So…after roughly 15 years of service, I have sold Nancy, my steel-string acoustic. (She went to a good home.) This was the guitar I played in Forrest Strangers, all through college, and well, up until this summer, when i had Greg give it a new nut and a full inspection. But it’s time to upgrade–Nancy was an exceptional value for a cheapie guitar, and I know more now. It’s time to go big.<\/p>\n
So…armed with some money I’ve set aside from freelance writing and band gigs, I am officially shopping for what we’re calling an “heirloom acoustic”–something that will appreciate in both tone and value as it ages, but something that fits me. I think finding the right acoustic is a lot harder than finding the right electric; if my collection says anything, it proves that I find a wide variety of electrics to be “right.” But as I get older, I have gotten snobbier about guitars. I get super picky about neck shapes and tuners and bass response and stuff like that. This one is for life. It’s gotta be better than nice; it’s gotta be The One.<\/p>\n
I have small hands and I don’t know if I need a ton of volume, so big jumbos and dreadnoughts are not preferred, but I’m playing them anyway. I think I want a concert or a OOO or something rounded like that (and I have a thinline already). I like the warmth of mahogany, which is usually considered a less desirable wood than rosewood for acoustic back and sides, but it sounds right to my ear. I would like a cutaway, I would like on-board electrics, I would like something US- or Euro-made, and I would like some fancy inlay stuff to prove to the world that I spent too much. \ud83d\ude42 But the sound and feel are all that really matter.<\/p>\n
I have tried a friend’s Martin HD-28 and, while it sounded nice, it didn’t seem to fit me, either stylistically or physically. It felt and sounded bigger than I feel comfortable with, like I couldn’t control it. And another friend’s Ovation looked totally my style–blue flames with a metallic style!–but the unamplified tone was, as usual with Ovations, anemic. So that’s a good place to start, the two extremes–total classic wood and totally radical plastic.<\/p>\n
I played a really nice rosewood\/spruce Guild D-55 today, which surprised me (great neck, nice tone), whereas the Richie Havens D-40 (mahogany\/spruce) sounded good and a little more mellow, but I hated the neck. And the front-runner on paper is the Gibson J160E (yes, John Lennon’s). That’s mahogany with spruce, on-board pickup, and of course that classic Beatleness–I know how this sounds recorded. I just haven’t played it. Last Beatle holy grail I chased–the Rick 325–I hated when I tried. Maybe this will be the same thing?<\/p>\n
Any other acoustic nerds out there, hit me with your knowledge and advice. And yes, Taylor is on the list! Which model has what I want?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So…after roughly 15 years of service, I have sold Nancy, my steel-string acoustic. (She went to a good home.) This was the guitar I played in Forrest Strangers, all through college, and well, up until this summer, when i had … Continue reading