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Joined:
April 2002
Posts: 51
Location: Hot Springs, Arkansas | TOPS!! Not T_ _ S!!
Hope that woke somebody up! My topic is the tops on our favorite acoustic guitars. I've always been a big believer in spruce and more lately in carbon fiber. However, a lot of the Collector's versions by Ovation seem to be in more flashy woods, particularly maple (flamey, birdseye, etc.) I've never played an acoustic with a maple top and I question whether just because it looks pretty, if it is necessarily a good sound board. A lot of electrics have beautiful maple tops, but then they use the magnetic pickups that rely on the vibration of the string and not the top surface for their energy. How do the maple (or whatever) topped guitars sound unplugged? Can they approach the spruce for tonal qualities? Anybody have an opinion about this?? Or, would you rather discuss that portion of the female anatomy to which I so cleverly alluded (and tricked you in here with) earlier?? |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | I know I have said this over and over but the 2001 redwood solid top collectors series guitars are some of the most beautiful and best acoustic sounding ovation guitars that I have ever heard |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | IMO, maple is too hard & dense to make an efficient top wood, which is why it's not very common on acoustics. It's quite common for backs & rims and sounds subjectively brighter than rosewod or mahogany, it can also be very pretty. I think the Ovation maple topped guitars are laminates.
Paul |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Somewhere in the back subjects the subject of the panelmasters is well covered.
Short version
1.spruce is best ( you decide the variant, adarondac, stika etc.)
2. Grafite is great also and could be #1 depending on your feelings. Only the Ovations though, not the rainsmog pos instruments
3. Alternative woods can sound very good too but not the same as spruce or grafito. Koa, Mahogony, to Al's point, the redwood, ceder and I'm sure there are others.
4. Others woods. I'd put maple here. It can be very pretty but usually too stiff to match the sound of the above categories. I'd put all the panelmasters here too, pretty, sound OK but not stunning |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | "Rainsmog POS", don't hold back Bill, tell us what you really think!!! The Rainsongs I've played have sounded very average, there's a company in Ireland doing something very similar to Rainsong, which got poor reveiws in the UK guitar press. Anyone seen the graphite composite skeletal thing with an inflatable soundbox? Chrysalis guitars I think, weird for weird's sake.
Found the site, check this out.....
http://www.chrysalisguitars.com/
[ June 07, 2002: Message edited by: Paul Templeman ] |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | the first time I tried a rainsnot was at the namm show about 6 years ago. they had a nice size booth with about a dz guitars. I tried almost every one. NONE of them were set up to play well which amazed me for the Namm show usually vendors jump through hoops to show their best.
The guitars also did nothing for me acoustically. I was wearing a "media" badge and the salesman was trying to get me to review them but I slipped away as he went to retrieve additional information. I simply was not interested. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Yeah, I've seen the print ads (and checked out the website) for the Chrysalis guitars.
Kind of toyed with the idea of one of those as a "carry on" vacation guitar, but they don't look like they'd be inexpensive. For the cost of one of those I could probably pick up a couple of "sacraficial" Applauses for the baggage handlers to feed upon. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | "Sacrificial" guitars, nice one, you must have flown through Heathrow on British Airways. Why are baggage handlers such assholes & airline personnel so obstructive & inconsistent. I always call to check airline carry-on policy, and always get told somthing completely different at the gate. They're out to get us. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Sorry, mate.
But I know two words that'll make even veteran Heathrowians quake:
"Newark International"
There was once an article in Acoustic Guitar that rated various airlines for "guitar-friendliness", carry-on policies and even phone numbers to "pre-alert" that your travelling with a guitar.
Probably all a moot point now with the advent of 9/11.
Have yet to travel since then.
Will find out first hand in a couple of weeks for vaccaciones.
[ June 07, 2002: Message edited by: cliff d. ] |
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Let's talk about T_ _S!!
