codedog wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:47 am
Evidently laminate back and sides != lower quality!
Beautiful stuff!
That perfectly highlighted a dilemma I struggle with. Picks and long fingernails give definition, clarity, power and control. Bare fingers and short nails have a sweeter and more expressive voice at the expense of absolute precision. At least that's what happens with my fingers.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.
I pulled out a bunch of picks the other day, was thinking of going a bit thicker for a change, was quite surprised by the Dunlop Primetone ones, they just sounded better to my ears, wild, so have switched to those... was not expecting that!
Slowy wrote:
That's the problem; everything rewarding is just such hard work. Regret takes much less effort.
olegmcnoleg wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:05 am
I've played one of these guitars...it is a weird experience because you hear a massive sound in the room, but very little coming directly back at you through the back & sides of the guitar.
Funny you say that. It seems his guitars have a sound port, presumably to give this feedback to the player.
Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. This is as true of humans as it is of gas molecules in a sealed flask. The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive.
olegmcnoleg wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:05 am
That is right, yes. There is a trend amongst some builders to make guitars where the back & sides take as much of the structural load as possible, leaving the top to be free to just vibrate. So the top needs very little bracing, it is basically a speaker cone. Laminates are much stronger, so they get used for the back & sides.
I've played one of these guitars...it is a weird experience because you hear a massive sound in the room, but very little coming directly back at you through the back & sides of the guitar.
The other thing about laminates being stronger (if they are really carefully made) is that they can be thinner. This is also a good thing, tonewise.
Neither approach leads to cheaper guitars, unfortunately
One point I don't often hear is that good laminate B&S guitars are louder than good all-solid guitars. They must project more. I just know this from the gypsy jazz world where all the best guitars for volume are laminate B&S, and GJ guitars are arguably the loudest acoustic guitars that exist. Not many people really care for a super loud acoustic in lieu of a rich tone these days, though...
Anyone have any Fred Kelly thumb picks? Seems all the Travis pickers swear by the speed ones. I'd like to try some out, but they can only be ordered in 24 packs and I don't want to spend over $60 just to try one.
Any of you gents have any feedback/reports on Pratley guitars? I'm in Aussie at the moment and there's a bunch of sale at Derringers (local store). Handmade in Aussie, lots of OM shapes, but I've never heard of them.
NippleWrestler wrote: ↑Thu Nov 09, 2023 9:51 am
Any of you gents have any feedback/reports on Pratley guitars? I'm in Aussie at the moment and there's a bunch of sale at Derringers (local store). Handmade in Aussie, lots of OM shapes, but I've never heard of them.
I have not heard of them. But there are some really good local builders now in Oz.
Sold through Music Planet here, similar woods to Cole Clark by the looks of it. I have not played one either. Looks to be more of a small scale factory builder rather than a standalone luthier (so at least you stand a fighting chance of getting the guitar in your lifetime...)
