Soooo......did you go with a Hozen guitar in your search? Or not yet? I thought you would rave more about the Yamaha FG9 but apparently it is on part with Martin dollar for dollar....? Thanks again. Liked.
Alas, 2ML, I didn't buy any of the guitars I hoped might be my holy grail. The Yamaha FG9 sound very clean and clear, but they lack some of the character that I'd want in "the one." I loved the Hozen, but I didn't trust that I'd love it as much when I got it home. This is always a problem when shopping at NAMM, mostly because it's a noisy environment. Your ears get tired and they can play tricks on you! When I got home, I pulled out my '64 Gibson J-50 and thought, "hmm...maybe I already OWN my holy grail..." I play it quite a lot on my channel, in videos like this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YFThZipY-BY.html
You and I agree about this, Paul. It just seems "below" Martin to do these weird optically relic'ed guitars. I mean, Martin is THE authentic American guitar brand and this just seems like a gimmick - an expensive gimmick at that.
LOL. Great question, Jim. If you've watch many of my videos, you know I spend a LOT of time extolling the virtues of cheap guitars, especially for recording and layering. But when it comes to a holy grail acoustic, a guy can dream, right? One reason I may never find / buy my holy grail guitar is that I really have no NEED for another acoustic. In fact, every time I play my '64 Gibson J-50, I wonder if maybe I already OWN my holy grail, and have since 1978. I mean, listen to how it sounds playing James Taylor tunes: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YFThZipY-BY.html
I get it, John. The only mitigating factor is that there's a lot of ambient noise at the NAMM show, and that makes it VERY hard to evaluate a guitar with enough confidence to buy it on the spot. That said, NAMM is a great way to look at, play and feel a bunch of superb instruments so you can go back later to play them under more controlled circumstances and really know if you've found "the one."
I'd love to try one Celticsaint. Alas, McPherson wasn't at the NAMM show, so I had no way to compare them to the other potential Holy Grails... Interesting looking designs with the offset soundhole.
Right, sorry about that RR. Have you played some Lowdens before? I had played a few last year and they didn’t knock me out. They seemed to be midrange-focused and a little lacking in bass. If there’s a particular model you love, please tell me so I can try it next year!
@@RobertCassard I own a 1994 Lowden F24. Sitka spruce/ flame maple. I did some research and I found that there were only 24 of that model ever made between 1993 - 1998. I own four other acoustics, and that one is my go-to! I played a few newer Lowden's over the years and I really liked them. But, my wallet did not like them LOL. I was lucky to get this F24 used, so it didn't hurt the wallet that much. I bought it when it was 18 years old (2012) for $2,800. Thanks for responding to my comment. Rock on!
@@RobertCassard I'm sorry I didn't answer your question. Any of the F models are my choice, depending on different wood combinations. I believe the F50 is the top of their range. But as I said any of the F models are fine in my opinion. It depends on how much money you want to spend.
I was perusing prices of Lowden's on Reverb.com and it seems like they're holding strong, mostly in the $4k to $9k range. I'll make sure to give 'em more attention on my next NAMM adventure.
