I think we should start off a new acoustic thread for some general information about acoustic guitar. As the starter, I will always update(edit) the first few post with the best info available hence it will ease our friends to do reserach.

Part A:
Do i need to give you detail description what a tuning peg is? What is bridge? If you want here it is...


For a lot of intermediates, when come to purchasing new guitar, GAS mode, we tend to ask what to get. To be honest, who are we to decide for you? Yes, there are some basic info that we can get from internet such as wood combination and characteristic of the wood. But those friends in cyber space will never know what you want. You say you want warmer sounding guitar. So how warm is the warm? Some do say that Taylor has warm sounding while it towards brightness. See, this is the taste. No one know what you want. Go out and try your self. When you dilemma and spoiled by choices AFTER TRYING, it is time to go online and discuss. If you yourself, didn't try the guitar, how much you can describe about the guitar? How much do you like it? How much you don't like it? So try them...

What is the purpose of this thread then? ok... To share some basic wood info and how different species different from each other. Never take for granted. Bracing design and body size definitely contribute to changes in tone. So, bare in mind that here only some basic information.


Tonewood/Top Wood



Sitka Spruce

The primary topwood used by many manufacturers. Sitka has bright, robust sound that works well for all playing styles.


Redwood

Redwood is similar to Cedar, warm, rich, and complex. It exhibits a slightly darker tone with less pronounced bass and more headroom than Cedar.


Western Red Cedar

A warm, thick tone with rich overtones and a very pronounced bass. Widely used on classical guitars, its "open" tone works best for fingerstyle or light strumming. Cedar has virtually no break in period.


Bear Claw Sitka Spruce

A slightly stiffer version of Sitka with unique figure appearing in the grain. Bear Claw Sitka exhibits tonal characteristics of Sitka Spruce, but because of its added strength it can have a more robust and punchy voice.


Engelmann Spruce

Light in color with a rich, complex tone. This wood best suits a more gentle touch. Great for fingerpicking with warm bass and complex overtones.


Port Orford Cedar

Despite its name, Port Orford Cedar is a member of the cypress family and not a true cedar. It falls tonally between spruce and cedar, leaning toward a warm spruce top in sound and stiffness.


Adirondack Red Spruce

Some call it the "holy grail" of top woods. It was widely used on pre-war and vintage instruments. Adirondack has a crisp, clear tone with high headroom and strong fundamental content.


Carpathian Red Spruce

Harvested from the Carpathian Mountains in the Ukraine, it is generally whiter in appearance but very similar to Adirondack Red Spruce, exhibiting a lively, crisp, bright tone.


Hybrid Flamed Redwood

Our Hybrid Flamed Redwood tops combine highly figured Redwood with a graft of Adirondack Red Spruce. These tops feature the strong fundamental tone of Adirondack Red Spruce with the warmth and character of Redwood.


Hybrid Flamed Walnut

Our Hybrid Walnut tops combine Flamed Walnut with a Western Red Cedar graft. The weight of the hardwood used in these tops result in less volume than most softwood tops. They exhibit a mellow, round tone with a strong fundamental punch with less overtones.


Hybrid Koa

Our Hybrid Koa tops combine Flamed Koa with a Western Red Cedar graft. The weight of the hardwood used in these tops results in less volume than most softwood tops. They exhibit a clean, fat tone with a strong fundamental punch and less overtones.


Hybrid Flamed Black Redwood

The Black Flamed Redwood tops combine highly figured Black Redwood with a graft of Adirondack Red Spruce. Like the Flamed Redwood, the Black Flamed Redwoods feature the strong fundamental tone of Adirondack Red Spruce with the warmth and character of Redwood.



Back & Side Woods



East Indian Rosewood

East Indian Rosewood offers a deeply resonant tone. Rich complex low ends, and strong mids and highs make this a great all-around choice for back and sides.


African Mahogany

African Mahogany has a warm lively tone with clear mids and trebles. Often referred to as having a "woody" tone it's low overtone content gives it a crisp strong fundamental that is bright and responsive.


Granadillo

Granadillo is a heavy and dense tropical tonewood which reacts much like rosewood, powerful and rich.


Beeswing Mahogany

A stunning Mahogany with small wavy grain and interlocking flame pattern similar to that of a bees wing. Beeswing's tight grain and figure make this an excellent choice for those that are looking for a mahogany guitar.


Cocobolo

Heavier and denser than many types of rosewood, Cocobolo has a rich orange and red coloration. A Latin American rosewood, it exhibits strong resonance and rich overtones.


Flamed Black Acacia

Sometimes referred to as Australian Blackwood; Black Acacia behaves much like Koa and Mahogany. Black Acacia's grain offers a shimmer not found in Koa and it is a mainstay of Australian builders. It is found in Africa, India, and Northern California but originated in Southern Australia.


Flamed Maple

Flamed Maple is a stiff and stable tonewood with a loud and bright voice. Highly reflective, Flamed Maple balances a tight crisp high end with warm lows.


Flamed Walnut

Flamed Claro Walnut has a strong fundamental, with warmth and balance. Walnut has less depth and projection than rosewood and a slightly darker tone than Mahogany.


Honduran Mahogany

Honduran Mahogany is becoming increasingly rare. Like other Mahogany's it has a warm lively tone with clear mids and trebles. Often referred to as having a "woody" tone it's low overtone content gives it a crisp strong fundamental that is bright and responsive. Its grain is generally tighter than that of African Mahogany.


