I chose this guitar because...

Subject: I chose this guitar because...
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 05:46 AM

As I am not a guitarist the technical discussions about particular guitars and makers here are all Greek to me (at least I understand SOME Greek!)but the following may amuse:
Last night at the local open mic, one of the regular singer-songwriters turned up with a parlour-size guitar rather than her usual full size model. "I bought it for the name, my husband's name is Martin and this is a Little Martin" she announced.

No, it wasn't pink!

RtS

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Bert
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 06:13 PM

I bought my latest guitar because it had a pickup and it was cheap, $70.

It is a Fender Starcaster and it has a superficial crack in the soundboard. The crack doesn't affect the sound 'cos it's a plywood top.

It sounds OK to my tin ear.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 06:34 PM

I buy guitars for 3 main reasons:

1. Love the sound!

2. Love the playability.

3. Love the way it looks.

Following those three main considerations, I do have a longstanding affection for Martin Guitars in particular...and am more likely to buy them than to buy the other brand names...but that hasn't stopped me from buying a number of other brands over the years, including...

Taylor
Norman
El Degas
Yamaha
Washburn
Guild
Takamine
Raven

...and some luthier-made instruments...

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Bert
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 06:36 PM

Martin Guitars always remind me of "Peter's Placebo" - An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: GUEST,Wesley S
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 06:50 PM

I bought my Martin D-18 back in 1969 because Peter Yarrow and Tom Paxton played Martins. Now I'm glad I did because it turned into a very fine instrument. My two Collings guitars - an OM and a 000 slothead - were bought because I liked the way they sounded. And felt. I also liked that they were made in Texas and I was in the mood to buy "local" at the time.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Bert
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 06:54 PM

...because I liked the way they sounded...

The ONLY way to choose a guitar.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: GUEST,lippoman
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 07:21 PM

No, Bert, it's far more complex than that - they have to be comfortable and playable too.
I've come across many guitars which sounded good but were not easy to play. And I don't mean badly set up - there are so many variables that what is great for you may be no good for me.
Sound alone is not enough.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 07:40 PM

it said it would have sex with me.........

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 08:00 PM

I bought a new one a few weeks ago. A Great Divide imported at "great expense" from China. I have said that I would never buy anything from China but never say never. It has been set up in the USA before sale and has great action, intonation dead on for all strings from the nut to the body, abalone rosette and mother of pearl name brand on the head. It has a bookmatched solid spruce top and excellent craftmanship. It has great volume and sound unplugged and comes equipped with a Fishman pickup with a built in tuner. Most of all it was priced at less than $200 on the bargain rack. I didn't really want another guitar but I could not resist temptation, so my harem increases by one!

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 09:24 PM

I've only bought 3 guitars:

1 Yamaha FG. Seemed the best buy of those I could afford (paying weekly) from a mail order catalogue.

2 Fylde Falstaff. I really liked this one and asked the owner for first refusal if he ever wanted to sell it. I bought it a few years later.

3 Jay Turser. I wanted a guitar with a cutaway and hoped to get a guitar the same day. It played OK and was the only one in my price range the local music shop had.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: gnu
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 09:38 PM

The music shop was bought out by a company from out of town and they were moving to a new store and everything was going for rock bottom prices... I bought a shitload of stuff, including my Seagull (sadly, now, sold to a good home as I cannot play anymore - I never could play worth a lick but it was nice to arse around with).

I sold the S6 cutaway for more than I paid for it and it was still a bargain for the young lad that bought it.

Oh... BTW, I would not have bought it if it didn't sound good... it did... for the price.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: GUEST,Larry Saidman
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 11:09 PM

I bought my old Yamaki Folk Deluxe in 1975 because I didn't have much money (I think it was only about $70) and some people who knew something about guitars said they were good deals.

After playing my Ovation for many years, I resurrected by Yamaki and I'm blown away over how good it sounds......better than a lot of Martin's.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Phil Cooper
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 11:48 PM

I have always gone by how a guitar sounds. But playability also counts. I had a breedlove for about four years that sounded great but was just stiff to play. Action wasn't bad, it was just stiff.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Little Hawk
Date: 14 Dec 11 - 11:55 PM

There's no guarantee that a Martin will sound better than----------name your other brand guitar------------

I've played Martins that were mediocre sounding guitars, although they were probably built quite well. I've played a variety of other guitars that sounded just as good as this or that Martin...maybe better.

