All things acoustic

jumbledupthinking · Post by **jumbledupthinking** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:06 am

Apologies if this has been done to death & escaped my attention. I got to thinking that in all the talk of electric guitars, I haven't seen much on here as to what acoustics fellow Shortscalers have & what kind of stuff people enjoy playing on them.

Not to say that I don't enjoy talking electric guitars, but I probably put in just as many hours on my acoustic. Here's what I'm currently playing on:

It's a Tanglewood TW-133. I got this guitar following an unhealthy obsession with getting my mitts on a Martin 000-15M. I played one a couple of years ago in a guitar shop in Berlin & completely fell in love with it. After coming to the conclusion that my guitar skills at present don't justify spending that much on an acoustic, I started looking around at alternatives. Whilst I'm not going to make any bold claims about the Tanglewood being as good a guitar, it cost a fraction of the price & retains a lot of the tonal characteristics that made me love that Martin so much. I'm using Elixir Nanoweb 12s on it, which sound great to these ears & it's pretty much exclusively tuned to DADGAD.

Here's a great tune by Do Make Say Think & a prime example of the kind of riffs that I like to noodle away on when I play acoustic:

[youtube][/youtube]
(be warned, there's about a minute & a half of ambients before the beauty of this track unfolds).

So shortscale...who else has love for the acoustic?

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 3:24 pm

Lovely guitar. I probably play my acoustics more than electrics. I took classical guitar lessons for almost 10 years and have a nice Admira Soledad. Sounds lovely.

My steel string guitar is a k.yairi g1f, the nicest guitar I own. It's a small bodied acoustic, best suited for fingerpicking stuff which is what I play mostly:

That piece of music you posted is really nice.

Gabriel · Post by **Gabriel** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 3:36 pm

The top three could be classed as acoustic - The Eastman is actually fully hollow bar a small block to support the bridge.

I love playing acoustic and play a lot, however I never play as much classical as I should which is such a shame as I really like my Alhambra.

Billy3000 · Post by **Billy3000** » Fri Jun 29, 2012 3:48 pm

There's my baby, a Taylor 414ce. I don't really play my electric guitars much these days since I play bass in both of my bands and most of my guitar playing is while teaching lessons and I bring my Taylor around with me for that. I play all kinds of stuff but my favorite kind of stuff lately to play is folky finger picking type stuff. I really like the song you posted!

Freddy V-C · Post by **Freddy V-C** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 2:39 pm

I haven't had an acoustic guitar in years unless you count the 'project' I bought from an antique shop for Â£18 and haven't ever fixed up. But recently I've had my eye on one of these lovelies, a Tanglewood TWR TE. I haven't played this specific model, but every Tanglewood acoustic I've played has been lovely, and this is one of very few acoustic guitars I can say I actually like the look of.

When I next have disposable income I'm considering either this or the Yamaha SG200 currently in my local shop (if it's still there). I have more than enough electric guitars so this seems like the more sensible choice.

ProcessedMeatMan · Post by **ProcessedMeatMan** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 3:17 pm

I play this thing all the time:

2001 Martin B1 Bass

I also have a cheapo Yamaha $100 Guitar Center special acoustic guitar that I bag around on from time to time, but it's nothing special.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 4:09 pm

Yeah, acoustic became my main instrument for a long time too. I bought this Taiwanese Takamine EG-10 in the mid-'90s and it was the best-playing acoustic I'd ever had the pleasure of.

Unfortunately, at one point when it needed a refret I took it to a butcher posing as a luthier and it was never the same again. Since then I've spent about twice as much as the first refret trying to get it back to its former self and the last visit to a proper luthier got it feeling more like its old self again but still not 100%. Oh well, it's a pretty good player at least.

I have another really nice acoustic - a hand-made Lowden copy - but it's still at my ex's flat in Edinburgh. The Takamine has more of my personal history wrapped up in it anyway - I doubt another acoustic will ever make it redundant.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 4:41 pm

Hereâ€™s my beloved Eko ranger 6:

not sure if I just have a cheap taste in acoustics but I've never played an acoustic I like more than the Ranger 6 series

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:01 pm

Ibanez AC90 NT

Great guitar !! Sounds lovely and pretty affordable. I don't think they make it anymore.

Gonna change it for TW47B when I get the chance.

http://www.guitar.co.uk/documents/1038/1038-large.jpg

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:38 pm

Whilst this thread is going, can anyone recommend a cheapish but good mic for acoustic guitars? I have a really cheap behringer condenser mic and I really struggle to get a good sound from it. I've tried changing positions of it etc but it's always really quiet and I have to really increase the mic level, making it quite noisy.