Myrtle

Oregon Myrtle is an American tonewood, clear and bright with a bottom end much like rosewood.


Pau Rosa

Another tropical hardwood from South America, Pau Rosa is a very dense tonewood, which falls between the rosewoods and ebony tonally.


Quilted Maple

Sometimes referred to as "Big Leaf" Maple, Quilted Maple is generally softer than Flamed Maple. Quilted Maple's tone is therefore slightly warmer and darker.


Striped Macassar Ebony

Striped Macassar Ebony is a very dense and heavy tonewood from Southeast Asia. Macassar Ebony features a robust and loud tone much like rosewood, with great clarity.


Wavy Mahogany

Wavy Mahogany is another rare and beautiful variation of Mahogany. Like Quilted Maple, Wavy Mahogany is slab cut, which causes it to be slightly warmer but overall shares the tonal characteristics of other species of Mahogany.


Highly Figured Bubinga

Often referred to as an African Rosewood, Bubinga is technically not in the rosewood family. It does however share many of the tonal qualities found in other rosewoods.


Koa

A member of the acacia family, Koa grows only in Hawaii. Flamed Koa is a gorgeous tonewood displaying some "Mahogany like" properties. Clean and bright with a rich low end.


Madagascar Rosewood

A great substitute for Brazilian Rosewood in both looks and sound. Madagascar Rosewood is increasing in popularity.


Wenge

A heavy and dense wood from Western and Central Africa. Tonally it compares with Ebony.


Highly Figured Sapele

A highly stable wood from Africa. Our Sapele has beautiful figure with a tone similar to Mahogany.


Bastogne Walnut

Bastogne Walnut trees are a natural cross of English and Claro walnut trees. These trees are very rare with beautiful flame and grain patterns. The tone is like that of Flamed Walnut.


Brazilian Rosewood

Generally considered the best tonewood for steel stringed instruments; Brazilian Rosewood is a highly prized choice for back and sides. Endangered and becoming very rare, Brazilian Rosewood has everything other rosewoods have to offer and more. A rich powerful sound full of overtones and depth.


Ziricote

A hard, dense South American tonewood, Ziricote shares many tonal properties of Ebony and Brazilian Rosewood.

click >>>Here<<< The Refference...

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 23 2013, 09:53 AM

Acoustic Guitar Setup

What is setup? To setup the guitar so the PLAYABILITY up to the user's taste.

Playability of an acoustic guitar often affected by 2 things
1. String Height / action
2. Neck Relief

Never mess these 2 things.I saw some youtube that misleading by giving you tutorial that tension the trussrod to lower down the action. Man, this will totally mess up the playability and buzzing mostly caused by this and also too low saddle or nut. This may be a lengthy read.

Before you go to adjust the neck relief, please have your desire action ready.

There are 3 situation of your guitar. no matter what guitar you are using.
1. Concave or “Bow” neck.
2. Convex or “Hump” neck
3. Straight neck




Straight neck are not recommended. Further explanation will be provided later. Now we move to trussrod adjustment. To adjust counter clockwise? or Clockwise.. A picture speaks a thousand world... Basically when your guitar back bow, you counter clockwise the trussrod. When your guitar too much of front bow, you clock wise the trussrod. If straight? counter clockwise a little. But always remember, do not turn more than 90degree/1 quarter at a time. After each adjustment, you shall left for guitar for 20-30mins to take effect.



Here the interesting one. Why a little neck relief is always desirable? This is because string vibrate in the elliptical shape. Here a photo to illustrate...


And most importantly how much relief is needed? Here another photo for illustration. Capo your 1st fret. Press your 14th fret. use a name card to slot into 8th fret. It shouldn't be too lose or too tight. if you have a straight edge, 1st fret and 9th fret will be touching the straight edge.



Ok, here the way to get the correct relief.

Credit to Mr Adam Chan from Singapore. This is what I extracted from the info that he share with me...

Beside that do browse thru this sticky thread. Mr JohnLau had share some useful tips on setting up guitars also.



Thx for Everdying for the correction.
Before you make your truss rod adjustment, you should have make sure the nut and saddle height. Once you complete your desire action then only adjust the neck relief..

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 23 2013, 12:11 PM

How to Maintain your guitar and Improve the Tone.


Maintenance
First, humidity is always important. We are having 60-80% of RH which is no good for wood. Ideal humidity is about 45-55%. Not all of use can afford to have air-cond to run 24 hours. So if possible, get yourself a dehumidifier. When I was into photography, a lot of enthusiast, told me sun light is good to dry the camera, and they often suffer from fungus. Why? Hot doesn't mean low humidity. aircond is cold, but it release dry air.

What to be used to condition your guitar?
1. Fiber Cloth
2. Lemon Oil
3. Non Wax polish

Everytime you change the death string, oil the fretboard and the bridge. They will have nice rosewood/ebony color tone after you apply lemon oil. Put a few drops of lemon oil onto the fiber cloth then you can start rubbing the fingerboards and bridge. It can be used to remove dirt that stick on fret wire too. If you cant remove the stubborn stain on the fret, you can buy steel wool from hardware shop. And beware if you use steel wool. Please use masking tape to tape your fingerboard. else it will remove some material from your fingerboard.

Lastly, before string up, please polish your guitar by using non wax type of polish. Then your guitar will be shine like new...


