fortyearspickn

Cool she knows SKA . Really nice guitar she can grow with and be proud of.... 50 years from now when she tells us what her first guitar was !! Seriously - let us know how she progresses. Good age to start. Nice short nails... but she may want to have long ones in a couple of years: the bane of girls and guitars!

My quick & dirty working definition of Old Time Music would be anything found in Alan Lomax' book "The Folk Songs of North America". It wouldn't include Beatles' songs.

ProAm, If the J185 plays noticeably better than the Gospel you've had for 40 years, I'd say you've discovered half the answer - you're onto the importance of playability. Tone is next. But, your Gospel may simply require a setup: Humid in Mobile now with the possibility of in winter having dried it out, etc. The other half of the answer, tone, is less precise to 'measure' and obviously subjective. Not as much variability as with electrics and amps - but still something experienced acoustic players will have developed preferences regarding . Tonewood on the back and sides affects it, but also body size and shape and bracing. As Sparky suggested - play as many as you can get. I'd suggest you take a road trip (without a wing person) to a Sam Ash or Guitar Center and spend several hours playing different guitars to get to a point where you feel you know, in general, what you like. If you try to use others opinions, YouTube recordings or even playing one this week and a different one next week - you will not get anywhere. Narrow your search down. Do not automatically dismiss small bodied or large bodied, based on social media blather. Sit down with examples and decide for yourself if the difference of a half inch in the waist is a deal breaker, or a 'long neck' is too long. The SJ200 may look bigger but do you play sitting or standing? A wider nut compared to a narrower one may take you back when you move from 5 minutes on one to the next - but I'm pretty sure you can adjust to one or the other. You have to decide if the preferences of some for a narrow nut, or longer neck by some - compared to a wider nut or shorter neck for others (who play hours each day and have refined preferences) if relevant to your situation. Enjoy your quest. G'luck.

It's always interesting to see the 'crossovers', and wonder what the spark might ignite in terms of a new spin-off. English=Irish Ballads and fiddle music, combining with African derived banjo, Italian mandolin, which was influenced by a lute from the Middle East. Artists with 'country/gospel' roots - Elvis, Duane Eddy, Benda Lee - and we had a "RockaBIlly" spinoff. Hard not to love it all !!

Tube Testers !!! Another spec of dust dredged up from the basement of my mind! I use to love going to those old junk 'antique' stores in the small towns and see things my parents had. Stopped when I started seeing things I had. Still had.

Mighty pretty ranch .... errr, guitar!

Wow. Very eloquent. I'll let you have the last word and leave it at that.

Yep. The luggage shop I used 10 + years ago - gone now. Here's what I found that looks to be a close match: https://www.amazon.com/CynKen-Leather-Musical-Handbags-Instrument/dp/B07RWZDGJC/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=o5j3I&pf_rd_p=bbb6bbd8-d236-47cb-b42f-734cb0cacc1f&pf_rd_r=4M41PSVDRVFX2WS7C86A&pd_rd_r=6c3b06f0-04cb-4ff6-b31a-ffbaa516e29a&pd_rd_wg=n0p7H&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mi&th=1

So - yeah Nice deflection - 'Not all those gatherings were riots'. I was just talking about the actual riots (google the definition) that took place nightly in several cities all summer long. Without any local politicians speaking out against them. Those gatherings. So if I understand your response... if I'm one of those people who 'parrot' that these were riots - ANTIFA and BLM have just cause to riot. Got it. And, speaking of 'reading comprehensively' if you do - you'll uncover an indication the FBI probably set these dweebs up. Entrapment.

One of my Top Ten favorites. Funny he used a Dove in the movie - but usually played an off brand.

"ANTIFA is responsible for...." "The "woke" lamestream media are......" And if you or anyone you know has ever said or thought anything remotely close to any of that then.... You and they are part of the problem and will never be part of the solution. Whitefang" WF, Help me understand... Since I believe the rioting that took place for 100 days during the summer of 2020 was carried out by people who carried ANTIFA signs (and BLM) and was covered up by the mainstream media calling it 'mostly peaceful protesting' - that therefore, in your opinion, "I am a part of the problem and will never be part of the solution". Does that mean I caused this 'peaceful protesting' actively or passively? Being 'part of the problem' I caused BLM people to march with signs years earlier - 'What do we want? Dead Cops?' And your expectation that I "never be a part of the solution'' - does that mean I should not vote? Should not express my opinion? Aaaah! There's that nasty old Free Speech that is not protected anywhere except on Government Property. I guess what that means is I should Sit Down And Shut Up.

