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J50 and D18


MorrisrownSal

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Hey guys and gals,

 

As many are sharing soundclips on some of their guitars this weekend, I'd like to do the same.

 

A few weeks ago I finally got my custom D18 from Nazareth. Its simply a regular standard D18, but with a 1 and 11/16 neck - like the neck on the HD28s. I love it. And of course I also love my Gibson J50.

 

To my ears these two sound so very different, despite their both being sitka over hog dreads.

 

I made a recording tonight, and am sharing it in case some would like to hear how similar or different these two guitars sound. The D18 has new Lifespan PB Mediums. The J50 has new Lifespan PB Lights

 

The J50 is first...

 

https://soundcloud.c...chatham/j50-d18

 

CB7ud8Jl.jpg

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Both sound nice. The Gibson has more clarity and articulation than the Martin.......to these ears. If recorded one right behind the other, as it sounds was done, the J-50 is a bit louder........reckon the 18 has some opening up to do yet.........

 

(.....is that a longhorn steer on the headstock?)

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Buc,

I agree. The J50 is louder to me as well. Goes to show that the stereotypes don’t always hold (I think most would say that a D18 has to be louder, being a bluegrass Martin dread).

Fear not, I will play this D18 a lot. It will open up. And yes that is a cattle skull on the headstock.

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Two aces of hog - you can hear the square is roomier, which in my mind fits some tunes better.

I would take the tighter J for for faster, more right hand active stuff and go D for the slow-mo ballads.

In case you really wanna strum up a 'hall' during a song in one chord, , , , whouuum, , , break a few seconds, , , and continue inside that dignified space, M can do it.

Snappier things will be taken care of by G.

5 Yen thrown

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The heart of any guitar. of course, is the bracing and the bridge plate not the lumber. It is tough for me to even compare guitars I am not playing because so much depends on the players attack and how they approach the instrument. With me I tend to automatically adjust to the voice of individual guitars based on their characteristics and will string them with different gauge strings (generally heavier or lighter low and high end strings) to bring out what I want to bring out. That said, to my ancient ears, the J-50 sounded brighter which I think gives the illusion of greater volume. It also sounded like the Gibson's mids decayed a bit faster which gives the guitar a bit sharper more focused sound while the Martin has what I would describe as scooped mids which emphasize them over the low and high end. Gives the guitar a warm sound. The rwo guitars I would love to compare though would be a Gibson J-50 and a short scale Martin D-18S.

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"the J-50 sounded brighter which I think gives the illusion of greater volume. It also sounded like the Gibson's mids decayed a bit faster which gives the guitar a bit sharper more focused sound" Yep. And if you dig in on the matin, it will give up more sound
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"the J-50 sounded brighter which I think gives the illusion of greater volume. It also sounded like the Gibson's mids decayed a bit faster which gives the guitar a bit sharper more focused sound" Yep. And if you dig in on the matin, it will give up more sound
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