Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Bounced around to several shops and played a handful of guitars. Semi looking for a parlor sized acoustic but played some electrics too but here's some thoughts on a few of the acoustics I fiddled around with that stood out:
LAG 12 string cut away acoustic - I hated this thing.
The top three string pairs sounded like mushy crap. Used at $300 or so. Almost felt like buying it and then smashing it on the sidewalk I despised it so much.
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany- They really do pack a lot of tone in these little beast. Used at $399 but not what I'm looking for.
Eastman E20P Parlor - really damn good.
More than I am looking to drop but great tone and playability. F&F were top notch. Fretwork was perfect. $1,000 or so new.
Ibanez Artwood Thermo Aged Parlor AVN9 - New. crazy light weight. Sad boxy tone. :( $3xx something IIRC.
1965 Gibson J-50 - sunburst with beautiful finish checking and it pretty spiffy condition.
Great bottom end with punchy note clarity. Really sweet player but overpriced at $3,500 on the rack
1965 Gibson J-45 - another vintage beauty that sounded really great with superb balance across the strings. Had some dings and small repairs but none impacted the playability and tone. Also overpriced at $3,500.
Early 60s Epiphone Texan - meh.
It was ok-ish, in nice shape but sitting there at a $2,000+, I could have pulled a dozen new guitars off the shelf that played and sounded much better for less. Vintage cred and little else going for it.
Vintage Epi hollow body jazz box thing - Beat up body with a twisted neck that was completely unplayable.
Flipped over the price tag, saw 4 digits and noped it right back on the rack.
Guild Westerly Collection M-120 Natural - $650 or so. Total dud. Sounded completely dead. Yuck. New shit box of the day.
Martin D-28 Centennial - LOUD MFer.
This was the exactly the guitar when people talk about Martin Dreds being cannons. My buddy was playing the J-45 maybe 7 feet away when I pulled this off the rack and he couldn't hear himself at all. $2000+
Recording King AP-9M Parlor - $299 new.
Kinda cheap looking but solid wood parlor with really nice tone. The fretwork is horrible and look like they've been polished with 60 grit sandpaper. (most of the other Recording King models I looked at were similar) Cheap tuners and i found myself constantly tuning up the high E. Not sure if the tuner was actually slipping or the string was just strung poorly. Played really nice and sounded very good. For the price, it might be worth bring home, dressing the frets & swapping on some decent tuners if needed. Maybe.
Also played the usual compliment of Yamahas that still punch well above their price points, new Taylors that all sound like Taylors and a bunch of other vintage hollow bodies and oddball mutts that no one really cares about.
LAG 12 string cut away acoustic - I hated this thing.
The top three string pairs sounded like mushy crap. Used at $300 or so. Almost felt like buying it and then smashing it on the sidewalk I despised it so much.
Taylor GS Mini Mahogany- They really do pack a lot of tone in these little beast. Used at $399 but not what I'm looking for.
Eastman E20P Parlor - really damn good.
More than I am looking to drop but great tone and playability. F&F were top notch. Fretwork was perfect. $1,000 or so new.
Ibanez Artwood Thermo Aged Parlor AVN9 - New. crazy light weight. Sad boxy tone. :( $3xx something IIRC.
1965 Gibson J-50 - sunburst with beautiful finish checking and it pretty spiffy condition.
Great bottom end with punchy note clarity. Really sweet player but overpriced at $3,500 on the rack
1965 Gibson J-45 - another vintage beauty that sounded really great with superb balance across the strings. Had some dings and small repairs but none impacted the playability and tone. Also overpriced at $3,500.
Early 60s Epiphone Texan - meh.
It was ok-ish, in nice shape but sitting there at a $2,000+, I could have pulled a dozen new guitars off the shelf that played and sounded much better for less. Vintage cred and little else going for it.
Vintage Epi hollow body jazz box thing - Beat up body with a twisted neck that was completely unplayable.
Flipped over the price tag, saw 4 digits and noped it right back on the rack.
Guild Westerly Collection M-120 Natural - $650 or so. Total dud. Sounded completely dead. Yuck. New shit box of the day.
Martin D-28 Centennial - LOUD MFer.
This was the exactly the guitar when people talk about Martin Dreds being cannons. My buddy was playing the J-45 maybe 7 feet away when I pulled this off the rack and he couldn't hear himself at all. $2000+
Recording King AP-9M Parlor - $299 new.
Kinda cheap looking but solid wood parlor with really nice tone. The fretwork is horrible and look like they've been polished with 60 grit sandpaper. (most of the other Recording King models I looked at were similar) Cheap tuners and i found myself constantly tuning up the high E. Not sure if the tuner was actually slipping or the string was just strung poorly. Played really nice and sounded very good. For the price, it might be worth bring home, dressing the frets & swapping on some decent tuners if needed. Maybe.
Also played the usual compliment of Yamahas that still punch well above their price points, new Taylors that all sound like Taylors and a bunch of other vintage hollow bodies and oddball mutts that no one really cares about.