Nevertheless, there are some Martins that have exactly the tone I'm looking for...and I like they way they look too...and they feel right. So that does it for me. If I find some other brand of guitar that does all the same things...that does it for me too.

Regarding Collings Guitars: They're great! Never played one yet that I didn't like.

Regarding Takamines: They all sound great plugged in. Some sound like a cardboard box when they're not plugged in...but others sound really good acoustically...so you just have to find the right one.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: banjoman
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 05:26 AM

I always had a great regard for Washburn 12 stringers and currently own 2. Both keep their tune and have low easy action. I bought my Lakewood about 10 years ago because I was invited to try them out at an exhibition and was taken by the full sound. However, its never been an easy guitar to play for reasons I have never understood -the action is low and light. I think its the sheer bulk of the instrument.
I also have a 1982 Ovation Folklore which was bought for my wife. Its for all the world a classical looking guitar but is a short neck steel string with an amazing sound. Again light easy action plus the electrics.

I recently bought a Taylor (414) because my son offered to pay for most of it. It blows all the others out of the water sound wise but I find the action just a bit harder than the other guitars but its worth it for the sound.

Now - if you want to talk banjos - I have about 15 of those but thats for another thread

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Musket
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 05:31 AM

I've owned a few guitars over the ears. The ones that spring to mind would be;

A cheap Yamaha, can't recall it by model but ply top, sturdy dreadnaught that I did most of my early learning on, and which started me in folk clubs.

I had a Martin D45 that I loved but rarely took it out because it cost me an arm and a leg and in those days, money was tight. Selling it helped fund my first house.

For many years, I played (and still do occasionally) a Jim Harley Canadin Winter dreadnaught. This has been with me for nearly 30 years, I have had it refretted, set up and it does feel like a second skin. I suppose I bought it because a) the action will have been lower than the Yamaha and b) it looked stunning.

Last year, I bought a Rainsong OM10. I know I have rattled on about how much I love it in other threads, but it is the guitar for all seasons, (not least of all because seasons don't affect it, but I digress.) It plays wonderfully and is the first guitar since I was a teenager that has had me trying out new techniques and really enjoying my playing again.

I bought it not only for the sound but, as someone who used to design vibrating tables for industry in a former life, I used to base my bracing on the double X of many acoustic guitars so was fascinated to find Rainsong had gotten over the problem with resonance dead spots that plague both guitars and my old tables by doing away with bracing at all, making the whole thing from graphite. The sound is therefore very clean at all frequencies. I liken it to a piano in that regard. Mind you, being such a clean sound, it shows up your mistakes too!

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Silas
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 05:34 AM

I recently bought a second hand Recording King ROS 16 parlour style guitar. It has laminated mahogany back and sides and a solid spruce top. It has forward shifted cross bracing that is scalloped,has a bone nut and saddle, wide V neck and is beautifully finished. Made in China.

It also has herringbone pufling and small abalone snowflake fret markers. It looks like a small version of my Martin HD28V, the build quality looks a s good and the sound is terrific - I absoloutly love this little guitar and cannot reccomend them highly enough.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 06:49 AM

Back in 1998 I was playing a Yamaha LLE because my Martin 000-18 (bought in 1980) just never developed a decent sound, which was a pity because I really like the 000/OM body size. Then, on a trip to NYC, I was in Rudi's One Stop where I played a load of really expensive (in US$, but good value in GB£) guitars until I found a Taylor 514, which just blew me away. It came home with me.

So, two weeks later I'm in Coda Music in Stevenage (looking at amps) and Doug, who knows I like Martins, says "there's a guitar upstairs for you". He wouldn't say which one, but after playing a few I picked up a Martin HJ-28 which was, and still is, absolutely beautiful - wonderful sound, comfortable to play. It came home with me. PX'd the Martin 000-18 for it. The Taylor stayed in the cupboard and got sold (to Emily Slade) a few years later.

Then in 2003 (4?), Doug rings me up (I was in France) and says, well, you're ahead of me here aren't you? So on the way home I stop off at Stevenage and find a Martin OM-35. I was playing it and I said to the wife "how does it sound?". "Just like the other one", said she. It came home with me. (So did the wife).

