Post by vikingblues on Sept 23, 2014 8:33:24 GMT
The quest for a higher quality acoustic guitar to mark my 60th in several months time that started in the thread:-
Interesting Morning - possibilities for the 60th
has reached a conclusion.
This is what happens when you visit a shop that sells a decent range of high quality handmade guitars!
My GAS really has to end here for quite some time. The cost level of the "chosen one" puts it as not just 60th birthday present, but also this and next years Christmas presents and a big load of savings thrown into the pot too.
So we went north and a memorable trip it was too. Went up with my better half and had a very pleasant stay Friday night at the Ramsay Arms in Fettercairn (excellent food and customer care and friendly locals) before going to Stonehaven near the 9:30 opening time of Celtic Chords on Saturday morning. Also fitted in a visit to our youngests flat in Stirling on the way home to North Berwick later on Saturday. He's just starting a 4 years course at Stirling Uni and it was good to see him settled in and happy.
Celtic Chords was a wonderful shop - a much higher % of handmade guitars than any guitar shop I've been in, and an astonishing number of instruments for such a small shop. Wonderful to deal with someone so helpful and friendly and with as much knowledge too. As I was looking for a smaller bodied guitar it obviously did reduce my options quite a lot but there were most definitely a higher % of smaller guitars in the higher quality range there than anywhere else I've tried. Probably just as well for my bank balance that we don't have a shop like that nearer home.
I've just about come to terms with the results of the visit but I felt quite panic stricken about it all on Saturday night and early Sunday morning but got calmer and more confident about it all as Sunday progressed.
I tried in the following order:-
Brook Clyst - Parlour guitar - European Spruce and Maple back and sides - short Scale - 44mm nut.
Brook Lyn - Sort of 00 size - Sitka Spruce and Mahogany back and sides - short scale - 45mm nut.
Brook Torridge - Larger than the Lyn but still sort of OO - Sitka Spruce and Bubinga back and sides - short scale 44mm nut.
Lowden S32 - what Lowden call a small guitar, again OO'ish - Sitka Spruce and Rosewood back and sides - short scale - 45mm nut.
Tanglewood TW73 .... for comparative purposes.
The Brook Taw they had in a couple of flavours - OM sort of size but bigger than my TW45 which is usually about all I can take.
You'll notice they do have a wide choice of Brooks!
The Taw I only got as far as holding and playing a very few notes. Way too big and uncomfortable for me.
The Torridge didn't appeal to me for sound and somehow sounded slightly out of kilter whatever I did on the tuning - quite probably a mismatch of guitar and player or playing style - I'm sure it would be great for others.
The Lyn was good - I quite liked the sound, but for me it was overall no better than my TW73 - and the quest is for something a lot better than the TW73. In which regard I tried the TW73 they had in the shop and didn't like it that much. Very different sound and tone to the one I have and didn't seem as responsive. Sandra was with me when I did the initial testing of all of these guitars and she agreed with my opinion on their TW73 afterwards. I think I have been very lucky with the individual TW73 I tried and bought at the start of the year.
You'll see that leaves two I've not said anything about. Which were the two contenders. Very strong contenders. Contenders in a way that none of the guitars I'd tried so far on this quest were. We had gone out of the shop with my intention voiced of coming back in 6 months and seeing what they had then nearer the time of my 60th - hopefully they would still have these two in stock. A discussion with Sandra followed outside and she persuaded me that if I really did like these two and could make up my mind then I should go and try them again immediately and get one if I wanted. As she sensibly said I could go back and find them gone and no new ones in the shop that were as good.
The Brook Clyst they had was, I'm convinced, the easiest acoustic guitar to play that I've ever tried. It ticked the box that when I tuned down to open G and started to improv the music flowed very easily. I also liked the sounds it made and those sounds were not like the TW73 which was good - with a European Spruce / Maple combo I didn't expect they would be. It had really good responsiveness and projection. The sound was bright, yes, but in a musical way - as a minor negative there was a hint of the what I'd call buzziness, a little bit of an edge.
