Friday 4 January 2013

Shreddin part 1

A friend of mine got in touch recently to let me know about a guitar he had just bought as he thought I might be interested in one. As Pete was my original guitar teacher I have faith in his judgement and I've decided to take the plunge and buy one of these. Its not going to be as good as my 1959 original but with the addition of a new original style bridge pick up and scratch plate I should have a decent copy by the same company for about 10000 quid less and I can play like this again or not!....result!

10 comments:

Sen. C.R.O'Blene said...

Oh buqqer;.... just do it Thudders...

;0)

Vinogirl said...

So how much does it cost?

James Higham said...

Love Vinogirl's comment.

Electro-Kevin said...

Thud - By uncanny coincidence ...

I love Martin acoustics but could never justify spending the money.

I'm blessed in living near (in my view) the best guitar shop in the country - Mansons of Exeter.

It is like a museum in there and they have a well stocked acoustic room with some fine vintage Martins in it.

They know me by name and let me play their guitars at will. They don't mind one bit that I can spend hours in the shop without spending a penny. In fact I've gone years just playing their guitars without buying but they know I will always make my big purchases there and am happy to pay over the odds for the favours they've done me in the past. The lads that work in there are badly under-paid anyway and so don't mind either way.

They describe the Martin construction technique as 'Finding the Martin sound and then building a guitar around it.'

I was playing a beautiful 00021 and spied a nice looking 0015 on the stand on the floor (mahogany.)

I picked it up without much of a glance and played. Nice action. Very precise fretboard - silky neck and that BEAUTIFUL Martin sound ... real mojo coming out.

Then I looked at the price tag... £299.

WTF ?

It turned out to be a licensed copy of the Martin from China. Martin designs and construction standards (supervision) but not quite the same woods - grains not as close as a top guitar, some of the bookmatching a bit imprecise. Nonetheless the top is solid and it's a lovely looking guitar.

I snapped it up of course. One of those days where I decided to take the plunge and risk it with wifey.

It's been over a week now. I am yet to find a flaw with it. It is BETTER than some of the Martins I've played.

There is no practical need to buy a top end guitar any more. I've heard bands sound every bit as good with Epiphones and Squires.

It's like having a new girlfriend. I can't keep my hands off it.



Electro-Kevin said...

Sigma 00M15-S

Thud said...

Kev, I presume most firms are going with a cheaper line and it sounds like it works, I'm still on the hunt but should get lucky in next week or so.

Electro-Kevin said...

Guitars seem to be no higher priced than they were 30 years ago.

I recall getting something of a similar standard would have cost £300 then. Probably made in Japan instead of China though.

Electro-Kevin said...

I say 'no practical' reason to buy a top end guitar but I would - if money were no object - be buying up well researched vintage guitars and limited editions now. The prices have probably spiked and this is not for investment but because guitars are just nice to have and to look at.

I reckon an original Mansons MB (made by Hugh Manson) is going to be particularly collectable because the Orientals just love Matt Bellamy and always will. It should outstay the American guitars for this reason. Hugh Manson will not be making them himself for much longer - in fact I hear that his apprentice is taking over more and more of the production as he's getting on a bit now.

NotClauswitz said...

Way-way-way better than a trombone that's for sure! In Jr. High I was proof-positive that a blissfully spastic-fingered idiot with ape long-arms who was completely musically non-inclined and tone-deaf would still be allowed/forced to "learn an instrument" - esp. true if one regards the tubular brass expanding/contracting monstrosity as an instrument of torture (at least for others)...

Albert said...

I do apologise for waking your guys up today, but I thought I saw a bit of movement by the gatehouse,I wouldn't have expected you to be working in the fog and the freezing weather so I thought they could do with a cheer up beep on the horn as I passed by your pad 4 times today . :-)