Pics!

ICBM

Here's my small collection...

http://i.imgur.com/NvLJqGk.jpg

2008 Gibson Dove, modern Ozark resonator, 1971 Martin D12-35.

Guess which one I play the most at the moment!

The Gibson is the best acoustic guitar I've ever heard, though. A lifetime keeper I think... took me long enough to find one. As is the Martin - I've had that since 1989, the longest of any piece of musical gear I've ever owned.

[Deleted User]

The great thing about good acoustics is you tend not to chop and change them. I've owned my Martin D28 for 20 years (the longest I've owned a guitar for too). If you divide the cost by days owned it comes out at about at about 16p a day. Great value. The Ozark looks great. I must try to find a cheapish resonator-the only type of guitar I've never owned.

VimFuego

my classical guitar, can't recall the brand. Doesn't see much light of day recently

 

larrivee OM05, my main

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

stickyfiddle

That Dove is so pretty. I adore Doves and Hummingbirds. One of those will definitely be in line for the next BIG guitar purchase, once I find a really good one.

ICBM

richardhomer said:

The great thing about good acoustics is you tend not to chop and change them. I've owned my Martin D28 for 20 years (the longest I've owned a guitar for too). If you divide the cost by days owned it comes out at about at about 16p a day. Great value. The Ozark looks great. I must try to find a cheapish resonator-the only type of guitar I've never owned.

I got mine by accident - a friend was selling a few guitars and asked me to take them through to the shop, but I liked this one so much I bought it. I don't use it for slide or blues, I play normal fingerstyle on it - it sounds great, and less like a biscuit tin with strings than you might imagine . They do vary a lot though - I've played a couple of other identical ones (different names on the headstock, but clearly the same guitar from the same factory) which sounded quite different - brighter and tinnier, which is actually better if you want the traditional blues tone. From what I understand the tone is mainly in the resonator cone itself, and obviously the Chinese ones are a bit random!

@VimFuego - that Larrivée is very pretty. The chap I got the Ozark from has (I think) three of them, they're wonderful guitars and very underrated. Flawless build quality and extremely responsive - not quite 'my' sound though.

I must get myself another classical too, if I can find one with a neck smaller than half a tree...

ourmaninthenorth

Here's a lovely Lowden 035 that I berate myself on a daily basis for allowing to slip out of my hands....GAS my arse, more like rank bloody stupidity....  b-(

VimFuego

*sigh* I have a stupid lowden moment as well. An out of area forumite (can't recall who now) wanted to visit CODA music in Stevenage but didn't know where they were, so I said I'd show them. While there they had this really nice, 2nd hand lowden (it was the jumbo one, cedar top with RW B&S I think). It had been played, you could see that, but was still in really nice nick, and was about a grand. It was stunning, but for some unfathomable reason I didn't buy it. What a stupid mistake.

 

@ICBM, yeah, know what you mean about the necks on classicals. I spent a good 2 hours in the Spanish guitar centre trying out the models in my range. That one had the thinnest neck and the best tone as well. It's really responsive. 

EDIT: the odd thing about the larry is I was actually after a Gibson, but was having real trouble finding a decent one. All the ones I tried were real dogs, dead and lifeless. That came up 2nd hand and had hardly been played and it just called out to me. I still hanker after a martin dread, played jals HD35 one time, stunning guitar.

ourmaninthenorth

The thing is, I've done it twice with a Lowden!! The first was an 025 that I'd had since new that I part ex'd against an archtop, which lasted about 2 months if memory serves me correctly. Then the 035 - Walnut and Cedar. Once is bloody silliness, twice is a symptom of something far deeper and sinister in my poorly wired head... )

Ho Hum 

:-\"

ICBM

VimFuego said:

*sigh* I have a stupid lowden moment as well. An out of area forumite (can't recall who now) wanted to visit CODA music in Stevenage but didn't know where they were, so I said I'd show them. While there they had this really nice, 2nd hand lowden (it was the jumbo one, cedar top with RW B&S I think). It had been played, you could see that, but was still in really nice nick, and was about a grand. It was stunning, but for some unfathomable reason I didn't buy it. What a stupid mistake.

I have a stupid Lowden moment too... I had an O10 and a 1961 Gibson J-45, and I needed money... I was playing in a live acoustic band at the time and the Lowden had electrics and the Gibson didn't... so I sold the Gibson and kept the Lowden. It was a nice guitar but it really didn't suit me, and I replaced it as soon as I could with a Martin. The J-45 was the best Gibson I'd played until I found my Dove nearly 20 years later. Worse, the idiot I sold the Lowden to totally wrecked it... I saw it a couple of years later in a very sorry state - thrashed, bashed about and with a badly worn soundhole edge. Damn folkies :x.

VimFuego said:

EDIT: the odd thing about the larry is I was actually after a Gibson, but was having real trouble finding a decent one. All the ones I tried were real dogs, dead and lifeless. That came up 2nd hand and had hardly been played and it just called out to me. I still hanker after a martin dread, played jals HD35 one time, stunning guitar.

