Fascinating. I’m slowly coming to understand everything matters. Size, shape, woods, build, bracing and, of course, how we play them. That Waterloo, for example, just has that blues honk. Couldn’t be more different to the Eastman. Both wonderful but offer different things.
Simon, you are correct, but don't forget, the smaaler brands who have people who can individually "thickness" each top. The High volume brands simply cannot do that.
I don’t like the term boxy, but certainly “focused”, “forward”, and “woody”? I have a Brook Clyst (parlour). It is so much fun to play and has a lovely bright, woody projection - and I sold a small-bodied Fylde to fund it, because despite it’s relatively small size also, it didn’t sound enough like a small guitar to me!
Well, there you are! Brook are fine quality guitars - hand thicknessed tops and so, yes - "focussed" is a good word. however try a Gretsch Jim Dandy and you might find "boxy"! Of course some need the rumble of a dread. I like both! good to hear from you again! Best, Andy
NO not boxy at all to my ears. I actually prefer it to your Collins each note I can hear better they do not run into one another. You just did a wonderful advert for Eastman one of the best I have heard. Thank you. BTW you are looking great these days .. getting younger or what ? Do a vid on your secrets for us please :-)
Linda, I can't thank you enough, when feeling pretty rough on this dismal Sunday morning, and trying to recover after moving and digging in a tonne of compost then running my club in the evening - assembling and taking down the p.a., singing, playing, and mc'ing, and trying to make everyone happy. I have issues after my throat and tongue cancer treatment and I have a lot of issues with my voice, swallowing and my chest, and recently returned to going to the gym, but being 75 is an increasing challenge - however, it seems that I'm still alive! I get much pleasure from the comments here, and yours has made my day!
I really like your playing. I enjoy watching your videos, very informative. I plan to get me a slot headed guitar. I have 4 of the Epiphone Masterbilt guitars. Some may turn their nose up at them, but i think they are some nice guitars.
Strange, but I am quite drawn to these smaller guitars. I even played a Gretsch Jim Dandy at a store here in the states and was pleasantly surprised. It seems like more brands are starting to produce this size now, which as a fingerstyle player, I am eager to try some others as well.
I may be wrong, but I think that they became popular during Covid when people were mostly playing at home. Smaller guitars - 0 and 00 have a more focussed tonality rather than the sometimes "muddy" tonality of cheaper dreads and jumbos. Of course large 14 fret guitars were built as "rhythm guitars" rather than the pre 1929 finger style instruments.
SM I was at least one of the people asking about boxy sounding small guitars. I really don't want boxy as I think that with some effect and attention to tone one can get many guitars to sound somewhat old and boxy. Whereas boxy built in is going to play that way. So its clear to me that small in itself doesn't mean boxy. Its how the guitar is constructed with certain materials that give the boxy sound. I like your addon sound addition to simulate that boxy sound. I like playing blues yet feel I can get there without the help of a boxy guitar. I enjoy playing a number of different styles so prefer a guitar that can handle a number of different musical styles. Thanks for this informative lesson on "boxy" guitars.
It depends in the construction and materials. I have several guitars but amongst them is a Martin 0 - 28 12 fret, it’s a tiny guitar yet sounds not only full bodied but also open and articulate. This is no doubt due to its construction using premium tone woods through out and animal glue on the other hand I have fender parlour 00 size that’s made with solid woods that sounds a bit “shut in “ and boxy of course the Martin is hand made and approx 10 times the price of the fender but the fact remains that not all small guitars are boxy.
The Waterloo certainly isn't cheap. I think the Bill Collings ambition was basically to make 'Cheap' guitars with quality materials and diligent cratsmanship. So the Eastman sounds pretty full given its size, and the Waterloo definitely has a deficiency as far as bass and middle. I like the idea of the Waterloo more than the actual sound of the instruments which is why I have never bought one.
Hi, I bought the Waterloo, after experiencing a pre war Kalamazoo that a friend had rebuilt which was blissful. I went to buy a new Gibson L-oo style but the presentation, and tonality simply didn't meet my expectations. I knew that Waterloo was by Collings and so would be well built. I confess that I consider it my "blues" guitar.
For me after going through more than 50 acoustics the Waterloos are finally what i have been looking for. Been selling almost everything else. Had an Eastman like that, sent it back after ten minutes of playing. Tastes are different.
I love small bodied guitars. I got a Martin style 00 made by a cat named John Bliven out of St. Simon’s Island in Georgia here in the States and it is a fantastic instrument. Hand made and awesome. Definitely doesn’t sound boxy. And he only wants like $800 for them. Insane.
