SkyRider Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Hello all! My first post here. How did I end up here? Well, I walked into a local Guitar Center with good high end acoustic selection the other day. Played everything on the wall from your typical Taylor, Martin, Gibson, etc. you see I'm typically a Taylor player and had my share of high end guitars from Collings, Santa Cruz, etc. in the past. I was never impressed with any Gibson acoustics I played over the years. However when I played Songwriter Deluxe Stuido the other day at local GC, it just sang! to ME, it had Santa Cruz warmth, Taylor Treble, and lovely Gibson mids. I didn't buy it at the spot because of the cosmetic issue with that particular one but did manage to order one(without cutaway) that should arrive in two more days. Extremely excited about this guitar! Anyone else own of these? Please share your experience. Also, I looked at some old thread and these aren't discussed as much here compare to other models. Why? Lastly, these were on clearance at all local Guitar Center. Is it going to be discontinued? Or is Gibson updating/modifying this model? Anyways, glad to be here! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 Welcome to the Gibson Acoustic Forum Skyrider. Sounds like your new Songwriter is to be delivered in time for the weekend? Great way to spend a couple of days, strumming on a new Gibson. There have been a couple of discussions about the Songwriter model recently - show us a picture when yours comes, here's how: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/11005-sticky-how-to-post-photos/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWD Posted June 4, 2015 Share Posted June 4, 2015 We have 3 in the family... They are the some of the sweetest sounding guitars around. Middle one's mine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 I use a Songwriter Deluxe Studio E/C for almost all my acoustic performances along with a few of my Martins and a couple of custom instruments I had made. Regardless of cost, the Songwriter is without a doubt my very best sounding and playing acoustic/Electric. I also use it almost exclusively for composing my songs. The tone of the SWD is so balanced from note to note on every string. It's sustain and projection is as good as any acoustic I have ever played. The 1.72 nut width, 12" radius , neck contour are perfect for me. The soundmen, engineers love it's amplified sound as well as of course myself. It records extremely well and for stage use it delivers every time. I really like it's visual appointments as well. Not overdone but very elegantly appealing. I would be lost without it since it is my favorite every day guitar. The wider X bracing and AA+ grade tone woods develop a warm, articulate tone. here's a picture of my Songwriter...... so from my perspective you made a great choice no matter if it's the cutaway or the standard non cutaway version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 What I was told by a 5 star Gibson dealer and by Bozeman is that the cutaway E/C version out sells the non-cut by 5 to 1 so Gibson has decided for now to stop production of as many non-cutaway models and continue to produce the same amount of E/C ones. They said a large percentage of the buyers appear to be working musicians of every level that use the E/C model. So those consumers prefer the E/C over the non E/C I suppose because lead lines can be played above the 12th fret easier on the E/C. I have an ex band mate that has a non E/C and it is a killer instrument. As for myself, I love them both. The tone to my ears is so close to each other that I can't tell them apart. After all, the Songwriter is the best selling acoustic in sheer numbers that Gibson has at this moment as per Gibson Montana. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWD Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 What I was told by a 5 star Gibson dealer and by Bozeman is that the cutaway E/C version out sells the non-cut by 5 to 1 so Gibson has decided for now to stop production of as many non-cutaway models and continue to produce the same amount of E/C ones. They said a large percentage of the buyers appear to be working musicians of every level that use the E/C model. So those consumers prefer the E/C over the non E/C I suppose because lead lines can be played above the 12th fret easier on the E/C. I have an ex band mate that has a non E/C and it is a killer instrument. As for myself, I love them both. The tone to my ears is so close to each other that I can't tell them apart. After all, the Songwriter is the best selling acoustic in sheer numbers that Gibson has at this moment as per Gibson Montana. All I can say is when my brother plays his EC and I follow with the full body...We both hear a signifigant increase in tone and volume with the FB version. I use Elixir lights, but plan on going back to mediums for the next string change. Everyone's ear is different, so your mileage may vary. Can't go wrong either way tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucille64 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 As you stated SWD everyone's ears are different. Tone is the most subjective issue in many things. While I am not necessarily disagreeing with you I would like to say that..... From a structural standpoint both instruments are constructed with the exact same bracing and woods. Since 90% of the volume, tone and projection is developed in the lower bout area and the Songwriters both EC and FB are made exactly the same in that area, so whatever volume and tonal differences you may hear have to be fairly small. The upper bout area of a square shouldered dreadnought either above or below the neck produces a very minimal amount of the total output of the instrument. Every guitar builder I have ever dealt with has agreed on that including Ren Ferguson himself. Since every instrument will sound different because of many factors ( Gibson states no two models will sound exactly the same) there may be EC models that have as much volume and tone as any FB model. It would be almost impossible to compare them all. In the end, any player should just find the ONE that satisfies him or her the most and then just play. Other factors that affect the tone and sound arethe thickness of the upper cross brace above the sound hole in front of the neck block on the top soundboard which can affect the tone to some small degree as well. Both guitars once again share the same brace in that position as well. Now the FB certainly may sound a tiny bit richer and deeper on that I agree. Keeping in mind that one could play say 50 of the same model EC or FB and to each individual's ears maybe only a small percentage of those 50 sound really good and have a better tone and volume than another model to that individual. Then there is always playability differences which are also predicated by each individual's hand size , finger length and preference to a certain neck shape, radius, action, neck relief and nut width but that's not really the subject of this particular discussion. In conclusion... one can't go wrong with either model. Both are wonderful instruments and being Gibson offers both styles gives every player the opportunity to chose which suits him or her best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.