Members rjoxyz Posted March 1, 2009 Members Share Posted March 1, 2009 The second Stanford in a week showed up at my door Thursday. This time it was the PSD28, the top of the range dreadnaught in the Performer Series. I reported last week on my new Stanford PSOM10, the bottom of the range OM in spruce and mahogany. It is stunningly good. Equally impressive, is this spruce/rosewood dread. There is not much internet information on this guitar (or other Stanfords), but what forum buzz there is, seems too good to be true. It isn't. According to what I've read, the PSD28 makes grown men consider selling their Martins. I have a 3 year old HD-28 and wanted a similar tone. I wanted to keep the Martin cased and make a daily player out of this Stanford. It's good enough to do just that, and maybe more. The tone is in the same ballpark, in fact, the same infield as the Martin. It is actual louder (both with Martin SP PB mediums). It's bass is about as deep, but a little more controlled. The Martin is mostly highs and lows. The Stanford is more balanced. I don't know if I'll ever sell the HD-28, but I think the PSD28 would allow me to do so without much regret. It's that good. Fit and finish on this dread is great, as it was on the OM. Same super thin nitro finish. Much fancier, with abalone rosette, herringbone purfling (a little odd, with the abalone) and grained ivoroid body and neck binding. As with the OM the PSD has a relatively beefy 1 3/4" neck (unusual width on a dread), This one in ebony, not rosewood. Bone nut and saddle. Same vintage open tuners. Nice HD-28 style backstrip inlay. Same dalmation pickguard. I ordered a 50's Vintage Greven (that dalmation is too much with the abalone and herringbone). I also added a set of Tusq pins I had laying around. The wood is not quite the cosmetic quality of the Martin, but still pretty nice. I'm finding I like the thicker neck. My hand does not fatigue or cramp as soon as with other guitars. These Asian import Stanfords are hard to find. The Performer Series is earning a reputation as a line of Martin clones, maybe even Martin killers. I expect to have my 000-15S for my lifetime, but my HD-28 may not be so safe. Bought both at: http://www.gypsyjazzguitars.com/index.html Wonderful experience both times. Best setup I've ever experienced--even slotted and ramped the bridge to maintain break angle on the compensated saddle. The PSD28: The PSD28 and the PSOM10 (for Frank ) : The backs of both: The "Clone" and the "Original": Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted March 1, 2009 Members Share Posted March 1, 2009 Wow! Congrats! Must..... resist..... the... Standford... GAS...... Just kidding, I'm one more guitar away from the dog house.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Palmer Posted March 1, 2009 Members Share Posted March 1, 2009 HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knockwood Posted March 1, 2009 Members Share Posted March 1, 2009 Gorgeous! Congrats. From your pics, everything looks amazing. With the Greven pick guard, it'll be perfect. How's the quality of the tuning machines on those bad boys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted March 1, 2009 Members Share Posted March 1, 2009 1-3/4 neck on a dread. That's forward-looking, IMO. Great looking guitars. Umm, don't look Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revans513 Posted March 1, 2009 Members Share Posted March 1, 2009 Damn nice looking guitars HNGD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Great going, Randy. I wonder if a Stanford PSOM28 would put the Martin OM-21 out of my mind for good! Everything I've read about these Stanford has been very positive. Too bad there is only one guy in the U.S. who carries them. Hope you enjoy it for a long time to come. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dgimcmillan Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 with these Stanfords, from what I can see on this forum. It's really great to see things have paid off for you so well. If I had 2 goats, I'd post them here. Someday soon.. A serious question, though...when I see all those guitars racked up behind your new kids, I have to wonder how you decide which one to play? I've only got 3 out in my playing room and they're all different, so the decision isn't hard for me. How do you decide which to pick up? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigald18 Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Great looking guitars! How did the OM price out? Is it solid b&s? BigAl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 with these Stanfords, from what I can see on this forum. It's really great to see things have paid off for you so well. If I had 2 goats, I'd post them here. Someday soon.. A serious question, though...when I see all those guitars racked up behind your new kids, I have to wonder how you decide which one to play? I've only got 3 out in my playing room and they're all different, so the decision isn't hard for me. How do you decide which to pick up? Ian Same here. Two steel strings (cedar and spruce), one classical and one mahogany steel string on the way. Had I kept them all, which I think is what Randy has done, there'd be about 18 of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted March 2, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Should have taken pics in another part of the house (was limited by the sun) I am fortunate to have been able to indulge my interests. No kids, hard work and two incomes help. The future is less certain and my guitars may have to supplement my 401(k). At least the guitars have held their value better. Believe it or not, I have sold plenty, including one on eBay about 10 minutes ago. I usually play at least 2-3 different guitars a day, with about 4-5 guitars getting the most playing time. They all get played at one time or another. Some will be sold at some point. I really don't play the 12 string enough to keep it. Al, the OM was $650 w/case. The dread was $850. The entire Performer Series is all-solid wood. Both of these have huge open voices. I would love to hear one of the 2 mahogany dreads. Supposedly very comparable to a D-18. Kwak, the tuners are very similar to Grover Sta-Tites. Maybe not quite as