garthman
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Posts posted by garthman
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On 2/19/2024 at 3:00 AM, daddymack said:
.........when one owns over a dozen guitars, electric and acoustic, one learns to adjust accordingly. Fretboard radius is a consideration, but certainly not a deal killer, if you like everything else about the instrument.
Yes. I own different guitars too: acoustic, classical and electric (so that's neck widths ranging from 40mm to 52mm) and I switch between them without thinking about it.
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I keep one (acoustic) guitar tuned to open C# (which is really just open D tuned down one semitone). I occasionally go down another semitone to open C but even with heavy strings you start running into intonation problems.
The only other altered tuning I use is double-drop D (standare E tuning with both E strings tuned down to D). This one is usually on my 12 string acoustic.
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New York Mining Disaster 1941
The BeeGees first hit. Before they discovered falsetto, phew!
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Congratulations, Misha. A nice looking guitar.
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On 3/12/2024 at 12:32 AM, Idunno said:
Howard and DM, thanks for the greetings..
Howard, I have dual citizenship including US and Italian. Croatian is in the making. I'll be traveling to Italy (Palermo, Sicily) for a 10 day reconnoiter to get the lay of the land and a plan for retirement there. Both of my adult sons also have Italian citizenship, through me, and the goal is US expatriation within the next 2 years. I intend to fish the north coast of Sicily and play guitar. This self-contained guitar/amp/oar Enya is the logical choice for that lifestyle.
Joe. Sounds to me like a very good plan. I am currently enjoying a brief respite from the cold and damp of the UK in the sun and warmth of Gran Canaria (without a guitar, alas, but that's a small price to pay). A simple lifestyle in Sicily sounds heavenly albeit that I would probably head north during July an August. I sincerely hope that it comes to pass for you.
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Hey Joe.
Good to see back here - ups the number of contributors by a good 25%
And thanks for the review of the Enya guitar. I've always harboured a deep suspicion of non-wood guitars but it seems that they might be worth a look. HST I don't need any more of them and am seriously considering thinning down the herd to a more storage friendly size. I play my LAG and Walden classicals most of the time.
Look forward to hearing it I must put something up in the VOM1T thread too - been lazy this year.
Where are you thinking of moving to?
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7 hours ago, Misha said:
I tried some inexpensive Eastman guitars but there were better guitars in the store.
I found a used Yamaha LL6 ARE but it’s 600$ Cad plus taxes (15%) and there is a ding in the top. It’s small, but seems deep. At first I did not see it. Too bad because I really liked the guitar. I asked for the price and I think he thought I would not negotiate and did not offer a rebate. The other guitar that I liked is a Taylor 114 CE-S (1100$ Cad + taxes…)
I will show my Cort Earth Custom to a luthier and ask how much it would cost to fix it before I spend 1000$ on a guitar with laminate back and sides… I still like the Yamaha Storia but it’s a toy compared to a Taylor 114.
I think that is a very sensible thing to do, Misha. I have always maintained that the Cort Earth guitars (and the Tanglewood Earth guitars - same thing because Cort made them for Tanglewood) are probably the finest instruments at the price point.
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23 hours ago, daddymack said:
Trigger would like to have a word, sir....😉
30 million, eh?
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I would add:
Check for wear on the frets, especially on the 1st to 5th frets under the 1st and 2nd strings (if there are deep grooves in the frets you may need to have them replaced).
Check the height of the saddle above the bridge slot (if there is only a little of the saddle showing it may be difficult to lower the action should you need to).
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On 2/26/2024 at 12:56 AM, Misha said:
I could also look at Lag guitars. At least two shops have them but one is 3 hours away! (But the roadtrip would be nice!)
What means "Open Pore back and sides" ??? https://www.theguitarcorner.ca/shop/c/p/Lag-T170ACE-Tramontane-Auditorium-Cutaway-Electro-Guitar-x67437248.htm
Edit:
(I think it means thin finish instead of thick veneer !?!
)
Yes, it's a vey thin coating of (usually) matt (but sometimes satin) varnish.