I have a Recording King ROS 16, a nice little guitar with very clean workmanship…laminate mahogany with solid top. I pawned my high school class ring and bought…smart move! But in searching for a higher end version of it…the Eastman seems a very good value. Martin is pretty expensive. Likely to opt to have my friends at Gallagher make something 00 or 000 from walnut (my dread is a 30 year old walnut Mossman). I interviewed Bill Collings in 1992…I have a lot of respect for the brand. But many boutique builders are priced beyond average players’ means.
I'm sorry you had to pawn your ring, I hope you get it back. I've heard about the small recording kings, but yes, I think Eastmans are very good value, sound good, and are well presented. I met Bill Collings in England 2016/7 ? He was a delight - so enthusiastic. So sad that we have lost him. As a Brit, (and we have 10% inflation now) I'm grateful that I got my Collings and Santa Cruz etc., about ten years ago, when they were still "just about" affordable, as they are way beyond my pay grade now. I'd also like to investigate the Sigmas but I don't have a decent dealer in my area.
I could watch your videos all day. Could i ask a question please. Do you think guitars sound better over time? Because i cant see how its possible. Many thanks Ricky
Great vid as always. I don't know where this whole boxy lark came from. There sure are some small boxy sounding guitars, but as you correctly suggest, they are usually a bit on the cheap side. Cheap jumbos and dreads sound boxy to me too. Anyone who thinks a small guitar HAS to be boxy just needs to listen to Joan Baez's 0-45 or your Eastman, come to that. Actually, you had to work pretty hard to make either of them sound bad even with the cardboard. That Waterloo does NOT sound cheap, by the way. I have a 1939 Harmony Deco, which must be the definitive cheap guitar and it has that barky sound, but it isn't boxy (it's all birch). I don't agree with you about maple not colouring the sound, by the way. They have a colour all there own, which I love. It is a very clean sound, mind you. Finally, with fingerstyle jazz on an archtop, the sound is beautifully rich. Finally, finally, SM, if you fancy a cheap guitar, try a Gretch Jim Dandy - they start at under £200 and have that bluesy sound in abundance.
Thanks for the info! Good points all. At my club and elsewhere I hear cheaper guitars being hammer/strummed, which have no resonance -so you just hear te strings - NOT the resonance from the body. Ironically those are what I might call "Boxy". Many have grown up thinking that all guitars should sound like dreads,Jumbos. Smaller guitars can be just as "loud" and project well enough, but they are more "focussed" -i.e. no extreme bass or middle - just -balanced. Thanks but I'll not be buying a Jim Dandy ! heheh!
I have a 000-Martin-17 a fork head which is shaped like a classical guitar and it sounds wonderful. Takes a very light touch. Not a Bluegrass guitar so I suppose some of it is the way you play and what you expect. I own two Taylor GS Minis. One his mahogany and the other is spruce top with a Sapele laminated body. They should differently but not at all boxy. If you need more volume you can always add a pickup and play as loud as you wish.
Never seen a slotted headstock described as a fork head before, but I see what you mean. I don't know much about Taylors so can't comment. If, as you suggest - you electrify an acoustic, (which I have done in the past) then all bets are off tonally as it becomes merely an electric guitar surely. Thanks for watching, and for your input.
Nice playing! -Just a point.. I tend to agree with you that that guitar wasn't made to be played with a pick, but evidently Eastman did. Why else would they have installed a pickguard?
Andy, I find most of the guitars I select to fit my voice are not boxy, no matter the size. I usually play rhythm while I sing and play fingerstyle, mostly solo. My (average age 88+) crowd likes hymns and old folk songs. My preferred 12-fret versions of guitars are better balanced from bass to treble, and work better with my voice. I do not have an “0” size unless one considers a Taylor GS Mini or Taylor GT (Grand theater) a size 0. None sound boxy. I used a very thin gel pick when in college, and my Montgomery Ward Airline (built by Harmony as their Sovereign Regal H6600) would sound very big. I’ve graduated to a Blue Chip like pick (Slab tone) that has better tone than the other picks I’ve used, but I must sing louder over the guitar. Amplification would only complicate things in the medical facility where I play. In response to the question posed here, I would say smaller guitars are not boxy sounding if you take the time to find the correct one (and it may cost a bit more).
Hi Tex, small bodied guitars were developed before the guitar was universally thought of as a rhythm instrument, and before bass was considered an important part of its range. (I think I've opened a can (box?) or worms with this video!)
I have to say, that Eastman sounds lovely! I prefer smaller guitars, I have a Martin ceo 7 ,which sounds like a cathedral organ. A Taylor 312ce, which tuned down half a step ,sounds pretty good.
Hi Angus, I like big ones and little ones! Big ones like my dreads for performing and little ones for fingerstyle noodling at home. Each have their place. Thanks for watching.
