What we have learned

[babablowfish]

Folks come and go and memories sometimes fail, thus the same arguments get recycled on this forum. Let's use this thread to set the record straight on some of these burning issues. I'll start:

 

1) Bridge pins definitely make a difference in tone and sustain, even on guitars which have bridges which have been "ramped" and the strings remain under tension when the pins are removed. Brass pins appear to make the most profound difference although the change is not pleasing to all and they work better with some guitars than others. Brass increases sustain and brightness. Ebony creates a darker tone and gives better sustain than plastic. Plastic actually gives a very pleasing tone on Martins and will be favored by many over bone, ebony or brass.

 

Freeman Keller did a wonderful job recording different pins and the results are clear:

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1534428

 

2) The early Yamaha FG series were made with all laminate construction except for those few models that had an "S" after the model # - eg the

FG-365S:

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1538974

 

3) Laminate guitars can in fact "open-up" and improve as they age. Listen to Freeman's all-laminate FG-150 and keep in mind that that guitar has a plastic saddle and nut! (See the pin test link.)

 

4) The nut does in fact affect the tone of the guitar even when the strings are fretted or capoed. This revelation was given to us in a tutorial by octavedoctor in May 2006. Read the whole thread; it is facinating.

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1238790

[learn'r]

Pretty cool huh?

[Freeman Keller]

look out for the String Test, baby! that one has already killed a couple of my sacred cows and I ain't done yet

The more I learn the more I realize I don't know.

[babablowfish]

look out for the String Test, baby! that one has already killed a couple of my sacred cows and I ain't done yet The more I learn the more I realize I don't know.

 

 

We are anxiously waiting.

 

(How much of a "donation" would it take to insure that you confirm that Elixirs do in fact suck?)

[Tony Burns]

One of the main things i learned from this forum , is that their are endless numbers of people who want to know what the best guitar is in the 300 range is , or 1500 etc. ( for most of them its their 1st or 2nd post)

Thou I like your findings - i think you are all very smart people !

[Freeman Keller]

(How much of a "donation" would it take to insure that you confirm that Elixirs do in fact suck?)

 

 

You will get to decide that for your self. With all luck I am going to post the clips and then run into the mountains for a week where there is no internet coverage (actually, there is but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a sat phone link just to BS with you guys and gals). It will be interesting when I return to reality....

[T.B.]

Thanks for re-posting. I didn't get a chance to listen to Freeman's Pin test. Baba's. I had a chance to test drive/play your Cort Jumbo at GC Tue. Man, what an unbelievable sounding guitar! I though she would sound boomy instead, the CWP340FM had incredibly focused sound with grand projection. A handsome guitar too, I thought the satin finish was an asset. I may stop by after work and play the Cort Jumbo again.

Trina

[Dave W.]

You will get to decide that for your self. With all luck I am going to post the clips and then run into the mountains for a week where there is no internet coverage (actually, there is but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay for a sat phone link just to BS with you guys and gals). It will be interesting when I return to reality....

After reading news accounts of stranded mountaineers lately, please put the final results in a safe place before you go.

better yet, just be safe, and come back healthy

[babablowfish]

Thanks for re-posting. I didn't get a chance to listen to Freeman's Pin test. Baba's. I had a chance to test drive/play your Cort Jumbo at GC Tue. Man, what an unbelievable sounding guitar! I though she would sound boomy instead, the CWP340FM had incredibly focused sound with grand projection. A handsome guitar too, I thought the satin finish was an asset. I may stop by after work and play the Cort Jumbo again. Trina

[Freeman Keller]

After reading news accounts of stranded mountaineers lately, please put the final results in a safe place before you go. better yet, just be safe, and come back healthy

Thanks, Dave. One of the sayings in mountaineering is that "there are old climbers and there are bold climbers, but there are few old bold climbers". I'm a pretty old climber.

We were on Mt Hood last weekend when those folks (and their dog) were getting overnighted. Our group said to ourselves "selves, its nasty up there and only a fool and her dog would go up there so lets stay down in the trees and ski". We did and it was great.

As a SAR guy I was on call for the other thing on Hood last fall but since we all knew it was a recovery there was no need to put volunteers in harms way.

And to bring this back on topic of guitars, I always take an old git on these trips. The group is pretty wonderful about tolerating my playing in the evening (maybe its the single malt). This year we have a gal from Scotland who is bringing her hand drums, an orthopod who is a pretty good harp player and another guy who plays rythym. We'll be jammin' at 6000 feet!

[DeepEnd]

Another thing I learn over and over is that expectations affect perception. If you expect superrazzmazzmium strings to sound "better" they probably will, if you expect them to suck it's likely they will. There's a discipline called "psychoacoustics" for a reason.

[Freeman Keller]

lets add this one - here is a comparison between two hog dreads and a rose (just happens to be Braz too), Can you pick out the D-18GE (kimseyfied), the D-18A (all $7000 worth) and the HD-28 (priceless old braz). Which do you prefer?

http://www.angryherb.net/music/max/one.mp3

http://www.angryherb.net/music/max/two.mp3

http://www.angryherb.net/music/max/three.mp3

http://www.angryherb.net/music/max/four.mp3

BTW, these were the inspiration for the way I did the pin test. They have the same strings, same mic, same pick, same player yadda yadda, and they spent a lot of time in the studio getting everything balanced to rule out all the other factors.

[guitarist21]

Holy smokes. We need to publish this someplace.

[guitarist21]

Holy smokes. We need to publish this someplace.

[guitarist21]

Holy smokes. We need to publish this someplace.

[T.B.]

Baba's, checkout your Parkwood Jumbo on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osz7D-nk_ac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ety8eLfKU5o&mode=related&search=

Trina

[babablowfish]

Baba's, checkout your Parkwood Jumbo on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osz7D-nk_ac http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ety8eLfKU5o&mode=related&search= Trina

 

 

Thanks! When I bought my PW340FM I had never heard of Parkwood and had no intention of buying anything; I just wanted to noodle around. That guitar is just so great it sold itself. And it is a bargain to boot.

[FallingRock71]

Hey FK are ya gonna let us know what pins/strings combo works best at various altitudes?

[learn'r]

We are anxiously waiting. (How much of a "donation" would it take to insure that you confirm that Elixirs do in fact suck?)

Lmao.

you are to much babablowfish.

I know I'm tired of 'em.

[TXTooMuch]

FK which clip was which, I know which one I like I am just curious.

[Freeman Keller]

FK which clip was which, I know which one I like I am just curious.

 

 

He identifies each guitar before he plays it. I think it was first the Braz, then the GE, then the A, but unfortunately right now the links are giving me errors. This was originally posted by the player on UMGF and these links were a mirror. The original posting had all of the information about how it was recorded, etc, but all of that seems to be lost into the bowels of the archives.