A friend of mine (to whom I'd recommended LAG) bought that (or a very similar guitar) a few months ago. He thinks it's the "best thing since sliced bread" and it is now his #1 guitar.
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Hi Misha
I haven't played either of the Martins you mention. I have played an X series with the HPL composite back and series and, like Daddymack says, it's fine plugged in. Generally though, I'm underwhelmed by Martin guitars - I don't think they play and sound any better than many guitars costing much less.
For a very good, well made guitar that plays and sounds excellent and is very reasonably priced you could do a lot worse than the Crafter TO35. Here is a link to a UK store where you can check it out (it's also available as an electro-acoustic):
https://badlandsguitars.co.uk/products/crafter-t-035
LAG (French company) and Walden also do some very good guitars. UK compnay Tanglewood are always worth a look too. I don't know if these brands are available in Canada but, if so, they are all fine instruments.
But, like Daddymack also say, "try before you buy" if possible.
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3 hours ago, daddymack said:
. . . . . I actually wound up scavenging parts from other damaged tuners I had collected from other replacement jobs and cobbled together a full two strips with matching buttons.
LOL. Yeah, I do that too. I have a box full of old bits and bobs.
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20 hours ago, DeepEnd said:
Gotta agree with daddymack on replacing the old tuners but glad to hear you're still liking your Walden. Happy New Tuners Day.
Well, 5 minutes work with a touch of epoxy resin gave me over 4 years of use with the original tuners - and the repair was virtually invisible - with none of the aggro of finding good looking tuners that fitted.
As it happened, I found some quickly and at a good price. Same as these but I paid a £ less:
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8 hours ago, daddymack said:
Sadly, much....
True, alas.
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How much more stupid can this world become . . . . ?
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2 hours ago, daddymack said:
I think, had it been me [y'know, the repair guy...], I would have just replaced all the tuners when I bought it, rather than epoxying parts together...but still, you are way ahead on that axe!
Well, that was my first thought too. . . .
But being also a repair guy - and having grown up in the "make do and mend" years (rather than in the wasteful, nowadays "throw it in the trash and buy another" culture) - I went the repair route.
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I posted this NGD thread about 41/2 years ago following getting this guitar at £45 due to a broken tuner button. I fixed the button with epoxy resin and it worked fine. Another button broke a year or so later and I fixed that with epoxy too. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that a couple more buttons were cracking so I bought a new set of machine heads from Ebay (£8.50). One of the old buttons broke into several pieces today so I fitted the new machune heads - fitted perfectly and work great. So - the old tuners lasted pretty well, eh? My most-played guitar. The sun shines sometimes.
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5 hours ago, Misha said:
I tried another Yamaha FG800M today at Bestbuy and it was a very nice guitar. This one had lower action than mine and even easier to play. A part from Godin (Seagull, Art & Lutherie, Norman, Simon & Patrick) I don't really know other brands and Godin guitars are are getting more expensive then they used to be, even in Canada where they are made.
Everything is getting more expensive, irrespective of where it's made, Misha.
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7 hours ago, DeepEnd said:
AFAIK Walden folded years ago but there might be some on the used market. . . . . . .
On the contrary they are alive and very well and still producing excellent guitars:
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PS. And Walden - great guitars.
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Crafter, Faith, LAG, Tanglewood, Yamaha.
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On 1/15/2024 at 12:13 AM, badpenguin said:
Unfortunately, the Pacifica 112 ISN'T a super strat by any stretch of the imagination. A fat strat, yes, super strat, nope.
Well, fat strat, superstrat, whatever. It doesn't really matter - it's the amp and pedals that do the business.
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Forget Ibanez and Schecter. The Yamaha Pacifica 112 is the best budget superstrat type (HSS) guitar on the planet. You should be able to get one for ~ $350 new. Spend the rest of your money on a good amp.
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14 hours ago, panhandler said:
I've actually never left. I've just been hanging with the reprobates down in the PP dungeon forum.
Picking up where TAH left off
Ah! I seldom visit the place - I get too angry.
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Martin GPC-X2E vs ???
in Acoustic Guitars
Posted
Me too. . . . or how about zero?