars. Of course I need to try it, that's the first step, but I have little or no idea as to value or any views from people that have owned them. I find it difficult to try a guitar that I've never laid eyes on before, play it for an hour or s, and then have to consider whether I want to buy it!!!! It generally takes me 6 months of using a guitar before I really know if it's going to suit me.
Anyway, any views would be warmly welcomed and appreciated!
Many thanks
Guy
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Post by ocarolan on Nov 23, 2013 17:34:10 GMT
Hi Guy - sorry, can't help directly, but Akquarius has some kind of Lakewood and may be of some help...? keith
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Post by Akquarius on Nov 23, 2013 18:18:43 GMT
Hi Guy,
I'm a proud owner of an M 14 CP and have played a lot of Lakewoods over the last years. Lakewood is a top brand for acoustic guitars over here. That's why I visited their workshop/factory (well, more than a workshop, but definitely not as big as a factory) a few years ago to get some more background info abut how they make guitars.
What do you want to know ?
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Post by surfguy13 on Nov 23, 2013 19:08:48 GMT
Hi Guy - sorry, can't help directly, but Akquarius has some kind of Lakewood and may be of some help...? keith Hi Keith.....thanks so much for that. Bernd has kindly replied which is great.....nice to speak to a Lakewood owner!
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Post by surfguy13 on Nov 23, 2013 19:21:28 GMT
Hi Guy, I'm a proud owner of an M 14 CP and have played a lot of Lakewoods over the last years. Lakewood is a top brand for acoustic guitars over here. That's why I visited their workshop/factory (well, more than a workshop, but definitely not as big as a factory) a few years ago to get some more background info abut how they make guitars. What do you want to know ? Hi Bernd Thanks so much for your post. To be honest there was nothing specific that I was unclear about other than Lakewood as a brand I guess. I have heard many good things about their guitars and personally I like the fact that they are understated and relatively 'bling-free'. I'm not wildly keen on lots of adornments on acoustics. I have had a look at the spec of your M14CP and what a nice guitar.....I see it has mahogany back and sides whereas this A32 has rosewood. My last dread was a Froggy Bottom and that has spruce/mahogany and I loved it but I always seem to get sucked in by rosewood.....no idea why, maybe a little more attack in some cases. The A32 has the same 46mm nut as your M14......for me this is almost an optimum nut width, how do you find it on your M14? I see that the neck is a satin finish on the A32 and I think it is on yours too.....how do you find this relative to gloss? I have never had a satin neck finish preferring the stickyness of gloss. The Lakewoods naturally have Schaller tuners......are they precise and work well? I have arranged to go and try the guitar tomorrow and I'm sure that a lot of questions will be answered then but it's a lot of money and a maker that I've never come into contact with so I have no measuring rod so to speak. Cheers Guy
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Post by Akquarius on Nov 23, 2013 19:56:33 GMT
To answer your questions: The 46mm nut width is absolutely fine to me. I tried alternatives, but found out that anything less than 45mm is not comfortable for me. I play mainly fingerstyle and I'm not much of a strummer. The satin finish is something which is quite common for german builds. My Akquarius (a Dreizehnter SJ15 Custom) has it, too. A satin finish looks a little less spectacular compared to gloss. As to the sound: I wouldn't dare to judge if a satin finish sounds better than a gloss finish. Mainly because I have played a lot of great guitars with a gloss finish. Lakewood offer both alternatives. Schaller tuners: I guess I can answer that question easily: I didn't notice these tuners during the last 10 years. So I guess they do a great job Have you tried to build your own Lakewood? You can do that here: linkLakewoods A-size is the smallest Body Lakewood offers. a 32-style usually is a spruce-rosewood combination. So what you get here is a Lakewood topseller. Here are a few pics I took when visiting Lakewood a few years ago. You see, Lakewood's not really big. They do a few hundred guitars per year. They use a patented vacuum device to glue the bracing to the top This is "Mr. Lakewood" Martin Seeliger explaining the make of a guitar body. I'm not 100% sure, but I think this is an A-shape.
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Post by surfguy13 on Nov 23, 2013 23:22:18 GMT
Thanks so much for that Bernd.....I am AMAZED that the Lakewood factory is so small and only produces a few hundred guitars a year. I had assumed it was a much larger concern. In a way that's comforting as there will doubtless be greater attention to detail. I have to admit to be dismayed at the poor finishes and lack of finishing on guitars produced by the larger companies.
I also hadn't realised that the A series is the smallest body.....that is a big plus for me. I too play 99% fingerstyle so the slightly wider nut is ideal.
I agree, a satin finish doesn't hit the spot in terms of looks but I'm not too worried about that....it was more to do with the satin finish on the back of the neck. Personally I prefer gloss on the neck as it determines reference points. I have never owned a guitar with a satin neck, just played one or two, and I found them a bit 'slippery' if that makes sense? A gloss neck reigns in the speed at which my hand moves up and down the neck and I know where I am whereas the satin finish speeds the whole process up and I find myself overshooting by a fret or two when moving a chord.
One question, you mentioned that the 32-style is spruce/rosewood....does the prefix letter mean anything?
Thanks again for all the info...
Guy
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Post by Akquarius on Nov 25, 2013 17:34:20 GMT
as far as I know A stands for Auditorium, whereas D stands for Dreadnaught and B for Baritone. Why the Prefix letter for a grand Concert is an M is beyond me, though.
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Post by vicov on Nov 25, 2013 19:40:13 GMT
Here's a guess... Grand = 1000 = M (Roman Numerals)
Vic
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Post by Akquarius on Nov 26, 2013 18:35:58 GMT
I had never thought of that, but it sounds sensible, Vic. I have sent a mail about that to the Lakewood guys. lets see what they answer.
I have to correct one of my former statements. I have mentioned that Lakewood has an annual output of appx. 400 guitars. That's an underestimate. Lakewood build about 80 to 90 guitars per month, so 1000 guitars per year would be correct.
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Post by sigmadel on Nov 27, 2013 15:18:11 GMT
Surfguy I've played the M32 rosewood model Om shape and it was a lovely guitar . Size wise and shape was the same as my Sigma though and it was just over £1500 if I recall correctly . That was around 5 months ago . There's something about Rosewood that draws me too more than Mahogany although I'd like a shot of a Walnut guitar to see how they sound . Good luck with your search . Also meant to add Schaller tuners are pretty decent Indeed and the same type Fender fits to all its American standard models . And some Mexicans too .
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