Guitar Musings

I didn’t have to work today so I met up with my wife at her work to have lunch.  The beauty of this, besides being able to spend some time with my wife, is that she works across the street from a acoustic guitar store full of Martins, Larrivee’s, Blueridge’s, etc….  My GAS (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome) always tends to flare up during these times. 

After lunch, we had about 5 minutes to kill and I wandered in to by a thumb pick and some strings.  I also had just enough time to noodle around with a beautiful Larrivee and a Blueridge Parlor guitar.  I’ve been in love with Jean Larrivee guitars for quite a while and this one was a joy to play.  Nice bright tone and my fingers seemed to glide over the strings and frets.

I’ve become a fan of the Blueridge parlors just recently and if I had to choose, I would take both : ).  Seriously, I would probably pick up the Blueridge.  Reasons being:

1. The Parlor is a better guitar for me ergonomically
2. I just love the  1 7/8″ neck width.  My fingers have room and feels a bit like a classical in that sense but not too wide so I can still use my thumb in fingerings.
3. It has a V neck.  A lot of electrics have V necks and I thought this might be new for the acoustics.  I asked the owner of the shop about it and he said that V necks were very common for acoustic guitars, especially parlors.

I went home empty handed but got my fix for a while.  One day, one of those suckers will come home with me. 

Links:

http://www.larrivee.com/2_Main/main.html  (Larrivee Guitars)

An example of the Blueridge parlor I liked.  Not the same shop or guitar that I played but nice pics.  Pretty good price too. 

Just got finished re-stringing my Martin with a set of Martin Fingerstyle SP Strings I found in my office.   Wasn’t impressed when I first tried these out but the second go around was a little less disappointing.   First impression was that they sounded a bit shallow and tinty on the high end. After trying them a second time I find their tone still lacks something but maybe not as bad as I first thought.  Would I recommend these strings? Probably not because I don’t see the benefit in the “fingerstyle” label it has.  I asked the music store and they really couldn’t give me a answer on why these are better for fingerstyle players and after playing them, I couldn’t either.  I think I will just stick to my normal Martin SP Guitar Strings .  They have been solid for me the last couple of years and don’t see any reason to switch.

What’s your favorite strings?  Do you go for price, brand or whatever is available?

Purchased an Acoustasonic a few weeks back because my old Peavy BackStage practice amp finally died and I must say I haven’t been disappointed. A nice little package with enough effects and drive to please most guitarists.

First thoughts:

I was happy to see that the Acoustasonic had the ability to sit on the floor at an angle.  Makes it so much easier to adjust my settings without having to hunch over to see the controls.  I plugged my Seagull S6 in and was impressed with the nice clean sound.  It did feel a bit punchy at times , I’m thinking it was because the LR Baggs system on my Seagull was driving the sound too much.  After working on both the amp and guitar, I found a tone that I liked.  Since I don’t currently play live, I can’t really give an opinion on how it would perform out in the field but it does have a line out so you can plug right in to sound reinforcement.  This makes me think that the possibilities are only limited to the mixer you plug into.  I was also skeptical with the claim that this was specifically designed for acoustic players.  I see that a lot and used to think that was just a gimmick.  To test, I plugged in my Stratocastor and it sounded like crap. I could never get a tone that I liked and eventually gave up after about 15 minutes or so.

The effects are solid and fun to play with.  You get a Vibratone (slow and fast), Chorus, Reverb/Chorus combo, Chorus Delay combo, Delay, Reverb/Delay(combo) and Reverb (hall, room and plate).  The only problem with this is that these are preset channels and if you want to customize your effect or try different combinations, you are out of luck.

Summary:

I love this amp.  It’s small enough to where I can keep it in my living room without getting in trouble and but it’s not wimpy sounding like a lot of practice amps.  If you are in the market for an affordable acoustic guitar amp, the Fender Acoustasonic 30 is worth taking a look at.

Pros:

• Clean sound and easy to dial in
• Nice array of effects to play with and can switch between effects quickly
• Line out for recording and playing live
• Ability to tilt amp to view controls (helpful on the old back)

Cons:

• Can’t tweak the effects at all.  This can be a deal breaker for many.
• My Stratocastor sounds like crap on it. (not really a con, maybe)

Links:

Fenders information regarding the Acoustasonic 30:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2213300010

In my last post on humidifiers, I wrote about my Grover system and how it worked well but I had concerns with it fitting so tight between the strings and the guitar that it might scratch the finish.  I was also having troubles with the sponge getting tangled with the electronics in side my guitar.  Purchased a Kyser system from Amazon and I’m very happy with what I got.

My Impression:

The Kyser is constructed of some sort of soft/flexible plastic or rubber so no worries that it would scratch or scuff my guitar.  Installation was simple, easily fitting into the sound hole sealing in the moister in where it belongs.  The only drawback I could find in installation was that if the sponge is too saturated, water could drip onto or in your guitar so be careful.  I left the humidifier in the guitar for the last three days and it has performed as well as my Grover.  The sponge was still saturated and could go for a few more days. 

Final Thoughts

The Kyser Lifeguard Humidifier System is a must have for any musician that needs a fair priced ($14.00) and efficient humidifier for their acoustic guitar.  With the solid yet soft construction you can be assured that it will take care of your guitar without damaging it.

Update (5.13.08):  It has now been about two weeks since this post and the Kyser is still working great.  I re-saturated it today for the first time since the posting and the sponge was still damp and probably could have went longer.  I must tell you that it was in a closed case the whole time but even in a closed case the Grover didn’t last more than 3 or 4 days.  I now have my Martin hanging on the wall.  I’ll keep you updated on how that goes. 

Links:

Kyser Home Page

I’m sure, at one time or another, you have watched Esteban pimping out his “$800 dollar value” guitar for $200 or so bucks on Home Shopping Network.  Now is your chance to try it out or just get the opinions of guitarists around the world via the “Esteban World Tour!”  I discovered this clever idea on the Acoustic Guitar Magazine forum and think it’s great.  The jist of the whole idea is to get as many people involved to play the guitar, make a video and upload it.   The guy who started it, “Omaha,” manages the blog that tracks the videos and there seems to be about 10 or so videos posted as of today.  So check out this world tour to see if the Esteban guitar is really all that it’s hyped up to be.  According to some of the videos, it’s not but it can sure take a beating.