Members rjoxyz Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 Any suggestions for a short scale, 1 3/4" neck (preferably no V) 000/OM style guitar in spruce and mahogany for under $750 (OK, maybe $1000). Still looking to expand my fingerpicking options. I don't think a 000-18GE is in the cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar_stringer Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 24 3/4" scale? 12th fret body join? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 Crafter TA070: www.crafterusa.com/gallery/ta_070_lam.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members C70man Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 Any suggestions for a short scale, 1 3/4" neck (preferably no V) 000/OM style guitar in spruce and mahogany for under $750 (OK, maybe $1000). Still looking to expand my fingerpicking options. I don't think a 000-18GE is in the cards. Morgan Monroe, maybe a Walden, or an Eastman? Guild has a Gad OM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 Any suggestions for a short scale, 1 3/4" neck (preferably no V) 000/OM style guitar in spruce and mahogany for under $750 (OK, maybe $1000). Still looking to expand my fingerpicking options. I don't think a 000-18GE is in the cards. Take a look at this Eastman AC510. It's the mahogany version of the AC710S that I bought, with the exception that mine is a slot head. It's a 25" scale length, as opposed to the typical 25.5". Nitro finish, Gotoh tuners, other nice amenities, a lot to love. This model has been relabeled AC512 and sells for a few hundred more. Best,Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrmoe Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 ...short scale OM.....isn't that a contradiction?..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 ...short scale OM.....isn't that a contradiction?..... In Martin-speak, I suppose it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 24 3/4" scale? 12th fret body join? I consider anything under 25 short scale--love 12 frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar_stringer Posted February 9, 2009 Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sitka Spruce, and Mahogany? Slotted or solid headstock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sitka Spruce, and Mahogany? Sitka or Engleman--just not cedar or rosewood. I have that combo covered. I have a 000-15S (my favorite for fingers) and a Walden Grand Auditorium style of rosewood and cedar. Looking for a crisper, more fundamental tone (the Martin is close, but the hog makes it pretty warm/dark). I have a little Silver Creek T-160 which I think is Engelman. Hog/sapele back and sides. Looking for that tone, but with a little more resonance and volume. The body is shallower than any OM/000 I have seen. It also has a beefy V neck that is not ideal for me. I suppose if I forgot about the short scale, a Larrivee OM-03 might do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted February 10, 2009 Members Share Posted February 10, 2009 Taylor GC3. Spruce and sapele (sapele is very mahogany-like: Martin uses it interchangeably w/ mahogany on their 15 series), 24 7/8" scale, 1.75" nut width. List on the GC3 is $1,548; you should be able to find it for about a grand. I have a GC4 and it's a fantastic guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2009 Taylor GC3. Spruce and sapele (sapele is very mahogany-like: Martin uses it interchangeably w/ mahogany on their 15 series), 24 7/8" scale, 1.75" nut width. List on the GC3 is $1,548; you should be able to find it for about a grand. I have a GC4 and it's a fantastic guitar. Thanks Don--hadn't thought of Taylor. I have no problem with sapele--must have 3-4 guitars with sapele backs and sides. I will look into them. Might be able to find a used Taylor concert size out there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted February 10, 2009 Members Share Posted February 10, 2009 short scale OM =000 I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 10, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 10, 2009 short scale OM =000 I think Someone alluded to that earlier and I think that is true under Martin's nomenclature. However, it seems other manufacturers are not so constrained. I was really using the OM/000 designation lossely for a small bodied guitar, similar to either in the body dimensions. Probably should have stated that from the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted February 10, 2009 Members Share Posted February 10, 2009 Randy, I agree that the GC3 is a great suggestion. For under $1K you could find one new, perhaps under $900. Check with Jim at Guitar Rodeo. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretplay Posted February 10, 2009 Members Share Posted February 10, 2009 You could look at the Gibson Cascade, small body but full depth, short scale 24 3/4. Nice handling full bright sounding guitar. I think you can get spuce top hog back and sides but for me the cedar top and maple is the best.Not sure if they still make them but second hand comes up on E Bay now and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 11, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thanks for all the suggestions. Hadn't considered a Taylor since I sold my GS. However, the GC3 fits the bill on paper and should produce the bright, crisp tone I am looking for (if like most of the Taylors I have played). Will check it out. I'm in no hurry and will probably need to sell 2-3 guitars first, under my wife's household "economic anti-stimulus policy". May have to make a research trip to Elderly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted February 11, 2009 Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 Interesting that you sold a GS. Interesting in that I've notice a lot of GS's for sale and not as many GC's. Nothing scientific, something that I've noticed. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bransonb Posted February 11, 2009 Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 Any suggestions for a short scale, 1 3/4" neck (preferably no V) 000/OM style guitar in spruce and mahogany for under $750 (OK, maybe $1000). Still looking to expand my fingerpicking options. I don't think a 000-18GE is in the cards. They do have a "soft V" neck but the Johnson Carolina/Recording King 000 models would fit your criteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 11, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 They do have a "soft V" neck but the Johnson Carolina/Recording King 000 models would fit your criteria. The Silver Creek T-160 I mentioned owning is exactly that model, just re-badged. I have been experimenting with strings and may be able to get the tone I want, but it is really shallow in the body, something like 3 7/8", so has some inherent limitations. The saddle is also very low and I am thinking I may be able to ramp the string slots to get a better break angle, which should help tone. It's actually pretty decent for fingerstyle, but won't handle a pick at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted February 11, 2009 Members Share Posted February 11, 2009 Interesting that you sold a