It was immediately apparent that the Lowden S32 had a clarity, responsiveness and smoothness in its sounds. Very much to my surprise, with its Sitka Spruce top and Rosewood back and sides, it did not seem as bright in the upper registers as Keiths S10 that I borrowed which was Cedar / Mahogany. I had found the S10 to have wonderful sounds but with just a bit too much treble/jangle for my weird tastes. I also found the S32 easier to play than Keiths S10 - the new design shorter scale helped and the new style waist is more curved which seemed to make it stay on my right leg much better. It had in common with that S10 a great balance across all the notes of the fretboard and sustain with the hint of tonal bloom.
So I had a choice of the Clyst which was much easier to play and the S32 that had the higher quality of sound. Once final prices had been established there was a differential of £360. I was very, very, very, very, very, very tempted by the Clyst. It is a strong lure to me as a buyer when a guitar is so easy to play. I was also tempted a great deal by the Lowden as it just exuded class. Had it been over £500 price difference as per price tags I'd maybe have gone for the Clyst. But at £360 of a difference I found myself taking a deep breath and going for the Lowden.
I did some playing on Sunday, and made some recordings that I can refer to over the next few month to reassure myself if uncertainty strikes again, as the Lowden will have to be in its case under the bed unplayed till Christmas. I do know I will need to take some time to get used to how to play it best. The wider neck and thicker neck make it much different for my left hand than what I'm used to and I found I was missing strings with my left hand finger tips quite a bit as a result on the fingerstyle playing.
So the quest has ended with a larger than parlour guitar and one with a sitka spruce top. I did not see that combination as likely at all.
I will shortly upload sound clips of those recordings I did (with some shaky playing in places) - just rough recordings on my cheap Yamaha Pocketrak recorder. I will also get some pictures uploaded. It's not a proper story without sound and pictures.
I am really happy about the result, but still can't believe I've been able to justify to myself spending at this level! My sincere thanks to Keith - whose incredibly generous loan to me of his Lowden taught me a great deal about quality guitars and helped me reach a conclusion to this quest.
Mark
Interesting Morning - possibilities for the 60th
has reached a conclusion.
This is what happens when you visit a shop that sells a decent range of high quality handmade guitars!
My GAS really has to end here for quite some time. The cost level of the "chosen one" puts it as not just 60th birthday present, but also this and next years Christmas presents and a big load of savings thrown into the pot too.
So we went north and a memorable trip it was too. Went up with my better half and had a very pleasant stay Friday night at the Ramsay Arms in Fettercairn (excellent food and customer care and friendly locals) before going to Stonehaven near the 9:30 opening time of Celtic Chords on Saturday morning. Also fitted in a visit to our youngests flat in Stirling on the way home to North Berwick later on Saturday. He's just starting a 4 years course at Stirling Uni and it was good to see him settled in and happy.
Celtic Chords was a wonderful shop - a much higher % of handmade guitars than any guitar shop I've been in, and an astonishing number of instruments for such a small shop. Wonderful to deal with someone so helpful and friendly and with as much knowledge too. As I was looking for a smaller bodied guitar it obviously did reduce my options quite a lot but there were most definitely a higher % of smaller guitars in the higher quality range there than anywhere else I've tried. Probably just as well for my bank balance that we don't have a shop like that nearer home.
I've just about come to terms with the results of the visit but I felt quite panic stricken about it all on Saturday night and early Sunday morning but got calmer and more confident about it all as Sunday progressed.
I tried in the following order:-
Brook Clyst - Parlour guitar - European Spruce and Maple back and sides - short Scale - 44mm nut.
Brook Lyn - Sort of 00 size - Sitka Spruce and Mahogany back and sides - short scale - 45mm nut.
Brook Torridge - Larger than the Lyn but still sort of OO - Sitka Spruce and Bubinga back and sides - short scale 44mm nut.
Lowden S32 - what Lowden call a small guitar, again OO'ish - Sitka Spruce and Rosewood back and sides - short scale - 45mm nut.
Tanglewood TW73 .... for comparative purposes.
The Brook Taw they had in a couple of flavours - OM sort of size but bigger than my TW45 which is usually about all I can take.
