new acoustic

Anything to do with the things that make the music we listen to.
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kennyk
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#16

Post by kennyk »

The faith range are good guitars. If you can try some blueridge, they're quite nice too.
However, the faith, blueridge etc an all the other korean and/or chinese made guitars sound 'right up there' at first. once you start A/B ing them with US or other hand made instruments you start to notice the differences. I used to run a music shop and stocked Blueridge and they're great guitars. until I played them against a L'arrivee. But to be clear, it is the law of diminishing returns, just like the hifi game.

The difficulty as always is that as a luthier, I see guitars retailing at £60. I can't even buy even half the timber for a guitar for that.
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#17

Post by ed »

word!

It's always going to be about diminishing returns...that's one of two reasons why I put a max of £1000 on it. The other reason, of course, is that I don't have any more than £1000 to spend.. :)

I did ask that nobody mention collings.......mea culpa, but if you read any critique it will usually contain the words 'this is a real example of diminishing returns....

In my favour, I think...is the ability to listen to 2 guitars and more easily decide which I prefer. I can't do this with any certainty with hifi, valve swapping and cap comparing etc....I just can't do it.

The only thing I know for certain that hifi and acoustics have in common is that preference doesn't infer 'Better'.

having said all that I'm still with the 415......I've just got to get all these guitars listened to before the 415 disappears...it was at a special price....
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#18

Post by Nick »

Are you buying this with a mind to playing for your own pleasure, or recordings? I only mention as there is often a gulf between what the sound is like from above and in front of the sound hole. (as I am sure you know having typed this).
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#19

Post by ed »

Both....

but, apart from the 415 these guitars are all cutaway acoustic/electric. The takkys have a tube pre in the body, the others are various but all pro standard.

I usually use 2 mics for recording acoustics(when not DI'd)......one at the hole and one at the end of the fretboard. I'm not sure what the name of this configuration is but it's fairly standard practice.

as for pleasure, that's the yardstick these things are measure by in the shops, so first and foremost the one I buy will sound good in the shop, unaided.
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kennyk
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#20

Post by kennyk »

I've always found that sticking a microphone right in front of the soundhole gives a too boomy response. The practice I've seen in studios is at the neck/ body join.
One guy I know uses the Mid/side technique with a pair of AKG 414s. The beauty of ProTools is that it's easy to create the side matrix later. (one mic in cardioid face on, the other just above it side on in figure 8) the cardioid is mixed to the centre and the two figure-8 channels are panned hard left and right, with one phase inverted.

But there are so many different mic'ing techniques, often it's best to try a few and see what works best for a given guitar/player combination.

Anyway, any further forward with your quest for a new axe?
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#21

Post by ed »

Hi Kenny

No further forward at the mo, very frustrated. My first observation about shops not keeping much stock has proved prophetic......

e.g gear4music who advertise a huge amount of stock, don't keep much of the warehouse stock in the showroom...so you telephone to arrange for the necessary guitars to be moved to the shop..........to be told after some wait......that the guitars don't seem to be in stock at the warehouse..sorry.

I'm currently looking at trips to Coventry and Stevenage.....

re the recording...having tried many configurations over the years I've settled on the method I mentioned above, I believe it's called 'coincident pair' as championed by Alan Blumlein..sometimes use 'mid and side/sum-difference?', which is a variation....I've found micing techniques can lead to madness, forever chasing that elusive ideal.....a bit like forever fiddling with record decks... No more fiddling for me, life's too short. Bottom line is that no clients have ever complained and it's got a bit academic because I rarely record other people these days anyways......

I'm far less perfectionist these days and I've found that any phasing issues can be messed about with in Sonar, presumably in the same way you do with pro-tools. Again, there are so many tools available that using these can lead to madness as well....

edit: a good source of info that I've used for the last 10 years is a book by Huw Price 'recording guitar and bass'....a recommended read.
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#22

Post by kennyk »

Having previously had a music shop, it's infuriating to see a lack of stock hanging up when it's advertised on the site. At one point I had around 30-40 different models of mandolin family and banjos physically in stock, which was a huge financial outlay - All the stock has to be paid for in accordance with the suppliers terms (usually 30 days) . So my cashflow was limited as a result. But I was too specialised - only acoustics. and therefore I was missing out on a lot of general sales.
But I tried to get into high end and had a few expensive guitars that tied up a lot of working capital too.

but these places like GAK, gear4music etc are really screwing the margin right to the bone, and that was a real struggle as well - I didn't have the purchasing power to get stuff at the same deals they were getting - many of them were grey importing and selling cheaper to the public than most stores could buy from the uk wholesalers. which was another reason I got out of the trade.

Don't suppose a s/h Taylor Limited edition 314-K is of any interest?
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#23

Post by ed »

kennyk wrote:
Don't suppose a s/h Taylor Limited edition 314-K is of any interest?
nice thought, but I don't think it's what I'm looking for. A couple of things immediately come to mind:

Is it cutaway
does it have a pickup?
I can't easily try it
is it in my price range if the other three are not an issue.
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#24

Post by kennyk »

There's no cutaway, nor a pickup. However, what Taylor started doing around that time was to have a plug-fitting endpin jack. that means that the endpin is already drilled to make fitting a pickup that bit easier - the existing endpin is screwed out and the Jack endpin simply replaces it.

the instrument, part of the 2000 'Legends of the Fall series' is, I believe, one of a limited run of 320 Koa back and sides, with a satin finish on the koa, and a gloss top. There's a curly 'T' inlay on the back near the neck join. It's got its own SKB case with the 'Taylor guitars' on it.

I'd be hoping to get around £750 for it. If you're interested I'm sure I can figure out a way for you to try it out. I've not got any pictures at the moment, but could easily take some.
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#25 Re: new acoustic

Post by gazjam »

Interesting thread.
I'll throw in my own hat into the ring, in a similar position to yourself and recently bought an acoustic.
Summit else to think about. :)

I was aware of the "usual suspect" Manufacturers, but read of issues with Gibsons, so took it that brand name wasnt an indication of quility.
HIt the guitar forums to draw up a shortlist of guitars to try and one name I hadnt heard of kept coming up, Larivee. http://www.larrivee.com/
Highly thought of by players in various guitar forums, bit of an undiscovered gem apparently.
Hand built in America, a family business and the founder really knows his stuff.
Found this video...


Anyway,
Went to local guitar shop to try a few and this one to me sounded better than any of the others on my list and I actually preferred it to a Martin D18, which was outside my budget but thought I might as well try one. :)

So picked up one of these, a Larivee D40.
http://www.larrivee.com/products/d-40-legacy-series
Solid spruce top, solid mahogany back n sides.
Ebony fretboard, bone nut and saddle.
Amazing tone from it, rich and resonant but clear as a bell.

Have a try at a Larivee if you can, the usual guitar stores stock them I think.

Couple of Youtube clips of it being played.

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andrew Ivimey
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#26 Re: new acoustic

Post by andrew Ivimey »

The best electro acoustic cut away I've played is a Furch. ..odd name eh but it was 1500squuds with of total heaven. I believe they are Czech.

Right now I have 300squuds worth of Lag- really.

& comparatively it may have blown away a lovely 600squid second hand yamaha something it sounds very inferior to the Furch.

But then, so do I.

There's a he'll of a lot if ( acoustic) guitars out there and only so much time.
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#27 Re: new acoustic

Post by andrew Ivimey »

Sorry about the speeling-silly little android.
Philosophers have only interpreted the world - the point, however, is to change it. No it isn't ... maybe we should leave it alone for a while.
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