Official Luthiers Forum!

Or do you? I am really just learning everything about guitars including playing. I have a Martin 000-16SRGT which is a rosewood B/S spruce top 000 12 fretter with a lovely 'Martin' sound.

AND I have my first home built Martin Jumbo kit guitar with Mahogany B/S and spruce top. Guess which one gets played?

The home built just calls to be played - the Martin hasn't left its stand since I built my own and I will probably sell it - to build more of course!!

How about you guys, do you play what you build or do you have brand name guitars that you play instead?

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Thank You and Best To All

Back in my play for very little pay days I was a big Alverez Yairi fan. still am to some degree and still own and play a WYK-1 I don't get a lot of time to play much anymore but when I do it is one or two of my own builds. Mostly a OM 14 fret IRW b/s with curly Koa top. If not that then a SJ cutaway 9 string Mahogany b/s with bearclaw Sitka top.

I have a Takamine EN-10C that I bought 14 years ago knowing nothing about acoustic guitars (obviously)... And I have a whole bunch of electrics... Gibson (SG), Fender (Strat, Tele), Ibanez (old 335 replica circa 1970...) and a Vester Performance Series and an electric bass by Yamaha...
   The reason I started building is that I finally wanted a good acoustic and started looking around for hand built guitars! The rest is history...
   I play everything from country, to rock, to heavy metal, to classical and to jazz...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I don't own a guitar. But I can play the radio pretty well. I listen to Jim
Rome everyday!

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John Mayes
http://www.mayesluthier.com

I play a Darren Hippner Santos Flamenco and an old Ovaition/Applause with an aluminum fingerboard. Of course I play my own #1 which I recently completed, which I was playing alot, although I've started to move toward the Hippner again. It's his 352nd guitar, so naurally it's a bit better than mine. I did happen to play his 452nd guitar last night. Same model with just a few changes and it does sound better.

I can't beleive this guy has built 100 guitars in two years, and he only charges $1250 for new Santos! He is a machine.

I play a Taylor 314, a "Grand Auditorium" guitar, and I'm very happy with it. When I went to my first guitar lesson (just over a year ago), my teacher saw it and said, "That's a nice axe." I played for a number of years when I was in high school and college, but hadn't played for a long time until I got the Taylor and started taking lessons.

Of course, I haven't built a guitar myself yet. I hope it doesn't take me too many builds to come up with a guitar I like as well as the Taylor.

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John Cavanaugh
Saint Paul, MN
"What could possibly go wrong?"

I play a Martin D1 custon and a Martin D15. I know someone in a previous post said they hated the sound of the D15, but I like it a lot. Throw some brite strings on it and it really sings. I use the D15 mostly in the winter beacause I have humidity issues with the D1. When the classical bug strikes me, I pull out a Yamaha classical I "borrowed" from my dad. I also break out guitar #1 every once in a while.

I admit it, I suffer from G.A.S.

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

I like Alan have a Takamine EN-10 but not a cutaway, it's 15 years old and I bought it new. It's a mahog with cedar top and for the money it's the best sounding guitar I've ever played. Now, I've played other Takamine's and they don't sound anywhere near as good as mine, I think I got the best of the bunch. I also play my own build, when it's here (I loan it to those who I'm building for till their's is done).

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

[QUOTE=John Mayes] I don't own a guitar. But I can play the radio pretty well. I listen to Jim
Rome everyday![/QUOTE]


VAN SMACK IS GREAT!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I still play a couple of Fender electrics and my first-built D-28 copy. But I was mainly a working pedal steel player... does anybody remember the Judy Lynn Show based in Vegas? Yes, we had to wear Nudie suits

It's a bit off-topic but in case there are any steel players lurking here on the OLF, I played a black 1976 Emmons D-10 in that band. Also used a couple of great-sounding Sho Buds (a Pro III with aluminum necks and more recently a wood-necked Super Pro).

I have a 1958 Gibson ES-225T and a 1968 LP standard.

Beyond that I have sold all of my production guitars and have 2 of my early acoustic guitars that I play around the house.

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

The only store bought guitar I have is an old stella 6 stringer. I think it's made of some kinda plywood and has painted on woodgrain with a sunburst.John How38742.4885069444

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I used to play a Guild D45 which I liked a lot. Not many people put the words "Guild" and "Like" in the same sentence. Except for maybe, "I sure would LIKE to throw that GUILD down a flight of stairs". But I indeed liked it a great deal.
I build myself a Pau Ferro OM so I sold the guild. Then I had someone want to buy my OM. I said that it wasn't for sale as I didn't have another guitar and I played out every week. So he offered me money and his Seagull so that I'd have at least something to play. Truth be told, I had another OM with an ugly neck joint. I got it fixed and now play a 13 3/4 fret OM that I like a lot too.

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] I also found out very early on that a hand built guitar can sound much better than a factory guitar even if it is only a kit that was assembled well.[/QUOTE]

This is the part of building guitars that I think I find so fascinating. My kit build, which I do not think was assembled well, just has some strange 'mojo' surrounding it and I cannot put it down. I'm not even sure it sounds that good, and I am being perfectly honest about that, but I just just keep picking it up as my Martin sits unplayed.

