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Having played several spruce/maple/ebony fittings, that combo is pretty magical despite its simple wood choices. It crosses the clarity and punch of an archtop with the warmth of the flattop. Tadol’s spruce FTC is a case in point – it’s got enormous power but also a huge dynamic range and great sensitivity to where along the string length it’s played.
…someday. 😉
Those are both gorgeous. Koa really is amazingly beautiful…..
If you’d like lighter tuners, the Gotoh SXN510V open back tuners are good and a direct replacement for many closed tuners. They also mount with a screw in bevel like a closed back tuner so they’re easy to swap. Just put a set on a Martin OM and am liking them.
That’s how D’Addario describes ’em:
I’ve used them and it’s preferable to gutting a 12-string set (IMHO).
My favorite place to use Nashville tuning was on an old dreadnaught I rebuilt many years ago that was kind of fragile. A former owner had shaved the braces way too far, and it couldn’t take full string tension. Even with the rebuild, it was not really good at full tension – kind of tight – but Nashville sounded great.
If it’s following the bluetooth standard, it should auto negotiate pairing.
One can only hope that they followed the standard…
Even if it starts out satin, it’ll be glossy in spots from playing, and usually pretty soon. Satin is beautiful but it doesn’t last…..
Good idea.
Do check the saddle and nut on the G string to ensure that they’re set up properly – remember, they can wear, and that can make one string sound less good than others..
Happy testing!
I love ‘em. I like the sound and find them quite easy to play as well.
EJ16s were what I used for years, because they were cheap, consistent, and available everywhere. Always found them hot at first and then, when they got older, they’d get tubby-sounding with thudding basses.
These don’t die in the same way, and the middle strings might be a little louder relative to the others. I find the strings sound pretty rich and fat and round across the board, no thinness here.
Some of that richness is the instrument, some is the strings, some is playing style. I play with nails and vary right-hand position along the string length from bridge to fingerboard extension as that’s a simple but effective tone control, worth the time to try.
Satin nitro is actually very difficult to do well. At an NCAL meeting some years ago, Rick Turner and Addam Stark discussed the challenges of getting a good satin nitro finish that didn’t require a lot of post-spray time that ate up work time and profit.
It would probably be easier to do a lower gloss nitro finish (like the Martin vintage series) which is less time and labor intensive, or else switch to a polyester finish. Polyester sprays satin well but it’s difficult to repair and can be hazardous to paint room staff – even more than nitro, a known sensitizer.
…and I checked, and Bourgeois uses catalyzed polyester finishes. It’s not bad stuff at all (it’s tough as nails) but it’s a choice that enables them to do satin without it being labor intensive.
Thanks, my friend.
And French is as good as any a reason to justify another guitar.
Someday I’m going to get a 15” SCGC archtop in natural with a floating pickup with a neck like my OM. But that ship on the horizon has to come in first, and there are some rough seas, rocky shoals, and contrary winds to navigate first. I want it for the warm bottom end and the sweetness and sheer power of the high end, both of which are considerable…and because it’s another voice to work with.
I think that instruments *do* change with age – my 2012/2013 00-29 has definitely opened up.
There are also changes in sound attributable to changing string type – gauge, material, et cetera – or changing the height etc of nut, saddle, frets, relief, etc.
But I also think that there’s a certain amount of what Zorro called ‘the bloom fairy,’ too. I don’t think that instruments change radically. My OM and 00-29 both sounded really amazing to start with, and while they have changed, the change has been gradual, not transformative.
Instead, it’s possible – and perhaps probable – that as the player becomes more accustomed to the instrument and learns its capabilities and how it responds, the *player* changes. They may learn to address the instrument in ways that draw out the best from that instrument. Increasing familiarity over time allows the player to be more attuned to the instrument so that they respond differently to it.
That’s what I’ve experienced. I know that I play differently on the OM and 00-29, based on what each does, and that provides a raison d’etre of sorts for having multiple different instruments. Most things can be played on any instrument, but sometimes the choice of instrument helps.
-mh