The odd thing about my Gibson is that I didn't think I'd want a Dove at all! Or any Gibson. Since the old J-45 I hadn't been very impressed with most Gibsons I'd played, especially not modern ones - exactly as you found. I also really didn't think I'd ever want a gaudy, red-painted flame-maple back acoustic with a giant headstock, pearl everywhere and a bird on the pickguard that looks like Dolly Parton's stage outfit . But it sounded so amazing that I had to buy it anyway... a friend in the shop kindly left it out for me to 'check over' .

VimFuego

yeah, played a nice 60's J45 (I think) at the acoustic section of the LGS years ago, but there was no way you could evaluate a guitar properly there and couldn't remember the shop afterwards.

zoglug

Heres my Crafter GAE15:-

ESchap

My 1953 Martin 0-18.  Got it for a great price when parlour's were not de rigueur.  Had sublime tone and huge volume for such a small guitar and a "V" neck profile that was just so easy to play.

Sold it a couple of years back .. made a nice profit but have regretted it every day!   Only comfort is the guy who bought it was a much better player than me and could do the guitar justice.

 

rpr

Evilmags

Nice Larry Mr Fuego. I had a Lowden moment 21 years ago. It's still my main gigging acoustic as the Wechter is not going near a pub anytime soon.

dindude

I know Taylor's seem to split opinion more than most, I really don't know why, but here goes anyhow.

It's a GA4, non-electric, solid Spruce top, solid Ovangkol back and sides.

It's magic for what I want, the perfect blend of size / nut width / etc. to have enough ring and dynamics for fingerpicking but you can also go all Pete Townsend on it's arse and it just takes it. It's not flashy in looks, which is the way I like my acoustics.

You don't see these in the UK stores, they only seem to have the cutaway electric versions so I had to order it into Andertons on a bit of a flyer after trying other Taylors to see what I liked - it's a bloody good job I love it too as it was a wedding gift from the Wife last year so hard to get rid of now! (although there is one advantage of all acoustics looking the same to the untrained eye).

The other thing I love about Taylors is the attention to detail in all areas, the M/heads are the best I've used on any guitar, the hard case is the best built, snugest fit I've seen too.

All for around £1100 if I recall, which ain't bad value for a US made, all solid guitar.

Jalapeno

My Martin HD35, a monster sound.



My Maccaferri style Hogdson has gone, I'm waiting for a John Le Voi replacement at the moment.

My little Breedlove OM/MMe is getting a lot of play ....  (pic not of mine)

stickyfiddle

My Taylor 214, previously owned by Niallmo and GuitarGeek62. Not the most toneful thing compared with some of those on here but a brilliant gigging guitar

thermionic

In theory, Taylors shouldn't appeal to me (I see them as the acoustic equivalent of PRS - a bit too flashy, mainstream, bland and rather soulless), but I like my 310. Possibly the least Taylor-sounding guitar Taylor made. 

I wanted a small-bodied cheap guitar to leave out in the living room, conducive to being picked up when the adverts come on. I thought about an 00 or parlour, but I like the look of the old pre-war "blues boxes" and ham-fisted fingerstyle blues is more my style. Thought about the Epiphone EL-00 but having done some research I decided on a Loar LH-200 - a good decision. Astounded at the build quality and playability of a £200 guitar.

[Deleted User]

I know Taylor bashing is popular but I just don't get it. Bob Taylor probably IS the PRS of the acoustic world; he's found new ways of doing things whilst not forgetting tradition, quality and consistency are a major priority and he's progressive in maintaining sustainable wood supplies. I recently played a used 414ce Ltd (with rosewood back and sides) which was one of the most balanced sounding acoustics I've ever played. As with all Taylors, it played like a dream. Had I had the cash, I'd have bought it in a heartbeat. I recognise when new they can sound a bit 'hi fi', but once played in, they develop a warmer voice, while retaining great clarity and separation. I really like them....

ICBM

I like them up to a point. I had a 312CE when I needed a decent stage electro - it was very nice, very playable and sounded good, but it just wasn't very characterful. I probably should have kept it, but a friend of mine took a shine to it so I let him have it. (He sold it after a while too.)

The ones I have a problem with are all the more expensive ones, which really sound the same (or if anything, not as good in my honest opinion!), are built the same, but cost up to several times as much, for which I can't see any justification - fancy woods and a bit of inlay don't impress me. To be fair, I have the same issue with PRS and anything above a plain Custom or McCarty.

And I really detest the Expression system, so all their modern electros are out of consideration for me, ever. I don't like the comb-jointed headstock either, it might well be strong enough - although I've seen one broken - but it just looks nasty like a piece of Ikea furniture and I'd much rather have a conventional scarf joint.

dindude

I've got a lot of respect for Bob Taylor, the comparisons to Paul Reed Smith are fairly obvious I guess but I don't really think they stack up under scrutiny -  it's funny, those littles things I mentioned in my above post regarding the Taylor M/heads and the case - my McCarty had cheap korean klusions and the case was way too heavy and I couldn't trust it to stand up on it's side.