Surprising how good those boxes sound with the sound hole covered! Great for skiffle. The 12-fret parlour style makes plenty of sense, and I wouldn't call my Alvarez boxy. A foot rest is a boon with these smaller guitars though.
@@markharwood7573 I always advise my zoom clients to find a chair which enables them to sit with their upper leg parallel to the floor. See : ruclips.net/video/VUS-XfTx7Fs/видео.html
So I have a gretsch g100ce arch top with a pick up in it. It's a maple laminate guitar and it's not fun for me to play and I am really disappointed with the quality of sound it produces naturally. Thankfully it lead me to my lawsuit era takamine 362fs. It is very well built, has all the great tone woods and is a pleasure to play and the wonderful tones are very pleasing to me. But I realized that I might have mistaken what the gretsch is designed for when you pointed out that some guitars are designed for rhythm. The gretsch is a 5 ply maple laminate and sounds like it has a head cold but it perfectly suits the jazzy type of swing rhythm. So once again I have learned something else unexpected.
There are archtops on the market which span the era from real acoustic archtops to solid electrics that "look like acoustic archtops. A guitar which "looks" like and acoustic but have pickups screwed to the top cannot be acoustic as they have to glue a dense wooed support under the top essentially to kill feedback, by killing the acoustic resonance of the top. Les Paul achieved this by taking an acoustlc L-5 gutting in into three parts and glueing a FENCE POST under the top and regluing the "wings" back on.
Andy, I really enjoy your videos & “chats”. One question . What are your thoughts on a nylon string guitar? Not necessarily for classical or Spanish music, but for the sound, tone, or feel of a nylon string instrument. Have you had or currently have a nylon string in your collection? Thanks, Harry
Hi Harry, you know I've never owned a "playable" nylon string. I have one that was given to me somewhere in the attic. It may have disintegrated by now. However, back on the '70s-'80s I had two girlfriends (at different times obviously) and both a Levin classical and both of them were really nice to play and hear. Sadly, when I "moved on" the ladies took their guitars with them. Although my small house could be considered over full with guitars, I'd kinda love to have a classical but know so little about them that I've hesitated.
I rather liked the sound of the guitars equipped with your cellulose pickguard and sonic buffer. Perhaps I am odd but no guitar that is in tune and played well sounds bad to me. Some sound richer, mellower, chimier more articulate etc than others but they all sound musical. Music is good. Thanks for the video.
I think I understand "sonic buffer(i.e a piece of cardboard) but confused by "cellulose pick-guard". I can't agree that all in tune acoustics sound good, based on some cheaper instruments I see/hear played at my club and others, but there we are. Nevertheless, my thanks for watching my modest video and for your observations.
@SillyMoustache I was just being silly. Cardboard is made of cellulose and it covered both sound hole and pickguard. You make enjoyable videos. Thank you for that.
@@justinscott4980 Hi Justin, thanks for you clarification, and we ARE allowed to be silly so that's fine. Thanks for watching. What I'm going to do for next Friday is still a mystery to me!
I think how the instrument is built and the woods used determine if the instrument sounds boxy. I owned an Eastman 00 with Adirondack top, and rosewood back and sides. I also owned the WL-12 you are playing. The weight of the two instruments is very different. The boxy Waterloo is very lightly built, and the overly built Eastman gets its full sound from the rosewood tone woods. Martin has also replicated this boxy sound with their 17 series at much less cost than Waterloo and with a more authentic neck construction if you are into that period style. I don't think small guitars need to sound boxy. If is how they are built, and the woods used. I think the player has to find an instrument that best produces the sound for the type of music they play. I've sold the Waterloo and Eastman and gravitated to a larger instrument. The Waterloo was too boxy, and its sound limited to a particular style of music. The Eastman, while well-built and affordable just never attracted me. There is no Eastman sound or character to them like companies like Martin, Taylor, etc. I 've ended up with larger bodies instruments with strong trebles and not overly powerful bass notes that produce a balanced instrument throughout its compas for what I play.
Yes, all valid comments. Characteristic sounds from brands ? Yes, in Martin's case we now expect the bass biased dreadnought sound, whereas for instance a Collings equivalent is far more evenly balanced, which I believe was Bill's ethos. An Eastman "characteristic" ? Mmmm. I think that they copy and refine with thicknessing optimising, and bracing, but search to make good sounding instruments, whilst not seeking to reproduce tonality. Thanks for your input.
Boxy is a very general term. Your Eastman does have a thinner sound than an Eastman Dreadnaught. What is lacking is the boomy bottom end. The highs are exaggerated. It's a nice sounding guitar but it sounds like something is missing.
Interesting, and I think that many accustomed only to dreads and jumbos feel like you. In fact, smaller guitars are simply more balanced and focussed, but each to his own. Thanks for watching.
