The Acoustic Thread

[robthemac]

But Jack Johnson uses them so they must be good

I have some quiet love for JJ, and if I were a singer-songwriter on $2000 budget they'd be hard to look past. Just don't try playing fingerstyle...

Why do you say that about Fingerstyle?

The ones I played back in my salesman days were in general pretty mid-scooped, especially low-mids. They were mostly Tasmanian blackwood back and sides, can't remember what they used for the tops. Really uneven frequency balance. Great for a vocalist to sit in the mix. Not great for trying to emphasize a melody on the D and G strings (which is most of what I was doing back then).

[jhyang549]

I have some quiet love for JJ, and if I were a singer-songwriter on $2000 budget they'd be hard to look past. Just don't try playing fingerstyle...

Why do you say that about Fingerstyle?

The ones I played back in my salesman days were in general pretty mid-scooped, especially low-mids. They were mostly Tasmanian blackwood back and sides, can't remember what they used for the tops. Really uneven frequency balance. Great for a vocalist to sit in the mix. Not great for trying to emphasize a melody on the D and G strings (which is most of what I was doing back then).

Damn, I was gonna buy that heavily discounted Cole Clark guitar but that's my current phase as a fingerstyle guitarist.

[WellyBlues]

Listen to Lloyd Spiegel, he has a Cole Clark signature model, and he is a stunning player. The Double Live album is great but it's mainly electric. Tangled Brew, This Time Tomorrow, Timber and Steel albums are all on Spotify and will give you a taste.

[robthemac]

Why do you say that about Fingerstyle?

The ones I played back in my salesman days were in general pretty mid-scooped, especially low-mids. They were mostly Tasmanian blackwood back and sides, can't remember what they used for the tops. Really uneven frequency balance. Great for a vocalist to sit in the mix. Not great for trying to emphasize a melody on the D and G strings (which is most of what I was doing back then).

Damn, I was gonna buy that heavily discounted Cole Clark guitar but that's my current phase as a fingerstyle guitarist.

I wouldn't want to over-generalise. Different woods, different body shapes, natural variability etc. Lots of people love that sound. But make sure you play one first.

[olegmcnoleg]

The ones I played back in my salesman days were in general pretty mid-scooped, especially low-mids. They were mostly Tasmanian blackwood back and sides, can't remember what they used for the tops. Really uneven frequency balance. Great for a vocalist to sit in the mix. Not great for trying to emphasize a melody on the D and G strings (which is most of what I was doing back then).

Damn, I was gonna buy that heavily discounted Cole Clark guitar but that's my current phase as a fingerstyle guitarist.

I wouldn't want to over-generalise. Different woods, different body shapes, natural variability etc. Lots of people love that sound. But make sure you play one first.

Agree with this, though I think smaller one (forgot the name) is a really cool band guitar and the Fat Lady does have plenty of bass. Still, the sound from all of them is way too 'dry' for my taste.

[robthemac]

Damn, I was gonna buy that heavily discounted Cole Clark guitar but that's my current phase as a fingerstyle guitarist.

I wouldn't want to over-generalise. Different woods, different body shapes, natural variability etc. Lots of people love that sound. But make sure you play one first.

Agree with this, though I think smaller one (forgot the name) is a really cool band guitar and the Fat Lady does have plenty of bass. Still, the sound from all of them is way too 'dry' for my taste.

I wonder if what I'm describing as a scoop in the low-mids region is what you're calling dryness.

Yep, heaps of variability between the different shapes and woods. Likely to find something for most tastes.

Set-ups from the factory were generally spot on. Never had reliability issues, and if they're built to survive in Australia I'd expect them to survive just fine over here. Taylors less so.

I think they're lovely guitars. But if you buy one with the sound of a D-18 in your head, you're gonna be disappointed.

[Delayman]

I have some quiet love for JJ, and if I were a singer-songwriter on $2000 budget they'd be hard to look past. Just don't try playing fingerstyle...

Why do you say that about Fingerstyle?

The ones I played back in my salesman days were in general pretty mid-scooped, especially low-mids. They were mostly Tasmanian blackwood back and sides, can't remember what they used for the tops. Really uneven frequency balance. Great for a vocalist to sit in the mix. Not great for trying to emphasize a melody on the D and G strings (which is most of what I was doing back then).

Played a couple of cole Clark guitars for a decent amount of time today. The smaller body one had the balance issue you’re talking about. The d and g strings disappear in open
chords up the neck.

But the fat lady dreadnaught was great. Musicworks ran a sale from Monday to Friday and wouldn’t entertain applying any discount today. That’s pretty annoying to me as it was a $500 saving.

The search continues

[jeremyb]

[Delayman]

I was listening to a podcast where Jim Kimball who plays electric and acoustic for Reba McEntire said he used a Kemper to profile his whole acoustic chain. Never thought of that as a use for a Kemper. Interesting.

[jhyang549]

I was listening to a podcast where Jim Kimball who plays electric and acoustic for Reba McEntire said he used a Kemper to profile his whole acoustic chain. Never thought of that as a use for a Kemper. Interesting.

Here's an example of using IRs (via DI) to mimic an acoustic guitar being mic'd with a small diaphragm condensor. Pretty close.

For studio recording, I would prefer using a mic. It sounds pretty close but using a mic sounds better, hands down. But it's useful in reducing possible feedback sources in a live performance whilst preserving the tonal quality of a mic'd up acoustic guitar.