Is there more to your acoustic guitar's looks? [inspiration+more]
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- Опубликовано: 3 авг 2024
- How important are the "looks" of an acoustic guitar? In today's video, you'll get a full analysis and three reasons why just focusing on tone is a mistake when choosing a new guitar.
★ What kind of guitar player are you? How should you practice? Take our quiz today: tonypolecastro.com/
★ All show notes and links: acousticlife.tv/atah4
★ Get the show: tonypolecastro.com/get-acoust...
Many guitar players, especially experienced ones, start to discount the looks of the guitar. Too often, players are fixated on the tone of a guitar. While it's important to like how an acoustic guitar sounds, it's also important to love what you look at.
When you include looks into your evaluation of a guitar, you're adding a whole other level of consideration. While it might not impact what your playing sounds like, looks actually have a HUGE impact on how you practice. That's why this episode is dedicated to the looks of a guitar!
In addition to talking about aesthetics, I'll also give you a tour of my studio, answer a few questions, and tell you about the first time looks changed the way I looked for guitars.
GEAR LIST:
- Hangers: String Swing Guitar Hanger: www.stringswing.com/
- Hydrometer: Accuright Hydrometer: www.acurite.com/
- Record Shelves: Boltz: boltz.com/
- Cases: Calton Cases: www.calton-cases.com/
- Humidifier: Venta Airwasher: venta-usa.com/
- TurnTable: U-Turn: uturnaudio.com/pages/turntables
- Table: Line Phono: www.linephono.com/
00:00 - Intro
01:37 - The Story Behind My Martin OM
10:19 - 3 Reasons Why Looks Matter
15:06 - Tour of My Studio (Inspiration Station)
26:52 - AMA
30:31 - Thank you... 
Хобби
The part of the guitar that my eye is always drawn to, is the shape of the CUTAWAY! Some are more gracefully and artistically done and others are just functional. But when it’s done with beautiful aesthetic and function in mind, it’s a wonderful work of art!
I had a Gibson J 185, maple back and sides. It taught me that maple can render richness. And, I love this channel where folks understand what it is to love guitars. So, Tony, no, not weird to conflate babies and guitars. We get it. And, since you asked, to me the proportions of the guitar are the foundation of a guitar’s beauty. If those aren’t right, the rest don’t matter much.
Great show Tony thank you
When quarantine started my brother who plays guitar showed me a few random chords, and I began to visit more often to practice those same chords. Eventually he nudged me to get my own guitar to practice with, and I typed in used guitars via guitar centers website and the first guitar that I saw was a PRS A50E with abalone bird inlays in the frets; I couldn’t afford it and carried on looking but couldn’t stop thinking about those birds...had to put it on a credit card...Going back to what you said in one of your acoustic Tuesday shows, 146, get a guitar that will inspire you to pick it up everyday, and the birds in the frets do just that.
I love this. Thank you Tony!
Congratulations on your design contributions to the guitar AND discovering the joy of maple tonewoods. This guitar is beautiful and sounds beautiful as well.
I can only strongly support your recommendation for the Venta airwasher. It's without steam, airdrops in the air, filter mats and other cumbersome features - simply genious! I keep all my guitars and other instruments in the open since years and never had any humidity or handling problems any more.
And yeah: Because of your Tuxedo guitar video some years back, I ordered a quite similar Custom Martin myself and really enjoy it both visually and sonically!
I like my guitars to look as different as they sound. I don't want a room full of Spruce tops. I'm currently drooling over the new Taylor American Dream Blacktop.
I have 3 guitars that are works of art, and sound spectacular as well. I have a custom my wife and I developed with Santa Cruz Guitar Company that is drop-dead gorgeous and will never leave my house more than likely. The other 3 look like typical model builds - but were chosen only for sound.
The maple and rosewood binding and armrest on the Taylor 814ce Dlx drew me in. The playability sold me.
