Post by lar on Oct 22, 2016 10:24:24 GMT -5
God help me, I've purchased a laminate guitar! I can't believe it's come to this. Yes it's a Martin but it's laminate. What could I have been thinking?
It may just be rationalization but I'm blaming UPS for this. For an as yet undetermined period of time I'll be working in Puerto Rico 4 or 5 times a year. My first trip down I really missed not being able to practice for a week. Given my observation of what the airlines I'm familiar with typically do when people travel with guitars I didn't want to take a chance of getting to Puerto Rico and finding I had a badly damaged instrument on my hands. I decided that I ought to ship a guitar to my company's San Juan office so I will always have a guitar available when I'm there. UPS scotched that idea by telling me that they wanted $440 to ship my old Guild D25. I decided I'd be better off buying a guitar in Puerto Rico. In hindsight I think I was right, mostly.
The San Juan area does not seem to be blessed with many music stores that carry much more than bottom-of-the-line $200 and $300 guitars. I did find one store that had some better quality instruments. I played a bunch of them and it came down to a choice between a Breedlove made of real wood and the Martin 000X1AE. They were two of the three most expensive guitars in the store.
The Breedlove was fine. The neck was a little big for my taste but it was playable and it sounded okay. It was a bit more expensive than the Martin. But I was leery of the laminated body on the Martin. Then I played the 000X1AE and it was all over but the shouting. It's very similar to Resolve's 000-16. Same body size and shape, same neck profile. It feels and plays like the 000-16. I found myself liking the sound. Odd as it may seem, the 000X1AE sounds like a Martin. And from what I could tell the fit and finish are damned close to Nazareth, PA standards.
Although I've not done an A-B comparison between the two guitars, to my ear the 000X1AE sounds remarkably like the 000-16. No it's not the same. I would not expect a laminate body guitar to have the same tone quality as one made of real mahogany. Nonetheless, it's not so far off.
One of the things I've always liked about Resolve's guitar is it's feel. Although the neck is a little small for my hands it's still comfortable to play. It feels good and plays well and really responds nicely to finger-picking. The 000X1AE has a lot of those same characteristics. It's small and light and easy to carry around and I like the way it sounds. Honestly, I wouldn't be entirely ashamed to use it at a gig. It's equipped with a Fishman Sonitone under saddle pickup so it's ready to plug and play with a sound system.
After playing the 000X1AE for around 8 hours this past week I'm very happy with it. It certainly merits consideration by anyone who is looking for a travel guitar. The only drawback is it's appearance. No binding and not much finish. It's got a very spartan look. The neck looks really odd because it's made of Stratabond. However, the intonation is true and the instrument stays in tune.
I must admit that playing this guitar is a bit of a guilty pleasure. For those of you who may now have concerns about me, you can help assuage my guilt through your generous donation.
It may just be rationalization but I'm blaming UPS for this. For an as yet undetermined period of time I'll be working in Puerto Rico 4 or 5 times a year. My first trip down I really missed not being able to practice for a week. Given my observation of what the airlines I'm familiar with typically do when people travel with guitars I didn't want to take a chance of getting to Puerto Rico and finding I had a badly damaged instrument on my hands. I decided that I ought to ship a guitar to my company's San Juan office so I will always have a guitar available when I'm there. UPS scotched that idea by telling me that they wanted $440 to ship my old Guild D25. I decided I'd be better off buying a guitar in Puerto Rico. In hindsight I think I was right, mostly.
The San Juan area does not seem to be blessed with many music stores that carry much more than bottom-of-the-line $200 and $300 guitars. I did find one store that had some better quality instruments. I played a bunch of them and it came down to a choice between a Breedlove made of real wood and the Martin 000X1AE. They were two of the three most expensive guitars in the store.
The Breedlove was fine. The neck was a little big for my taste but it was playable and it sounded okay. It was a bit more expensive than the Martin. But I was leery of the laminated body on the Martin. Then I played the 000X1AE and it was all over but the shouting. It's very similar to Resolve's 000-16. Same body size and shape, same neck profile. It feels and plays like the 000-16. I found myself liking the sound. Odd as it may seem, the 000X1AE sounds like a Martin. And from what I could tell the fit and finish are damned close to Nazareth, PA standards.
Although I've not done an A-B comparison between the two guitars, to my ear the 000X1AE sounds remarkably like the 000-16. No it's not the same. I would not expect a laminate body guitar to have the same tone quality as one made of real mahogany. Nonetheless, it's not so far off.
One of the things I've always liked about Resolve's guitar is it's feel. Although the neck is a little small for my hands it's still comfortable to play. It feels good and plays well and really responds nicely to finger-picking. The 000X1AE has a lot of those same characteristics. It's small and light and easy to carry around and I like the way it sounds. Honestly, I wouldn't be entirely ashamed to use it at a gig. It's equipped with a Fishman Sonitone under saddle pickup so it's ready to plug and play with a sound system.
After playing the 000X1AE for around 8 hours this past week I'm very happy with it. It certainly merits consideration by anyone who is looking for a travel guitar. The only drawback is it's appearance. No binding and not much finish. It's got a very spartan look. The neck looks really odd because it's made of Stratabond. However, the intonation is true and the instrument stays in tune.
I must admit that playing this guitar is a bit of a guilty pleasure. For those of you who may now have concerns about me, you can help assuage my guilt through your generous donation.
