March 17, 2009

My Martin

mymartin
My Martin is my baby. I can’t imagine ever letting go of it. I bought it new in 1992 and it sounds a little better every year. This guitar is an HD-28 C.T.B. Limited Edition (only 97 made). This is what I use when I play live – especially with a full band. It’s really loud, deep and allows me to lose myself in the music and play any style I want. The sitka spruce top on this guitar is very strong for its weight and has a good balance from bass to treble. It has good brightness in the mid-range, has a great low end and doesn’t break up with hard strumming. I always use medium strings –  phosphor bronze wound.

I put my personal imprint on this guitar when I was first in the studio back in the studio (Overdub Lane, Durham NC) in the mid 90′s by putting a nick on the top just below the pick guard. This was when Overdub was actually inside Cat’s Cradle and the sound room was in a small cubby hole with a radiator to heat it up. I tried to sit down and missed the stool completely and fell into the radiator with the guitar. I had only had it a month or so and freaked out pretty bad, but it survived and now has a little character of its own.

For those of you interested in the specs, it has a spruce top, east Indian Rosewood back and sides, scalloped bracing, high X brace, herringbone top trim and backstripe, tortoise body binding and heel cap, ebony fretboard and bridge, slotted diamond inlays and C.F. Martin logo inlaid at 12th fret, aging toner on top, gold “M” embossed tuners, and fancy headstock inlay.

martinguitarlogo

Individuals, companies and countries are feeling the ecological and economic impact of tropical rainforest destruction, temperate forest mismanagement, global warming and species endangerment.

For several years Martin has been at the forefront in tone testing and developing alternatives for acoustic guitar construction, having introduced new models that utilize domestic woods such as ash, maple, walnut, cherry and koa, as well as Englemann spruce, larch and cedar. Martin continues this experimentation and attempts to educate dealers and customers about the aesthetic and tonal viability of alternative woods.

India has been one of the world leaders in responsible forest management and the cutting of existing East Indian rosewood stands in India is strictly regulated. We have been fortunate that East Indian rosewood for guitar backs and sides, harvested primarily from trees that shade tea plantations, is particularly well managed through carefully regulated government auctions.

- Martin & Co.

March 16, 2009

My Taylor

mytaylor

My Taylor is an 810 Dreadnought with Sitka Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides. I’ve gone through a couple of different Taylors and this one fits my style the best. It offers a great complement to the Martin as it has a brighter sound and is good for finger picking – though I don’t do much of that. It’s action is low and is the easiest to play of all my guitars. It also serves as a good acoustic double in the studio.

taylor-guitars-logo-2002

March 15, 2009

My Goodall

mygoodall

My Goodall is my latest guitar – bought it in 2004. Brought it home and wrote a song right away. This thing is absolutely amazing. I truly have an out-of-body experience when I strum it. It’s great for inspiration and is very easy to play. It doesn’t have the volume or low end like the Martin, or the brightness of the Taylor, but falls in a different category altogether. It’s really indescribable until you play it, or hear it in context to another guitar. James Goodall builds these guitars himself and actually dives for the mother-of-pearl inlay. The quality is incredible.

This guitar has Koa back and sides which not only gives it its special flavor, but also makes it visually – well, appealing puts it mildly. Named my dog after this wood. It also means Brave Warrior.


“Acacia Koa is a native hardwood exclusive to the Hawaiian Islands. Koa has an amazing variety of figure and color ranging from a light golden yellow to dark brown. It can be highly figured and exhibit a beautiful, luminous inner glow.” – James Goodall

logo_goodall_guitars

March 14, 2009

My Baby Taylor

baby-taylor
Love this little thing. Awesome for travel. Good to carry around just in case the muse appears! Fits easily in the overhead bins on a plane (or the trunk of my Z3!). Actually has a solid body top so even though it’s tiny and inexpensive, it still sounds clean.

“The Baby Taylor is the ultimate travel companion, delivering volume and tone that surprise for its diminutive dimensions. At three-quarters the size of a full-sized guitar, the Baby Taylor lives for the road. It also loves little hands, which makes it an irresistible choice for kids taking lessons. Available with either a solid spruce or solid mahogany top.” -Taylor Guitars

  • « Older Entries
  • Newer Entries »
1

©2009 Debbie Liske