Improve Guitar Tone

Due to economy of scales and availability, guitar manufacturer will prefer to use what are cheap to them and ease to access. For example, Nut, saddle and bridge pins materials. These materials had huge debates in cyber space on how they effect the guitar tone. I was surprised that the awareness that Singaporean have in this field. Not to say we Malaysian not aware, but just that the awareness is way less compared to Singapore. When I discuss with them, they really know a lot. If today, you are still saying, nut, saddle and bridge pins material make no difference, then you should stop here and do not continue reading. Everybody has some believe. And these material, somehow is more marketing gimmick. For those who are believe in these materials, please continue...



Bone
Many luthiers and guitar manufacturers prefer bone saddles for their instruments. This bone has minimal porosity and a great appearance. Its density and minimal porosity are features that yield good intonation and clarity. White bone is the traditional choice for making nuts and saddles on quality instruments and it is by far the most popular . While it is white there are subtle color variations that add to the beauty of this natural material. If you have little budget, Bone nut and saddle is always recommended.

Most of the guitars in the market are originally installed with a tusq or micarta nut and saddle. By upgrading tusq or micarta to BONE, you probably will have following changes:

*rise in volume
*the top vibrate better with brighter tone
*sound fuller with more ringing treble
*greater bass respond than those man made material




FMI


How these FMI actually spiced up or improve the guitar in terms of tonality? So here I list down some reason for you as compared to bone saddle

1. Note by note separation
2. Clearer ringing tone. (sometime more bell-like tone )
3. More responsive. the topwood will vibrate more
4. More overtones and sweeter sounding trebles (from some of the users)
5. Sound Warmer (more bassy)

The downside. FMI may be very costly.




Bridge Pins
This is also another myth that well debate over the forums. Some do hear the differences, while some no. Have you ever try to change the plastic pins to brass pins? I'm sure you 100% hear the differences. So It will change your guitar tone. But it is a matter of significant to our ears or not. Bone Pins are widely used in higher end guitars. And some user with greater budget will upgrade to Fossilised Mammoth Ivory or Fossilised Walrus ivory, or the black buffalo horn pins.

The material above, FMI (Legal to international trade) and Bone, I had personally tried them over the years. To be honest, I had no experience with Fossilised Walrus Ivory (illegal to international trade) and the black buffalo horns. The information above are my own experience and what FMI users told me after they had use it on their guitars. If you have experience with buffalo horns as nut/saddle/pins, please inform me. Comparing the changes that it to your original parts. I will update this page as new material being tested.


Ramp The Bridge Pins hole
Sounds scary? Not at all? Why Ramp? To have your string to bite the saddle at the best break angle which is around 45 degree. What the function? You will have longer sustain. But not all owner's do this, as inside the Guitar has a god that they cannot offend. .. OK Joking pls... Dun sabotage me !!!




Some Low Q recording sample

Om21 With Bone Saddle + Ori Plastic Pins

om21 with Fmi saddle + Bone Pins



Play your Guitar, Enjoy it and Love your Guitar..

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 4 2013, 09:42 PM

Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide for Beginner

This is a all time hot topic. For no reason, beginner will forever unsure about what to buy. This is because, they gather information on internet only. Internet or forums always a good source to gather data and information. But as one of the forumer mention, it is not a computer. You can't just expect to put all parts together and it perform like the one. We don't produce wood. We grow the tree and cut them before turn them into guitar. So I can 100% tell you, 2 different guitar from the same factory, using the same technology, same rocket science, same materials, same wood, same control man, both of them still sound different.

Click >>>>>>HERE<<<<<< to link to one of our otai's guide.

I will suggest stop reading online as you gather enough information. It is time to go out to try. To kapok or not or to F310 or not, it is all up to your choice. But I will advise you to at least, get a solid top guitar. It will last you much longer... as you spend more, you will have more responsibilities to continue... I'm not going to have detail on how and where to buy, but to tell you what are solid top, full solid, and laminated.

1. Full Laminated/Beginner's Guitar/Budget guitar - Okay F310 and Kapak are in this category. They constructed by laminated wood (a few ply stick together). These guitar have stiff construction and the top can barely vibrate. Normally for the price less than 600/700 RM.

2. Solid Top Guitar - It is a guitar that made by better wood combination. It will has a solid wood tonewood/topwood (no laminated), and laminated back and side. You normally spot a nato neck or mahogany neck. Some lower grade rosewood fingerboard and bridge. As for the solid top species, Spruce and cedar are commanly used. Back and side mostly laminated mahogany. Certain model do come with laminated rosewood such as Taylor 2 series. Normally solid top will cost around RM700 until Rm3k-Rm4k. Depends on brand of course.

3. Full Solid guitar - It is like how you call it. Full Solid simply means no laminated tone wood for top/back/side. But there are certain brand using 5 pieces or 3 pieces neck to reinforce the neck strength. This is the guitar that you should get if you are seriously into acoustic. Among these 3, this will aged and have sweeter as time goes on. Price range is varying from Rm1.5k to Rm 6 digits maybe. It is really depends.

Silly Question
Will a rm4k solid top sound better than a 1.5k full solid acoustic?
As I said, go out and try. no one know what you want. One man's food is another man's poison.

Why at least the Solid Top is desirable?
Laminated wood constructed with a few plies of wood by glueing them together. Hence it is very stiff and not vibrate well. Solid wood like spruce is somehow a softer type of wood. Hence they can vibrate better. The myth behind of acoustic guitar is always to let the top vibrates to the max. To know how difference species of wood affect the sound, please refer to the first thread.


