garthman

Sorry, I don't recognize the classical guitar she is playing. It looks and sounds as if it has onboard electronics but there is also a good condenser mic in the mix. You could produce a similar sound with any good quality classical and that set up.

PS. Here is a pic of the Crafter TD06

10 hours ago, daddymack said:

£300 is roughly $355 if my converter is correct. Give or take a quarter. Sounds like a lot of guitar for a very reasonable price.

Yes, I'm sure your conversion is spot on. I paid around £300 for the guitar in early 2004 which equates to approx £600 in today's money. Crafter was expanding its business in those days and targetting the UK market so were offering some very good prices (eg. the retail price of the Headway Snake PU in the guitar was £100 then). So yes, a very good price for a lot of guitar - the Taylor guitar of the time with similar specs, on which the TD06 was closely modelled, retailed for around 3 to 4 times that much back then.

Hello macboss.

Yes, I own that particular Crafter TD06N - one of the top end Crafter models. It is a dreadnought guitar. all-solid, Engelmann spruce top over mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard and bridge. It has a real inlay rosette made with real wood (walnut and padauk) and MOP logos and fretboard markers. Mine has a factory-fiitted Headway Snake PU (mine is one of the early builds - made in 2003 - I think the PUs were changed to LR Baggs on later builds).

As Daddymack says, the condition of the guitar is crucial when considering its current value. Mine is in near mint condition and if I was selling it here in the UK I'd be looking for £300+

On 4/22/2022 at 12:23 AM, RonL516 said:

I have an ovation that I think is a celebrity deluxe elite. Serial number is C10040553 14 frets I don't know what year and what it sold for new.

I know it's made in China. Actually, a nice guitar and plays well. 

 

I think it would have been made in April, 2010. The first two numbers in the serial number of most guitars made in the Far East are usually the year, the next two numbers the month.

Good stuff, Deep.

4 hours ago, daddymack said:

hmmm...never adjusted the neck on either of my 'X' Martins, but there is a 'special' tool [not overly pricey for 'Genuine Martin']: https://www.martinguitar.com/gear-accessories/tools/18TOOL12.html

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/18TOOL12--martin-18tool12-5mm-allen-truss-rod-wrench

I was pretty much spot on then . . . . . . . .

https://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/blue-spot-tools-hex-key-30-piece-set-in-case-15320-bluespot

LOL - just a brief story about truss rod adjustment.

A friend on mine plays a Martin X series guitar - those with the formica back, sides and neck. He has the guitar fitted with 10 gauge strings - I would assume that the original strings were 12 gauge. I played it a few days ago and noticed that the neck relief was too concave so I offered to adjust it for him - he has no "tech" experience. I was going to take along a couple of Allen keys to do the job - perhaps a 4mm and 5mm which fit most guitars you find in the UK - but decided to take my full set in case the Martin used an imperial gauge.

I tried the 4 and 5mm keys first but, to my astonishment, neither keys came into contact with a socket - they just went into the hole. So I reversed the keys so that the long arm went in but still no socket to be found. I then tried the long arm of one of my imperial keys - which have longer arms that the metric ones - and finally found the socket which was recessed at least 4 inches inside the hole, about where the neck meets the body. A 3/16" key fitted and I managed  to tighten up the rod although it wasn't easy trying to turn the short arm of the key.

Am I right in thinking that all Martin guitars have this truss rod arrangement? Would I be right in thinking that they sell a special key to do the adjustment? I wonder, if so, whether the key costs more than my entire set of keys?

But the price will also depend on the condition of the guitar and any age-related conditions it may have.

2 hours ago, daddymack said:

I thought we'd already gone there....

Well, yes, I did suggest it in my first reply but FF has since suggested the nut. It could actually be a combination of both contributing to the issue but it's worth checking the neck relief first and adjusting if necessary before fiddling with the nut.

😉

1 hour ago, daddymack said:

smaller gauge, sits deeper...

I would just replace the nut.

Yeah, could be. But you are only talking 0.002 inch max difference.

I'd be inclined to tweak the truss rod a little to compensate for the reduced tension first - across the set you would expect 10 to 12 lbs less tension from the 11 gauge. If that doesn't sort the problem, then take a look at the nut.

PS. But I'm wondering that if it is the nut, why the guitar played OK prior to the string change?

2 hours ago, daddymack said:

 I did suggest the issue could be at the nut; if the nut is already cut too deep, filing won't help. Do the 'paper' check that garthman suggested.

If the nut slot(s) are cut too deeply I remove the nut and fit a thin (and I mean thin - a credit card is too thick) shim. Just clean up the surfaces, cut the shim to fit the base of the nut and glue on. Refit the nut with a couple of spots of glue to hold it in place then check all the strings as above and recut whichever, if any, slots that require it.

There is a bit of deja vu in this since I did exactly this job on a friends guitar a couple of days ago to cure some fret buzzes.

7 hours ago, FretFiend. said:

I tried another sixth string, a Martin string this time.  I can tune the open sixth string to dead nuts E, and then the string will be consistently twenty to thirty cents sharp on all the other frets all the way up the neck.  If I tune the sixth string to dead nuts F at the first fret, now, the notes only deviate from normal maybe two or three cents all the way up the neck... except for the open E, which is now about thirty cents flat. This is about the same as before. The string was not the problem.  I have no idea why this problem just started after the string change tho.

If you think about it, that would indicate that the problem may well be with the nut.

I have a set of nut files, but I don't feel comfortable messing with this myself. Guess I'm going to have to find me a good luthier to look at this.

