Guitar to complement HD28

thermionic

https://i.imgur.com/0wsbWlb.jpg

stickyfiddle

@earwighoney No specific pref on body size, just “smaller than a dread”. That said, I don’t think I want to go any smaller than 00, and as noted am leaning towards the LG sort of thing, and then perhaps slot in a 12-fret 00 at some point down the line.  Budget wise I reckon I can justify up to the 3k sort of mark, but I don’t have to! 

I’m sure I would love something old, but I’m in Abu Dhabi, so it’s tricky and shipping is risky unless coming from a reputed shop. And CITES...

Gandalph

Doesn’t the WLK weigh , like, 3oz. I I’ll likely never own or even play a Kel Kroyden but I would dearly like to play that WLK

It is ridiculously light in fairness. Feels solid in the hand though, it’s just a little beast of an acoustic! 

If you’re ever up Yorkshire way mate your welcome to come try it. 

stickyfiddle

@Redlester I guess with "complement" I'm looking for something to provide a different vibe, while not going to the other end of the spectrum, e.g. I had a Taylor a few year back and that's a great sound for a certain vibe, but it's not what I want right now. I would definitely say the Martin "thing" is my baseline for what a good acoustic sounds like, followed by old Gibsons and basically anything used in classic recordings.

As noted above, I'm in Abu Dhabi, so my local market is heavily limited. Ideally I'd go via Coda and Guitar Village the next time I'm heading to see family and try EVERYTHING, but at the moment that's obviously not an option.  

meltedbuzzbox

Have you thought about a classical @stickyfiddle ?

Tannin

This may be logistically difficult in your circumstances, but I have found that the most useful tactic is to have the existing guitar on-hand as a control when you try the new one. Whenever I buy a new guitar (which is rather more often than it probably should be) I wander around and play everything of potential interest and narrow it down to a manageable short list: just the three or four that I really like. The next time I go in to town, usually a few days later, I take one of my own guitars in, and play it side-by-side with the ones I'm thinking about buying. (With several to choose from at home, I try to take the one which is most similar to the new one, or the one which I'd most likely play the same things on.) 

This live comparison with a familiar instrument of known qualities is really useful. It can quickly show that Guitar X, while nice enough in its own way, is in practice quite similar to an existing one, and that Guitar Y really is different enough to be worth buying. 

Given that an HD-28 is your existing instrument, at a pinch you could use a stand-in for it: a different rosewood dred picked off the wall at the shop would at least give a rough idea of whether that (e.g.) all-Koa parlour you have your eye on is likely to do it for you.

jellyroll

Tread carefully...buy a second guitar and then spend the rest of your life A/Bing them, trying to decide which one is your favourite. 

Not speaking from personal experience (cough).....

Tannin

^ Ahh, but that's the good outcome. The other possibility is that you get a dred and a parlor, so naturally you really need an OM to match up with them, just for balance. Oh, and something in mahogany 'coz you've already got a rosewood dred. And a 12-string, of course. Oh, not to mention a baritone, and I guess a maple jumbo goes without saying. And you need a resonator for the three minutes a year you spend playing slide. It's not being obsessive, you can give it up any time you want. Honestly. Cross my heart. And you are not going overboard, I mean, it's only one extra guitar. Well, one at a time. Just one more can't hurt, surely. Did I mention a bass?

It is endless. If you don't run out of money you run out of space. 

stickyfiddle

Logistics aside, I actually don’t think AB-ing with a loud dread would actually help much, as everything will sounds small and quiet in a direct comparison (volume is tone, etc etc). Ideally I would absolutely line up 4 or 5 guitars in a shop and take my favourite home. Thought in this case possibly not an option, even once I am allowed to visit home. We’ll see.

meltedbuzzbox said:

Have you thought about a classical @stickyfiddle ?

No. Nice vibe for occasional recorded parts I guess, but not my thing at all. 

jellyroll

Might also be worth consider a second large body since thats the size you like right now....SJ200?

stickyfiddle

jellyroll said:

Might also be worth consider a second large body since thats the size you like right now....SJ200?

Haha! That may be the next challenge... 

I think a 4 or 5 guitar set could be nice. 00, LG, D28, J45 or Dove, SJ200 and a 12...?

TimmyO

I learned that for me at least comparison is the thief of joy.

A big one and a small one is an easy choice in the moment and stops me having a guitar-comparing hobby that gets in the way of a music hobby. 

And I like em both enough that if I could only keep one, I’d be happy 

stickyfiddle

TimmyO said:

I learned that for me at least comparison is the thief of joy.

A big one and a small one is an easy choice in the moment and stops me having a guitar-comparing hobby that gets in the way of a music hobby. 