Interesting. I just bought an Eastman E20P upon your recommendations. Bought it sight unseen, as there ware no local music stores that carry Eastman. Well it was beautiful but lord, it was incredibly boxy. Sounded nothing like yours. Hated it. Returned it. Now I am still searching for a parlor that sounds more balanced. The search continues. Nonetheless, I do love your channel!
@@SillyMoustache The Eastman was preowned, 10 years old and well played, so it was assumed to be opened up. Compared to a CA Cargo (composite) travel guitar and a boutique Zeiler parlor with the same dimensions. Came with D’Addario 12’s. Tried Straight Up strings 12’s, and Heritage and Martins.
I saw in one of your videos that you preferred 1 13/16 nut width; I prefer it too. can you tell me please if would be posible to put 40 mm (1,757 inches) string spacing (e to E) at the nut ?
Why on earth would you buy an expensive guitar because it sounds "cheap?" I bought a Vantage(that's not a typo) parlour guitar about 25years ago. Solid top but laminated back/sides. I think it was about 300 quid. 48mm nut width which suited me down to the ground. I thought it sounded great and not at all boxy. But a few years on I treated myself to an all solid wood Larrivee parlour because I thought it would be better. Right? Wrong! That did sound quite boxy to my ears. I kept it 3 or 4 years before selling it. I kept the Vantage. Still got it. What does all this prove? No idea.
In the Late '20s and '30s the USA suffered the great depression, and the dust bowl era. Their excellent highly priced mandolins, banjos and guitars simply didn't sell. Gibson didn't start making flat top guitars until 1926, but to support a staff of 2-300 and the continuing existence of the company, they had to find ways of making products that could be sold in music stores, but also through department stores, small local stores, and by mail order, under names like: Kalamazoo, Kel Kroydon, Recording King, and retail business names like Martelle, Montgomery Ward, SS Stewart, Tonk Bros, etc., By stripping down the finish, structures and tone woods to workable but simpler designs, they could keep selling product. Many of those "cheap" and basic instruments did not survive, but those that did, have become collector items due to their light weight and sound characteristics, reminiscent of the sound and look of the folk, blues and country recording artist of the late '20s and '30s. Bill Colling's idea was to emulate a series of guitars that looked and sounded like those good old surviving instruments, but built to a far higher standard. They were very well received, but Bill's death and then Covid made them very rare, and so even more desirable. See: ruclips.net/video/t4Q-nNAbzJc/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/wt9MSzCvPt8/видео.html
Interesting comparison. I am now only playing smaller bodied guitars (particularly but not exclusively, twelve fretters) purely because I find them more comfortable to hold. Model size, wood combination and construction all play a part in overall sound but everything is a compromise. Dreadnaughts and resonators became popular due to increased volume not aesthetics or aural preference. Similarly, 'boxy' parlors were popular because they were ubiquitous, easy to carry and affordable. I am sure Robert Johnson didn't agonise whether to play a Gibson L1 or a Kalamazoo because he was trying to keep to an 'authentic' blues voice, it was what was available to him. Players now are seduced by marketing and choice. I am as guilty as anyone else!
Yes, Jumbos and dreadnoughts were not designed to be that ergonomic, particularly not for playing seated, although most of us do, and many now judge smaller (original?) designs by the heavy bass of dreadnoughts. I heard once that most itinerate blues players never travelled with a guitar, just a harmonica when travelling between towns (often "Riding the rails" or hoboing)then they sing, dance play mouth harp until they had enough change for a meal and to buy a guitar from another traveller or a pawn shop then use whatever they had to earn more money on the street or in bars, then they'd hock it or sell it, and move on.
Hi Juancarlos, I have measured two of my Collings guitars, both of which have 1 & 13/16" (46 m/m) nut widths. one is short scale(24.875") and one the longer (25.5") scale. The string spacing over both nuts is 40 m/m. I hope that helps, Andy
Fascinating. I’m slowly coming to understand everything matters. Size, shape, woods, build, bracing and, of course, how we play them. That Waterloo, for example, just has that blues honk. Couldn’t be more different to the Eastman. Both wonderful but offer different things.
Simon, you are correct, but don't forget, the smaaler brands who have people who can individually "thickness" each top. The High volume brands simply cannot do that.
I don’t like the term boxy, but certainly “focused”, “forward”, and “woody”? I have a Brook Clyst (parlour). It is so much fun to play and has a lovely bright, woody projection - and I sold a small-bodied Fylde to fund it, because despite it’s relatively small size also, it didn’t sound enough like a small guitar to me!