Accessories that Good to Bundle with...
1. Tuners - get your guitar tuned in pitch. Some higher end comes with metronome which is good for practice.
2. Guitar Stand - you may don't want to lay your against the wall and endup "oh my guitar falling down, falling down, falling down".
3. Capo - If you need one? If you don't know what is this, forget about it. Buy it when you know about it.
4. some cleaning stuff such as fiber cloth, lemon oil and polish...

So guys, go out and try. Else forever you will never make your decision as you don't know how it sound. Some of you will start a new thread when you have a new option. No offence, but I can tell you, you will never get a worthy answer. A lot of forumers give you an answer that they feel it is better and not because they had tried them. Some more experienced player may able to tell you what to expect with certain wood combination, but it is still far from hear it and try it yourself. For instant, I never like how a Taylor sound but I like its neck profile. I like the sound from Martin but I never a fans of Martin's neck profile.

Last but not least, STOP ASKING AND IT IS TIME TO GO OUT & TRY!!! Come back to ask with some information in your hands. Don't just give us an A vs B question. Do tell us how you feel after you try A, how you feel after you try B. Then we can assist you better... right? It is about WHAT YOU WANT!!



Acoustic Guitar Luthier's Around KL

>>>>>Jeffrey Yong<<<<< - Jeffrey made quality guitars, and he is well known. He is known by introducing local woods to the world.

Edward Hiew - Edward do custom made guitars and repair. A very helpful person. If your guitar need neck reset? Repair finishing chips? Give him a try...


Useful info

John Lau - He is not only service your guitar, but he teach you how to service your guitar.

StewMac - for those who are looking for professional guitar tools and diy. Beside that, they shared useful information how to use similar tools and some cheap alternative.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 10 2013, 09:55 AM

that is actually the incorrect way to adjust relief.
rule of thumb is to always get the action at the nut right first, before attacking the bridge...and that is of cos before attacking the truss rod and making sure all frets are level.

amongst those 3, i only trust edward.

Thanks Everdying... My bad... hahahaha

Every time I service friend's guitar, I started with nut. Then saddle... and lastly strung up and adjust the truss rod. I never mess up the flows and never know that I cannot. Thanks for the tips.


And I agree with you. Edward has real good service.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 23 2013, 11:08 AM

Good info I only know how to strum strum strum. Don't know how to maintain.

No Worries shootingstar. Share with us how you strum and how much you love your guitar.

good job bro

btw you know any warm acoustic guitar bands? i tried martins, taylor, lakewood all sound damn trebly like no bass like that

You mean brands? Martin and Mcpherson are warm. Had you try Om21 or Hd28 from Martin? I personally have experience with these guitars and they get warmer after aged for a few years.

If still not warm enough? Any guitar, give FMI saddle a try. Bone saddle tend to be more brittle. Normally if friend request for warm sound, I suggest make 2 changes to their acoustic guitar.
1. Fmi saddle... if you want nut also. Then you will hear fatter tone..
2. Ebony pins... it will tighten the bass a little. If you hear muddy base with ebony pins, then bone pins will be the best substitute.

I'm yet to try with FMi pins and fwi pins. They have some legal issue when cross border.

Frankly, a lot of wood combination will produce warm sound... So far, the warmest I came across is Full Koa from Taylor with FMI saddle. Very warm and powerful tone. How is this?



This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 24 2013, 12:41 AM

Dont you feel this is a cool saddle?


Requested by the owner to compensate string by string. And it doesn't feel like handcraft at all.

Hey guys... question... anyone know where can I buybor order a dehumidifier? I shop from KL to Ipoh. Only found humidifier. Most of the salesman n sales girl cannot understand their differences.

try camera shops.

THey have dry box. Guitar size is about 120 liter.. I can cost 2x dehumidifier.. I'm a photographer. I have the 40 liters one...

yes u are a photographer.
i also got drybox for most of my camera equipment

anyway, got portable one that uses selica gel which u can dump into a guitar hardcase...as a photographer i thought u would've seen this.
http://shashinki.com/shop/wonderful-electr...20g-p-2853.html

another thing that some photographers use, and acoustic guitarists also found out about is this - http://www.zorb-it.com/
not sure where to get it here, but can get it in SG.


This post has been edited by Everdying: May 26 2013, 10:03 PM

TRied them. Not efficient in drying guitar. But good to keep ambient rh down in the box. Still not a total solution for drying those wet guitar...

I have a 13 years old classical. Used to have flat back. Now bellying. Thru some research knew that it actually absorb too much of moisture. Tried the recharge one... it keep rh down.. but not drying the guitars. That is the reason why looking around for dehumidifier. They normally cost around rm800 or above. But very hard to get one.

then u need to go build a special cabinet just for it...having an aircon room will help keep moisture lvls low also.
i got a el-cheapo classical that is about 23yrs old now...still flat as before.

Awesome thread bro!
Btw I want to ask, my bridge pins seems to be loose. When trying to tune, sometimes the damn string pops back right out. Scared the hell out of me.
How do you recommend to remedy this? Get new pins or change the bridge? The pins seemed to be fine..

Personally feel it is all fine. Everytime I change new set of string the same things happen to me as well. So I will have one hand turning peg one hand pressing the pins.

Another solution, slot ur bridgepin hole. Then use non slotted pin. Frankly, if slot the bridge pin hole, the string still hold tight without pins. Hahhah....

