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Aquired taste and/or preference in acoustic guitars


brannon67

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Posted

This is a Gibson forum, and most of us have one or several Gibson guitar models. J45, J200, Songwriter, AJ, etc. I have been on other forums in the past, for other brands of guitars. I have noticed that on each forum, many people put down other brands of guitars, because they think that the brand they play is the best, and there are no other good acoustic guitars out there. Whether it be Gibson, Taylor. Martin, Santa Cruz, etc. I personally feel(although) I love Gibson, that there are many other great guitars out there that play and sound awesome, even though I love Gibson, and always will. I just hate it when people in other forums(sometimes on this forum) think that just because they play a certain brand or company, and are loyal to that brand or company, its the BEST. Personally I think its all in the eye and ear of the beholder. Sure, there are some crappy sounding and playing guitars out there, and that goes for out beloved Gibson as well, but to put down another brand or company just because its what they play, or what their favorite musician plays and nothing else matters is wacked, but thats just me. What do you guys think? But then again, to each his own. We all have out opinions, and I respect that.

Posted

Personally, Martins do nothing for me. They all look the same. I haven't played any Taylors that I thought were good guitars. I hear good things about Santa Cruz although I've never played one. Brand loyalty has it's good side and bad side. I guess I love Gibson the most because of their heritage and the incredible variety of great instruments they have made for more than 100 years. No other guitar manufacturer comes close when you look at Gibson's entire line of great instruments not just flat-top guitars, but electrics, archtops, mandolins, banjos, etc.

Posted

I prefer Gibsons myself, but I do have a Martin HD28 thats really good, but when all is said and done, my J45 wins out, just bacause I prefer it.

Posted

Brand bashing and 'club memberships' are just something that happens to come up on guitar forums.... you have to just live with it. It's the one tangible argument on guitar forums, as it's physical and has properties we can see and touch, most other things in this realm of interest are subjective, described using abstract association etc..... These things are hard if not impossible to quantify and yet it's amazing how many people will argue perspectives.

 

If you find no worth in something, it's easier to move along than it is to get into a fight about it.

Posted

I prefer Gibsons myself, but I do have a Martin HD28 thats really good, but when all is said and done, my J45 wins out, just bacause I prefer it.

Wow !

I also have a Martin HD-28, and a J45 TV is upcoming to me, although I wonder if it's a good one or a dud.

Posted

This is a Gibson forum, and most of us have one or several Gibson guitar models. J45, J200, Songwriter, AJ, etc. I have been on other forums in the past, for other brands of guitars. I have noticed that on each forum, many people put down other brands of guitars, because they think that the brand they play is the best, and there are no other good acoustic guitars out there. Whether it be Gibson, Taylor. Martin, Santa Cruz, etc. I personally feel(although) I love Gibson, that there are many other great guitars out there that play and sound awesome, even though I love Gibson, and always will. I just hate it when people in other forums(sometimes on this forum) think that just because they play a certain brand or company, and are loyal to that brand or company, its the BEST. Personally I think its all in the eye and ear of the beholder. Sure, there are some crappy sounding and playing guitars out there, and that goes for out beloved Gibson as well, but to put down another brand or company just because its what they pay, or what their favorite musician plays and nothing else matters is wacked, but thats just me. What do you guys think? But then again, to each his own. We all have out opinions, and I respect that.

 

for me there are many great sounding guitars out there

but not every guitar that sounds good looks good to a persons eye !

 

One thing I HATE about taylors is that while it may sound good I has a cutaway ( and I love symmetry))

and Martins may sound wonderful but they are too plain for me ... not to say I will not have a D 28 one day

I hear collings has great guits same as Bourgeois. I love the souds of James Taylors' Olsens too

 

but even brands like Yamaha and Epiphone have my respect . alot of those sound nice

 

I think many guitars have great sound but not all have the look I am searching for .

 

 

 

JC

Posted

No other guitar manufacturer comes close when you look at Gibson's entire line of great instruments not just flat-top guitars, but electrics, archtops, mandolins, banjos, etc.

