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Playability of an Ovation is very good, sounds Ok, round back, not my thing, vibe - meh, very good value, used even better.
thx
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08-11-2016 10:40 AM
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I love parlor guitars for jazz. I never had a "nice one," but have gotten a ton of use from the two cheap ones I have owned.
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Originally Posted by joe2758
I suspect I will too.
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This is my Martin Concept Gold II. Solid spruce top, solid maple rims and back, ebony fretboard. In this pic it was stringed with La Bella nylon strings. Love this guitar.
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For several years in the 70s, Lenny Breau played a Gibson Mark 72 guitar. The guitar featured design features developed at MIT and a Kasha bridge. Breau sounded great on any acoustic, but I thought he sounded pretty hot on the Gibson MK, which never caught on with flattop buyers for some reason--resistance to change, I suspect. The one MK-35 I played I thought was more archtop like in its response, volume, and feel than most flattops.
Breau with his MK-72:
A Gibson MK-81, top of the line:
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I think you should try to audition a Taylor 2015 or later (because it's re-voiced) 612-CE 12-fret. It's the total package plus you get good electronics built in. You should be able to get one used for about 2 thousand. You won't find a Santa Cruz or Collings for anything close to 2 thou. Flame maple back and sides with a maple neck just like the big boy arch tops!
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What about Waterloo guitars from Collings? I was blown away by the responsiveness and playability.
Plus, the MSRP is only around $1700.
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A bit more $$ but a great builder:
https://www.facebook.com/Cotten-Musi...93111654034680
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I didn't think that there would come a day when I would have to say this but man, does that Gibson have an ugly headstock or what! Originally Posted by Greentone
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A Gibson MK-81, top of the line:
But wait, that was made in Kalamazoo. It must be in the Kzoo water...
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That's an ugly guitar in almost all respects. It might sound good, and play well, but it's ugly.
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Thanks, glad to hear this, I am curious about these. Originally Posted by campusfive
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Flat top with a trapeze...verrrry interesting. Thanks. Originally Posted by stringmaster
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I was not blown away by the vintage V style thick neck --- yuk Originally Posted by campusfive
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I like my Collings C10. C- shaped neck, but not slim. And, it has 14 frets. Small guitar with a great sound. They're not too bassy, though. The Collings guitars sound much "prettier" than the Waterloo models, IMO.
For you, I'd say look at one of the Martin 00-15M guitars. They sound nice, too. Dark chocolate. Mahogany. You could also go for the 000-15s (slotted headstock) model, for a little more money. The Martin sound is pretty rich (not much too bright). The 17's have more snap than the 15's because of the spruce top. I suggest that you play both to see which one suits you. In our shop, we have many Martins. I would suggest that you check out the 00-15m, 000-15s, and the 00-17s first. If those two don't float your boat and you have more money, check out the higher-end Martins (again, rich sound), Collings 00 (and possible the 01 and 02) guitars, and also the Taylor 522e (we had one of these at our shop that was awesome - the mahogany balances out the brightness that the Taylors usually have). These are my suggestions based on my experience. Except for the 00-17s, I have played everything that I mentioned, here.
*Disclaimer: I'm not really a "jazz guy".
According to Martin the 12 fret specs are:
00Total Length 37 3/4" Body Length 19 5/8" Body Width 14 1/8" Body Depth 4 1/16" 000 (also OM) Total Length 39 5/8" Body Length 20 9/16" Body Width 15" Body Depth 4 1/8"
https://www.martinguitar.com/feature...ials/sizetype/
Sorry to derail the thread w/ my suggestions...Last edited by wagz; 08-24-2016 at 01:04 AM.
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The topic of this thread is near & dear to my heart, as I play mostly flattops, mostly jazz.
I currently have 3 flattop Gibsons -- J-45 custom, Songwriter Deluxe, and LG-2 American Eagle.
I find Gibson acoustics sound much sweeter than most Taylors & Martins.
Slowly but surely, I am tweaking each guitars action to an excellent place. The LG-2 is getting closer to perfect at this point, because I have worked on it more times. Every time I change strings (which isn't very often) I work a bit on the set up -- sanding down the bridge saddle a bit, but trying not to overdo the adjustments.
the J-45 I may leave with a bit higher action, as I need to play it loud.
But the other 2 will be tweaked as far as I can go for playability. If I end up taking something too far, I'll take them into a shop to fix whatever I messed up!
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+1 on the Martin 00-15M. A very sweet guitar, but not short scale. I have mine set up with low, easy to play action. All mahogany, it's a bit darker than spruce top versions.
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Thanks, Chazmo. You're right. The Martin 00-15m does have a longer scale. I apologize for the misinformation.
It's scale length is 25.4", according to https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/15-series/00-15m/
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I have to admit that this thread has been a head scratcher for me. I have played mostly finger style blues and folk baroque, as do most of the musicians I know. When I tell them about my love for arch tops the number one thing I hear is, "yeah, but they are so hard to play."
I think that the reality is that what is hard to play are poorly set up instruments. A poorly set up flat top guitar is a chore to play. A poorly set up archtop is no better. In fact, since big jazz boxes are usually bigger and heavier than a flattop, they are often worse to play.
The trick is to find a guitar whose dimensions you like, whose voice matches what you are trying to achieve, whose neck shape works for you... and then have it really well set up.
Personally, I love the guitars that come out of Collings in Texas and Santa Cruz Guitar Company in California. For more entry level I am a Martin guy. Play lots, they are as varied as Gibsons (though usually not in the QC department). Taylor guitars remind me of a guy in scrubs snapping a rubber glove, but they are usually very well set up straight from the factory. Heck, there is a post on this forum of someone who just bought an Ovation and seems to love it.
Lots of options. Just remember that a cheap guitar with an indifferent set up is going to disappoint no matter what the brand, size or style.
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I never heard that archtops are hard to play. I wonder what those guys have played? I agree a bad setup on any guitar will make the player struggle. The thing about archtops is that they are so easy to set up to individual taste with an adjustable bridge.
For comfort and playability the Godin 5th Avenue line of archtops is great.
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While this flat top has a few more frets than the OP's requested frets, it does however, play (almost) like an archtop. The neck is exceptionally nice...it fills the hand like an L5, not too fat...not too slim...just right!
Gibson J200M (ltd. ed. parlor sized model). Part of their Montana built 75th anniversary series.
And she's easy on the eyes too.
Here's how it sounds:
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I spent some time this afternoon tweaking the action on my Gibson LG-2 American Eagle, as it was time for new strings. I've been gradually lowering the action (i.e. sanding down the bridge saddle) each time I've changed strings in the past few months. I believe this time I have it pretty much nailed down. It plays fantastic. What a great guitar.
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Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
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