I'd take ANYTHING out ... If any of my instruments is not as gaaod as I think it can get than i WOULD NOT take it out to a gig. For gigs only the best is good enough ...Look at my new custom built baby .... Ralph www.blissnblue.com

And here the backside: pure and solid macassar ... this think really ROCKS!

Nice-looking guitar Reso_Ralph!!

Who made it for you?

Stu

Any guitar that I would purchase would have to be something that I was willing to travel with (we are touring full time). This past year my main guitar's top cracked, so I needed a new instrument.

I contacted Fine Guitar Consultants Fine Guitar Consultants in San Diego, California. When choosing a guitar, they blindfold you and hand you guitars to try. When you have narrowed the field by sound and feel, the blind-fold comes off, and you get to see what you picked. It was a great experience, and I even brought my L1 to hear the instruments plugged in.

One of my requirements was that I didn't want a museum piece, but playability and sound were crucial...whatever the cost would be. We ended up purchasing one of her guitars ( Mark Geiger Finger Style Mark Geiger Fingerstyle). The one I bought is Mark's example shown at his site ("the crane"), with Zircote back and Englemann top. The truth is that it sounds even better than it looks, and it looks stunning.

The bottom line is that when the guitar sounds and plays great, it raises the level of my own playing, which translates into better musical communication to the audience. The sound of this guitar was so rich that it inspired a song, even before I bought it.

With that in mind, I don't know why I would play an inferior instrument on purpose. Of course, a fine custom guitar needs to be protected, so a Calton flight case protects it on the road. There is no sense in taking unnecessary risks.

Here is a pic of the back...

StuartD, Joe Striebel made it. many years ago I taught him some guitar playing and he decided to become a luithier - and he definately became one of the best! His newest endorser is Steve White. Joe will show his instrument in California soon. If you like to hear this new guitar: On http://www.myspace.com/blissnblue I uploaded a song from our new album (the 1st song in the player). Joe also built a 12string for me made from solid koa (see the pic). You can hear in the 2nd song of our MySpace site. Hope aou like it. These guitars sound awesome on the BOSE L1 Classic ... Ralph

Hey there Ralph, Tom

Those are some fine looking instruments.

From here I'm seeing playable art!

Gorgeous.

tpryde3, what a fine looking guitar! Over the years even the finest looking instruments age, they get a ding here and a dong there - and exactly that makes the vibe of it. Some guitar players may keep their best pieces at home - a sort of couch guitar collection I would say: Bring the best pieces out to the stages, that makes your fun the greatest ...

ST, I am with you: This ist real art of luithiery and one of the many raesons we all get addicted to the whole project called music!

quote:

Originally posted by tpryde3:
This past year my main guitar's top cracked, so I needed a new instrument.

Cracked tops are almost always repairable. I have owned a couple that had more than one repair of cracked wood. Done right, sound and playability doesn't suffer.

A cracked top might be reason enough to buy a new guitar, but it's not reason enough to abandon the old one.

Beautiful new guitar.
O..

If you tour alot you should check out this guitar company...carbon fiber guitarsI have one of these the GXi.

Dancing Dog Muse
My favorite beat up guitar from the man himself..willie nelson...

quote:

Originally posted by Oldghm:
Cracked tops are almost always repairable. I have owned a couple that had more than one repair of cracked wood. Done right, sound and playability doesn't suffer.

A cracked top might be reason enough to buy a new guitar, but it's not reason enough to abandon the old one.

It cracked and my backup's pickups broke all on the same day, just before a banquet gig.
I had a quick fix done because the guitar wasn't worth enough to do a full fix, and I have been using it still. However, its playability did suffer a little, and the highs got thin and tinny. It was enough to frustrate me, but not enough to go buy a new one right away.

So I started shopping then, when we were in Michigan. I actually did consider one of the CA guitars, and while they were fine for flat-picking, I didn't care for their sound with finger-style. I was going to get a Breedlove C25 (about $1,600), because of the tonematch presets, but then I thought I might just try putting the same pickup in my cracked instrument (Baggs Element).

Then I took my guitar and my T1 to a Guitar center and did an A/B comparrison through the L1, which convinced me that any guitar that felt good could be made to sound pretty good through this system. I was set to buy the Breedlove when I was in a shop and played a Mc Pherson.

The shop had a Breedlove Focus, a Taylor GS, and a McPherson. The McPherson was leagues ahead in terms of tone and playability...then I checked the price! I was fine with the 1500-2000 dollar price range, but I wasn't convinced. That was when I started playing customs.

In the process I became convinced that I could get the playability and sound (great when amplified - almost there acoustically) that I wanted from either the Breedlove or the Taylor (thank you Bose), but there was something missing. There was a depth and richness in these custom instruments that was inspiring - when I wasn't plugged in. So we had been trying various instruments all across the country until I went to San Diego and did the blindfold choosing with Annetta at FGC. Two trips to San Diego later, that guitar became mine.

It is true that with Tonematch and a decent guitar, my audience may never know the difference (though I am not entirely convinced). However, when the sound I hear from the guitar itself is inspiring and when the instrument more easily gives voice to the music in my mind, the audience will ultimately receive the communication of the music more naturally and more effectively. This is very important for the kind of music that we are doing.

So yes...it is probably more of an emotional thing than a question of empirical difference in audible sound. However, that makes all the difference both when I am writing the music and when performing it.

quote:

it is probably more of an emotional thing than a question of empirical difference in audible sound. However, that makes all the difference both when I am writing the music and when performing it.

That is so true friend.Best wishes on your music.I'am glad you found your 'guitar'.it sounds like it was made just for you...and she sure is a beautiful one too...peace,harry
Dancing Dog Muse

My CA Guitar is a work of art, and I can play it in the shower. Sounds great and plays great. I have written many songs with it.

Kind of late to be posting given the age of this thread. But, I purchased a Martin om42 with the intent of performing with it. Expensive, yes (at least for me). And, it's showing signs of wear (not abuse). I play through an L1 with a T1 and two B1s. I have tweaked the sound over and over and now it has a sound that can't be beat (IMHO). All in all, it was a good decision.
crow