Along the way I also acquired (in 2001) a Takmine FD460SC, with the digital pre-amp, which, as Little Hawk says, sounds fantastic plugged in but not so good acoustic.

So, that's three. I've also got an old Yamaha SJ400S which I bought in Bristol in the late seventies to replace a Kasuga "D-18". That's four.

Others that I have owned and sold over the years are a Yamaha semi-acoustic, a Takamine dreadnought, a Takamine small-bodied something or other and a Sanat Cruz 000 (great sound, great to play, but slot head = a pain to change strings).

Only one thing wrong with Martins: the guitar cases are crap. I use Hiscox cases.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Raggytash
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 07:02 AM

I'm with Bert on this one, there is only (IMHO) criteria when buying a guitar and that is the sound, everything else can be altered including the way you hold or even play an instrument. Would,nt swap my Kinkade for love nor money, well maybe I would if someone offered me a suitcase full of it so I could buy another

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Mooh
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 11:37 AM

I go with tone first, playability second, looks third. However, since many of my guitars were made for me I had to take a chance on tone. Being a guitar whore of sorts lets me accept all kinds of tones so I haven't been disappointed by my orders, though there are 3 acoustics I prefer, 2 Marc Beneteau and 1 Josh House. One of the Beneteaus is my accepted standard that I'm conditioned to measure others by, but I've certainly had my ears turned on by Thompson, Collings, and a couple of other brands in the past.

With electrics I prefer Strats and Teles mostly though I've got a weakness for semi-hollows too. Though I have others, my all time favourite "Strat" is actually a Godin Progression, followed by a Richmond (also a Godin) Belmont. My favourite Tele is a Fender Aerodyne (Japanese), followed by a partscaster assembled by Dave Wren (ex of The 12th Fret in Toronto), myself, and Josh House. My only semi-hollow at the moment is an Ibanez.

Lots of other guitars, but I easily narrow down my preferences by tone.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: kendall
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 09:54 PM

As I told Nick Apollonio, this guitar he built for Jacqui is the sweetest guitar I have ever played. It is just about perfect in every way.Her name is Juliet and she drinks a bit, she fell over at Old Songs and developed a large crack which Nick fixed.

He would like to use my quote to advertise, but it would not be proper. I told him that playing an Apollo guitar is like making love, and playing any other is just getting laid. (That includes my Taylor) !!

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: PHJim
Date: 15 Dec 11 - 11:20 PM

I have three flat tops.
One I bought for sentimental reasons, but it's a great player. My first guitar, bought used in 1960, was a Goya M-26, a maple backed sunburst dreadnought with Brazilian board and bridge. I sold it when the action started to get difficult and was always sorry. A few years ago I found another one, a 1958 M=26, and bought it. It's a great guitar, easy to play and good sounding.
I also have a 1962 Martin D-21 that is a great flat picking guitar and also works well for finger-picking.
I also have a 1950 Gibson LG1, a small ladder braced guitar that's great for blues and swing rhythm styles.
I wouldn't want to give up any of these guitars. They're very different, but each are great for their purpose.

I also have an old laminated Yamaha set up as a high strung. Serves the purpose.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 05:57 AM

See what I mean! The guitar nerds have taken over the thread, no-one has a silly reason for choosing an instrument!

RtS

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: theleveller
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 07:06 AM

I chose my Lowden because I wanted a loud 'un.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Gurney
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 01:23 PM

I bought my Jack and Danny Brothers online, unseen, for just over $70 because of the price. I've kept it because it is almost perfect for me.
Loud, sensitive.... Oh, I was talking about the guitar, wasn't I!

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: saulgoldie
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 01:56 PM

1) I went into HOMT to buy a Martin. David showed me an Alvarez Yairi and said it was a much better buy for the money. Less'n half the price of a Martin. Nice axe.

2) Guild J30 jumbo 12. Got some money from an insurance settlement--fecking drunk mofo rear-ended me; ouch!--and I wanted a nice 12. This one looked very nice. Very pretty. Sounds nice, too.

3) Yamaha 12 string. I think it is an FG460. (I'm away from it right now, and I can never remember the exact model.) I think this was supposed to be an attempt at a Martin "soundsalike." It does, enough for me, anyway. It was a giveaway on eBay. Something like $150. I didn't "need" another 12. But what has "need" got to do with it?