Can't wait to finish my rosewood kit.

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Thank You and Best To All

I too play my own guitars and mandolins. I have a Martin 000-16SPR that I haven't gotten around to selling yet. I haven't build a banjo yet so I still play my Mike Ramsey.

My list:

My 1962 Guild D-40...bought new in my Senior year of high school. Now THAT'S a keeper

A 1991 Santa Cruz OM

My own 000-12 fret built in 1999

My own OM built in 1997

Soon to add a custom built Lowden and a McCollum...but that's for another story in another thread...later.

... Actually Hesh, the best sounding acoustic guitar I've ever tried was an older Guild... (I forget the model) but it was worth close to 3g's about 10 years ago... EIR with spruce top... man, that thing sounded out of this world....
   My Takamine, like Rod, is probably the best one they ever made... I have a few friends who have the exact same guitar and they can't get over how good it sounds compared to theirs... I always mention that it's because I've played is so much that it's well broken in

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

The only factory build guitars I own are two no-name plywood classicals built in the early 70's, complete with cracks, inch-high action, etc. that never, ever get played.

I never even owned a steelstring acoustic before deciding to build one; played many, some quite extensively, never owned any. I had about $1000 to spend, very irregular extra income/job (full-time student and all), so I figured I could either build three (materials+buy a few additional tools), or buy one, but only if that one was bought in the US (We pay full dollar list price, but in Euros). Can't say I regret it for a moment.

Only electric worth noting (other than the '100 dollar guitar+amp' plywood special strat) that I've owned was a Mexican Strat, circa 1998, sold that off second-hand to fund my headless electric build. I do sort of miss it, all polyurethane coated shininess, Fender logo and all. Part of the reason I'm so looking forward to finishing up the strat that's currently under construction. Other than that, I have about 5-7 (can't remember) other home-built instruments, and one Warmoth parts strat. They're all solid isntruments, but most have too many cosmetic flaws for my liking, all are different from one another; the last three electrics (two full sized, one as a 'joke', made of scrap wood) I completed were the only ones I've ever given away to anyone (both gifts to people I care about). I'm finally getting around to charging friends a token sum for the work/time I invest on top of costs, but still not a whole lot. I just want an excuse to build for people who'll play the instruments (I prefer building them). It's very annoying that not a single member of my not all that small family plays guitar. Grr. Argh.

The home-made acoustic gets almost all the playing time, except when I feel a strong need to rock out a little on my as-old-as-I-am Rivera tube amp, at which point I usually go for my first scratch-built (semi-hollow PRS-esque thing, pair of Duncan '59s). Apartment living not too conducive to that sort of thing.

I have a 1981 IBANEZ dread made of plywood probably but still has a great sound but i took the strings off lately to put on my own plywood build which sounds even louder! In the past, i had a Norman b-20 which was awesome looking but had too much bass. As you can see, i didn't know much about guitars then, than i do now. But proud to be here with the pros for learning!

I play mostly country music and french-canadian folk music. i also play the mandolin and own a lovely Ovation THAT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD!Serge Poirier38742.5334375

I tend to play my own builds (hey I'm an amateur builder so I'm stuck with them, OK) there are about a dozen sitting round the house. I also play 4 Martins 000-28, OM-28, and two 00-18s. But they only get used infrequently as the first two are part of my pension fund and are kept at the RAM.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

[QUOTE=John How] The only store bought guitar I have is an old stella 6 stringer. I think it's made of some kinda plywood and has painted on woodgrain with a sunburst.[/QUOTE]

But I bet it sounds like an Angel singing, OK one with a sore throat but I sure would like to play it. The best American music ever was put down on old Stellas.

One of my Holy Grails.

ColinColin S38742.5351041667

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I play a Collings D-2H - at least an hour a day. I also play an F5 style mando from a stewmac kit (my first foray into lutherie!)

Currently working on a flamed mahogany Dread for myself - hopefully the Collings can be relieved of some of its duties when I finish that!

-Mark

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Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
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HD 28 Martin Indian and Sitka, no finish, yet. The neck needs a bit of sanding and some fingerboard side dots and a little nitro. (got in a hurry, it was my first. wanted to hear it sing.) Sold my Taylor 410 the other day to a lucky chap in Illinois.

Plus my wife's 30 year old Alvared Dred, and the new Ibanez Dred my son got for Christmas, the first has plywood top, the second Sitka with hot-rodded braces. It's amazing to me how great something made in China can sound.

I'm thinking up something for myself. Hard to beat an OM or SJ for a steel string. Got some Mad Rose and Addy on the shelf.

Hank Maul, I'm jealous. A Lowden........... and a McCollum. A little bit of heaven, on this side, eh?

Today - an Anthony Z Archtop & my daugters Karol Parlor (when she isn't looking)

In the Pay for Play Days:
- Gibson ESTD 335
- Gibson ESTDC 335 (sold-HUGE MISTAKE)
- Fender Strat (sold)(good riddens)
- Fender Tele (sold)
- Ovation (sold)
- Washburn Monterey Artist (now host to a family of spiders)Anthony Z38742.5605671296