I was struck by my Martin D-16GTL's beautiful Spruce top and the grain pattern. The Mahogany back and sides were just gorgeous and That woody smell emanating from the sound hole was and still is intoxicating. I tuned it up and fell in love with it and its tone. It is a 50th anniversary model bought in December, 2011. Sounding better every day since and the love affair is still going on...Thanks Tony for reminding us of why we play...
This was a really fun episode - definitely one for the guitar geek in all of us! Regarding appearance - if appearance was NOT important, would we ever have a burst-finished guitar? I agree - appearance can be a huge motivator. I guess this time next week, there will be a new Polecastro in the world!!! Wishing you and Whitney lots of joy and love!!! (Just wait until you become a Grandpa - wow, no words!) Steve from Brazoria, TX
This resonated with me so completely. So much so that the word pride popped into my head before you named your 3rd reason.
This may push me into 'guitar weirdo' territory but...
The part of the guitar that I love the most is its smell. Mahogany is so beautiful, spruce is lovely even the old laminate Yamaha I learnt on has a distinct smell and evokes great memories of the struggles and the small wins of the early days of playing.
Thank you for making me think about this.
Also that Tuxedo is stunning and best wishes for your new arrival.
The natural reverb on the tuxedo is mindblowing.
Saving up for my first Gibson Acoustic... always inspired with guitar playing from you. Even though I’m now a bass player, there’s nothing like just strumming songs and singing. :)
Martin - Shmartin!!! I have a Blueridge BR-183,... no one ever does a review of this magical instrument. It is truly the best sounding guitar I have ever owned. Please do a complete review on this guitar,... I'll bet most of your subs have never seen one.
Great guitar!❤ i also i have a guitar kinda similar materials on that one.
But its just a plain spruce top and maple back sides. But i love it ever since truely my dream guitar
I'm watching this at like 5 am before work, love what you do it inspires me even better than most channels.. one visual aspect that draws me to an acoustic guitar the most is the headstock, I'm a sucker for a slottex headstock parlor guitar they are just gorgeous.. mostly drawn to very small squared off headstock, if you've ever seen tanglewood guitars thats a good example of what I'm talking about i bought one simply because I looked at the headstock and fell in love lol oops..
Aww man! I was going to change strings this weekend. I guess I’ll wait another week to hear your review of whatever strings you said you recently tried. On the plus side, I’m currently on a string journey and I haven’t decided which ones I was going to try this weekend.
For me Tony, what I see first n a guitar is the wood itself. Second is the artistry and craftsmanship. And I prefer natural finished wood as opposed to painted or stained finishes. Of course a beautiful sunburst front is lovely but that Martin there is Prime! Thanks for this show Daddy Tony! Guitar Geeks Unite! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania
Do looks matter? Heck yeah. I have a custom from a small builder that I believe is the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen. Bear claw in the spruce top. Figured pau ferro back and sides. Koa binding. Understated beauty. The binding is my favorite little thing. I'm not a fan of the white binding on standard Martins and I adore the look of the wood binding. One of these days, I swear I will get a guitarsenal picture in. Enjoy the home life and enjoy your new little one. Looking forward to the new season.
On another note, I'm discovering that working from home and listening to the Acoustic Tuesday playlist may be detrimental to my work productivity. It may be too much inspiration to play guitar. #firstworldguitarproblems
Thanks for that awesome tour!
I'd really like to hang my Martins too (a wonderful D42 and a 00-15M) but I'm too afraid to do it. I'd have to leave them in the main room of my flat where I have to open the windows regularly. I might give a try to the humidifier. Until then, i'll stick to the planet waves humidipak and Humiditrack in the case!
Awesome tour and love the martin!! That chair looks comfy for jamming, do u know the brand/type? Thnx brotha, good luck with the birth coming up!!
I love herringbone perfling and rosettes. All the guitars I want at the moment have one or both. A bound fretboard is also a nice look. That custom Martin is gorgeous, even without any herringbone appointments.
My attraction to the most expensive guitar i could not afford was the rosette. I went back to the shop an hour from my home three times before finally buying. It still takes my breath away with the beauty and sound. I need a good wall or display.