Well, there you are! Brook are fine quality guitars - hand thicknessed tops and so, yes - "focussed" is a good word.
however try a Gretsch Jim Dandy and you might find "boxy"! Of course some need the rumble of a dread. I like both! good to hear from you again! Best, Andy
NO not boxy at all to my ears. I actually prefer it to your Collins each note I can hear better they do not run into one another. You just did a wonderful advert for Eastman one of the best I have heard. Thank you. BTW you are looking great these days .. getting younger or what ? Do a vid on your secrets for us please :-)
Linda, I can't thank you enough, when feeling pretty rough on this dismal Sunday morning, and trying to recover after moving and digging in a tonne of compost then running my club in the evening - assembling and taking down the p.a., singing, playing, and mc'ing, and trying to make everyone happy. I have issues after my throat and tongue cancer treatment and I have a lot of issues with my voice, swallowing and my chest, and recently returned to going to the gym, but being 75 is an increasing challenge - however, it seems that I'm still alive! I get much pleasure from the comments here, and yours has made my day!
God bless you! I don't know how you have the energy to do all of those things and then to host a RUclips channel. -Very impressive!
I really like your playing. I enjoy watching your videos, very informative. I plan to get me a slot headed guitar. I have 4 of the Epiphone Masterbilt guitars. Some may turn their nose up at them, but i think they are some nice guitars.
Thank you for your kind words. I chose my styles of guitars to please me not others, why shouldn't you? Thanks for watching.
Strange, but I am quite drawn to these smaller guitars. I even played a Gretsch Jim Dandy at a store here in the states and was pleasantly surprised. It seems like more brands are starting to produce this size now, which as a fingerstyle player, I am eager to try some others as well.
I may be wrong, but I think that they became popular during Covid when people were mostly playing at home. Smaller guitars - 0 and 00 have a more focussed tonality rather than the sometimes "muddy" tonality of cheaper dreads and jumbos. Of course large 14 fret guitars were built as "rhythm guitars" rather than the pre 1929 finger style instruments.
SM I was at least one of the people asking about boxy sounding small guitars. I really don't want boxy as I think that with some effect and attention to tone one can get many guitars to sound somewhat old and boxy. Whereas boxy built in is going to play that way. So its clear to me that small in itself doesn't mean boxy. Its how the guitar is constructed with certain materials that give the boxy sound. I like your addon sound addition to simulate that boxy sound. I like playing blues yet feel I can get there without the help of a boxy guitar. I enjoy playing a number of different styles so prefer a guitar that can handle a number of different musical styles. Thanks for this informative lesson on "boxy" guitars.
Actually, Siggy, it was a video about small bodied guitars NOT being boxy.
It depends in the construction and materials. I have several guitars but amongst them is a Martin 0 - 28 12 fret, it’s a tiny guitar yet sounds not only full bodied but also open and articulate. This is no doubt due to its construction using premium tone woods through out and animal glue on the other hand I have fender parlour 00 size that’s made with solid woods that sounds a bit “shut in “ and boxy of course the Martin is hand made and approx 10 times the price of the fender but the fact remains that not all small guitars are boxy.
Hi, Ian, I agree, and I'm jealous of your Martin !!! I don't think one can compare the Fender with a Martin, so, I'm not surprised by your summation.
The Waterloo certainly isn't cheap. I think the Bill Collings ambition was basically to make 'Cheap' guitars with quality materials and diligent cratsmanship. So the Eastman sounds pretty full given its size, and the Waterloo definitely has a deficiency as far as bass and middle. I like the idea of the Waterloo more than the actual sound of the instruments which is why I have never bought one.
Hi, I bought the Waterloo, after experiencing a pre war Kalamazoo that a friend had rebuilt which was blissful. I went to buy a new Gibson L-oo style but the presentation, and tonality simply didn't meet my expectations. I knew that Waterloo was by Collings and so would be well built. I confess that I consider it my "blues" guitar.
For me after going through more than 50 acoustics the Waterloos are finally what i have been looking for. Been selling almost everything else. Had an Eastman like that, sent it back after ten minutes of playing. Tastes are different.
Love a Waterloo.
BIG👍😀 I really enjoyed watching your video , very informative👌👌👌
🎸🎶🎸……Victor👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love small bodied guitars. I got a Martin style 00 made by a cat named John Bliven out of St. Simon’s Island in Georgia here in the States and it is a fantastic instrument. Hand made and awesome. Definitely doesn’t sound boxy. And he only wants like $800 for them. Insane.
Sounds great!
I have a Recording King ROS 16, a nice little guitar with very clean workmanship…laminate mahogany with solid top. I pawned my high school class ring and bought…smart move!
But in searching for a higher end version of it…the Eastman seems a very good value. Martin is pretty expensive. Likely to opt to have my friends at Gallagher make something 00 or 000 from walnut (my dread is a 30 year old walnut Mossman). I interviewed Bill Collings in 1992…I have a lot of respect for the brand. But many boutique builders are priced beyond average players’ means.