Here's a little tune I recorded today with it. It's not mixed or anything though. http://soundcloud.com/dan-heron/june-30th

jumbledupthinking · Post by **jumbledupthinking** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 4:51 pm

I've said it before & I'll no doubt say it again....Rode M3 every time if you are after something relatively cheap that records acoustic instruments well. Last time I looked, they were retailing at about Â£65. Seriously versatile mic for the money....would strongly recommend.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 5:20 pm

DanHeron wrote:Whilst this thread is going, can anyone recommend a cheapish but good mic for acoustic guitars? I have a really cheap behringer condenser mic and I really struggle to get a good sound from it. I've tried changing positions of it etc but it's always really quiet and I have to really increase the mic level, making it quite noisy.

Here's a little tune I recorded today with it. It's not mixed or anything though. http://soundcloud.com/dan-heron/june-30th

would that be the behringer C-1? as I quite like those but like I said earlier I may have cheap tastes...

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 6:10 pm

DanHeron wrote:I have a really cheap behringer condenser mic and I really struggle to get a good sound from it. I've tried changing positions of it etc but it's always really quiet and I have to really increase the mic level, making it quite noisy.

Could it be that it's a mic that needs a 48v power supply and you're not phantom powering it? (Apologies if you feel patronised.)

I also often use a Behringer mic on acoustic (a B1, I think it's called) and I find it to be pretty good for both that and vocals.

George · Post by **George** » Sun Jul 01, 2012 7:00 pm

DanHeron wrote:My steel string guitar is a k.yairi g1f, the nicest guitar I own. It's a small bodied acoustic, best suited for fingerpicking stuff which is what I play mostly:

I've wanted one of those for ages.

Chorlton · Post by **Chorlton** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:51 am

DanHeron wrote:Whilst this thread is going, can anyone recommend a cheapish but good mic for acoustic guitars? I have a really cheap behringer condenser mic and I really struggle to get a good sound from it. I've tried changing positions of it etc but it's always really quiet and I have to really increase the mic level, making it quite noisy.

Here's a little tune I recorded today with it. It's not mixed or anything though. http://soundcloud.com/dan-heron/june-30th

Pretty tune. Nice rolling feel to it.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:48 am

Chorlton wrote:
DanHeron wrote:Whilst this thread is going, can anyone recommend a cheapish but good mic for acoustic guitars? I have a really cheap behringer condenser mic and I really struggle to get a good sound from it. I've tried changing positions of it etc but it's always really quiet and I have to really increase the mic level, making it quite noisy.

Here's a little tune I recorded today with it. It's not mixed or anything though. http://soundcloud.com/dan-heron/june-30th
Pretty tune. Nice rolling feel to it.

Sounds like we got some fellow Nick Drake fans here.

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Mon Jul 02, 2012 7:30 pm

Nick Drake is part of the reason I bought my OO-15 (though Frusciante and Dylan were also factors at the time, the guitar sounds so much better fingerpicked that it instantly became my Nick Drake guitar).

I also have a Seagull S12+ acoustic/electric with Godin electrics and a delicious smelling cedar top.

Noirie. · Post by **Noirie.** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 12:56 am

Watching a couple videos of The La's has made me want a acoustic quite badly. Quite like the look of these EKO reissues I've come across on Ebay. The Ranger 6 in particular. They're very cheap as well and have bolt on necks for what I assume is "Mojo".

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:17 am

Noirie. wrote:Watching a couple videos of The La's has made me want a acoustic quite badly. Quite like the look of these EKO reissues I've come across on Ebay. The Ranger 6 in particular. They're very cheap as well and have bolt on necks for what I assume is "Mojo".

I'd keep an eye out for an original one (for even more mojo). They're pretty ubiquitous and can still be had for cheap a lot of the time on Gumtree. I can imagine a lot of Cash Converters/Generators not being able to tell the difference and pricing old ones as a well-worn reissues, too. Even on eBay they don't always go for silly money - look out for E-Ros and Thomson acoustics - E-Ros made the Rangers for a couple of years when Eko's factory burned down, then continued to sell them under their own name, and Thomson's was a music shop that imported Ekos with their own marque on the headstock.

paul_ wrote:I also have a Seagull S12+ acoustic/electric with Godin electrics and a delicious smelling cedar top.

I have one of those too (though mine has LR Baggs electrics) and, though it sounds great, I have a real problem with the neck for some reason. Barre chords cause physical pain after a while and I've been known to come away with callouses I never get them with any other guitar after prolonged playing. How d'you find yours?