Arch Enemy box set is a great addition Tony.
Tony, out of all the guitars in your guitarsenal, this Martin is my absolute favorite. And i know ive said it before, if it sounds good it is good. But, if it looks uninspiring to me, i know its going to collect dust. As for the beauty aspect for me, its how the woodgrain reflects the light, especially on heavily figured mahogany tops, which is why i got an all mahogany Fender CD140SCE. That guitar is the holy trinity for me. Sounds, plays, and looks good.
Thumbs up for both Sting Swing hangers and the Accurite monitor. I'm in South Florida and all instruments (ukes & guitars) are out, and we don't really crank up (or down?) the AC, so I'm always checking to make sure there's not too much humidity in my "woman cave" (so named by my hubby).
The Purfling...❤️
I agree with you about looks as well as sound both being important. The first "good" quality guitar that I have owned is a Guild D25M. The M standing for Mahogany, I loved the looks of it. I gotta admit after 45 years it still sounds good as well. The head stock broke on it in 2004 and had to go to a Luthier . It came back in fine shape. I bought a Alverez RD8C in the meantime and have loved it also, but not as much as the Guild. I am drawn to dark colors I guess. In fact I am waiting on a Martin D35 Sunburst. which is supposed to ship on the 26th.
I have been one of those 'tone hounds' until I got a special Martin with flame maple binding on the fret board. I'm drawn to that every day. Very plain other wise. Great sound and tone.
I think of an 18 style as my guitar counterpart, it fits well. The most important feature that holds no tonal importance has got to be the shape of the headstock. Love me some crisp edges
I absolutely love light sitka spruce tops, but I bought dark orangy Yamaha FGX5 with torified top, because I love how it sounds. Sometimes you have to make compromise ;)
Tony just inverted the QUOTE CLAW.The tone wood that I said "I didn't like" GRRRR
looks are very important, what you have to remember is that bad looks are good looks too. i just got hold of a 69 epiphone texan very cheap because the neck was bent, the frets were literally hanging off, it have been varnished with a brush, and, well, that's about as bad as it can get. i spent about as much again on getting the neck straight and the frets renewed, and i 800 gritsanded the front. it still looks a mess, but boy it makes up for it in sound. my martin OOOX1 is HPL, i say it looks like kitchen worktop and the front was done by a four year old who got bored with creosoting it, but again out of the 50 or so guitars i've had in the last few years, it's the best sounding. so yes, looks are everything, but it doesn't have to be pretty. (i have an ozark with plenty of bling to satisfy my bling needs - lol).
I like cedar tops and an elegant headstock
Looks: I like the look of an aged (VTS, torrified, vintage stained) Adirondack Spruce top. My 53 year old Airline (Montgomery Ward Harmony) has gotten that color through age. I really like the color AND the tone of those guitars.
I have a Martin 000-15 burst. I love the subtle burst, but my favorite part is the rich mahogany smell of it.
I usually hate pale guitars....but, that one is beautiful. It's unique and kind of retro looking. I'm a sucker for a deep amber (aged) colored top with tortoise shell binding, or none at all. Abalone is good around the sound hole and fret markers.
Thanks for the humidifier recommendation , I’ve had two guitars I have made crack ... the money is worth not having the heartache!
14:15 I'd probably say the brand, it's size, the craftsmanship, and color
Tony - you should try out a Bourgeois guitar.
I think you'll like them.
That tuxedo 🤵
for me the whole theme makes up the guitar. for example the band powerwolf uses cross inlays on some guitars and this is really fitting for the whole theme of the band.
also i think these inlays look amazing on the guitars :)
I plays metal rock everything on acoustic and I don't see any problem it's totally fine
I’m a Dreadnought guy always have but was wondering why a person would want a om guitar over a dread or vise versa what does one bring over the other always wondered this and thinking of buying some different body sizes for the first in my guitar journey
'Looks' only matter to fickle people who only see the surface of anything.