And I like em both enough that if I could only keep one, I’d be happy 

Yup, that’s where I am. 

In the same way that I’m very happy not tying to decide which of my electrics is “best”. That changes depending on what I need from it at the time, so as long as they’re all great I’m happy 

Basher

TimmyO said:

I learned that for me at least comparison is the thief of joy.

A big one and a small one is an easy choice in the moment and stops me having a guitar-comparing hobby that gets in the way of a music hobby. 

And I like em both enough that if I could only keep one, I’d be happy 

Well, if that approach works for you, fair enough.

What I like about my guitar comparison hobby is that it prevents me from fully realising how bad I am at my making music hobby.

Am considering expanding my ongoing "big one, medium one or small one?" dilemma so that I can further agonise over which instrument has the precise, optimal tonal qualities for a musical situation that will, thankfully, never happen due to my endless deliberation.


 

Andy79

I think a good companion for a 28 would be a short scale 00, or rather, an L-00. You are sure to get a wildly different experience each time you swap and let’s face facts. A good L-00 is the world’s best guitar, nearly. For me the 00 shape is THE guitar shape and that honking great sound hole in the Gibson adds to the volume (?)

I was lucky enough to play a small burst ‘33 once-upon-ago. Bloody hell it was good. Some of the high end custom shop efforts since then must come close, but they seem very few and far between this side of the Atlantic, rarely see them in the U.K.  

Even the lowly Studio with walnut body is a very decent instrument. Pretty sure I turned one of those into a used guitar in PMT many pre COVID Saturday afternoons ago. Ahh they were the days

FunkyGibbon

I have a 00-15, D18-GE and an OM28. The latter is the closest to your HD28 as a Sitka/Rosewood combination. From my experience and ears I suspect that a spruce/mahogany guitar will not offer sufficient contrast to the HD28.

I’d suggest trying an all Mahogany guitar, like the 00-15 or all Koa etc..You’ll also increase the contrast by going for a different body size. The 12/14 fret question is a matter of taste and technique. I find I struggle with short scales because of the lower sting tension. 

Definitely take your HD28 with you when you go to play other instruments. As things stand it represents your ‘true north’ and again, in my experience, my guitars sound very different in the guitar rooms of shops. I visited one shop where the room was vast but anechoic and none of the guitars sounded right because there was nothing coming back at me from the room. 

Happy hunting and do keep us informed on how it goes/where you get to. 

earwighoney

Andy79 said:

I think a good companion for a 28 would be a short scale 00, or rather, an L-00. You are sure to get a wildly different experience each time you swap and let’s face facts. A good L-00 is the world’s best guitar, nearly. For me the 00 shape is THE guitar shape and that honking great sound hole in the Gibson adds to the volume (?)

I was lucky enough to play a small burst ‘33 once-upon-ago. Bloody hell it was good. Some of the high end custom shop efforts since then must come close, but they seem very few and far between this side of the Atlantic, rarely see them in the U.K.  

Even the lowly Studio with walnut body is a very decent instrument. Pretty sure I turned one of those into a used guitar in PMT many pre COVID Saturday afternoons ago. Ahh they were the days

IMO, I find the 00 to be the most balanced body size (lots of assumptions, be it bracing, woods, but most importantly playing style). Aside from being a good companion for a D-28 I think a short scale 00 is a good option for anyone!

FWIW, the two loudest guitars I own are both 00 sized, one is an Eastman 12 fret and the other isn't strictly a 00 but a nylon string guitar (a flamenco guitar), so much so I struggle to play them (especially the latter) as anything more than the lightest of touches is like an uppercut punch. I've got a 14 fret 00-21 repro as well, (the 21 style seems to go under the radar) which is a bit more manageable.

However a good 0 shaped guitar can have a lovely focussed sound.

The downside of good 0/00's is they are thin on the ground in comparison to larger sizes.

stickyfiddle said:

@earwighoney No specific pref on body size, just “smaller than a dread”. That said, I don’t think I want to go any smaller than 00, and as noted am leaning towards the LG sort of thing, and then perhaps slot in a 12-fret 00 at some point down the line.  Budget wise I reckon I can justify up to the 3k sort of mark, but I don’t have to! 

I’m sure I would love something old, but I’m in Abu Dhabi, so it’s tricky and shipping is risky unless coming from a reputed shop. And CITES...

Have you considered the new Gibson LG-2 reissue?

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/ACCDYV983/50s-LG-2/Vintage-Sunburst

https://www.thomann.de/gb/gibson_50s_lg_2_vintage_sunburst.htm

£1.7k before VAT (I have no idea what the VAT rates are where you are)