[GuitaristZ]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZVXnKGIi0g

 

[Gilliangirl]

Nice! Beautiful tone!!

 

[GuitaristZ]

yeah I know, but I would have to sell my car to afford it lol.

 

[lolligagger]

The decision seems pretty simple to me...what kind of car, and how much do you want for it? :food-smiley-004:

 

[Mike MacLeod]

Santa Cruz are truly great guitars,

The 3 companies that butt heads these days seem to be Santa Cruz, Bourgeois and Collings. If you haven't had a chance to play guitars from these companies, you really owe it to yourself.
I have played dozens from all 3. - They are antastic and astonishingly consistent. Frankly the major players (Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild, & Larrivee) aren't in the same league these days. With the possible exception of the Martin GE, 45 or Authentic they have not been able to produce a consistently top level product. Sad, really.

 

[GuitaristZ]

The 3 companies that butt heads these days seem to be Santa Cruz, Bourgeois and Collings. If you haven't had a chance to play guitars from these companies, you really owe it to yourself.
I have played dozens from all 3. - They are antastic and astonishingly consistent. Frankly the major players (Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild, & Larrivee) aren't in the same league these days. With the possible exception of the Martin GE, 45 or Authentic they have not been able to produce a consistently top level product. Sad, really.

Ill have to try some of those brands of acoustics out then, thanks Mike! Right now though, being in my last year of highschool, I dont have the cash, but one of those acoustics is definately on my wishlist in the future.

 

[ssdeluxe]

The 3 companies that butt heads these days seem to be Santa Cruz, Bourgeois and Collings. If you haven't had a chance to play guitars from these companies, you really owe it to yourself.
I have played dozens from all 3. - They are antastic and astonishingly consistent. Frankly the major players (Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild, & Larrivee) aren't in the same league these days. With the possible exception of the Martin GE, 45 or Authentic they have not been able to produce a consistently top level product. Sad, really.

+1, I totally agree with Mikes comments

I would add gibson j45 (the ebony board version was stellar that I tried), and aj. Again, consistency is not there, but when you hit one of these that really has it, boy, they are fantastic and a great value.

desert island is collings for me: can't afford it yet !!

wow, beautiful tone from the sc vintage southerner !, I have owned sc, and they are definately some of the best. the major differences I have observed are: the sc seem to have a bit less focus on middle freq.'s and a bit more overtones, while the collings/bourgeois seem to focus more on fundamental and have a very even freq response. generalizing of course.

 

[Antz_Marchin]

That is a pretty sweet gutiar. The burst is nice but with the wood tones you can get on a guitar with a pricetag like that one, I'd need a natural finish on a guitar of that calibre.

 

[GuitaristZ]

That is a pretty sweet gutiar. The burst is nice but with the wood tones you can get on a guitar with a pricetag like that one, I'd need a natural finish on a guitar of that calibre.

so a natural finish on an acoutic will give you better tone?

would it be a good idea to strip the paint/whatever off my cheap acoustic then?

 

[fret15]

Nice clip! Very nice sounding guitar. The only downside is the color - just to be picky, I'd rather have a natural wood colored acoustic. But that takes nothing away from the great sound of that clip.:rockon:

 

[dodgechargerfan]

I agree on the colour comments...

That burst seems to have a LOT of black around the outside.

Personally, the image that jumps to mind when I see that is the little toy "cowboy" guitars from when I was a kid. Sure, the toys were likely fashoined after a real guitar, but everything is relative and since I knew the toys before the original, I relate that look to the toys.... (did that make ANY sense at all. )


It sure sounds sweet though!

 

[Antz_Marchin]

so a natural finish on an acoutic will give you better tone?

would it be a good idea to strip the paint/whatever off my cheap acoustic then?

Wow, if this is sarcasm, it's pure genious....(if not, I'll just explain what I meant kindly ).

By wood tone I didn't mean sound, I meant grain and colour tones. When you buy a few thousand dollar guitar the colours and defined grain hues that can come out of wood of this grade is amazing. So this being said, go ahead, strip the burst off your plywood, hope you lilke it.

 

[GuitaristZ]

Wow, if this is sarcasm, it's pure genious....(if not, I'll just explain what I meant kindly ).

By wood tone I didn't mean sound, I meant grain and colour tones. When you buy a few thousand dollar guitar the colours and defined grain hues that can come out of wood of this grade is amazing. So this being said, go ahead, strip the burst off your plywood, hope you lilke it.

it wasnt sarcasm. I wasnt actually going to strip my acoustic lol....parents would spank me :tongue:

I was just wondering if guitars with natural finishes (with just oil, or something as opposed to having a nitro or poly finish) sound better.

 

[Antz_Marchin]

Haha, ok sorry. It could have gone either way, thats why I had responses for both :tongue: Nah, don't strip it for sound by any means, especially a cheapie considering there probably isn't overly pretty grain under there to see anyways. All I really meant is that when buying a very pricey guitar with wood of the calibre of that Santa Cruz, although the burst is definitely pretty, I'd much rather have the wood show through, kinda like this:

http://www.islandriddim.com/images/temp/K55a.jpg

:banana:

 

[Mike MacLeod]

Bursts and tonewoods

In the early days, they used 'bursts to disguise the fact that they were using "substandard" wood ie./ wood that had a little runout or other character flaws across the grain. Folks later called it "bearclaw" to add a little romance to the idea.
In the archtop world, very few guitars were allowed to be finished in a clear finish (blonde) as they could not pass muster, and were therefore treated to a sunburst finish. Some of the best Archies I've played were 'burst. But the biggest bucks were (and are) reserved for the Blonde guitars.
During the pre-war/war years, many of the guitars from the big companies ie. Martin came out with "substandard" woods and when we look back at them we discover that some of the best sounding guitars came from this era and had heavily figured tops. A number of folks feel that this "bearclaw" wood contributes to the sound of the instrument ie. Bryan Sutton's famous "Banjo Killer" built by Dana Bourgeois.
Funny how it's all just a matter of perspective. In another couple of generations perhaps folks will be looking at the clear straight grain of the 70's Martins and thinking that they are the ultimate and paying crazy prices. If I were smart, I'd buy a closet full of the 70's Martins while they are cheap......... But i'm not very bright.

 

[Marccd]

I have three Canadian made guitars, all with "characteristics" in their tops that many people would pass on or even abhor. All have extreme silking, a visual aspect that many appreciate, but they all have profound striping in their tops, far unlike the milky white tops of European spruces so many collecters prefer.

Me, I love 'em. They look like wood, like a living organism that fought the elements, the stresses of Nature's changing moods.

I'd never want to hide these 'substandard' woods in a sunburst.