New here intro and looking for...

[retiredff]

Hello all,
I'm 60 and semi retired and started playing almost 2 years ago. I now have a Seagull S6 Slim and had a Taylor 114 but sold it. The Taylor was nice, played easy but I tried a cheapo 12 fret in a local store and realized it felt better (sounded like *&^$#) to my left hand. This was before I read I could tune down a step and capo at 2 to bring my left hand in and help with the pain. It seems my hands are not very flexible my left hand is at a strange angle the farther away from my body it gets. So I started researching 12 fret guitars. The custom builts are way out of my range and would be overkill for my current abilities as a player. So I started looking at mass produced guitars. The Guild GAD F40p surfaced as did a Martin, Blueridge and Recording king. My question is; has anyone played any of these? The Guild uses Paduak (sp?) as a tonewood and my research shows this wood sonically is in between mahogany and maple. This could be too bright for me as I play 75% finger-style, some strum and the rest flatpick. I really don't like the idea of buying over the net without first playing but I may have to do just that. Is there a Guild internet dealer like Taylor's dealer "Guitar Rodeo"?

Since I discovered I could tune down and capo 2, The GAD 30(R) is a smaller bodied, ebony FB, bone, 1 3/4 nut etc and fits the bill except for it's not a 12 fret. Any first hand experience with this one? Is the rosewood model to boomy and not balanced or would the HOG be a better choice? I have looked locally for all of the above and there are a few dealers near, but nothing in stock of what I am looking for. It seems this economy has most dealers with reduced inventories and they stock popular items.

Any help would be appreciated, any links, sound bytes etc. I have checked youtube for videos and found some but not all. In the mean time I will continue to look.

Thanks

Tony

 

[capnjuan]

..The Guild GAD F40p surfaced as did a Martin, Blueridge and Recording king. My question is; has anyone played any of these? ..

Hi Tony and welcome to LTG. There's another BBer who is familiar with the instruments you ID'd. Read This Thread. He may or may not see this thread but, if not, you can PM kydave and ask him about these makes. Again, welcome to LTG. CJ

 

[retiredff]

Thanks capnjuan for he reply. I read the thread in the link and if I don't receive any info with my post I will pm dave and ask him.

Tony

 

[dreadnut]

Hi and welcome, you've found the geezer palace!

I'm not real knowledgable on short scale guitars, but if you likely have to buy sight-unseen anyway, I would try to steer you toward a vintage Westerly built Guild. You will probably be able to get one of these for the same price as a new GAD.

I'm sure my fellow Guild-o-philes will chime in on this one, especially those who play a short scale model. With your wrist issues, I would think a thinner profile neck might work better too.
Good luck in your quest for the perfect Guild

 

[fronobulax]

I'm 60 and semi retired and started playing almost 2 years ago.

Welcome. It's never too late to start to play. There are a lot of folks with experience dealing with aging and arthritic hands so hopefully you will get some useful advice.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I'm hearing great things about the 12 fret Recording Kings.
I had a Dred Recording King that was a very nice guitar.
I only sold it to make way for my Guild.
The mahogany body would probably be best for what you want.

 

[retiredff]

The mahogany body would probably be best for what you want.

That is the same feedback I have heard. Hopefully I can find one to play.

 

[fineinjacket]

I have played three models of the 12 fret, slot head Recording King line:

ROS-626: all solid woods, spruce top - wide nut, very similar to a nice Martin 000-16SGT in setup and tone. The neck seemed very comfortable (I have large hands)

ROS-606: all solid mahogany - nice tone, more mellow than the 626. The example I played has a very big, club-like neck, especially at the top two frets. The neck is noticeably thicker than on the ROS-626. I found it too thick for comfort. I do not know if this is a feature of the model, or an attribute of the individual example I played.

ROS-06: solid top, laminated back and sides. Amazingly nice tone, fit and finish for the price. A real bargain.

If you have opportunity, play the Recording King guitars in a store. The overall quality is excellent, though I have seen a couple that my local guitar shop chose to send back as the construction/setup was sub-par.

There is no substitute for the local guitar shop. I'm blessed to have a couple of great ones here in Tucson.

 

[retiredff]

Thanks fineinjacket I will try and find some. That is my main goal is to find any and all 12 frets to play. I am not in a hurry.

Tony

 

[JerryR]

I'm 60 and semi retired


Tony

Welcome Tony - so am I

 

[West R Lee]

I don't know how you'd feel about a dreadnaught, but a D25 might be a good option for you. Mahogany back and sides with a spruce top, very loud and easy to play, and about the most reasonably priced Guild in my opinion. It's easy to find a bargain on one, but I'll have to admit, most of us have bought Guilds sight unseen and unplayed......we love them so much it's just a risk we take, and I'll have to admit, it seems the overwhelming majority have been extremely happy with purchased they've made that way. Usually, if a guitar ends up not being our cup of tea, we can usually get our money back. Just a thought, and welcome to the looney bin. BTW, another Guild that might fit your bill is an F47.

West

 

[retiredff]

West,

A dread is to big for me, my S6 is a tad big (my arm falls asleep). I will look into the F47.

Any dealers (internet) you trust to buy sight unseen?

Tony

 

[Graham]

West,

A dread is to big for me, my S6 is a tad big (my arm falls asleep). I will look into the F47.

Any dealers (internet) you trust to buy sight unseen?

Tony

Guitars of Montana

Bing is a member here.

 

[West R Lee]

West,

A dread is to big for me, my S6 is a tad big (my arm falls asleep). I will look into the F47.

