totamus

Have the guitar tuned to perfection at the store, then put superglue on the little knobs to make sure it never changes.

When you buy a guitar, select the one you want from the showroom, but then insist that you get a new one in an unopened box for actual purchase.

I've been checking him out too. Very informative and love his style. He never shows who he is, and has made a couple references that he is a recognizable rock personality. Whether he is or not - his videos are great for learning...

Max Headroom?

Ok, enough about Weed and Brokeback, I want to know about Huge Box (no, not the girl you used to date...)

Don't have a laminate - although there seems to be conflicting info on a Tacoma I have. I have seen it described in some places as having a laminate back w/solid sides and top. I prefer all solids for a few reasons. One is that they are simply traditional, and that is meaningful to me. Another is that when you get laminates you try to convince yourself its "just as good". That "settling for something less" mojo will bother you as long as you have the instrument. I have heard, and owned, many great sounding laminates, as good as solid guitars. But the facts do not sway the illogical emotional response of "settling for something less". So I have pretty much limited my guitars to all solids. Oh - the Little Martin has laminate B/S and I have a wall-hanger archtop that is all laminate (don't play it though).

Only one Mahogany 5 Rosewood

It was a bad time for me. I had saved up enough for the 1st semester tuition is a nationally recognized small engine repair institution. Was going to get my life together and become the man I knew I could be. But then she sold the guitar, and along with it, my prospects for a better life. It had taken me 6 months to gather all of that money, and I was devastated. I started drinking again and hit bottom in the seedy part of Dallas. They said they found me in a gutter muttering "Hook 'em Horns". I was never the same after after that, my wife left me and my children despised me. Alcohol remained my only true friend, I thought from time to time about cleaning up my life as maybe a satellite installer or insurance salesman, but every time I started to lift myself up, the memory of how losing my money on that fateful day would surface and I would shrug and say "It just doesn't matter". Eventually I hit new lows, and became convinced that there was no right or wrong n the universe, and that my fellow man was only out to take what he could from me and leave me alone and rejected. Today, I am just one of many countless souls, lost and alone, frequenting the HCAG forum, along with all of my lost forlorn brethren. Hello, My name is Totamus, and my life was stolen in the wink of an eye, somewhere deep in the pit of Texas.

Doh!!

I used to keep my stash and money in mine. But then I got behind in my rent and the landlady sold my guitar! Man was I bummed.

Yeah, I tried that, but man, it is really, really hard to get a pizza delivery boy to go clubbing with you...

Thanks for the info. Guess I am gonna have pay what they are asking

I don't usually try to bypass the stores, but pick prices are ridiculous. For the fraction of a penny in cost, the sales price is way out of whack. It really gets me going to see thumb picks going for $1.00 apiece. About the best you can do anymore is $0.50 - $0.60 each. I am, unfortunately, not a guy who still has the same pick that came with his first guitar. Far from it. The washing machine gets them, I leave them at gigs, and I lose a LOT of them to cats. Apparently, they are the ideal cat toy, and to be acquired at any cost. I also have rather large hands and even large thumbpicks are a pretty tight fit. After using one for a while, they crack from the stress. So I was surfing last night, figuring on getting a couple dozen, and couldnt find a place that wasn't outrageous in price. I use either National or Fender. So if anyone can clue me into a place that sells these in bulk at a fair price, I would be quite grateful.

I am pretty pin neutral. Pins in the bridge is not a consideration when I look for a guitar

My son was Born in Dunnedin. Meese hospital comes to mind, but it has been some time. I used to live in New Port Richey. Saw Led Zepplin at Tampa Stadium in 72. Daughter still lives in NPR. I'll get down there one of these days, and we will all have to get together.

A buddy of mine has a slope shoulder Gibson, and I love the way it sounds! Congrats

I have seen conflicting reports as well. My memory isnt perfect, and I am trying to recall from 1984, when I was buying. So I wouldn't guarantee my recollection on the price point. I am quite positive though that the ones I have played have been very good instruments.

I disagree. It is a D28. It isnt a downgraded guitar, it isn't lesser in any way that I can tell. It is the same wood (from Martin), partially assembled overseas, and then finished in the Martin Factory. No design difference, no different grade woods, no substitutions, no laminates, no difference. Asian hands did a portion of the assembly is the only difference. Saying "real" Martins is infuriating. I played my friends shenandoah just 2 days ago, and we have played together regularly for years. This is a guy I have mentioned before. He had a low end Taylor and wanted a bigger sound so he bought a high end Taylor (Dont recall model but he paid over $3,000 for it). Didn't like it so he took a bath on the guitar and got a Gibson Songwriter. He didn't like that either so he stashed it (its for sale BTW) and got a slope shoulder Gibson. He likes that one, and still has it, but it wasn't quite the sound he wanted. He picked up the Shenandoah about year (two maybe?) ago, and hasn't played anything else since. He set aside two Taylors and 2 Gibsons for it. We have A-b'd the sounds many times. It is a great guitar. This is the headstock syndrome, as we are discussing in another thread. If I was looking for a guitar (I have both a D28 and a D35), I wouldn't hesitate to look at Shenandoahs. At the time they were made (Early 80s) Martin was trying to make a D28 at a lower price point. They were not trying making a new model or an entry level instrument. The guitar was marketed as D-28. I paid $1100 for my D28, and if I correctly recall, I could have gotten the Shenandoah for about $800. I think it is people in the know that are smart enough to recognize that Shenandoahs are available at a very attractive price point due to confusion over exactly what a Shenandoah is. Corksniffers turn their noses up at them, because they aren't collectible. Thank god there is at least a few high quality guitars that are still available at good prices! Martin did, in fact, have a beginner line. They were imports and labeled Sigma (crappy, IMHO). Laughs - I didnt realize I was going to rant when I replied. /rant off

I have a D28 and a good friend has a D2832 (Shenandoah). His guitar is a great guitar. It is in every aspect a D28. Sound, quality - everything. I wouldn't hesitate to own one. IIRC, Marting put together "kits" of the same wood used in their regular production, shipped then to Japan where the guitar was partially assembled (Body glued together and neck mostly complete. The items were then sent back to Martin for final assembly and finishing. I remember when I bought my D28, I had a choice between the Shenandoah and the regular D28. I couldnt really tell any difference in tone. The sales guy advised me that the D28 would hold its value better, so that is the one I got.