So i'll start it out.
I currently own:
1. Martin D-15
This guitar is fantastic for the price. I paid $425 for a brand new one (however it had a very very little scratch - hence the price cut...albiet quite extreme) However i've seen them on ebay for anywhere from $450 - $600 (typically $599 new). Since the guitar has a solid body mohagany build it is QUITE bassy (which is what I initially wanted when purchasing this guitar) -- the Mahogany wood boosts the bass over the trebble giving it one hell of a punch on the 6th E and ESPECIALLY when you put it in drop D (which was what caused me to fall in love with it). I had a Fishman Matrix 2 (i think) pickup installed into it -- without onboards and bought a martin/fishman pre-amp which does the same thing as the onboard controls, i've encountered a problem with this guitar when i try to plug it in... the overpowering bass literally ruins the acoustic sound. Even when you turn your bass (Lo) quite low and raise your mids and Hi-s it still loses a LOT of its potential to sound as good as an acoustic guitar can sound. However, you get what you pay for =) This guitar is AMAZING acousticly. Infact I dont really think i've played a better guitar for under $600 acousticly... plug in a takemine or something for $300 and it'd probably sound better.... but that's the name of the game when you're playing with exclusive woods like that... Here's a clip of the D15: http://www.eastofbeautiful.com/files/dropdjam1.mp3 (same jam sort of as the Loprinzi clip - but i recorded this a while back so im not sure what boosts i've given to either the bass or trebble).
2. A. Loprinzi Dreadnaught Acoustic (model LR-15 from 1975)
(This is the 2002 equivalent of the 1975 LR-15)
List $2400.00 - This guitar has back and sides of East Indian Rosewood and a Sitka Spruce top (I find this odd because at that time era .... brazilian rosewood sounded so much better and was much more popular and easily available...) While it does have a boomy east indian body build to it, the punch from the 6th E is nothing like the Martin guitar (I'm not sure if this comes down to craftsmanship or wood or what may cause this... the wood is certainly superior). I've recorded a sample drop d jam i wrote to get an idea how this sounds if you're interested here is the link (i only added reverb left trebble and bass alone and recorded at a standard setting): http://www.eastofbeautiful.com/files/al ... _dropd.mp3 (the rattle you may hear is from my 1st E (the high pitched one) that i never took off even though it's broken in half... sorry about that) I've not had any electronics installed, but i plan on getting the L.R. Baggs Ibeam2 (active) installed into it because of the rosewood body i think it'd play like a dream when plugged in. It is a fun guitar to play, the action is pretty good, etc...
3. Guild F 212 XL - NT (no clue what the NT stands for)
List (for the 1999) is $1799 ... but i think the older models are more valuable in the sense that they are pre-fender... This guitar WAS a limited series that had come out in spurts here and there... not really since the 80's though. My guitar is from the Guild era before Fender bought them out (bastards). This 12 string is Rich, beautiful, and powerful. From what i can find... it seems to have Mohagony backing and sides, and Spruce top. However im not sure how accurate that information is especially because i cant find any information on the "NT" and because the information I got was from the 1999 edition. So... Anyways, here's a clip... i'm still trying to find uses for a 12 string as my style doesnt really require one nor does it sound especially cool with a 12 string... but ... here's some grey street loving: http://www.eastofbeautiful.com/files/gr ... _guild.mp3 - as far as 12 strings go, im quite pleased with this, however i've never played any other high-end 12 strings to have anything to compair it to (ie: a martin or taylor 12 string).
Well, let me know what you guys have!
regards,
X