It's an instrument, the most important things are sound quality, playability, and versatility. Looks come last.
I have a Lowden 32se as my main guitar, it looks very plain, it sounds amazing, and it's expensive for that reason.
You don't even see most of the guitar when you are playing it anyway lol !
Looks of anything functional, are very low importance, and yes after you have considered everything else that affects how a guitar suits you, then right at the bottom of the list, the looks, can be considered.
So many things came first in my decision to buy a Lowden 32se. The build quality, the balance to the sound, the unique bracing, the unique 5 piece neck with it's awesome stiffness that means alternate tunings do not alter the string height, the split bridge saddle for much better intonation, the top quality LR Baggs pick up system, etc etc etc ...........
It does amuse me, how most of you Americans seem to think you only have a choice of Martin, Gibson, or Taylor lol !
I have a flamed Maple dred made by luthier Bruce Clark of Ohio and it's killer.
I've thought to suggest Rodrigo y Gabriela to Acoustic Tuesday in the Submit an Artist segment on Acousticlife.tv. I guess I'll do it here. If you don't know them, get to know them.
For me, the feature that I look for in a guitar is a wood binding. I never understood paying top money for a guitar, with great tonewood that has a plastic binding. For an inexpensive instrument, I get it, but I don't understand a lot of high end manufacturers that put a plastic binding on a $5000.00 guitar. I have two guitars with wood binding, one with Koa and one with flame maple, and both are beautiful.
Fair enough you'd think that, but its actually for a very functional reason; rather than cost cutting. Binding since its obviously curved all the way through, is a part of the guitar that is very prone to warping. Already, the waist of the guitar in most solid wood guitars tend to warp and separate from the binding. My 2015 OM-21 that i bought brand new 5 years ago, started separating from the binding very slightly last year, thats on just a 4 year old guitar! And that thing lives in its case when it aint played, i baby it. I also have a 1989 Martin J-40 that has a similar issue. Now both cases, theyre just slight separations that pose no threat to the structural integrity of the guitar(atleast i hope not!). But the binding on those guitars? They didnt warp, the sitka top and the back and sides did, due to their size fluctuations in humidity changes. So imagine if the binding was also wooden, you'll have the separation problem all over the guitar, not just at the waists. Thats why binding is plastic even on high end guitars.
@@mragunathan1627 Interesting. I have not heard of wood binding separating from the body. All high end Taylor guitars use a wood binding, as well as many high end Martin instruments. Lots of other high end manufacturers also use wood binding. I would think if this was a wide spread problem, it would be all over the "guitar press". I believe that if you keep your instruments under the proper humidity that problem should be a very rare issue. I have two guitars with wood binding and two with plastic, and have seen no difference. I just think the wood looks so much nicer.
Headstocks! Google 100+ best or headstocks Collection by Bonnell Guitars.....neat stuff!
The Jerry sticker on the white case says it all.
Tony Tony. I am severely disappointed that you don't have at least one Twelve String on your wall. Why is that? Are they hiding with your resonators (which I also missed seeing)? Enjoyed the video though.
I love a nice top, but truth be told, the wow factor happens on the back.
old top and fret board
I just realized something, at 21:15 in this video. Sometimes you refer to yourself as "Tone". I always assumed that was short for Tony. Now, I see it may also be short for ToneWood. Which is it????
I only buy instruments that I LOVE looking at. I would choose it rather than a better sounding instrument (speaking about relative prices/qualities obv) Nothing weird or bad about that I think. Same way as I wouldn't touch (or have in first place) my girlfriend if I think she's ugly.
looks do matter
god really loves what you do, I would like to partner with you one day 🎶🎶🎶🌹🙏🏿🙏
I bought a D-18 today. I am blaming this RUclips channel and accept no personal responsibility. 😂
Mad respect for the Bobby Hull Jersey, but you lost me with the Roy Jersey.
DID I WIN?
Great channel! Keep up the great work. If you have a moment please feel free to look at my page and follow if you like ❤️💞
👶👶👶