I'm sorry you had to pawn your ring, I hope you get it back. I've heard about the small recording kings, but yes, I think Eastmans are very good value, sound good, and are well presented. I met Bill Collings in England 2016/7 ? He was a delight - so enthusiastic. So sad that we have lost him.
As a Brit, (and we have 10% inflation now) I'm grateful that I got my Collings and Santa Cruz etc., about ten years ago, when they were still "just about" affordable, as they are way beyond my pay grade now. I'd also like to investigate the Sigmas but I don't have a decent dealer in my area.
I could watch your videos all day. Could i ask a question please. Do you think guitars sound better over time? Because i cant see how its possible.
Many thanks
Ricky
Hi Ricky, short answer, some do, some don't. I did a video about my thought on this : ruclips.net/video/b6sYuqAaz84/видео.html
Thanks for your reply, I'll watch the vid
Great vid as always. I don't know where this whole boxy lark came from. There sure are some small boxy sounding guitars, but as you correctly suggest, they are usually a bit on the cheap side. Cheap jumbos and dreads sound boxy to me too. Anyone who thinks a small guitar HAS to be boxy just needs to listen to Joan Baez's 0-45 or your Eastman, come to that. Actually, you had to work pretty hard to make either of them sound bad even with the cardboard. That Waterloo does NOT sound cheap, by the way. I have a 1939 Harmony Deco, which must be the definitive cheap guitar and it has that barky sound, but it isn't boxy (it's all birch). I don't agree with you about maple not colouring the sound, by the way. They have a colour all there own, which I love. It is a very clean sound, mind you. Finally, with fingerstyle jazz on an archtop, the sound is beautifully rich. Finally, finally, SM, if you fancy a cheap guitar, try a Gretch Jim Dandy - they start at under £200 and have that bluesy sound in abundance.
Thanks for the info! Good points all. At my club and elsewhere I hear cheaper guitars being hammer/strummed, which have no resonance -so you just hear te strings - NOT the resonance from the body. Ironically those are what I might call "Boxy". Many have grown up thinking that all guitars should sound like dreads,Jumbos.
Smaller guitars can be just as "loud" and project well enough, but they are more "focussed" -i.e. no extreme bass or middle - just -balanced. Thanks but I'll not be buying a Jim Dandy ! heheh!
I have a 000-Martin-17 a fork head which is shaped like a classical guitar and it sounds wonderful. Takes a very light touch. Not a Bluegrass guitar so I suppose some of it is the way you play and what you expect. I own two Taylor GS Minis. One his mahogany and the other is spruce top with a Sapele laminated body. They should differently but not at all boxy. If you need more volume you can always add a pickup and play as loud as you wish.
Never seen a slotted headstock described as a fork head before, but I see what you mean. I don't know much about Taylors so can't comment. If, as you suggest - you electrify an acoustic, (which I have done in the past) then all bets are off tonally as it becomes merely an electric guitar surely. Thanks for watching, and for your input.
Nice playing!
-Just a point.. I tend to agree with you that that guitar wasn't made to be played with a pick, but evidently Eastman did. Why else would they have installed a pickguard?
Haha! - actually, they didn't mine - both came without, but I added them, although not to guard the top from picks! Thanks for watching.
Andy, I find most of the guitars I select to fit my voice are not boxy, no matter the size. I usually play rhythm while I sing and play fingerstyle, mostly solo. My (average age 88+) crowd likes hymns and old folk songs. My preferred 12-fret versions of guitars are better balanced from bass to treble, and work better with my voice. I do not have an “0” size unless one considers a Taylor GS Mini or Taylor GT (Grand theater) a size 0. None sound boxy.
I used a very thin gel pick when in college, and my Montgomery Ward Airline (built by Harmony as their Sovereign Regal H6600) would sound very big. I’ve graduated to a Blue Chip like pick (Slab tone) that has better tone than the other picks I’ve used, but I must sing louder over the guitar. Amplification would only complicate things in the medical facility where I play.
In response to the question posed here, I would say smaller guitars are not boxy sounding if you take the time to find the correct one (and it may cost a bit more).
Hi Tex, small bodied guitars were developed before the guitar was universally thought of as a rhythm instrument, and before bass was considered an important part of its range. (I think I've opened a can (box?) or worms with this video!)
I have to say, that Eastman sounds lovely! I prefer smaller guitars, I have a Martin ceo 7 ,which sounds like a cathedral organ. A Taylor 312ce, which tuned down half a step ,sounds pretty good.
Hi Angus, I like big ones and little ones! Big ones like my dreads for performing and little ones for fingerstyle noodling at home. Each have their place. Thanks for watching.
