scriv58 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 NGD last week, fresh from Nashville, this guitar was converted from its original hawaiian style setup over a decade ago by James Burkett of Dothan, Alabama. The decision was made to carve a new neck similar to the original (pictured next to guitar) which was manufactured with painted-on fret markers for hawaiian style playing, and a 2 1/4" nut width. Oftentimes a luthier will carve the original neck for spanish (regular) style play. The nut is now a comfortable 1 13/16" width. A truss rod was also added, which the original did not have. String spacing at the saddle is 2 3/8" which is the same as my Waterloo and 1/16" more than my Martin, very comfortable with fingerpicks. Red spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and a real joy to play. There's just something about 83 year old wood that modern advertising copy will not be able to replicate. Here are a couple of samples that I recorded a few minutes ago in front of my ETL Myrtle - I'm not much for post production, no apologies. I would do Youtube like y'all but i am blessed with a face suitable for radio. https://soundcloud.com/scriv58/g-1/s-LvQ1C https://soundcloud.com/scriv58/aint-nobodys-business/s-hNQxe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 What a find! Nice to see one where they kept the original neck unmodified so the guitar could (in theory) go back to being absolutely original, if less useful. A Radio Grande or Stage Deluxe would be on my guitar bucket list, but probably in re-issue form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Great tones, great singing and some fine fingerpicking. Thanks, Ce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Wow! Love it! JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayoubengal1954 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 I had seen the ad for that. So glad someone on this Forum owns it! Enjoyed the playing and singing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Bucket list. Drooling here .., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 The are marvelous guitars. We also have a 36 RSSD -- huge sound, but pretty raw if you hammer it. If you treat it nicely though, it will sing. Ours has it's original unmodified neck -- 2.25". A bit of a challenge, but very usable. On our other Smeck -- a 35 Radio Grande -- we had Randy Wood do the neck swap trick. The high road IMO -- not everyone agrees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTaG9vQKs6I Before After Original neck Best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriv58 Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 The are marvelous guitars. We also have a 36 RSSD -- huge sound, but pretty raw if you hammer it. If you treat it nicely though, it will sing. Tom, I have already discovered this to be true with this particular specimen- it does not respond well to my usual burly heavy hand. I must use a lighter touch and pay more attention to what i'm doing, which is not a bad thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 The are marvelous guitars. We also have a 36 RSSD -- huge sound, but pretty raw if you hammer it. If you treat it nicely though, it will sing. Ours has it's original unmodified neck -- 2.25". A bit of a challenge, but very usable. On our other Smeck -- a 35 Radio Grande -- we had Randy Wood do the neck swap trick. The high road IMO -- not everyone agrees. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTaG9vQKs6I Best, -Tom David Dugas knows how to get those big old Smecks to sing, doesn't he? What a soft touch he has! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Congratulations, that is a super cool guitar. Also, very nice playing! I By the way, I also use a Myrtle and think it sound very natural. How would you categorize tone and playability compared to a J-45? Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriv58 Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 :unsure: Oops I missed your question, Lars- all I can say it is different from either j45 I have owned, a 1952 which was disappointing and a 2016 Vintage model which was doubly disappointing. I have a 1946 southern jumbo and a 1957 country western, which sound quite different from each other quite due to scalloped vs. straight bracing. This guitar has a thicker top but deeply scalloped braces, all I can say is all 3 are keepers. I do not have the cajones to use sonic descriptors such as “dark rich chocolate” or “velvety” or “toasted wheat underpinnings”. (can’t forget “plays like buttah”) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Nice guitar, nice playing... nice guitar (did I say that?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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