GS. Interesting in that I've notice a lot of GS's for sale and not as many GC's. Nothing scientific, something that I've noticed.Bill I haven't been following the market, but if your observations indicate an actual trend, it would be kind of ironic. When the GS's came out I heard tons of people gushing over them as the "Holy Grail" of Taylor guitars (and many saw them as the first Taylor's they'd liked). I remember feeling kind of "meh" when I first tried them: not that they didn't sound great, but rather that they didn't sound much different - if at all - from the Taylor 414's I'd owned. BTW, on a separate topic, I'm reading a tome (no other way to describe it) on the Reformation by a guy named Diarmid MacCulloch (Oxford professor). The development of the church was a lot messier than I ever imagined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I haven't been following the market' date=' but if your observations indicate an actual trend, it would be kind of ironic. When the GS's came out I heard tons of people gushing over them as the "Holy Grail" of Taylor guitars (and many saw them as the first Taylor's they'd liked). QUOTE'] I was one of those "first Taylors they'd liked" guys. Sat down in the GC high end cubbyhole and saw an interstingly shaped Taylor on the wall and realized it was one of those "newfangled GS models". Took it down and strummed a G chord and, excuse me ladies and all decent men...had more than Taylor wood in my lap. I was utterly stunned that a Taylor could sound so balanced, with a strong bass response. None of that brittle, thin brightness I had experienced with others. I fell deeply in love. Called another GC where the manager had always been good to me and he had the same rosewood/spruce model in stock, but with an ES system. Offered it to me for $1450 with case, which was the price of the straight acoustic one I had first played. Played it, sounded good and I bought it. Figured it was at least $800less than what others were charging. The honeymoon was on. After owning it awhile, I realized it was a good guitar, but nothing so special. The infatuation was over. The large lower bout was a little uncomfortable too. Eventually sold it for what I paid for it and bought a Larrivee L-09, which is more comfortable to hold and had a similar tone and a little more resonance than the Taylor. Now I'm considering another Taylor, as you suggested. The difference is, this time I actually want that Taylor brightness for fingerstyle. Strange world, this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DonK Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 I was one of those "first Taylors they'd liked" guys. Sat down in the GC high end cubbyhole and saw an interstingly shaped Taylor on the wall and realized it was one of those "newfangled GS models". Took it down and strummed a G chord and, excuse me ladies and all decent men...had more than Taylor wood in my lap. I was utterly stunned that a Taylor could sound so balanced, with a strong bass response. None of that brittle, thin brightness I had experienced with others. I fell deeply in love. Called another GC where the manager had always been good to me and he had the same rosewood/spruce model in stock, but with an ES system. Offered it to me for $1450 with case, which was the price of the straight acoustic one I had first played. Played it, sounded good and I bought it. Figured it was at least $800less than what others were charging. The honeymoon was on. After owning it awhile, I realized it was a good guitar, but nothing so special. The infatuation was over. The large lower bout was a little uncomfortable too. Eventually sold it for what I paid for it and bought a Larrivee L-09, which is more comfortable to hold and had a similar tone and a little more resonance than the Taylor. Now I'm considering another Taylor, as you suggested. The difference is, this time I actually want that Taylor brightness for fingerstyle. Strange world, this. Randy, given what you said above, I STRONGLY recommend you look at a GC. I'm ultimately more of a Martin guy, though I like Taylors a lot and have never understood the amount of bashing they take here. One thing is for sure: Taylors have a distinctive sound that permeates the the line, regardless of wood or body size/style. From having owned a 410CE Ltd., two "regular" 414's, and now a 414CE, Ltd and a GC4, I feel like the differences among all of these are subtle. The 410 was a cannon, although it had imbuia back and sides rather than the standard 4xx series ovangkol: it still had the classic Taylor sound, but it was LOUD! My current 414CE, Ltd. has rosewood back and sides, but sounds close to the previous 414's I owned, albeit with a bit more crisp bass. The GC4 is Taylor all the way. I have four small-bodied guitars right now (not counting the Morgan Monroe MV-01 I gave to my son): my Johnson JO-27, Larrivee OM-3, Taylor 414, and Taylor GC3. I'm going to eliminate the 414 from the mix, because it sounds more like a dread than the other three. The JO-27 is as close to a Martin 000-28EC as you'll ever come, apart from the real thing, in sound and playing feel (and looks). The OM-3 is a wonderful guitar that, to my ears, splits the difference between a Martin and Taylor in sound. The GC4 is a weird animal in some respects. To some extent it sounds like a Taylor dread - i.e. as far as overall timbre - but it has a bit more midrange emphasis and a little less bass - as you'd expect. It's bright, like you expect a Taylor to sound. And it plays like a dream: low action, short-scale. If I could only have one small-body guitar, it wouldn't be my first choice, because it isn't as versatile as the Larry, or even the Martin. But for what it does, it's fantastic! BTW, it's a better strummer IMO than the Larry or the Johnson. Taylor bright, very crisp across the spectrum, fairly loud, and a great player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted February 12, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thanks for that, Don. I lean heavily toward Martin too. My 000-15S never disappoints fingerstyle and my HD-28 splits strumming time with a J-45. I think that gives you an idea that the characteristic Taylor tone would not be at the top of my list. But in this case, I'm looking for a nice crisp and bright little fingerpicker. But, I don't want the "wall of sound" rosewood can create. The short scale aspect is not primary, but I do like a shorter scale for fingerstyle. Sounds like I need to go find a GC-(insert number here) to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Broadus Posted February 12, 2009 Members Share Posted February 12, 2009 BTW, on a separate topic, I'm reading a tome (no other way to describe it) on the Reformation by a guy named Diarmid MacCulloch (Oxford professor). The development of the church was a lot messier than I ever imagined. With apologies to Randy for a quick thread hijack , I'm sure that MacCulloch takes a different tact than I would (all history is interpretation), but it was pretty messy at times. Always is when you have people involved. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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