Saul

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 06:55 PM

I chose my guitar because I've only got a small willy and its a penis substitute. Big and immensely powerful!

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: GUEST,Chongo Chimp
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 07:41 PM

Now yer talkin', Big Al! Finally, a sensible reason for buyin' a guitar. I got a big saxophone fer the same basic purpose. Works like a charm.

Ook! Ook! ;-D

- Chongo

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Bobert
Date: 16 Dec 11 - 09:43 PM

I bought my 60s S. Yaria at a pawn shop for $40... Gave it to my son who stuck it in a closet that had moisture issues and got it back with the top warped out like blow fish... Stuck in in my barn for the next 5 years and then one day saw it there all blown up and warped...

So I took it to my lutherer friend at Pickers Supply in Fredricksburg, Va., Joe Latham, who for $200 he fixed it and I'm playing it as my main geetar...

Plays great and sound great...

B~

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Singing Referee
Date: 17 Dec 11 - 05:08 AM

You win some - you lose some!

I bought an Aria in my local (St Albans UK) freindly guitar shop because I had just come back to folk music after a 25 year absence and it was the best sounding/playing guitar in the shop for under £200. I would probably still be playing it today except...

I had a friend in the 1960's who had a Martin D28, I'd never heard of Martin guitars, but it sounded so good I swore I'd buy one eventualy. That day came 30 years later. A while after buying the Aria I found I had got a little more money to spend, I'd got a business trip to Chicago lined up so decided to see if I could find a bargain while in the US. I played everything I could find in Guitar Center in my price range and nothing sounded better that one particular Martin D16GT. It cost me $850, equivalent to £500 at the time and would have cost £1000 in the UK.

For the next few years, everywhere I took it people commented on the great sound, and it would still be my number one guitar today except...

Almost 10 years later, I was back in the US on business, but this time on a series of visits. I decided to buy a Little Martin because I thought I wanted something that would go in the overhead lockers. I don't do the travelling anymore, so never play it, but...

While I was in the shop, I of course tried lots of other stuff and one was a Seagull. I just loved the full mellow sound it made, perfect to support the harmony singing in the duo which is now my main musical outlet. So next time I was back in the US I bought one; a cedar topped Maritine. The action wasn't great, but I new my freindly luthier in St Albans would sort that for me. It sounds wonderful, everywhere I take it people comment on the great sound. I still enjoy playing the D16GT, but the Seagull is now number one. It just fits the act better.

That was two years ago and will be it for a while. "She who must be obeyed" won't let me clutter the house with any more guitars, and I can't bear the idea of parting with anything. There are another 3 including Spanish and solid electric hanging around as well!

Moral: If it sounds right, it is right. Buy it for any other reason and you (or at least I) will probably regret it.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: kendall
Date: 17 Dec 11 - 09:40 AM

I've seen Martins that sounded like crap, and I've seen Yamahas that sounded great. Forget the name; play it.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: Bruce MacNeill
Date: 18 Dec 11 - 09:33 AM

Being old but new at this game, I bought a Martin because I had heard that no one was ever laughed off stage for owning a Martin. So far, it has worked. Before being enticed to sing, I was playing Gibson arch-tops and they just look funny doing folkie stuff.

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: BrooklynJay
Date: 18 Dec 11 - 09:45 AM

I bought my (used) Guild D-25 in January, 1988 because some damn sonofabitch burgled my apartment right after Christmas 1987, and stole my previous guitar. Memory fails, but I think I paid under $250 for it; it was a 1985 model in mint, pristine condition. It's still my one and only guitar, but it's not quite mint any more.

And, oh yes, I liked the sound of it - probably the main reason I bought it.

Jay

Subject: RE: I chose this guitar because...
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 18 Dec 11 - 10:34 AM

I bought my used Collings OM1A at a small shop because after playing it for an hour I couldn't imagine not having it. I just went in there to buy some strings.
After awhile I got this bright idea that I could get it's sound, only larger, if I had a larger version of my OM with the same tonewoods, mahogany and adirondack. Since Collings doesn't make a 0000 size I looked elsewhere and found an F model Froggy Bottom at a great price on the internet and I took a chance on it. My theory did not prove out. The two instruments don't sound too similar at all.
Fortunately, though, the Froggy turned turned out to be the most versatile guitar I've owned and the Collings is still great for fingerpicking and old time flatpicking.