YOUR Acoustis...

Elias Graves said:
Gibson? You mean the Silvertone?
They are very different.
The Silvertone has a giant neck, while the Godin's is quite slim.
Size-wise, the Silvertone is a bit bigger.
Volume,the 5th Avenue does well with the bridge upgrade (and proper fitting of bridge) but the Silvertone is LOUD.
The sound of both is fairly midrange heavy, as is typical on archtops. The 5th Avenue is much more percussive, less sustain and has a stronger fundamental tone, while the Silvertone has a lot more going on in terms of overtones. It's a more complex sounding guitar. Likely the solid spruce top vs the laminate.
The Godin will stay intune longer, though the Silvertone is about onpar with most other solid top acoustics. Again, the playwood doesn't expand and contract much.
I'd say the Godin has an edge in terms of playablility...it has new frets and a nice level fretboard, while the Silvertone has some good gouges worn in the board at the first position and the frets are worn. With the reset neck, I can keep the action on the Silvertone about as low as I like it. The action on the Godin will go as low as you want it. I had it shredder low for a while but have since raised it some, as archtops respond well to a heavy hand. They require some serious vibration to get the top moving.

EG
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sorry, i dunno why i said Gibson.

how much, if any, do you think age plays a part in the difference in sound?
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
sorry, i dunno why i said Gibson.

how much, if any, do you think age plays a part in the difference in sound?
Click to expand...

I have no clue. The brand new Eastman archtop I fell for a couple of weeks ago was brand new, with solid woods, and sounded better than the Silvertone.
I've heard that solid top guitars will change in sound over time, but I've never owned one long enough to hear that. My kid's Ibby is solid top and sounds the same to me as it did a year and a half ago...but then it's dipped in plastic, so....
The Godin, I doubt will ever change in sound, being plywood.
The fatter neck neck may play a role in that, too. Every who "knows" :rolleyes: says a fatter neck=fatter tone. I have no idea. My LP Jr has a skinny neck and sounds plenty fat to me. ???

My ultimate guess is that those things probably do contribute some, but the solid vs laminate top is the key.
For example, there's a store here that has all three models of those little A&L Ami parlor guitars...spruce top, cedar top, plywood top. You can hear some difference between the cedar and the spruce..the cedar is a little "dryer" and "woodier" sounding and the spruce is softer and more mellow. The laminate top version is just "thunk." I think they mostly offer that one as a beach guitar, since the plywood is impervious to anything short of napalm.

EG
 
Elias Graves said:
I have no clue. The brand new Eastman archtop I fell for a couple of weeks ago was brand new, with solid woods, and sounded better than the Silvertone.
I've heard that solid top guitars will change in sound over time, but I've never owned one long enough to hear that. My kid's Ibby is solid top and sounds the same to me as it did a year and a half ago...but then it's dipped in plastic, so....
The Godin, I doubt will ever change in sound, being plywood.
The fatter neck neck may play a role in that, too. Every who "knows" :rolleyes" says a fatter neck=fatter tone. I have no idea. My LP Jr has a skinny neck and sounds plenty fat to me. ???

My ultimate guess is that those things probably do contribute some, but the solid vs laminate top is the key.
For example, there's a store here that has all three models of those little A&L Ami parlor guitars...spruce top, cedar top, plywood top. You can hear some difference between the cedar and the spruce..the cedar is a little "dryer" and "woodier" sounding and the spruce is softer and more mellow. The laminate top version is just "thunk." I think they mostly offer that one as a beach guitar, since the plywood is impervious to anything short of napalm.

EG
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that whole "fatter neck, fatter tone" is a buncha TGP bullshit. conversely, as you've found, the different top wood is very real.

that ibanez will change even more as your kid plays it. it just takes some time. it's never overnight. give it 5 years.
 
I had no idea how long it's supposed to take.
The solid wood/laminate I can attest to. I've heard that with my own ears starkly enough. I think it plays a much bigger role in the top than it does in the body. You can pick up any lam top and A-B with a solid top and hear it plainly. Those A&Ls were convincing. He has probably a dozen of those hangin up...several in each configuration, so you can test variations between like examples along with the other tops, too. All the spruces were darn close, all the cedars were darn similar, as were the plywoods.
Godin claimed he went with the plywood on the 5th Avenue for cost and stability. It sounds good, but you can hear the difference. I always wondered why he didn't do like Harmony did back in the day and press the solid tops into shape. I mean, he's pressing the plywood, so.... It's not as nice as a carved solid top, but those are very expensive to do.
My suspicion is that they had electric models in mind when they developed that guitar. There are presently five versions of the 5th Avenue and four are electric.

EG
 
As for the neck size, I seriously doubt that it has a huge impact. Like many things with a guitar, it has some, but not as much as many will claim.

EG
 
Elias Graves said:
I had no idea how long it's supposed to take.
Click to expand...

as long as it needs to

The solid wood/laminate I can attest to. I've heard that with my own ears starkly enough. I think it plays a much bigger role in the top than it does in the body. You can pick up any lam top and A-B with a solid top and hear it plainly. Those A&Ls were convincing. He has probably a dozen of those hangin up...several in each configuration, so you can test variations between like examples along with the other tops, too. All the spruces were darn close, all the cedars were darn similar, as were the plywoods.
Godin claimed he went with the plywood on the 5th Avenue for cost and stability. It sounds good, but you can hear the difference. I always wondered why he didn't do like Harmony did back in the day and press the solid tops into shape. I mean, he's pressing the plywood, so.... It's not as nice as a carved solid top, but those are very expensive to do.
My suspicion is that they had electric models in mind when they developed that guitar. There are presently five versions of the 5th Avenue and four are electric.

EG
Click to expand...

right. that's because the top is softer so it vibrates more easily. you really just need the sides and back there to push the air back out of the soundhole. that's why Ovations took off. they proved that you could make an acoustic for live performance that sounded just like every other acoustic (also due to the piezo pickup), but toured better. unfortunately, they're built like shit, so they didn't last. but the idea is sound.
 
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