 

+1

 

This fact is worth taking into consideration when thinking about guitar builders as a whole. I personally think there are other great guitar makers, but Gibson are the one that incorporate the best of history and completeness of outstanding instruments built. Electric and acoustic.

 

Slagging anything ain't cool.. but people will be people [crying][flapper]

Posted

I find that when I do my little coffee house gigs, my J45 just flows with my voice and harmonica playing. Thats why I prefer my J45 mostly for songwriting and playing my little gigs. They dont call it THE WORKHORSE for nothing.

Posted

Tons of great guitar makers out there! I have settled on Gibson's and Martin's. I love them both, I feel that a Gibson neck can't be beat for strumming and my Martin's offer a little wider nut and other options. I've got a couple slot head 12 fretters a 000 and a dread the nuts range from 1 3/4" to 1 13/16" on them.

 

If I could only choose the one though I'd go with a Gibby, probably my SJ-300.

Posted

I figure you get what you want and can afford. Compared to other forums, this one is not so anti-everything-but-Gibsons. I think most guitars get a pretty fair hearing in this forum. Most of us favor Gibsons, but we recognize and own other brands that are also sweet instruments. Guitars are a very personal instrument. My guitars have to be something I can bond with if I'm going to keep them. Like many in here, I've purchased some very nice guitars, but later found-out that they were not what I personally needed them to be. And price/quality/sound are not the ultimate criteria.. It has to do with the guitar/s being "me." I've sold new Martins, a Breedlove, Taylors, a Gibson, and numerous other guitars that I initially liked, but later decided I simply didn't want to play. Most were well-made instruments, sounded pretty cool, but they were not "me." Anyway, I'm meandering......As you indicate, it depends on who you ask. [thumbup]

Posted

Although I do play my Martin HD28 VS for certain songs. I like to use it on a couple of Neil Young covers I do. I have found it works best for that.

Posted

Most skilled players don't play a single brand of guitars. Brand loyalty and brand bashing, are just opposite ends of the same stick. It's the same blind energy. Although most companies aim for some kind of consistency....it's true that there are good examples and duds from every brand. It is ALWAYS a guitar by guitar game. Find a guitar that speaks to you, that has the sound you like, and just enjoy it....and allow others the same respect, no matter which brand they happen to own. I love my Gibsons, but also the other guitar brands I own, which give me a great variety of sounds to play around with. My friend collects dreadnaughts......not my idea of variety, but he seems to be happy, even though to me, they sound pretty similar. Another collects only vintage....and even though I have some modern guitars that sound much better to my ears, he still prefers the mojo of the vintage. It takes all types....live and let live....in the words of simple man:

 

"Why can't we all just get along?" ..Rodney King 12:18

Posted

At last count I play guitars slapped together by six builders. I was up seven but performed a mitzvah by recently giving a friend who has been playing in a worship band with a borrowed guitar my old Guild. Every one of those guitars sounds, reponds and feels different. Some of them folks consider real gems. Others leave folks scratching their heads mumbling something about me being on puppy chow.

 

But there is a difference between preference and prejudice which can often seem illogical. I do not like skinny necks or narrow nuts. That is a preference and has nothing to do with a particular make of guitar. I have never played a Taylor I would take home not because I find them poorly built or something but because I find them too flippin' bright sounding. Again, just preference.

 

But I do got my prejudices. Here is a good one - I cannot bring myself to own any acoustic not made in the U.S.A. I love 1960s bizarro Made in Japan electrics and have played enough offshore built acoustics to know many can hold their own against their higher priced U.S. kin. But I cannot bring myself to plunk down my hard earned scratch on one. Makes no sense at all.

Posted

I'm the youngest of four children. My Dad played Hawaiin guitar back in the 40's, and I am lucky enough to have his Dobro Model 27. All of my older siblings play acoustic guitar, and my Dad started all of my older siblings out with their own Gibson B-25N's. As the youngest, I didn't get my own, but had use of my Brother's Gibson when he went off to West Point.