Surprising how good those boxes sound with the sound hole covered! Great for skiffle.
The 12-fret parlour style makes plenty of sense, and I wouldn't call my Alvarez boxy. A foot rest is a boon with these smaller guitars though.
I never use a footstool. Thanks for watching.
@@SillyMoustache It depends on the height of the chair, so I keep one with me.
@@markharwood7573 I always advise my zoom clients to find a chair which enables them to sit with their upper leg parallel to the floor. See : ruclips.net/video/VUS-XfTx7Fs/видео.html
So I have a gretsch g100ce arch top with a pick up in it. It's a maple laminate guitar and it's not fun for me to play and I am really disappointed with the quality of sound it produces naturally. Thankfully it lead me to my lawsuit era takamine 362fs. It is very well built, has all the great tone woods and is a pleasure to play and the wonderful tones are very pleasing to me. But I realized that I might have mistaken what the gretsch is designed for when you pointed out that some guitars are designed for rhythm. The gretsch is a 5 ply maple laminate and sounds like it has a head cold but it perfectly suits the jazzy type of swing rhythm. So once again I have learned something else unexpected.
There are archtops on the market which span the era from real acoustic archtops to solid electrics that "look like acoustic archtops. A guitar which "looks" like and acoustic but have pickups screwed to the top cannot be acoustic as they have to glue a dense wooed support under the top essentially to kill feedback, by killing the acoustic resonance of the top. Les Paul achieved this by taking an acoustlc L-5 gutting in into three parts and glueing a FENCE POST under the top and regluing the "wings" back on.
Andy, I really enjoy your videos & “chats”. One question . What are your thoughts on a nylon string guitar? Not necessarily for classical or Spanish music, but for the sound, tone, or feel of a nylon string instrument. Have you had or currently have a nylon string in your collection? Thanks, Harry
Hi Harry, you know I've never owned a "playable" nylon string. I have one that was given to me somewhere in the attic. It may have disintegrated by now. However, back on the '70s-'80s I had two girlfriends (at different times obviously) and both a Levin classical and both of them were really nice to play and hear. Sadly, when I "moved on" the ladies took their guitars with them. Although my small house could be considered over full with guitars, I'd kinda love to have a classical but know so little about them that I've hesitated.
I rather liked the sound of the guitars equipped with your cellulose pickguard and sonic buffer. Perhaps I am odd but no guitar that is in tune and played well sounds bad to me. Some sound richer, mellower, chimier more articulate etc than others but they all sound musical. Music is good. Thanks for the video.
I think I understand "sonic buffer(i.e a piece of cardboard) but confused by "cellulose pick-guard". I can't agree that all in tune acoustics sound good, based on some cheaper instruments I see/hear played at my club and others, but there we are. Nevertheless, my thanks for watching my modest video and for your observations.
@SillyMoustache I was just being silly. Cardboard is made of cellulose and it covered both sound hole and pickguard. You make enjoyable videos. Thank you for that.
@@justinscott4980 Hi Justin, thanks for you clarification, and we ARE allowed to be silly so that's fine. Thanks for watching. What I'm going to do for next Friday is still a mystery to me!
I think how the instrument is built and the woods used determine if the instrument sounds boxy. I owned an Eastman 00 with Adirondack top, and rosewood back and sides. I also owned the WL-12 you are playing. The weight of the two instruments is very different. The boxy Waterloo is very lightly built, and the overly built Eastman gets its full sound from the rosewood tone woods. Martin has also replicated this boxy sound with their 17 series at much less cost than Waterloo and with a more authentic neck construction if you are into that period style. I don't think small guitars need to sound boxy. If is how they are built, and the woods used. I think the player has to find an instrument that best produces the sound for the type of music they play. I've sold the Waterloo and Eastman and gravitated to a larger instrument. The Waterloo was too boxy, and its sound limited to a particular style of music. The Eastman, while well-built and affordable just never attracted me. There is no Eastman sound or character to them like companies like Martin, Taylor, etc. I 've ended up with larger bodies instruments with strong trebles and not overly powerful bass notes that produce a balanced instrument throughout its compas for what I play.
Yes, all valid comments. Characteristic sounds from brands ? Yes, in Martin's case we now expect the bass biased dreadnought sound, whereas for instance a Collings equivalent is far more evenly balanced, which I believe was Bill's ethos. An Eastman "characteristic" ? Mmmm. I think that they copy and refine with thicknessing optimising, and bracing, but search to make good sounding instruments, whilst not seeking to reproduce tonality. Thanks for your input.
Boxy is a very general term.
Your Eastman does have a thinner sound than an Eastman Dreadnaught.
What is lacking is the boomy bottom end.
The highs are exaggerated.
It's a nice sounding guitar but it sounds like something is missing.
