PrairieDog

We are trying to do the same here, for both the jobs and the carbon reduction. Xmas is getting more low key every year, and family is aging out. We have no kids, and the niece and nephew are rude little ingrates who only care about how many bills are in the card. So we pretty much just shop for each other. Past year was kinda cool: we serendipitously landed on a mutual “artful” Christmas, where we ended up buying each other artwork. Spouse loves birds and I managed to score a signed Charlie Harper litho of a favorite. And I got a great photo of a marten by a wildlife photographer, and a bronze sculpture of a horned toad by a favorite Texas artist we’ve patronized for years. It was a fun, if rather flat presentation under the tree, chuckle. So I vote for art/craft galleries that can be full of surprising and locally sourced and creative gifts. We’re also moving into more, “experience” things, like going to a concert, or heading to birdwatch in a new place. But this year, we may just tie ribbons around the proliferating guitars in the music room 😄

Hey, congratulations, 44 years is a big deal and not an easy feat for a lot of folks. You and your wife both sound like keepers! And a what a great way to celebrate. All the best, and here’s to keeping it going!

Glad it was just internet gremlins. Little buggers. Fwiw, I have the same issues, so I just use my fingerpads. I literally feel my way around the strings. And I like the super mellow sound. I imagined everyone played with their fingers until somebody accidentally hit a string with a long nail and liked the volume, and that led to growing nails, then some smart aleck came up with finger picks. Shudder. Nothing worse than when they go flying off in all directions in the middle of your Freebird solo, lol. So yeah, the sound is softer, and you can lose the cutting through in a dry group, but with all the amplification now, it’s not such a big deal. And not an issue for me at the moment. I’m just playing along with the birds on my back deck.

Well, I was wondering if there was maybe some weirdness between me playing it still through the original cache that’s loaded on my device and you having to connect to it through the post? Still, I’m more inclined to trust that your ears are more finely tuned to detecting this sort of thing than me. I’m kinda like Rip Van Winkle waking up from a 50 year nap at this point, lol. The tech has all moved so far past what I ever used. If anyone ever recorded anything I did, it would have been in silent 8mm, lol. Have a great night! Thanks again.

Nod, I understand about Youtube. Gosh, I'm not seeing/hearing it being out of sync. I was just reading it as he has a very classical style, with barely moving his fingers, but the notes are sounding where I expect them to be. There are one or two bits where he does a back of finger strum, with his fingers curled way under, flamenco style, so his hand moves down a fraction of a beat before his fingers hit the strings, but knowing that stroke, I bought it. Hmmm, I'm going to study it carefully. I don't like being "snookered." It sounded pretty close to how mine sounded at GC. That was why I thought it was a good one to share. I thought he was just playing into the mike in front of him with some reverb dialed in (as far as processing, I’m not plugging in, yet, so acoustic magic at the board is beyond me at the moment.) Sorry I pulled up a turkey. There are others from the actual show that are for sure "dry," If you are still curious. (Well there were, now I can’t find the ones I saw, and the ones I did find are all strummers, not much picking.) Anyway, thanks for the thoughts and insights.

Just mentioning, cedar is not the same sp. as redwood, similar but a bit different. And sinker RW is even another animal (in my research I found the terms are unfortunately sometimes used interchangeably, just to confuse us). The sinker is supposed to be old California sp. Sequoia (not a cedar) that were lost or fell into the rivers during the heyday of logging. The logs can only be recovered when they finally float back up, which takes many years. The soaking and minerals are supposed to affect the tone in unique ways. Wherein lies the rub: a good one can sound remarkable, but the random conditions can also make for inconsistent tone depending on what plank is used. This one sounds pretty nice, even if not as colorful and resonant as it sounded in the special room at GC. But out on the web you will hear some folks dogging it as flat and thin. (Not my experience with this one at all.) So, as if it hasn’t been drilled into us enough yet, another flogging for the: “only way to tell is to play it,” chuckle.

