plaidseason
Senior Member
So as I've mentioned elsewhere, I've had my eye on an M-240E Troubadour for a few years. I've gone back and forth on it.
In 2016 I picked up an Art & Lutherie Roadhouse parlor instead (with help from the wonderful Godin artist relations guy). I love that little guitar a lot and it does many things well. Being a 12 fret with a smaller soundhole, it carries more bass than you'd ever expect. It's great finger picked and soft/thumb strummed. Things I don't like: I have three songs that I regularly play that are at the 9th fret (I know, stupid/crazy) and you can't play those with a cap on a 12 fret guitar. Also because the sound hole is so small, it's a huge chore to change the Fishman Rare Earth battery - you literally have to disassemble one of the clamps to get it in our out - easy taking it out, not so much putting it back in. Lastly, it's temperamental with respect to fret buzz etc.
So . . . I'm in the middle of a recording project, and one of the newest songs is a 9th fret capo. Which sounds fine, until you try to record and realize it's a lot of high end without much body, at least on the larger tops of my DCE1 and my F44. My (also Godin made) Simon & Patrick used to be magic for this stuff, but semi-recently it's developed untraceable wolftone/buzz thing. This was a guitar that punched up so far that I couldn't find a used 00/000 in the $1300-1800 range that beat it (not an M20 not a Martin 00017). But now it's super fussy and with the capo there, it sounds mostly great, except for that awful vibration on that high A note. So now what?
I kind of wished I'd bought a Tacoma Papoose a few years back, because while they aren't great for many things, they're great for this. But, what was once a $400 used guitar is now $800 and up. And that's dumb.
But then I remembered the M240e and thought, this might do the trick. And it could also serve as a new main "gig" guitar. And a day later, I found one used for $300 at the world famous, much beloved Guitar Center. And so I ordered it. It arrived yesterday in near mint condition. It's not a bad deal at all.
I haven't restrung it, so it has semi-improperly wound 80/20s on it and I mostly hate 80/20s. But It still sounds pretty great. Different than the A&L parlor which has a bit more bass, and maybe more overtones (but strings! so more on that). But it plays amazingly well, like the Godin stuff, it plays like a much more expensive guitar.
The ToneBoss pickup is surprisingly good. I don't like at much as either the Rare Earth Single Coil or Humbucker. The only pickup I like as much/more as the Fishman Rare Earth is a Sunrise (which I cannot afford). But I do like the Tone Boss more than the LR Baggs M1. That said, the problem for me is that it's passive and all my other soundhole pickups are active. So I either have to compensate for that, or switch in Fishman humbucker from the A&L parlor, which is what I'm going to do.
So more to come after I change the pickup and put on some DR Sunbeams. For now, it's a surprisingly great guitar for the money. And while I mostly stay away from offshore guitars (person/populist ethics), I am feeling pretty good about this one.
If I don't decide to keep the Tone Boss (which won't fit in A&L parlor), I'll put it up for sale here first at a "LTG friend" price.
In 2016 I picked up an Art & Lutherie Roadhouse parlor instead (with help from the wonderful Godin artist relations guy). I love that little guitar a lot and it does many things well. Being a 12 fret with a smaller soundhole, it carries more bass than you'd ever expect. It's great finger picked and soft/thumb strummed. Things I don't like: I have three songs that I regularly play that are at the 9th fret (I know, stupid/crazy) and you can't play those with a cap on a 12 fret guitar. Also because the sound hole is so small, it's a huge chore to change the Fishman Rare Earth battery - you literally have to disassemble one of the clamps to get it in our out - easy taking it out, not so much putting it back in. Lastly, it's temperamental with respect to fret buzz etc.
So . . . I'm in the middle of a recording project, and one of the newest songs is a 9th fret capo. Which sounds fine, until you try to record and realize it's a lot of high end without much body, at least on the larger tops of my DCE1 and my F44. My (also Godin made) Simon & Patrick used to be magic for this stuff, but semi-recently it's developed untraceable wolftone/buzz thing. This was a guitar that punched up so far that I couldn't find a used 00/000 in the $1300-1800 range that beat it (not an M20 not a Martin 00017). But now it's super fussy and with the capo there, it sounds mostly great, except for that awful vibration on that high A note. So now what?
I kind of wished I'd bought a Tacoma Papoose a few years back, because while they aren't great for many things, they're great for this. But, what was once a $400 used guitar is now $800 and up. And that's dumb.
But then I remembered the M240e and thought, this might do the trick. And it could also serve as a new main "gig" guitar. And a day later, I found one used for $300 at the world famous, much beloved Guitar Center. And so I ordered it. It arrived yesterday in near mint condition. It's not a bad deal at all.
I haven't restrung it, so it has semi-improperly wound 80/20s on it and I mostly hate 80/20s. But It still sounds pretty great. Different than the A&L parlor which has a bit more bass, and maybe more overtones (but strings! so more on that). But it plays amazingly well, like the Godin stuff, it plays like a much more expensive guitar.
The ToneBoss pickup is surprisingly good. I don't like at much as either the Rare Earth Single Coil or Humbucker. The only pickup I like as much/more as the Fishman Rare Earth is a Sunrise (which I cannot afford). But I do like the Tone Boss more than the LR Baggs M1. That said, the problem for me is that it's passive and all my other soundhole pickups are active. So I either have to compensate for that, or switch in Fishman humbucker from the A&L parlor, which is what I'm going to do.
So more to come after I change the pickup and put on some DR Sunbeams. For now, it's a surprisingly great guitar for the money. And while I mostly stay away from offshore guitars (person/populist ethics), I am feeling pretty good about this one.
If I don't decide to keep the Tone Boss (which won't fit in A&L parlor), I'll put it up for sale here first at a "LTG friend" price.