You'll notice they do have a wide choice of Brooks!
The Taw I only got as far as holding and playing a very few notes. Way too big and uncomfortable for me.
The Torridge didn't appeal to me for sound and somehow sounded slightly out of kilter whatever I did on the tuning - quite probably a mismatch of guitar and player or playing style - I'm sure it would be great for others.
The Lyn was good - I quite liked the sound, but for me it was overall no better than my TW73 - and the quest is for something a lot better than the TW73. In which regard I tried the TW73 they had in the shop and didn't like it that much. Very different sound and tone to the one I have and didn't seem as responsive. Sandra was with me when I did the initial testing of all of these guitars and she agreed with my opinion on their TW73 afterwards. I think I have been very lucky with the individual TW73 I tried and bought at the start of the year.
You'll see that leaves two I've not said anything about. Which were the two contenders. Very strong contenders. Contenders in a way that none of the guitars I'd tried so far on this quest were. We had gone out of the shop with my intention voiced of coming back in 6 months and seeing what they had then nearer the time of my 60th - hopefully they would still have these two in stock. A discussion with Sandra followed outside and she persuaded me that if I really did like these two and could make up my mind then I should go and try them again immediately and get one if I wanted. As she sensibly said I could go back and find them gone and no new ones in the shop that were as good.
The Brook Clyst they had was, I'm convinced, the easiest acoustic guitar to play that I've ever tried. It ticked the box that when I tuned down to open G and started to improv the music flowed very easily. I also liked the sounds it made and those sounds were not like the TW73 which was good - with a European Spruce / Maple combo I didn't expect they would be. It had really good responsiveness and projection. The sound was bright, yes, but in a musical way - as a minor negative there was a hint of the what I'd call buzziness, a little bit of an edge.
It was immediately apparent that the Lowden S32 had a clarity, responsiveness and smoothness in its sounds. Very much to my surprise, with its Sitka Spruce top and Rosewood back and sides, it did not seem as bright in the upper registers as Keiths S10 that I borrowed which was Cedar / Mahogany. I had found the S10 to have wonderful sounds but with just a bit too much treble/jangle for my weird tastes. I also found the S32 easier to play than Keiths S10 - the new design shorter scale helped and the new style waist is more curved which seemed to make it stay on my right leg much better. It had in common with that S10 a great balance across all the notes of the fretboard and sustain with the hint of tonal bloom.
So I had a choice of the Clyst which was much easier to play and the S32 that had the higher quality of sound. Once final prices had been established there was a differential of £360. I was very, very, very, very, very, very tempted by the Clyst. It is a strong lure to me as a buyer when a guitar is so easy to play. I was also tempted a great deal by the Lowden as it just exuded class. Had it been over £500 price difference as per price tags I'd maybe have gone for the Clyst. But at £360 of a difference I found myself taking a deep breath and going for the Lowden.
I did some playing on Sunday, and made some recordings that I can refer to over the next few month to reassure myself if uncertainty strikes again, as the Lowden will have to be in its case under the bed unplayed till Christmas. I do know I will need to take some time to get used to how to play it best. The wider neck and thicker neck make it much different for my left hand than what I'm used to and I found I was missing strings with my left hand finger tips quite a bit as a result on the fingerstyle playing.
So the quest has ended with a larger than parlour guitar and one with a sitka spruce top. I did not see that combination as likely at all.
I will shortly upload sound clips of those recordings I did (with some shaky playing in places) - just rough recordings on my cheap Yamaha Pocketrak recorder. I will also get some pictures uploaded. It's not a proper story without sound and pictures.
I am really happy about the result, but still can't believe I've been able to justify to myself spending at this level! My sincere thanks to Keith - whose incredibly generous loan to me of his Lowden taught me a great deal about quality guitars and helped me reach a conclusion to this quest.
Mark
)
She also shares an interest in fretted instruments which helps her understanding my urge to litter the place with increasingly expensive guitars. I'll have to make sure she gets a chance of something equally extravagant when her 60th clocks in. Plus as Brian suggests a damn good Christmas present this year!
Jo whoever he is.
