It's not for everyone. It's just that people sometimes forget that strings are the single biggest factor in the tone of the guitar. Well, that and the amount of wax buildup in your ears. 
Tone of new vs. vintage (D55)
- Thread starter zeboma
- Start date
Neal
Senior Member
Rosewood is just like that. Rings and rings. Some more than others. Maybe silk and steel will reign it in.
I am currently trying to tame the '08 New Hartford D-55 prototype I recently bought and rehabbed (lifting bridge and a top crack). It has more flat-out volume and sustain than anything else I have ever played, anywhere, anytime. It is, at times, too much of a good thing, at least for a solo singer songwriter. The guitar is so damn loud, it is hard to sing over, and it holds a note for so long, it is hard to be expressive with individual note runs because they don't decay, they just hang in there and step on the next note.
I am learning how to take the best of what it has (Tone! Volume! Resonance! Sustain!) and incorporate it into my songs. It excels as a very powerful strummer. I need to teach it to simmer down. Might try some silk and steels on it, but might miss what it has going on now with PB mediums.
I am currently trying to tame the '08 New Hartford D-55 prototype I recently bought and rehabbed (lifting bridge and a top crack). It has more flat-out volume and sustain than anything else I have ever played, anywhere, anytime. It is, at times, too much of a good thing, at least for a solo singer songwriter. The guitar is so damn loud, it is hard to sing over, and it holds a note for so long, it is hard to be expressive with individual note runs because they don't decay, they just hang in there and step on the next note.
I am learning how to take the best of what it has (Tone! Volume! Resonance! Sustain!) and incorporate it into my songs. It excels as a very powerful strummer. I need to teach it to simmer down. Might try some silk and steels on it, but might miss what it has going on now with PB mediums.
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Neal,
Thomastik Spectrums. Try 'em. Very expensive, but truly unique sound!
Thomastik Spectrums. Try 'em. Very expensive, but truly unique sound!
Neal
Senior Member
Geez, Chaz. $23.99.
You trying to get me hooked on crack?
You trying to get me hooked on crack?
PM me your address, Neal. I've got a set I'm never gonna' use.
Neal
Senior Member
Quite the gentleman, you are, sir.
I would suggest that you send them to zeboma instead. Sounds like he needs to keep that F-50, Marlo Thomas.
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Neal
Senior Member
And by the way, Z, if you do decide to sell that F-50, I'll bet there are a few people here on the forum who might like to have a chat about it.
zeboma
Member
I am looking to sell it, as much as it hurts to do so. I can't afford two good guitars, and much as I love it, I can't have it as my "one and only."
Apart from the checking, which I think the majority of true guitarists wouldn't really care too much about--it is one fine guitar. When I was in the store the other night doing an A/B, me and the salesperson had to work to even get it at the angle where you could see the checks.
I'll be putting it on the FS board soon. It is one special guitar
Apart from the checking, which I think the majority of true guitarists wouldn't really care too much about--it is one fine guitar. When I was in the store the other night doing an A/B, me and the salesperson had to work to even get it at the angle where you could see the checks.
I'll be putting it on the FS board soon. It is one special guitar
marcellis
Senior Member
Take that sunburst one. I own a D60 but an antique burst D55 has always been my dream dread.
I don't know Guilds open up ornot. I remember in 1973-just weeks after coming home from the war, I bought a 1972 flat-back D25. It's still in the family. It still sounds just like I remember - near perfect. Has it opened? Dunno, don't care.
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zeboma
Member
I'm getting closer to springing for the eBay sunburst http://www.ebay.com/itm/131691766312?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT He said he'd come down to $2500. Really looks to be clean and mint
It also crossed my mind: I spoke with the luthier in NYC who's working on the '77 whose top separated. He said all is good, but yes, it probably will be on the verge of needing a neck reset (the owner currently uses silk/steel, and he's going to put medium gauge on once he works on it to see how the neck is then). The owner is going to be bummed, but could be a perfect scenario to offer her like 1000 for it, and then I have the neck reset done--all in all making for a decent price, and no more major issues. (I was at a party last night with that late 70s D55 a friend has, and man its tone sure is sweet)
It also crossed my mind: I spoke with the luthier in NYC who's working on the '77 whose top separated. He said all is good, but yes, it probably will be on the verge of needing a neck reset (the owner currently uses silk/steel, and he's going to put medium gauge on once he works on it to see how the neck is then). The owner is going to be bummed, but could be a perfect scenario to offer her like 1000 for it, and then I have the neck reset done--all in all making for a decent price, and no more major issues. (I was at a party last night with that late 70s D55 a friend has, and man its tone sure is sweet)
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zeboma
Member
Hey Neal---Reading your description of the '08 Tacoma needing to be tamed, it sounds a lot like the '08 I had with trashed truss rod. That LOUD punchy, totally balanced sound is something I don't hear in the 2012s I've tried. I can't keep track of what I've read where, but those changes seem pretty significant--when they lightened the weight some in New Hartford, and things got not-so-loud? Would love to do an A/B of Tacoma/New Hartford. I think I lean a little towards the quieter gentler NH. I played with people a few times w/the '08, and I really had to be mindful of not blowing others out of the water, and it was harder for me to sing to (still getting used to projecting voice full volume)
Neal
Senior Member
zeboma, the '08 D-55 I acquired recently is actually one of the first sample prototypes out of New Hartford. It is dated 10/24/08.
Hard to say exactly how similar or different it is to the production version that came out in the spring of '09. It is seriously loud, surpassed in volume only by my Orpheum 12-fretter, but with a shimmery tone that is significantly different from the more fundamental tone of the Orf.
Hard to say exactly how similar or different it is to the production version that came out in the spring of '09. It is seriously loud, surpassed in volume only by my Orpheum 12-fretter, but with a shimmery tone that is significantly different from the more fundamental tone of the Orf.