Interesting, and I think that many accustomed only to dreads and jumbos feel like you. In fact, smaller guitars are simply more balanced and focussed, but each to his own. Thanks for watching.
Interesting. I just bought an Eastman E20P upon your recommendations. Bought it sight unseen, as there ware no local music stores that carry Eastman. Well it was beautiful but lord, it was incredibly boxy. Sounded nothing like yours.
Hated it. Returned it. Now I am still searching for a parlor that sounds more balanced. The search continues.
Nonetheless, I do love your channel!
Boxy ? Compared to what ? What strings did you put on it ? How did you play it in to open it up?
@@SillyMoustache The Eastman was preowned, 10 years old and well played, so it was assumed to be opened up.
Compared to a CA Cargo (composite) travel guitar and a boutique Zeiler parlor with the same dimensions.
Came with D’Addario 12’s. Tried Straight Up strings 12’s, and Heritage and Martins.
I liked the tone of that guitar with the cardboard and thin pick 🤷🏽♂️
Well, what can I say?
I saw in one of your videos that you preferred 1 13/16 nut width; I prefer it too. can you tell me please if would be posible to put 40 mm (1,757 inches) string spacing (e to E) at the nut ?
Hi Juancarlos, I have measured the string spacing at the nut on two of my Collings guitars. it is 40 m/m.
Why on earth would you buy an expensive guitar because it sounds "cheap?" I bought a Vantage(that's not a typo) parlour guitar about 25years ago. Solid top but laminated back/sides. I think it was about 300 quid. 48mm nut width which suited me down to the ground. I thought it sounded great and not at all boxy. But a few years on I treated myself to an all solid wood Larrivee parlour because I thought it would be better. Right? Wrong! That did sound quite boxy to my ears. I kept it 3 or 4 years before selling it. I kept the Vantage. Still got it. What does all this prove? No idea.
In the Late '20s and '30s the USA suffered the great depression, and the dust bowl era. Their excellent highly priced mandolins, banjos and guitars simply didn't sell.
Gibson didn't start making flat top guitars until 1926, but to support a staff of 2-300 and the continuing existence of the company, they had to find ways of making products that could be sold in music stores, but also through department stores, small local stores, and by mail order, under names like: Kalamazoo, Kel Kroydon, Recording King, and retail business names like Martelle, Montgomery Ward, SS Stewart, Tonk Bros, etc.,
By stripping down the finish, structures and tone woods to workable but simpler designs, they could keep selling product.
Many of those "cheap" and basic instruments did not survive, but those that did, have become collector items due to their light weight and sound characteristics, reminiscent of the sound and look of the folk, blues and country recording artist of the late '20s and '30s.
Bill Colling's idea was to emulate a series of guitars that looked and sounded like those good old surviving instruments, but built to a far higher standard. They were very well received, but Bill's death and then Covid made them very rare, and so even more desirable.
See: ruclips.net/video/t4Q-nNAbzJc/видео.html and ruclips.net/video/wt9MSzCvPt8/видео.html
Interesting comparison. I am now only playing smaller bodied guitars (particularly but not exclusively, twelve fretters) purely because I find them more comfortable to hold. Model size, wood combination and construction all play a part in overall sound but everything is a compromise. Dreadnaughts and resonators became popular due to increased volume not aesthetics or aural preference. Similarly, 'boxy' parlors were popular because they were ubiquitous, easy to carry and affordable. I am sure Robert Johnson didn't agonise whether to play a Gibson L1 or a Kalamazoo because he was trying to keep to an 'authentic' blues voice, it was what was available to him. Players now are seduced by marketing and choice. I am as guilty as anyone else!
Yes, Jumbos and dreadnoughts were not designed to be that ergonomic, particularly not for playing seated, although most of us do, and many now judge smaller (original?) designs by the heavy bass of dreadnoughts. I heard once that most itinerate blues players never travelled with a guitar, just a harmonica when travelling between towns (often "Riding the rails" or hoboing)then they sing, dance play mouth harp until they had enough change for a meal and to buy a guitar from another traveller or a pawn shop then use whatever they had to earn more money on the street or in bars, then they'd hock it or sell it, and move on.
Not boxy sounds good love those guitars.
Thanks.
I personally feel that smaller guitars are best.
Well, they are better for fingerstyle, but in combos, and bluegrass etc., a dread certainly has its place (neat handle btw).
sorry i want to say 1, 575 inches
Hi Juancarlos, I have measured two of my Collings guitars, both of which have 1 & 13/16" (46 m/m) nut widths. one is short scale(24.875") and one the longer (25.5") scale.
The string spacing over both nuts is 40 m/m.
I hope that helps, Andy
Not boxy sounds good love those guitars.
Thanks, I'm quite fond of them too!