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As much as I love my little electric guitar (and it does get the credit for getting me back into guitar, since the thin body let me play comfortably with my messed-up right shoulder and the easy action was kind to my fingers while I was re-learning), there are times that I'd really like to carry the absolute minimum of Stuff with me... bardic circles in the park... relaxacons... etc.
So I've been guitar-shopping for awhile now, trying to balance the need for a thin body, light weight, good acoustic sound and good sound when plugged in (since I won't ever assume that this will never need to be amplified, even though I don't normally play guitar w/ WM).
I kept finding that most of the shallow-body electric acoustics didn't have much projection when unplugged (or sounded thin), but then Brad showed up at a Mother Grove gig with a new guitar. It sounded wonderful through the PA, and it was thin! Not quite electric-guitar thin, but thinner by about an inch than a lot of the acoustics that I'd tried and rejected. I asked him how it sounded unplugged... he waxed rhapsodic for awhile... then I borrowed it and wandered off to a quiet corner.
Oooh! It really did sound good. Mellow, but with enough projection to be heard. I made a mental note and went on my way. That was about six months ago, when I'd not been playing guitar (again) for long enough to be sure I wanted to spend $650 on another guitar, so I kept going w/ the electric and the amp can and kept the Martin in the back of my mind.
Yesterday, I reached the critical convergence of time (I had some), money (have some of that, too) and motivation (I want to drag as little stuff as possible to Thing), so I spent an hour and a half at Sam Ash over lunch, with the guitar showroom mostly to myself and an amazingly helpful and friendly salescritter, dithering between the Martin 00CXAE or an Ovation T357 Tangent which surprised me by being much more comfortable than Ovations I'd played in the past (they've finally figured out that some of us really want our guitar to Sit Still when we're playing it, rather than slide about like a squid) and having a huge amount of presence for a shallow body. Ultimately, after lots of back-and-forthing, I went back to the Martin 'cause it's mellower (and therefore probably a better fit for my voice), lighter, and (only a minor consideration) has an easier to deal with method for changing the battery for the electronics.
I'll admit to some initial concern over the fact that it's made of Martin's high-pressure laminate and not real wood. It won't do that lovely getting-better-with-age thing that most guitars do. On the other hand, I like the sound now, which is pretty much what it's always going to sound like. Plus, I know me... I'm hard on gear and this, while still not indestructible, has an extra air of sturdiness that I like, especially in such a light-weight beastie.
So now I have a new baby, which of course has prompted me to do lots of practicing, which means that my left-hand fingertips now go "Ow!!" when I try to type.
(Oh... one last note... I wasn't being sarcastic about the helpful friendly sales-critter... he was wonderful (and I'm not usually a huge Sam Ash fan, so this was unexpected) and I'd recommend him to anybody looking to guitar-shop in the Indy area. Jonathan Martin at the Sam Ash in Castleton.)
So I've been guitar-shopping for awhile now, trying to balance the need for a thin body, light weight, good acoustic sound and good sound when plugged in (since I won't ever assume that this will never need to be amplified, even though I don't normally play guitar w/ WM).
I kept finding that most of the shallow-body electric acoustics didn't have much projection when unplugged (or sounded thin), but then Brad showed up at a Mother Grove gig with a new guitar. It sounded wonderful through the PA, and it was thin! Not quite electric-guitar thin, but thinner by about an inch than a lot of the acoustics that I'd tried and rejected. I asked him how it sounded unplugged... he waxed rhapsodic for awhile... then I borrowed it and wandered off to a quiet corner.
Oooh! It really did sound good. Mellow, but with enough projection to be heard. I made a mental note and went on my way. That was about six months ago, when I'd not been playing guitar (again) for long enough to be sure I wanted to spend $650 on another guitar, so I kept going w/ the electric and the amp can and kept the Martin in the back of my mind.
Yesterday, I reached the critical convergence of time (I had some), money (have some of that, too) and motivation (I want to drag as little stuff as possible to Thing), so I spent an hour and a half at Sam Ash over lunch, with the guitar showroom mostly to myself and an amazingly helpful and friendly salescritter, dithering between the Martin 00CXAE or an Ovation T357 Tangent which surprised me by being much more comfortable than Ovations I'd played in the past (they've finally figured out that some of us really want our guitar to Sit Still when we're playing it, rather than slide about like a squid) and having a huge amount of presence for a shallow body. Ultimately, after lots of back-and-forthing, I went back to the Martin 'cause it's mellower (and therefore probably a better fit for my voice), lighter, and (only a minor consideration) has an easier to deal with method for changing the battery for the electronics.
I'll admit to some initial concern over the fact that it's made of Martin's high-pressure laminate and not real wood. It won't do that lovely getting-better-with-age thing that most guitars do. On the other hand, I like the sound now, which is pretty much what it's always going to sound like. Plus, I know me... I'm hard on gear and this, while still not indestructible, has an extra air of sturdiness that I like, especially in such a light-weight beastie.
So now I have a new baby, which of course has prompted me to do lots of practicing, which means that my left-hand fingertips now go "Ow!!" when I try to type.
(Oh... one last note... I wasn't being sarcastic about the helpful friendly sales-critter... he was wonderful (and I'm not usually a huge Sam Ash fan, so this was unexpected) and I'd recommend him to anybody looking to guitar-shop in the Indy area. Jonathan Martin at the Sam Ash in Castleton.)
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-24 08:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-24 09:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-24 11:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-25 12:16 am (UTC)Gratz! Can't wait to hear it.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-25 01:03 am (UTC)I was definitely impressed with the sound of the Tangent... huge sound for a shallow body. Ultimately probably brighter than is a good fit w/ my voice, which led me back to the mellower Martin.
Ouch... sore fingers... (there's a surprise, eh?)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-25 03:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-24 10:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-24 11:32 pm (UTC)That reminds me... I need to email him and tell him about the new toy!
Junior band-aids(tn)
Date: 2007-02-25 01:55 am (UTC)When I was a highschool sophomore and first picked up a steel-string acoustic guitar, my cousin Susie (who was 10 years older than me) advised me to play every day for a week. That way my calluses would grow in and the pain would go away. Well! I played every day, but it got so bad that I put junior band-aid strips over the tips of my fingers just so I could continue.
These days, I don't advise the playing every day just for the callouses, since they didn't come in that quickly. I do advise the junior band-aids, since most of the people I'm talking to are grown-ups with other things to do with their lives.
Re: Junior band-aids(tn)
Date: 2007-02-25 05:47 am (UTC)I don't want to do anything stupid, so I'm going to stop prior to the blisters or bleeding stages, and junior band-aids sound like a good way to do that. (If all else fails, I do have Super Glue around here somewhere...)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-26 07:05 pm (UTC)"Hear THAT, my stringed-and/or-fretted minions? The day approaches when guitars shall take over the *world*! Bwah-ha-haaaaaa...!"
They remain silent. They know they have already... ("And who's he think he's calling a 'minion'...?")