I too got 2As from Colosi's website over a span of a few years for my 3 Gibson acoustics, incl an H'Bird TV. Being somewhat OCD - I fiddled with them to mix and match so the abalone colors matched more closely and so I got the best fit for each pin in each hole. Then, being OCD, I marked each pin (1-6) with a fine liner pen. I hope you don't have the same 'issues' I did. Do.

Using a flat pick on a 5 string instead of finger picks - I guess that's where Rock meets Grass !

"... because I am not a fan of much of what passes for firestripe these days. " Agree - I've got a tigerstripe - on my J45 sunburst. I liked it when I got it - love it now. Because it blends in and adds some interest. The coloration is all brown, tan, etc. and the wavy lines are basically uniform. The after market ones Ive seen - like the ones pictured here - have orange in them and are splotchy and meandering. Almost approaching 'modern art'. Maybe that is 'fire stripe' vs 'tiger stripe'. I love the 'flame' in my maple grain SJ200, but will pass on 'fire stripes' on pick guards. Especially on a blonde face.

So much for light-hearted banter.

"We had to figure this stuff out WAY before there was an internet..." My grandkids do not have any glimmer of understanding when I try to explain to them how we had to use the card catalog in the library to do the research for a Term Paper in school. Set Up Prices Skyrocket ? Same concept. Double the Effective Minimum Wage, pay people that amount to Not Work - have Supply Chain Issues... Connect The Dots !

Dave F - watched that 'Do It Yourself' video. Guy apparently teaches luthiers how to do stuff, but I didn't come away feeling the 'how to' was really geared to 99% of actual guitar owners so they could literally do it themselves. He didn't use wood to repair the hole - admitted it was 'the low cost option'. Bondo with wood stain painted on - artistically streaking different shades. Cosmetically it came out as good as the OP, but not better. Since the negative comments seem to center around the cosmetics of the OP repair as they would affect a vintage, collectible or mint guitar - I don't think the Bondo approach would win any of these folks over. I think it simply comes down to - how much do you want to spend on a repair? If your guitar is worth $10 thousand, the answer will be more than if your guitar is for $1000. I would spend $5 for a roll of brown Duck Tape to patch a hole on a "Hello Kitty' guitar.

BK7 - that would cause me to pack up my stuff and head home. Before I strangled the sax player. So, the speaker was on a tripod stand ?

Tega has left the building. I think we over-helped him. Adjust new and string height - I think that was tried before he came here.

Yamaha is a respected brand in the classical guitar area. From student to professional - Rodrigo y Gabriela support them. Here's an Ibanez that touches some of the bases. Classicals are generally the same size and shape of an LG1 - so manageable for a 13 y/o girl. https://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez/GA35-Thinline-Acoustic-Electric-Classical-Guitar.gc

Eighteen Months... I wonder if you could learn to play righty in that timeframe?

They make some nice 3/4 size classical crossovers - thinner neck radiuses fretboard. Yes, nylon until calloused, finger muscles etc arrive. Bending,slides , hammering on and pulling off - I’d bet the school music teacher doesn’t want anything like that distracting from the basics. I’m old school and think it’s better to learn to understand the soul and basics of a guitar without electronics getting in the way. While plugging in headphones spares the family later on, I’ve found it helps parents to hear if the kid is actually practicing. I read somewhere half the kids who start guitar quit in the first year. I’d hold off buying her a second guitar until then. G’Luck!

WHITEFANG wrote Until YOU blow through one that is. I've never witnessed anything like that. What I usually see are the COPS running through red lights. And often by flipping on the lights and giving a quick blow of the siren that gets people to move aside or the green lighted traffic to stop and let them through, then once through the light they turn off their flashing blues and slow down to the limit. NOW I UNDERSTAND ! Somebody got a ticket !

Some here never clean off their guitar except when they do a string change. Some like 'road worn' looking guitars. While others want to keep theirs in mint condition. For every Closet Queen 60 year old guitar discovery - there are probably a half a million guitars that have much worse wear and damage than the one this guy fixed up. Restoring a Velvet Elvis painting isn't comparable to restoring a DaVinci. If I'd put a hole like that in my H'Bird TV - I'd be sick. But I'd get over it and be completely happy with that repair.

Happier. Yep. And sleep better. I've found that's how I can tell when I need to tone it down.