Any dealers (internet) you trust to buy sight unseen?

Tony

Guitars of Montana

Bing is a member here.

Yep, Bing (Guitars of Montana) will do you right. And if you would prefer a used guitar, we'll try and help you there too. Graham, you ever looked at the picture of Bing's store front? He got a really cool looking shop.......I've just seen the picture on his website for the first time.

Hey Graham, Guild doesn't make an F47 anymore, do they? Is there a comparable new model?

West

 

[jgmaute]

Hi Tony, welcome to the board, kick you shoes off, relax your mind.

I've played a 12 fret since the 60s and it still is my favorite (and my left hands favorite) guitar. In addition to the # of frets to the body, you also have to look at the shape of the neck and the width at the nut. About a year ago I bought a Guild GAD 30R. I really like the feel of the neck (not too thick or clubby) and the nut is 1 3/4", which I also like. I don't use a capo much except when I jam then I'm using it all the time. It's really nice when someone's playing a song that is capoed at the fifth to have more room before I run into the guitar body. Republic makes a nice little 12 fret parlor with a wide neck but the neck is so thick and clubby I couldn't play it.

I've got arthritis in my hands and recently a trigger index finger on my left hand. I've been having PT/OT on my left hand and have had to limit my playing to a couple of times a week for short periods of time. It's getting better and soon I'll be back up to speed.

All of this is to say your plan to play as many guitars as possible is a good one. I had a friend in Indiana who recently bought a new guitar. She lives near Indianapolis. She did have a hard time finding many non-dread guitars to play but finally found "the" guitar and is very pleased with it. Depending on where you live, you may find you need to take a road trip or two to check out guitars. Those type of road trips are always fun!

Happy Hunting, Joan

 

[retiredff]

Thanks for the reply Joan. I will plan a road trip soon and play as many guitars as possible. I live SE of Indy about 60 miles in Shelbyville. The local music store has nothing I would be interested in, they mostly sell electric or really cheap acoustics.

Buying used is fine with me, as long as the guitar is comfortable to play.

Tony

 

[john_kidder]

The F65, or F65CE is a great sounding and wonderfully comfortable guitar - the narrow body just nestles right in, and the short scale is a treat.

 

[Paddlefoot]

I'm a newbie here myself but I would say that the thing to do is find a smaller body guitar and not worry so much about the frets clear of the body. If you have access to Taylors try one of their GC models as a good example. Martin OOs are the same size and you can get an OO vintage that has the modified vee neck profile that some folks with hand issues find very comfortable. You can do other things too, like playing with a strap or positioning the guitar as in classical playing. Since you are a fairly new player I think you will find as I did that time with guitar in hand tends to show us what we need to do. This might be heresy on this forum but another thing you might try is a baritone ukulele. Small size, tuned the same as the four high guitar strings and nylon strings require little hand strength. Also the necks are thin/narrow so your hand sort of spreads out to get the chords and that might be easier for you. Check out ukulele underground.com for some good beginner info. Keep playing, this retirement stuff ain't for sissies.

 

[retiredff]

Paddlefoot,
There is a GC near and GuitarWorks that carry Taylor, Martin, Epi, Seagull and 1 farther south that carrys Guild, but I don't know to what extent. I am setting up a "route" that will allow me to play many guitars on a Saturday in September. I will go from there.

Tony

 

[cuthbert]

Hello all,
I'm 60 and semi retired and started playing almost 2 years ago. I now have a Seagull S6 Slim and had a Taylor 114 but sold it. The Taylor was nice, played easy but I tried a cheapo 12 fret in a local store and realized it felt better (sounded like *&^$#) to my left hand. This was before I read I could tune down a step and capo at 2 to bring my left hand in and help with the pain. It seems my hands are not very flexible my left hand is at a strange angle the farther away from my body it gets. So I started researching 12 fret guitars. The custom builts are way out of my range and would be overkill for my current abilities as a player. So I started looking at mass produced guitars. The Guild GAD F40p surfaced as did a Martin, Blueridge and Recording king. My question is; has anyone played any of these? The Guild uses Paduak (sp?) as a tonewood and my research shows this wood sonically is in between mahogany and maple. This could be too bright for me as I play 75% finger-style, some strum and the rest flatpick. I really don't like the idea of buying over the net without first playing but I may have to do just that. Is there a Guild internet dealer like Taylor's dealer "Guitar Rodeo"?

Since I discovered I could tune down and capo 2, The GAD 30(R) is a smaller bodied, ebony FB, bone, 1 3/4 nut etc and fits the bill except for it's not a 12 fret. Any first hand experience with this one? Is the rosewood model to boomy and not balanced or would the HOG be a better choice? I have looked locally for all of the above and there are a few dealers near, but nothing in stock of what I am looking for. It seems this economy has most dealers with reduced inventories and they stock popular items.

Any help would be appreciated, any links, sound bytes etc. I have checked youtube for videos and found some but not all. In the mean time I will continue to look.

Thanks

Tony

Hello Tony, I don't have experience with GADs but I know something about Paduk: it's a exotic wood, very red in colour, much more "alive" than mahogany therefore it was used a lot for furniture.

In general it's denser than mahogany, and looks beautiful. It sounds as mahogany to me, it is interesting to notice that Guild offered this wood choice, in the lab I worked they made some custom made guitars, both electric and acoustic, in general, I wouldn't consider it a bright wood at all, rosewood is IMO brighter, and maple is not as bright as many people think. Mahogany and paduk are warm, so I wouldn't worry about that.