Are you using “lip sync” colloquially? Like the playing was off with the sound? There were no vocals in the vid. If so, could you let me know what you are picking up on? I thought it looked good with no production delay. He does seem to have a “very” relaxed right hand style. I usually can pick out “faked” overdubs pretty well, but if I missed something I’d like to know what you picked up on, to help hone my radar. Now you have me double thinking. There are other videos from the actual show. The mellow sound being so different from my Walnut J45 and Maple DIF is the reason it got a ride home. Grin.

Yeah, if it’s the video I’m thinking of he keeps saying sinker rosewood, but it is right in the title. It has a sinker Redwood top and IRW back. If you look up NAMM 2019 summer edition, that’s the one. We got a pretty good deal on it because GC goofed and read the date like a Gibson and dated it 2017. (August 7 was the day it was made) Since they couldn’t find any comps for that, it seems they priced it off a regular 714ce. We thought the price was so low because the tag didn’t mention a case, and were going to pass. But on a whim we asked as we were walking out. So not only it did have a case, but it had a couple hundred more of stuff including a high-end leather strap, tuner/metronome, capo, humidifier, tons of picks in a nice case and some other misc. stuff. It feels like a sad story. If someone were going to keep playing you’d think they would have kept all that. It made it through the 30 day hold period, so I’m hoping it wasn’t just stolen. There’s a ton of the usual NAMM show promos/vids for it. It is definitely a finger picking guitar, which is okay for me, but for strumming maybe not so much.

Thanks, but I was just looking for fair price info. I wasn’t actually looking for just any new guitar, much less a Martin. I really don’t deal well with the Martin tone in general. That was the miracle of *this* particular one. Apparently I can relate to the sound of 40 year old BRW. The only issue when I went back to get it was the neck hurt my hand after seriously trying to play it for a while. It’s a beautiful rare, guitar and somebody who really loves Martins deserves it. Anyway, yes, a J 45 has been on the list, I just know there are plenty of those and can find one anytime I decide to pull the trigger, so there is no urgency. In the meantime my consolation prize was that mint 2019 Taylor 714ce LTD Sinker/Rosewood I tried around the same time. Sounded amazingly resonant and lively in the specially designed wood-lined acoustic room at GC (I refer to it as the “sound hole”). Back home in the real world of carpets and drywall, not quite so much, so it might be going back, or just tucked away to trade some day.

If it can carry the tune in some kind of beat, I think it doesn’t matter what is used. When I was a kid, I rigged up a bunch of pop bottles with water at different levels and puffed out all kinds of “tunes” to the bemusement of my parents. I managed bits from “In the Hall of the Mountain King” to “Day Dream Believer.” Granted it was just me, but if I could have gotten anyone else interested I could have set up another pop bottle set. Which is also making me rethink the requirement of “harmony.” As an often unaccompanied singer, I’m not sure I want to say a soaring a cappella lieder singer, or the fellow in an Irish Pub crooning out heartfelt renditions of “Raglan Road” or “Molly Bawn” aren’t making music?

There is another one on Reverb in Kansas MO for less than 100 more, but possibly much cheaper shipping? And no import hassles. Make an offer on that one. Been listed for 10 months, so they might be getting hungry to move it on. Not sure I’d care about the little finish ding he mentions if everything else lines up. Saves me the anxiety of putting the first ding in it myself, lol. Nice looking guitar, it’s making me turn my head. Edit: Oops! Sorry, I wrote this before I checked the pics. Yeah, I just noticed it has a white label rather than the usual orange CS, even though the easily replaceable TRC says “custom.” So, never mind…unless you can get the serial number from the guy and verify it with Gibson. Maybe a factory error? It looks like it does have the binding, etc.

Thanks for articulating something I’ve been struggling with. Don’t want to dis the art form, but always jangled it was called “music.” I think back when we were in school it would have been cataloged under “Spoken Word.” I liked your Beat analogy, probably because I was very fond of my bongos back in the day 😄

Speaking of unplayable records: 2003, cleaning out the attic accumulation in my mom’s house, under a pile of 60s campaign posters, scuffing around on the gritty floor for decades, was a first pressing of “Introducing the Beatles”… without a sleeve. Figured it was my older sister’s. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I wished she had just thrown it away so I didn’t have to even know about it.

