I've been around guitars since 1961 or so. I went in spurts spending a lot of time with them at times and other times pretty much none at all. When I was working, it was pretty much 12 hour days or more so that's where most of my efforts went.
When I retired in 2004 I started buying and playing in earnest. I didn't get much better skill wise but I was much happier. My first preference was always a nice RW guitar followed by Mahogany as a distant 2nd and then the not at all (at the time) favored and actually dreaded Maple. I know there are many more tonewoods out there but those three was where I concentrated at the time.
Fast forward to today. Maple is by far my favorite at this point. I love the clarity and crispness of a nice Maple guitar. If you add to that an arched back you get that thump and growl I adore. A very close 2nd now is Mahogany. Although I do appreciate a quality RW guitar it is now in 3rd place on my list. I've also gotten heavily into exotic woods with Custom Builder Richie Crowder.
Nothing of great import here, I just find it interesting how my tastes have changed over the years. What prompted my thinking was when I pulled out a guitar I hadn't played in a few years. It is one of my all-time favorite Guild models, the D 40.
This D 40 is a bit different. I bought it new at Sweetwater. Although I seldom buy new, this was a limited run of something like 25 guitars. Sweetwater called it a GSR but it really was not. It's the D 40T Deluxe. As you can see it has the fancier appointments than the typical D 40. It likely doesn't sound any better than my other D 40T but I do like the look. (ya'll may or may not).
I shared pics when I 1st bought it but here they are again. It was raining all night and so far today so the lighting isn't great but I think you can see them ok
When I retired in 2004 I started buying and playing in earnest. I didn't get much better skill wise but I was much happier. My first preference was always a nice RW guitar followed by Mahogany as a distant 2nd and then the not at all (at the time) favored and actually dreaded Maple. I know there are many more tonewoods out there but those three was where I concentrated at the time.
Fast forward to today. Maple is by far my favorite at this point. I love the clarity and crispness of a nice Maple guitar. If you add to that an arched back you get that thump and growl I adore. A very close 2nd now is Mahogany. Although I do appreciate a quality RW guitar it is now in 3rd place on my list. I've also gotten heavily into exotic woods with Custom Builder Richie Crowder.
Nothing of great import here, I just find it interesting how my tastes have changed over the years. What prompted my thinking was when I pulled out a guitar I hadn't played in a few years. It is one of my all-time favorite Guild models, the D 40.
This D 40 is a bit different. I bought it new at Sweetwater. Although I seldom buy new, this was a limited run of something like 25 guitars. Sweetwater called it a GSR but it really was not. It's the D 40T Deluxe. As you can see it has the fancier appointments than the typical D 40. It likely doesn't sound any better than my other D 40T but I do like the look. (ya'll may or may not).
I shared pics when I 1st bought it but here they are again. It was raining all night and so far today so the lighting isn't great but I think you can see them ok