Or... replace ur bridge pin with oversize pin.

Here great info of why they slot the bridge pin hole and ramp. They r 2 different things. I always advise those owner to ramp the bridge pin holes... for better string brake angle. The sustain will noticeable improved.
http://www.bryankimsey.com/bridges/slotted.htm

Good thread. Thanks for the info!

Buy ikea cabinet or other cheap ones that will fit your guitar and put those rechargable silica gel dehumidifiers in it.(if you are willing to do so)

I just those rechargeable silica in my guitar hard case. Wondering if that would work

It is to reduce ambient rh only. Not a solution to dry guitar.

Your guitar not absorbing too much of moisture...yes this works to keep ambient rh down. But if to repair or dry a overly wt guitar.. no.

Then i guess mine is ok then, as it was newly bought. Keeping the rh down should suffice

Theorically yes.. unless the shop left it inside the toilet. Else no reason for a new guitar being wet.

Btw, any nice acoustic amp to recomend? Budget is below 1k

I'm using ibanez t35. Slightly lower than 1k. 2.5 years on using.. no complaint. Of course if I have good budget, AER my choice.

Heard that roland and vox are good too. Personally.. no experience.

I have had a roland amp but it broke down on me quite some time ago

I read a lot of good reviews on ultrasound ds4, wondering how much would it cost here

Er.. never heard of ultrasound ds4..

By the way ac_N1, I join ur martin camp...

Wow... which model is that? Did you change the bridge pins?
Congrats bro

THis is an om21. Perhaps I have dream for quite few years and finally marry it home... everything still original. Normally i will upgrade my guitar to fmi saddle and bone pins. If I love it a lot, I will change the nut too. And changing saddle n bridge pins will not void warranty. But nut yes... probably after 1 year, nothing hair wire, change the nut...

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 31 2013, 09:17 AM

By the look of it, this piece is made in usa right? Where did you get stock for the saddle and pins?
I have been looking for them for quite some time, but only manage to get mahogany pins with pearl inlay....

I Import them from oversea..

BUt for saddle... it came in blank form... so need to handcraft it to fit..

As for bone pins..... right size is important because pin come with 2 taper degree and many different sizes. But martin is 5 degree taper...

Favourite r always plain black ebony n bone..

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 31 2013, 09:48 AM

when u already upgrade to fmi saddle, sell me original bone saddle that comes with om21

LOl. I will keep it. Sorry...

If u want.. I will replicate one for u with bone. Pm me for more info to avoid hijacking..

you guys got any opinions on a relatively new to market german brand called

lakewood

Its not new. Make famous by Sungha Jung and Ulli Boegershausen

ahh, is it worth its price?

its supposed german made and quite cheap for that, however i dont think its quite worth it

I havent tested it personally but they sounded quite nice on youtube

What's the material and what's the price tag like?

there was a few i tested

one was the lower end, i tihnk AAA spruce top , ovangkol sides and maho neck , natural finish , asking price 7k

then theres another slightly upper, with similar top, rosewood sides and back with a semi-gloss finish, asking price was 9k

it sounds nice, but nothing that i'd go wow over.

our local maker lee guitars or something had one that i was quite happy with

+3kk bro, to be honest, of you look for fine handcraft appointment, lakewood is a great one. And they mostly use european spruce. This is a soft spruce will vibrate well even when it is new. With the very good grade of indian rosewood, the guitar should sound loud. It come with bone nut and saddle. So I guess, this guitar will sound a bit thin. But once played in it will sound brittle bright and pure. I think this is command to most of the guitar in market. They call it new age tone.

The worthiness, if you like it, yes it worth in my very personal honest opinion. Sometimes, I love these higher priced guitar, as they come with greater appointment. Remove their string touch the bracing inside and feel how smooth they are. Visually the super tight grain wood. All these only can be found by paying extra. And all these fact may contribute to sweeter sounding. Greater grade wood for greater sounding? Big myth. Some make good sounding guitar with lower grade wood. But atlest, you may gain more satisfaction visually.

LAkewood quite a modern sounding guitar. For those that I tried, they r tend to bright sounding rather than warm. It is a mp32 if not mistaken. GC size..

Guys, about guitar strings gauge, normally what gauge should I buy for a full size dreadnought guitar?

and can recommend me a good balanced tone string?

.13 which is medium gauge. It can hold until this.

BUt I recommand .12 light gauge. Any lower is not recommanded. Any lower gauge will sound dead. For fingers friendly and fuller sound, I suggest .12 which is light gauge.

ok, how about brand? I don't know other than Elixir, D'addario and Ernie Ball.

Personally prefer Martin Lifespan Sp and elixir nano. Martin has warmer sound compared to elixir based on my own experience. But elixir last longer. Gain and loss.

But the way.. 80/20 has brighter sounding than pb coated strings. But 80/20 has shorter lifespan.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: May 31 2013, 02:04 PM

I'll see what string does the local shop nearby have.

You said it quite right it's thin, the bass was almost non existant. The projection was nice but at 7k I was exPecting a dynamic tone kinda thing

To be frank... all new acoustic sound thin. Thanks to the god damn bone saddle. That is the reason why I brought in fmi. They will much warmer, fuller n sweeter treble. You notice real tighter base with the fmi saddle..