It's a simple DIY job if you have nut files. If you fret the string at the 3rd fret there should be just enough space between the bottom of the string and the top of the 1st fret to slide in a piece of paper. If there is more, just slacken off the string sufficiently to be able to lift it out of the nut slot, do 2 or 3 strokes with a file and pop back the string and check. Repeat until corect.

1 hour ago, daddymack said:

Brands, yes, there are tons, but they are not the same as manufacturers.

D'Addario

La Bella

Ernie Ball

Dean Markley

GHS

Rotosound

Olympia

Thomastik-Infeld

Black Diamond

Hannabach

Augustine

Aquila

Dogal

Optima

Galli

Pyramid

Solera Flamenca

Royal Classics

Magma

Plus a few inKorea and China

1 hour ago, daddymack said:

There are really only a handful of actual string manufacturers on the planet, so I doubt this is a 'quality issue' on one string.

There are more than a "handful" of string manufacturers  but there are probably only a handful of wire manufacturers.

Well, long time, no see. Welcome back.

The problem could be poor quality strings, We don't have Musician's Friend stores here in the UK so I've no experience of their products but I do use budget strings - although I change more frequently than once a year - and don't have problems with them.

It could also be that you need to adjust your guitar's truss rod (if it's adjustable) to allow for the lower tension - you might be having to press down the strings more and this could cause intonation problems - and, if so, it would be more noticable on the thicker strings. I've found that a change of even one string gauge on my Crafter acoustic requires a small truss rod adjustment.

But probably the best solution would be to go back to a medium set.

7 hours ago, DeepEnd said:

Sorry, I can't agree with putting nylon strings on a steel string guitar. Every guitar I've played with that setup sounded dreadful.

I think it's a matter of personal taste and the particular guitar. Personally I like the sound of nylon strings much more than the sound of steel strings, True, you can use a classical guitar - and I own four of them and play them all most of the time - but even a classical guitar which is designed to take nylon strings sounds quite different to a steel string: less volume, more mellow but more high-harmonic timbre.

The best approach when listening to a steel string guitar fitted with nylon strings is to compare it to a classical guitar rather than a steel string one - the nuances are quite interesting - it will never sound anything like steel strings, of coure, but I find the result to be quite pleasing.

3 hours ago, daddymack said:

Yes, there are nylon stringed acoustic electrics on the market now with neck profiles much closer to a steel string's nut width and profile. 

Yamaha [NTX], Ibanez[AEG], Cordoba [Fusion and Stage] and others have started getting into this new 'hybrid' style...I'm in the market for one myself ATM.

These typically are a bit pricier than starter classicals, however.

Yes ^  ^  ^  ^. And they are quite a lot more expensive than classical guitars.

Another option - and much cheaper - is to fit nylon strings to an acoustic guitar. I keep two acoustics strung with nylon strings. One - an old cheap all laminate dreadnought - which I often use in acoustic song circles. It has a little less volume than a steel string acoustic but plenty good enough for a folk club The other is a deep bowl Ovation type to which I have fitted a good active UST pick up that I use in open mics.

It's an easy job. To start, use ball-end nylon strings (quite a few makers do them: D'Addario, La Bella, Rotosound, Martin, etc) and fit them just like steel strings. You may need to widen the nut slots for the nylon trebles (1st, 2nd, 3rd strings) as they are thicker than steel strings. The basses will fit fine. Again, an easy job. If you don't have nut files you can use a piece of fine emery paper folded two or three times. Just slacken off the strings a liitle, move them away from the slot and gently rub the folded emery paper back and forth in the slot (you only want to widen the slots, not deepen them), popping the string back in regularly until they fit well. You may also need to slacken off the trussrod a little too buy see how it plays first - again, an easy job.

6 hours ago, DeepEnd said:

garthman - A nicely done rendition of one of my favorite songs.

Thanks, DeepEnd.

OK. Let's start it off.

"Nights In White Satin" by The Moody Blues (written by Justin Heyward).

https://app.box.com/s/ax6gk4f3rjyn18dcrvhmcp1axsy7i9km

I think it will depend on where you are in the world. Here in the UK I use a company called "Evri" which will ship to anywhere on the mainland UK for around £5 to £8 depending on the size and weight of the package. For shipping an acoustic guitar I use the fruit boxes used by supermarkets which you can have for free - good tough boxes that you can cut and tape up to make a strong box to fit the guitar.

2 hours ago, Idunno said:

Merry Christmas Garth, D-Man, Deep and all who keep the porch light burning here. Well dones all around. This is my 78 version of a traditional carol, with short secular intros and outros. Posted it in the past. No new guitar work from me. Hi spirits for the holidays!

https://app.box.com/s/xst5c55ulr3h1tfehs2q5r9r91wrrm5b

 

Joe. Good to see you here. Excellent playing as always. Best wishes to you and yours and to all who pop in from time to time.

Hello and welcome.

I agree with everything that daddyamck says. The first two or three months of learning to play the guitar are not easy and it's normal for your hands and fingers to become painful. But your muscles will soon become accustomed to the new things they are having to do and all the pain will disappear.

In the meantime, try doing shorter practice sessions: "little and often" is a good maxim. And, if you can, stay with the classical guitar - I learned to play on a classical many years ago and have never regretted it. Most importantly: don't give up. Most people who abandon the guitar do so within the first couple of months: if you hang in there and keep practising, all will be well.

57 minutes ago, daddymack said:

G-man, that was lovely!

Thank you.