smooth or solid, but close enough I don't feel the need to run out and replace them. These Stanfords are the most amazing imports I have seen/played. I own or have owned Masterbilt, Guild GAD, Blueridge,Breedlove Atlas, etc. I don't know why they don't have more distributors in the U.S. They are late to the game, but have a great product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fstpicker Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 ...The entire Performer Series is all-solid wood. Both of these have huge open voices. I would love to hear one of the 2 mahogany dreads. Supposedly very comparable to a D-18.....These Stanfords are the most amazing imports I have seen/played. I own or have owned Masterbilt, Guild GAD, Blueridge,Breedlove Atlas, etc. I don't know why they don't have more distributors in the U.S. They are late to the game, but have a great product. Your wish is my command! Here you go to a very long demonstration of my Stanford PSD-10 (full of plenty foibles!) recorded with a Zoom H4 in the bathroom. I recorded this in May of 2008. BTW, it has opened up even more since then and sounds even better IMO:My Stanford PSD-10 Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Oh man! Those are sweet! Congrats on both of those fine guitars! I wonder if they sell them here in Canada? I had never heard of the name Stanford until it was brought up here at the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingertwister Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 I too, have a PSD 28, & endorse all the positives about them - before I got the Stanford, my main guitar was a Larrivee OM 03R, but I sold it since it was getting no attention with the Stanford around! They are ridiculously good for the money.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TESmith Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 I have over the pasy year heard a great deal of good about these guitarsNow you got two of them..........Must be something good to them/the talk must be true! Congratulations I ordered a 50's Vintage Greven (that dalmation is too much with theabalone and herringbone) I will state, I think this was probably a good choice, maybe you can have a NPG Day and post a pic with the new pick guard when it is here? Would love to see that and how it turns out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mjuenem Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Happy new multi-guitar day! You get the Multi-goat! ' alt='>'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rickoshea Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Happy NGD .... beautiful guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TN.Frank Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 VERY NICE pair of guitars.:thu: A 1 3/4" nut on a DREAD, Wow, sweet. Still, no use Gas'in over it because I really don't think I could afford one. Besides, I'm happy with the pair I've got. Especially the 000. It's the first 000 that I've owned and it's really great for a singer(if you could call me one,LOL)songwriter because it doesn't over power the mix like a Dread does. Still, a Dread is great for playing in a group. IF they play anything like my RKs(and they're probably a lot better) then you've got a couple keepers there. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TN.Frank Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Your wish is my command! Here you go to a very long demonstration of my Stanford PSD-10 (full of plenty foibles!) recorded with a Zoom H4 in the bathroom. I recorded this in May of 2008. BTW, it has opened up even more since then and sounds even better IMO: My Stanford PSD-10 Jeff Wow, great sounding git. So that was a Zoom H4. (offical hi-jack) Can you hook em' to a Mac to download the tracks in mp3? How simple are they to use?(we now return you to your original thread) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted March 2, 2009 Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 Your wish is my command! Here you go to a very long demonstration of my Stanford PSD-10 (full of plenty foibles!) recorded with a Zoom H4 in the bathroom. I recorded this in May of 2008. BTW, it has opened up even more since then and sounds even better IMO: My Stanford PSD-10 Jeff I would love to learn to play with such "foibles"! Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted March 2, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2009 I too, have a PSD 28, & endorse all the positives about them - before I got the Stanford, my main guitar was a Larrivee OM 03R, but I sold it since it was getting no attention with the Stanford around! They are ridiculously good for the money.. First, thanks to everyone for the kind words. I was very wary about the hype I'd read about these Stanfords. At first, I chalked it up to "buyer's infatuation", of which I am often guilty. They seemed to offer what I was looking for in both a dread and OM. I bought the OM purely on spec, hoping for the best. I also felt a bit rushed as they are so scarce, and not sure if availability would get even worse. As soon as I opened the case on the OM, I was impressed. Excellent build quality and very light construction. Then, when I started playing, I knew the praise I had read was not exaggerated. Same thing with the dreadnaught. It truly is comparable to my HD-28, without any qualifiers for price, etc.These Stanfords do sound like domestic guitars costing at least 2-3 times as much and are clearly designed to mimic similar Martins in tone. They also make a slope shoulder dread, that is supposed to be phenomenal. I would strongly suggest the Stanford Performer models for anyone looking for a guitar along the lines of Martin Standard Series (if you can find one). They range from about $600-1000. In my experience, nothing touches them in that price range. I don't know if they will become more readily available or disappear altogether in the U.S. I'm glad I got these two when I did. "Ridiculously good for the money" is almost an understatement. Moreover, I can't say enough good things about the buyng experience with GypsyJazzGuitars.com and its owners, Gianna and Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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