Just bought a Martin. Martin should sound warmer.. at least that's my feel when I tried those with at least few years old. To my surprise, this martin sound so thin. Ya.. again thx to the god damn bone saddle. Going replace it soon.

Bone will take quite some time to opens up the sound. Thats why some say tusq better..give it some times. As time they age with the wood, the compounded effect will make them brittle bright n pure for bone.

To tell from my experience, u will never go wrong with bone. But if you want tighter bass, try fmi. I think JohnLau do offer it around KL area.

Hi brothers and sisters. Just finish workout my new baby.

Saddle upgraded to fmi. It has odd compensation. And change the plastic pins to bone pins. I dye the bone pins with dark coffee for a few hours. Here the photo to share...



Saddle duplicated


This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 1 2013, 06:59 AM

Anyone played a taylor 414ce?
Need opinions =( Played it myself but I get that kind
of "Stuck" feeling, means I can't play hard
for fingerstyle that I usually play hmmmn...

Do you any preference? But don't tell me good sounding. Because it is just an answer as wide as www.

4 series using not very command wood which is ovangkol. Sibling to rosewood and theorically similar to rosewood. But as compared to rosewood, it has less bass and more pronounced midrange. Anyway, not my personal experience but that the info I gather when read thru tonewoods over the internet...


Try that guitar before? If possible bring your current guitar with u to make comparison. I see no reason to stop anyone if they like the guitar. Most importantly, how much you like it.

Personally I owned a few used taylor before. But they never stay long with me. Personally feel, they r thin sounding. But I do love bbt for its size and K series for the tone of full koa. It is just something different.

@ilovemyguitars

just WTA have you noticed any decline in workmanship in acoustics over the years?

dont know about them, but i noticed this in eletrics

I do have chance play frequently on a friend's 1975 martin d28. I would say today's d28 has nothing better than a 38 years old wood chunks.

Truss rod, the old chunk using a t bar. No matter medium or light gauge string, literally make no changes to the relief. Today's? U got to adjust the truss rod.

Wood used. With ur naked eye can see the old one has much tighter grain. Which mean it is higher grade wood. Especially the sitka. For the rosewood, old days one really straight grain and have slight spider webbing grain. Which u dun even see in higher end d35 today.

Build wise... for 38 years, he never do any neck reset and bridge reglue. At the same time, I have send a few d28 from 2000ish for my friends for bridge reglue n neck reset...

If u ask me if there is decline in workmanship, I would say all manufacturer have this problem. For those who own a 90's taylor, they know how sweet the neck angle. Today's Taylor? The playability simply not as good as those build in 90s. Ask around how many not willing to sell their old and vintage guitar? And they feel those guitar live stronger than later one...

Lets we see it from another point. Old days acoustic bracing barely scallope. So the top withstand humidity problem. Now with the technology we have, they scallope the brace for responsive top. There is a known custom brand called doerr came out with his own lattice bracing that make the back so stiff so he can use thinner wood for his guitar. I'm not saying doerr builds bad guitar, in fact one of my dream guitar. It just that too many rocket science these days. And higher grade wood getting lesser and lesser.

GUitar used to be handmade and limited quantity. Today's? It is all about the economy of scales. Some super high priced guitar use plastic nut, saddle and pins, and say they r the best. But most of us if aware, we upgrade them to natural material such as bone and fossil ivory. What they used old days? Bone? Plastic? It was fossil ivory. Do they sound good? I would say sound best since finish build.

So back to ur question. I will shout, I strongly agree with u. To be honest, im gravitating toward great custom build by individual builder like Olson, Tom Doerr or Somogyi or those real vintage guitar.

Just my 2 cents.

But all the while, I tot electric is technology dependent since it is heavily depends on the pickup system. Not too sure as I'm yet into electrics.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 4 2013, 12:18 AM

DOuble posted!!

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 4 2013, 12:07 AM

hmm seems like acoustics suffer this also, i noticed this in eletrics where QC has been dropiing compared to older models

that being said tho, should i spend my wild horses on a lakewood or scout for a good 90's cheaper acoustic

Args... good question. I always answer...'apa lu mau?' Sorry if offended...

It depends what you want. I always recommend buyer to try and buy the exact unit. From a few conversation with u, I feel u r into vintage tone which u want the guitar more bassy and boomy. I would suggest u to try to see if any old chunk around. I'm not saying lakewood no good, but it is quite modern sounding to me.

There was once I dilemma between lakewood m32cp vs martin om21. I went for om21 as I know after some years of usage, martin has the vintage tone as I had totally unsure will lakewood has that tone in future as Lakewood pretty young in acoustic. But thats my personal prefference.

New vs Vintage? I will anytime want the older. How about you?

Do electric guitar works this way? Older wood sound sweeter? I always feels that electric is technology dependent as it heavily relies on pickup.

hahah no offense taken,

im not refering to tone in general la, but general workmanship because a lot of modern guitar i knows tend to suffer. i did like Lee guitars whn i tried it, was quite impressed with the tone and make. i tried a taylor and a martin which was about 5k i think, was not impressed one bit, the tone was terrible and the guitar quality was nothing great.

what i do find rather disappointing is that a lot of new guitars cant get that nice blues tone, warm on the low ends which gives it a good chug and feel when you play some blues fills or a simple 5 bar. i pick up a guitar today, play the 5 bar sounds flat....

i like old guitars, i always find that old guitar has a certain charm to it not that new guitars are bad but these days ive yet to find a guitar that floors me totally. i did experience a very wonderful gibson traditional in australia but that was pretty much it.

eletric is slightly different as it largely depends on the application, the lesser the gain the more the guitar tone can be heard. so if you are talking about effects/gain heavy music then other stuff do play a majority of the tone. but if you are the plug and play kinda guy with nearly 0 effects, then ya the same deals come in.

