Chazmo said:
twocorgis said:
[ ... ]I never really had much of a frame of reference other than one bad Martin that I sold in the '80s. Now that I own some really nice guitars, I think I have a much better idea of what "good" really is. I'm afraid that the D50 will some back and I won't like it, and I can't even stand the thought of that. The two of us have been through far too much together.
We'll see.
Man, that's it in a nutshell, Sandy. Isn't it a wonderful, eye-opening experience when you play a new guitar and you just know what "right" is? I have heard some people say that as you continue up the ladder into hand-builts, etc., that jaw-dropping experience can continue, just seemingly on a smaller scale. Don't know if your Bourgeois fits that category, but it's nice to know there's headroom to keep exploring and enjoying (though I probably won't end up in that realm). I've often spoken of that experience of getting blown away by something in the store as a truly remarkable thing. It's happened to me several times.
Indeed it is Chaz. When I got the Martin D18DC my luthier and I agreed that guitars really can't get much better, though the D18 Authentic at the local Guitar Center (almost $7k MAP; has been on clearance for $4k forever now) is marginally better. I love the Martin, and it's very pretty too, without being overly blingy. I was unprepared for how good the Bourgeois would be, as IMO it's that much better than both the Martins. Now I won't
ever pay more than $2000 for a guitar, and it makes me wonder if the real high end guitars like Froggy Bottom, Ryan, and Olson can really be that much better. How could that Olson that's James Taylor's main rig be worth $15k? Sooner or later you've got to reach the pinnacle of what an acoustic guitar is capable of, although I guess if you're that wealthy (like CPABolting over at AGF; seen his sig?) it's all relative.
One thing that I
have learned through all of this is that when it comes to sound in an acoustic, light weight is just about everything. It's the minimalist bracing schemes on both the Martin and the Bourgeois that give it such an alive sound (the Bourgeois keeps ringing for quite some time after you stop playing it), and light weight is something that Guild seems to be obsessed with as of late. How many times did Darren mention weight savings during the tour at LMG? Almost as many times as he mentioned Collings! My Collings is a really nice guitar too, but the Martin and the Bourgeois have taught me that I really like Mahogany better.
When the D50 comes back I'm going to take a good long look at the herd, and make some adjustments. Hopefully things will improve with the guitar market, as it's awful tough to sell them these days (as you know). I can say for sure that the D50 and the F50R aren't going anywhere regardless, along with the Bourgeois. All bets are off when it comes to the rest of them, though I will keep my old P-Bass (owned that even longer than the D50) and the Pilot Bass too. I may have to wait out this economic downturn, however.
