Mon May 10, 2010 8:59 am
Brad, I have to go with Bear here! With all the study you have done on Wood and such, you are probably looking for just that right sound, and it's worth it. Yet 'not good enough'? Whoa there big fella, if I'm good enough, you certainly are!
Here's the problem you, Buzz, are going to face;
I'll give you a story, of sorts, but a true one. I have a Granddaughter who is about to turn 11 tomorrow. She's been a member of a Music Academy for the last few years, plays Piano and 'sight reads' simplistic (to her) sheet music (Sonata's and Sonatina's now bore her). She's amazed several Teachers by her ability to sit down, look at a piece, and play it. She also has a remarkable ability to remember a piece she has played only a few times.
This last October her Christmas gift was a studio session where we recorded a four track Christmas CD, one track of which I posted here around Christmas. In other words, she has talent, natural talent. She is usually here, with the wife and I , on weekends. Her favorite place to go with Me is Guitar Center. She likes to visit each and every division, drums, keyboards, bass, recording, PA, and guitar. She is the one who has the Yamaha.
Problem is, or better yet, is going to be, she doesn't really care for the 'front room' in the Acoustic Guitar section. She has already learned the Guitars with the best Tone and such are in that 'special' little room, the $1,500 > $3,500 room. Not because they are 'prettier' than the others, some really are not and are fairly plain, but that sound, that tone, that certain difference. She knows, and you probably will also. Now when she is ready to 'step up' from the $100 beginner Yamaha, that next step will be past the 'mid-level' range. She already knows there is a difference however quaint it may be. I bet (and I do make wagers) once you Buzz have played something along the lines of a Taylor 600 or 800 series, or a Martin D28 or an OM, or a Gibson Hummingbird or Elvis Jumbo you will be stuck there also. Something 'in-between' just won't cut it.
Now you will have a new problem. You'll be 'Jonesing' that Taylor, nothing else will do. Just not the same. Yet sitting around playing that %$2,000 and up guitar will bug you, what if it gets 'bumped' what if that darling little child decides she can play it while Dad sits it down to get a beer (or other refreshment)? That first little knick, that first time it gets dirty, they will happen and they will be devastating. Not life changing devastating, but you know, a chink in the armor.
A lot of us here, and a lot who play, have a 'beater'. A mid level that as such, those upcoming dings and scrapes don't really matter all too much. I own a Gibson Starburst myself, one of 300 ever made. It's not the best sounding acoustic made, perhaps one of the better ones, but it is a bit of a collectors item. I do play it, and I am very protective of it, it usually stays in it's case, with a humidifier, in the closet. My 'beater' is a Seagull S6+CW folk, around a $550 investment. It sits beside the desk, ready to play, on a stand or hanging on the wall. Still 'serious' money, but not that $3,500 serious the Gibson is.
So, in a nut shell, once you have goofed around with that Taylor, Gibson, Martin, etc. there will be a 'new' problem. You'll then be in a search for that 'beater'. That close enough sound that doesn't hold the same 'value' for the dollar. That's really the hardest axe to find.
Bear, normally your point is well worth it, lots of guitars on E-Bay, Craigslist, even the Pawn Shops and 'trade ins' at the Local shops. I'm not sure what effect the recent floods in Nashville will have on the market though, lots and lots of really great pieces are now kindling, I hear Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, and others lost big.
Buzz, most shops, even Guitar Center and Music-Go-Round take trade ins. Most of those trade-ins are 'trade-ups' and I have done so myself, traded a Seagull S6 original (I gave $320 for it) for the Seagull S6+CW folk (also used,valued at $600 retail, gave an additional $150 and got a case in the deal)so that's something you may keep in mind. Your problem would be your current piece was a gift. Bad idea doing something with a gift the wife gave you! Those words "A Happy Wife makes a Happy Home" are all too true. After 33 years with the same woman, I can guarantee that.
I'll end with a question. Did you ever do the 'setup' as was discussed in an earlier post?