This post has been edited by +3kk!: Jun 4 2013, 12:51 AM

Agree with u. It is hard to get the so called vintage sounding acoustic these days. Often those warm low ends guitar endup with muddy bass.

Lee guitar produce mostly jumbo. So it will have the most dynamic tone. The big deep body contribute very dynamic low registry to guitar. I heard once but had no chance to touch it. IF my memory takla fail me, it is a boomy and punchie sound guitar.

Wheew, quite abit of info on this thread. Might be intimidating to newbies =)

I've got a solid Cedar topped Takamine laminated nato sides, which I felt sounded great when I bought it. Lot of top end & nice chime-y trebles. Slightly less on the mids & bass, but disappointingly lacking. But 3 years later.. I'm much less impressed. I feel it has lost some body, as well as a little high end sparkle. Low end is much less resonant, and overall it feels like it's lost depth. Doesn't seem to have mellowed out nicely as some 10 year Yamaha's I've tried.

Am not sure if Cedar doesn't age well, or whether my ears have changed. Or might it be that guitar just needs to be maintained better? Ie wipe down with proper oils, etc? I use D'addario PB 12's, condition the strings and fretboard every so often, and keep guitar in padded case indoors. Anyone have comments/experience with Cedar tops to share?

Also - does anyone here own/have any experience with Faith guitars? Have been looking & trying them out their full solid spruce's. Seem nice, but am not entirely convinced yet.

Cedar doesn't aged much as compared to spruce. It is much like what u hear what u get type of guitar.
Laminated back n side literally has no aging ability..

Cedar top has less resonant on low end? This blow me. Either it is badly build, else dead string is command issue to cause this. Another issue is this guitar may absorb too much of moisture. It need some form of drying. Drying is not about keeping ambient moisture rh around 50%. But need to get it dryer around 40% to condensate what had the wood absorb.

U play the guitar frequently? You can send it to experience luthier like Edward from freeman guitar for inspection.

I personally has no experience with faith. So make no comments. Gone thru the catalogue. It feels much like a designer guitar.

Thanks bro. I play casually. Sometimes every couple of days, sometimes once or twice a month. Whenever am free. Still too much to learn, not enough time.

It seems to be. At it's best, the trebles strike out to me more than the bass. But that's my inexperienced ear talking. Maybe it's actually ok. Perhaps will send to a tech to have a look over.

Short of buying a dehumidifier, can you recommend any "best practices" to keeping an acoustic in good condition? Should i be oiling/polishing the wood every so often (which I don't do)? Or is a "keep in the case, have it maintained once a year" a good enough practice?

Designer guitar meaning? More fashion than quality?

Er.. oil the fretboard is to prevent it cracks due to too dry. I did it everytime I change string. I heard oil kill fungus so ur fretboard dun have the green stain... not proven...

I change my string quite often. 2 to 3 months. Or anytime I feel the guitar sound dead. The quickest was next day. Because I dun like string being piercy bright.

I keep my guitar in its box. And have some silica gel to have them absorb the moisture. It has good control of ambient rh. According to rh meter. But once u open the case, moisture increased... but better than nothing.

DEsigner guitar means very stylo catalogue and creative way to present their guitar. I never try them, so I better not to comment their quality..

By the way, how much budget u willing to spend for the next guitar? What r the issue u have with ur current guitar?

Every guitarist want a good sounding guitar. But it seem vary from one to each other. Buy what u want and make it what u want it to be.

guys, I have make some recordings thru my note 2.

Sorry for the poor quality. But I hope everybody can hear the fullness of FMI. The change of saddle material really improve the sound..

here the links..

Om21 With Bone Saddle + Ori Plastic Pins

om21 with Fmi saddle + Bone Pins

These recordings may not in good quality in terms of my playing or the sound quality. But that is the only demo i could share the difference tone with different saddle material..

Realistically, you do hear significant differences. But the note2 recording system seem cannot pickup some of the frequency maybe. A lot of dynamic lost. Any one has any tips how to do better recording? I do not records anything before and lack of knowledge.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 4 2013, 09:49 PM

Wow that's a huge improvement. Awesome playing btw, you got some wicked fingerstyle

Wow, can really listen to the difference great tone
This is mine, Yamaha F310 with upgraded saddle
and ebony pins :

Random playing with F310!

Sound is thin, lacks sustain, but well, it's a beginner guitar
Recorded for fun... Now can anyone recommened a guitar for me?
I'm in a dilemma, have a 5k budget

This post has been edited by KeroroQ: Jun 5 2013, 01:07 AM

Thx. Perhaps it is just some pinky chimp with little melody. Nothing to shout about.

Wow. Great play. You deserved to have better than f310.

Personally, I call 5k a hard budget as it stuck in the middle. If let say 3 to 4k, we can have some full solid from non mainstream brand. 7k we can get some reputable brand with full solid. 5k... kinda not here and there. But of course choices are around.

Bro, I would suggest go out and try around. Try until u find the one that u like the most. For 5k, I would suggest to reserve about rm1250 for LR baggs anthem pickup if you do play live or amplify a lot. It is simply the best acoustic pickup. Pair with their Para DI box, you will have full natural tone in any PA system. Maybe later tonight I make some simple recording to share with u, if I'm free.

