Post by RobertW on Jun 16, 2021 7:35:48 GMT -5
The Journey - Chapter 2: 13 Years Later
After 13 years of playing, my S6 Cedar showed the wear typical of a heavily played cedar top; holes worn through edge of sound hole to the rosetta, gouges in various places. This did not affect tone. The fretboard grew loads of divots in 2ed to 5th position. The frets themselves had dents from the strings.
In late 2012 I started thinking about a 2ed acoustic guitar. The government had been giving me money for a few years and I could afford one. I knew i wanted a guitar with hips. I was tired of the dread slipping off my lap. The Jumbo shape seemed comfortable to me and I found myself attracted to light coloured guitars.
The first to catch my eye was a Takamine Maple Jumbo. It was comfortable, played well, had good tone. But.
I was playing it in the music store when my Luthier walked in to pick up his work orders. He saw me plating the Takamine and without me saying anything he said:' You will not like it when you tune it down a whole step like you do with your Seagull. It won't take it, you will get weird intonation problems.
I made a sad face and hung it back on the rack. My search continued. It seemed every time I found a candidate, when I came in a second time to try a guitar I thought might be the one, it was sold. I took that as a sign that the guitar was NOT for me.
2013: One day I walked into the store and saw brightness on the wall off in the acoustic audition room. It was two Stika spruce topped, maple bodied Seagulls! A Folk and a (me looked in hole) Mini-Jumbo with the words Natural Elements burned into top near the fretboard. Well Well, whast is this? I sat down and tried both. And then I tried them both again.
I had learned my lesson about waiting a week to try a guitar I liked again. No waiting this time. I called in the manager and got a price on the Amber Trail Mini-Jumbo.
[actually it was the very next day I bought Amber Ed.]
I was to own this guitar for only 4 months before it had to be replaced on warranty due to a warped neck.
That journey is recounted Chapter 3
After 13 years of playing, my S6 Cedar showed the wear typical of a heavily played cedar top; holes worn through edge of sound hole to the rosetta, gouges in various places. This did not affect tone. The fretboard grew loads of divots in 2ed to 5th position. The frets themselves had dents from the strings.
In late 2012 I started thinking about a 2ed acoustic guitar. The government had been giving me money for a few years and I could afford one. I knew i wanted a guitar with hips. I was tired of the dread slipping off my lap. The Jumbo shape seemed comfortable to me and I found myself attracted to light coloured guitars.
The first to catch my eye was a Takamine Maple Jumbo. It was comfortable, played well, had good tone. But.
I was playing it in the music store when my Luthier walked in to pick up his work orders. He saw me plating the Takamine and without me saying anything he said:' You will not like it when you tune it down a whole step like you do with your Seagull. It won't take it, you will get weird intonation problems.
I made a sad face and hung it back on the rack. My search continued. It seemed every time I found a candidate, when I came in a second time to try a guitar I thought might be the one, it was sold. I took that as a sign that the guitar was NOT for me.
2013: One day I walked into the store and saw brightness on the wall off in the acoustic audition room. It was two Stika spruce topped, maple bodied Seagulls! A Folk and a (me looked in hole) Mini-Jumbo with the words Natural Elements burned into top near the fretboard. Well Well, whast is this? I sat down and tried both. And then I tried them both again.
I had learned my lesson about waiting a week to try a guitar I liked again. No waiting this time. I called in the manager and got a price on the Amber Trail Mini-Jumbo.
[actually it was the very next day I bought Amber Ed.]
I was to own this guitar for only 4 months before it had to be replaced on warranty due to a warped neck.
That journey is recounted Chapter 3