It just wasn’t comfortable when I sat down to really play with it. On Saturday, it was busy and distracting in the store and I just kinda noodled around on it briefly to hear the tone. I didn’t really try to put it through any serious paces. Yesterday, quieter, I sat down to really work with it. It was a bit heartbreaking, I thought I had found my unicorn. But honestly it was more sensible to give it up and let someone else win this little lottery. I’m hoping karma will be kind to me….

Well, I went back down yesterday to try it one more time, fully expecting it was coming home. Even brought a down comforter to wrap the case in to protect it from the cold temps on the long ride back. The experience of it changed between Saturday and yesterday, and I just couldn’t bond with it. It still sounded beautiful, but I found after playing it for a good while, I was having a hard time with the neck and my old hand was feeling it. It is larger than my narrow DIF. I probably could have gotten used to it, but it would have been a fight and prudence prevailed. I think it will have a much happier life in the hands of someone who can really bring out the best in it, so it is back in the pond. I did get the story on it: The shop used to be a Martin dealer, and this guitar has been in the owner’s hands since it came in new. It’s actually a D-28V, so different from the HD-28 or the 85 GOTM LTE. If anyone might be interested, if allowed here, I can share the link to the shop. It’s not likely to go up on Reverb or any of the other usual websites.

Nodding… Digital “helps” like auto-tune and canned loops have allowed otherwise mediocre folks who would have been laughed/booed off the stage become major influences. (No offense, Eminor, seriously, somebody has to help these people out, and more power to you for getting paid for it 😄). I’m talking back in the “analog” days, when you were up there all alone as a band or solo, maybe some vocal reverb on the amp and some pedals for extra juice. If you croaked like a frog, or messed up the beat, it was there for everyone to “appreciate.” But sincerity counted for something, and you had to think on your feet how to get back in the groove. In the aftermath of the disco blitzkrieg and the rise of easy digital tweaks, it didn’t matter if you could play/sing for beans, “we can take care of the music, but can you strut around the stage and look good grinding in your underwear?” (True story.) Okay, I admit, I may be using a garage-door as a paintbrush, but my ears ache now after listening to the squealing of some corporate managed, platinum star whose sound board is compensating so hard for the sloppy vocals it may as well be Mickey/Minnie Mouse up there. I recently stumbled on one of those “young people watch old music” videos and these guys were jumping out of their chairs listening to a live version of Whiter Shade of Pale, gobsmacked that it was Gary Brooker’s actual voice and he was “just” singing, totally blown away by the arrangement and instrumentation. I hope young people’s newfound infatuation with vinyl helps rekindle the idea humans can make great music without terabytes of data between them and their performance. And hey, get off my lawn… 👴

Playing the historian’s variation of the “6 degrees” game, this kinda blew my mind: In 1972, I was introduced to a sweet, 104 year old lady who took care of four generations of my family. Years later I did the math and realized I had spoken with a women who knew my ggg grandparents who were born in Virginia in the 1780s. So here in the 21st century, I’m only 1 degree separated from knowing people who lived in the 18th century. Not really here nor there, but just kinda shows how “ancient” history isn’t really so far away. So to bring it home, “you know you are old when: you knew people who knew people who could’ve known George Washington?”

Oh, sorry, by “pick up” I meant when I go into learning a new instrument, not that I’m picking up new guitars willy nilly, chuckle. I wish it was like that, then my dilemma choosing between a pricey rare Martin and a budget conscious run of the mill J 45 would be solved, lol.

Wise words as usual, 40. So, duh. The light bulb went on this morning and I googled “D28 Brazilian” without all the anniversary floof, and sure, now I see for a guitar with that build it does seem a very reasonable price, even among the sold ones. Oh, and I think I need reset my image just a bit? I realized I am kinda coming off like an insufferable 1 percenter to whom money doesn’t matter. No, I’m not really Bezos lurking on the Gibson forum, grin. I’m just blessed to have fewer obligations than most, at the cost of not having any kids, rueful chuckle. Yet, even so, I still need to be practical, and this would be an unexpected expenditure right now. But I agree, when opportunities pop up, it’s better to make the stretch for something special if you can manage it. I think I’ll make another run back down there when there are less distractions and hubbub than on a Saturday afternoon.