That's my 2 cent. By the way, is there any brand or model that you really want to pickup?

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 5 2013, 09:35 AM

Wow! Never thought of that!
I'll try finding a 4k full solid guitar for now then, any suggestions?
and maybe install it with a pickup...
Any ideas on Seymour Duncan SA-6 Soundhole Pickup ?
I can't seem to find it anywhere in Malaysia

In Acoustic no one come close to LrBaggs. I never tried seymour. But I had tried fishman ellipse n misi. I prefer Lrbaggs as it literally reproduce the sound with higher volume. Soundhole pickup sounds electrify.

4k... u can try farida d67 or r67, norman st68. Since u have a 5k, shall u save a bit more say..around 7k then give lakewood a try? I feel that they come with good appointments.

Let me share with u how I spend my 5k last year. I bought a farida d62 at 3k. Then I upgrade nut, saddle to fmi, bridge pins to bone, lastly the lr baggs. Total spending about 4.8k. If you ask me any 5k guitar come closed? I don't know. But I like the way it is now. Warm and powerful tone.

The advise still, go out and try the guitars. There must be one guitar that you like and willing to spend to make it sound better. I'm not telling u how good my china made farida is, but seriously u need to try them since within ur budget. Try all available choices.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 5 2013, 12:42 PM

Ok! Does it pick up percussive guitar body sound wells to?
and harmonics ... I'll go survey the new guitar and used guitar
market this weekend Thanks for the awesome advice

LrBaggs anthem using dual source which mean it has mic and under saddle piezzo so it literally pickup everything. U can control how much mic and ust gain.

It also has simple SL version.

Anthem cost about rm1200
Anthem SL with less control about rm800.

Strongly suggest either one. Both of them using dual source and real good review. I try my best to make u a demo tonight. Latest will be tomorrow night.

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 5 2013, 05:03 PM

Thanks a lot!

Pardon my playing skill please...recorder shy...nervous..

Acoustically Vs LrBaggsAnthem

Wow!!! Nice playing!
What's the name of the song in the beginning? find it sooo familiar
The percussive beats sound really clear
Couldn't find a good demo as this on youtube,
thanks for the effort!

While my guitar gently weeps.....

and welcome... sharing is caring... we share what we know thus we improved better... Who knows one day u will come back with something that I don't know?

Glad if all these demos help you. And good luck in searching your right guitar..

By the way, LR Baggs anthem dont have the on off button... I use planet wave cable that come with the on off button....

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 5 2013, 11:35 PM

some simple buying guide for beginner added to post #4.

Chill and have a nice day....

Anyone heard of tone rite? Here the link
Tonerite

It is certainly a good device to play-in ur guitar. It is different than aging. Especially for those who didn't play their guitar frequently, this is something to open up the sound..

PErsonally I have no experience. But I had order one and It will be reaching me next week. Stay tuned for its effectiveness. I have a less than a month old guitar to be tested..

My friend used portable round speakers
and place it on the guitar, has the same effect
and cost only RM90

ANother cheaper alternative would be the little box that create bubble for fishes in aquarium. Which im using for quite some years.

BUt both never the silent solution. My roomate is complaining my speaker at first. Then now my little box. Aiks... no choice but to invest in one.

Based on info that gathered from collings forum, it need about 1 week to 10 days to make your guitar sound at its optimum. To be honest, I'm still skeptical about it. But good to try and to know. Just like saddle materials. I was once think plastic will do...

THere are just too much of myth behind a guitar. Some builder believed in their own rocket science. But I would pickup the best from everyone. Maybe build one myself one day... but it need a lot of wisdom...

Your knowledge is very vast Many guitarist just know how to
play and don't understand their own instruments well
When you do make one, I'll order one from you
You should do and myth buster for gutiar thread

THanks for the compliment but I'm still learning. I'm sure there are very knowlegable individual around and stay silent. But everybody share a little, a lot of us will be benefited.

Hi guys. I'm back with a cool device...the TONErite.

FOr more, you can google about it...



I will share the before and after later. Maybe 3 days or 1 week later.

ive heard of it and am curious if it really works.

let me know how it goes. I mean for me nowadays I travel for work for about 2 months and my guitars dont get much action. I actually lend them to trusted friends to be 'babysit'.

can i babysit your taylor?

I'm testing now. I will post up comparison in a few days time. According to colling's forum (they have the most comprehensive raw data), the optimum is about 6 days +/- I will probably make a 0 day sound clip which i had done this morning, a 3 days and a 6 days.
FYI, this device is 30 days money back guarantee. You can just get one from www.tonerite.com and return it before 30days. hahahaha..

If it works, you can send down your guitar to me... I'm more than happy to help u to tonerite it.. eventho i'm not so a Taylor fan... But I admit... I will molest your baby kaw kaw...

This post has been edited by ILoveMyGuitarss: Jun 17 2013, 10:27 PM

I thought you dont like Taylors?
How about my PRS?


why would u like my Taylor when you have an amazing Martin?

Post whether it works or not
Very very interesting

BOth are amazing. I'm more than happy to try different guitars. And I think you must be having an aged piece. I'm kinda love frequent played and older guitar. They have certain sweetness that we don't hear it in a new stiff guitar.

HAha.. if u don't play it frequent, I promise I play it foe u everyday...