 

Gibson absolutely runs through my veins, but I would love to have a nice old Martin D-18. I used to think that I wanted a Taylor, until I played a few at a Taylor dealer. I just don't like the way my hand feels on the neck, and the action from the factory felt way too much like an electric for me.

 

I think it's truly a case of being closed minded if you think that only one brand is the only thing to play. However, I will always have a Gibson. It will always be my main guitar, but I have much respect for Martin, Santa Cruz, and many of the custom builts. It is telling that many of the top independant luthiers make their builds in the image of vintage Gibsons. There is just something about a Gibson acoustic that tells you that every time you pick it up that you hold a piece of American history in your hands. The vintage feel of many of Gibson's modern acoustics gives me hope that our grandchildren's grandchildren will have the opportunity to connect with us today in this way, no matter how much the world changes in the centuries to come.

 

I love Gibson's, but I could love a Martin, a Greven, a Santa Cruz, a ............

Posted

Well I own several different acoustic makes, but I have had the best of luck with Gibsons and Yamahas.

 

I have stepped back from purchasing any new guitars, because I have plenty to play already. But as a previous poster

noted, I will try to buy only American made acoustic or electric brands. Frankly I went through four Martins and I just

couldn't bond with any of them, I would be sitting with freinds playing and they all preferred the sound of my birds not my

HD 28 or Claption small body. That Martin 12 string no frills is a really nice guitar though, I kept it. And I have two lower end Taylors MIM.

 

Best quality and sounding guitars I own are all American made.

Posted

I own several brands and usually find something to like about most guitars I pick up. However on this forum I try to keep it mainly about Gibson. Am I into Martin yes but there is a much better place to discuss those and not too many places to discuss Gibson, so it helps IMO to not clutter up the Gibson Acoustic section with too much about other brands.

Posted

They go frontwards/backwards, turn right/left..... cars do. Do you know how many fights have broken out at NASCAR events over Ford vs Chevy.... lawd.

 

I love Gibson guitars, yet the hood ornament on my git is meaningless to me. My Eastman E10-OM and Collings D2HG are two of the best gits out there.... I don't like to ding anybody, peace.

Posted

I Love my Hummingbird & it will be with me in my lifetime & pray that I have someone in my family to carry-on with it / my L4-A is a nice Gibson but I wish for a J-45 now. The L4-A isn't made now, but the J-45 is timeless. Oh well, and the Washburn 12 string was a nice gift from my family in '08' / I liked Gibsons as a young man & saved for years for my H-bird & will never look back on that move / I started to buy a Martin just because its my wife's maiden name & a Taylor because that's my mothers side of our family's name, but tone,sound,price, etc. stopped that/ everybody has their on drum to play or in Our Case a "Gibson" right! [biggrin] (to put another brand down, I don't!) I know their are lots of guitar players that would like a Gibson but can't afford their Dream Guitar & settle for less/ I feel blessed to have my Hummingbird & able to have kept it all these years.

 

Nice Talk, "Enjoy that Gibson, You'll" [thumbup]

Posted

So you would not have anything made in China like an Epiphone Masterbilt or anything like that then?

 

Hmm, I own an Ibanez electric (made in china)I modified with seymore duncans and american switching and wiring, It is a very good guitar. I have Eastman products, Epiphone electrics, Have 2 PRS SEs MIK, Tele thinline MIM, and more... foriegn guitars. But when i stand them up to my American Gibsons acoustic or electric or my MIA Telecaster the foreign jobs do not have the "Tone", don't get me wrong I really don't have a bad sounding or bad playing guitar in my collection. Kinda like a Mustang compared to a Ferrari, both good cars.

 

Its just after playing the foreign guitars for years and now being in the financial position to buy American I do so for the "Tone".

 

One exception, I will buy Japanese guitars according to make and availability. I have a 1989 MIJ Strat that has heavenly tone , even over driven she still sings.

 

Did I say "Tone"?

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