The Acoustic Thread

[codedog]

A 25 year old Brazilian model would probably be high maintenance too!

Oh wait... we're talking about guitars...

[Slowy]

Yep that is so far out of financial reach for me as to be undesirable....

My sister found a second hand one for $19,000. Doesn't really help much.

Much more so than with electrics, in the acoustic world there's a demonstrable correlation between performance and price. I've never gone quite that far up the food chain though.

Most of us would consider a 25 year old Brasilian model Martin to be fairly high up the food chain ?

Yeah, but I was 18 and paid (I think) $850 for it.

[vinylguy]

you still have it ?

[hamo]

My sister found a second hand one for $19,000. Doesn't really help much.

Much more so than with electrics, in the acoustic world there's a demonstrable correlation between performance and price. I've never gone quite that far up the food chain though.

Most of us would consider a 25 year old Brasilian model Martin to be fairly high up the food chain ?

Yeah, but I was 18 and paid (I think) $850 for it.

Yes but in those days that much money would have bought you the Coromandel, with money left over for half a dozen muskets.

[Studio1]

Interesting. Had a good look at the photos and imo the water, sludge or sewage has affected the back of the guitar more than other parts. On the back it is not the binding that has come off, it is actually the back lifting out of the body so to speak. You would need to inspect the inside to see if the center strip has come loose and how badly the kerfing has been affected.

What is the going price for one of these in good condition?

Jay, that was my prognosis too. The back is warped. I'm no expert here, but I'd imagine a repair would involve taking the back off completely, then trying the flatten those two warped pieces, then refitting (or possibly replacing) them. I think it would be a nightmare.

I see Studio 1 bought it. I suspected it might have been theirs to begin with. Insurance payout, buy it back, a couple of grand to repair in house and it might be a profitable exercise.

But this is pure speculation.

Yup we bought it (was never ours though). There was no water damage to the guitar - ie it must have been in a room with very high humidity but not touching water. the binding had come off and needed regluing. Very simple fix. Amazing guitar, very cool tone. One of the staff loved it so took it home. Repairs ran only a few hundred dollars.

[Slowy]

Jay, that was my prognosis too. The back is warped. I'm no expert here, but I'd imagine a repair would involve taking the back off completely, then trying the flatten those two warped pieces, then refitting (or possibly replacing) them. I think it would be a nightmare.

I see Studio 1 bought it. I suspected it might have been theirs to begin with. Insurance payout, buy it back, a couple of grand to repair in house and it might be a profitable exercise.

But this is pure speculation.

Yup we bought it (was never ours though). There was no water damage to the guitar - ie it must have been in a room with very high humidity but not touching water. the binding had come off and needed regluing. Very simple fix. Amazing guitar, very cool tone. One of the staff loved it so took it home. Repairs ran only a few hundred dollars.

Well thank you for the clarification. It was difficult to tell from the TM photos but I'm glad it was a straightforward fix. Beautiful guitar and horrible to see it like that!

[jeremyb]

[codedog]

Thanks for the reminder! I meant to hunt down the video about that guitar

[codedog]

Evidently laminate back and sides != lower quality!

[olegmcnoleg]

That is right, yes. There is a trend amongst some builders to make guitars where the back & sides take as much of the structural load as possible, leaving the top to be free to just vibrate. So the top needs very little bracing, it is basically a speaker cone. Laminates are much stronger, so they get used for the back & sides.

I've played one of these guitars...it is a weird experience because you hear a massive sound in the room, but very little coming directly back at you through the back & sides of the guitar.

The other thing about laminates being stronger (if they are really carefully made) is that they can be thinner. This is also a good thing, tonewise.

Neither approach leads to cheaper guitars, unfortunately

[codedog]

That is right, yes. There is a trend amongst some builders to make guitars where the back & sides take as much of the structural load as possible, leaving the top to be free to just vibrate. So the top needs very little bracing, it is basically a speaker cone. Laminates are much stronger, so they get used for the back & sides.

I've played one of these guitars...it is a weird experience because you hear a massive sound in the room, but very little coming directly back at you through the back & sides of the guitar.

The other thing about laminates being stronger (if they are really carefully made) is that they can be thinner. This is also a good thing, tonewise.

Neither approach leads to cheaper guitars, unfortunately

The laminate b&s one in this vide is the second guitar... around 12:30 mark https://youtu.be/APXaueHjy3M?si=gHFK-h5Y8sC0zpo2&t=757

It's a Kevin Muiderman custom build. Sounds like he's a reconstructive plastic surgeon by day, and luthier by night!

[Slowy]

Evidently laminate back and sides != lower quality!

Beautiful stuff!
That perfectly highlighted a dilemma I struggle with. Picks and long fingernails give definition, clarity, power and control. Bare fingers and short nails have a sweeter and more expressive voice at the expense of absolute precision. At least that's what happens with my fingers.

[jeremyb]

I pulled out a bunch of picks the other day, was thinking of going a bit thicker for a change, was quite surprised by the Dunlop Primetone ones, they just sounded better to my ears, wild, so have switched to those... was not expecting that!

[codedog]

I've played one of these guitars...it is a weird experience because you hear a massive sound in the room, but very little coming directly back at you through the back & sides of the guitar.

Funny you say that. It seems his guitars have a sound port, presumably to give this feedback to the player.

[codedog]

When a scientist builds guitars! Very interesting and potentially controversial viewpoint in some respects.