Nod exactly. Whenever picking up a new instrument, I always buy the best I can afford rather than waste money on beginner, or student versions that don’t have the tone, response and playability you need to really “learn” and love playing that instrument. Lessons on less than instruments often become an exercise in “compensating for the shortcomings” rather just relaxing into the learning. Sure as a kid, I could plink out little Bach tunes on my toy piano, but it was a heck of a lot more fun to play on the Steinway when that came into the house.

To follow up on the replies suggesting other Martin’s. I’ve always shied away from them, until this one, I just couldn’t make them into anything. Hence why this one is so exciting. We had to go into town today, so we swung by GC to try a new HD28 with Indian rosewood to compare and for half the price, hoping maybe it was just the model that was working for me. But no. It was “nice,” but it was kinda thin. It just didn’t have the overtones or presence of the 40 year old one. That helped confirm I really am on to something with this one particular Martin. So it’s in the mix of possibilities. I’m just not sure where because I also took a minute to retry the new J45 from last week, and yeah, that one still felt like “home.” Comfortable, sweet, deep and just “there.” Terrible decisions to make.

Thanks for the tips so far. Nod, I would start with offer, but, not knowing anything about the market, as Dave mentioned, I don’t want to be insulting right out of the gate. It’s why I am hoping to get a feel for where the reasonable market is if I can. I really appreciate Dave Fs comment about his experience. Another factor in play is the shop is a small independent musical institution around here, with a strong community following, and barely hanging on against the big chains. I am acutely aware there is a potential that any price adjustments could come out of their commission, since they might be more likely to take the hit themselves than ding a loyal customer who consigned it. They are that kind of shop. I know, I shouldn’t be so concerned, capitalism, right? But as a small business owner myself, I want to be fair and not take advantage. It’s not that I can’t afford it, I just don’t want to be foolish and overpay so much that I’m underwater on it if I had to move it on in the future. Breaking even is okay, taking a bath kinda hurts.

Oh, sorry, the offers are on the SJ, the Martin is supposedly firm.

Okay, so some of you know now I’ve had weirdness about not being able to “hear” Martins very well? They just sound muddy to my poor metal-busted ears? Well, it may be I’ve been playing the wrong ones. I was in a little out of the way shop yesterday that has a 1985 issue of the Martin D 28 150th anniversary model with Brazilian b/s and sitka top, ebony fingerboard. It really sang, and now I understand what folks are going on about with Martins. I was kinda blown away, even with some pretty sad looking strings on it. It looks to be in perfect shape, and otherwise looked “right” with both Martin hand sigs on the label, stamps, etc. The shop is asking $6950 for it, but I can’t find any comparables to tell if that is a decent/fair price or not. Of course there are older D28 Brazilians up in the stratosphere, and I know that RW is particularly special. The only other one I can find for sale right now is the 1983 first issue, asking $12,000. But there are quite a few regular D28s in the 2-4,000 range, granted not with Brazilian. I don’t know if those would suit me just as well or if it really is the Brazilian that is catching me. So, help me out? Is the Brazilian rosewood alone and historic build worth that much of mark up? I am not savvy enough in the Martin market to know if that is a decent/fair price. If this a unique opportunity, I may not want to pass it up, but I also don’t want to get caught out paying extra for limited edition “hype.” The shop is not guitar-centric, and I think mostly consignments or trades on other instruments. I think the consignors are setting the prices. To compare, they have a 1970s SJ200 with a large crack on the top the consigner was asking 3,700 for but is now taking reasonable offers. On the other hand, if the Martin really is worth this much then I would be pretty happy bringing home (even though I wasn’t expecting to drop 7 gees on another add quite so soon, ack!) Thanks in advance all you Martin folks for any wise counsel you can offer.

Crying - Roy Orbison or the kd lang version