November 19, 2024

Category: Acoustic Guitars

Reviews, essays, and articles relating to acoustic guitars, and related accessories.

Acoustic Guitars / Artists

Pete Huttlinger – Guitarist Spotlight

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Pete Huttlinger has died at the age of 54, after suffering a stroke.

A phenomenal arranger, composer, and performer of fingerstyle guitar music.

Huttlinger’s precision playing made the most challenging pieces appear easy as pie, even though the degree of difficulty was anything but.

Here is his signature arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, with the original story of how he came to perform it. There was once a very clean video of Pete in a TV interview telling the same story before playing the tune, but it is no longer on Youtube. So this one will have to do.

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 Born in Washington, D.C. in June, 1961. Pete Huttlinger was a 1984 graduate of Berklee School of Music, in Boston. He toured with John Denver and has performed with and for many other A List recording and touring artists. He also won the 2000 National Fingerstyle Championship.

Steely Dan’s “Josie” ala one-man-band Pete Huttlinger.

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Born with congenital heart problems, Huttlinger had a massive stroke in 2010 and heart failure some months later. But after a long and arduous recovery, including a battery powered pump to keep his heart going, he regained the ability to play the guitar. His final performance was in Atlanta, on January 9, 2016.

He released the album Parnassus in 2015 in collaboration with Mollie Weaver. And his 2013 album McGuire’s Landing was critically acclaimed. Here is the title cut.

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Acoustic Guitars / Reader Questions

Martin OMC-Aura – Reader Q&A

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A reader seeks information regarding his Martin OMC-Aura

Great Site with informative info. I had opportunity to purchase a Martin OMC-Aura couple of years ago. I liked the sound but didn’t know much about them, and never see any information about them on the different sites. 

Apparently not highly regarded, I would like to know any insight into their history, attributes, faults etc.

Thanks, Charlie D

Spoon Replies:

Hi Charlie, and thank you for the nice compliment about the site. And congratulations on your Martin OMC-Aura.

I do not know if you purchased one of the actual OMC-Aura guitars, or if you acquired a custom that was ordered from a dealer like Guitar Center after the model was discontinued. So this reply is focusing on the original model. Later dealer customs may have more updated technology.

The OMC-Aura and its dreadnought counterpart the DC-Aura suffered some in terms of reputation, mainly because they were new and different. Martin loving traditionalists love Martin tradition. And when the Aura models first appeared they broke with many Martin traditions.

While they were made from the same Indian rosewood and Sitka spruce used on guitars from Martin’s Standard Series and Vintage Series, the Auras had a different neck shape, different neck joint, different bracing, a cutaway body that had fancy, non-traditional appointments, and high-tech electronics inside that protruded to the outside in the way of side-mounted controls, which all added up to a very non-traditional Martin guitar.

Pick your poison, some will disapprove of pearl trim on a guitar not in the lofty 40 Series, others will decry the non-traditional hexagons, even if they are C.F. Martin IV’s favorite fret markers. Some others will not like the way it feels, or sounds compared to other Martins, while others yet will find the very practical electronic controls offensive to their old fashioned sensibilities, not to mention a cutaway that reminds them that they never learned to play a guitar beyond basic cowboy chords.

In practical terms, part of the problem with the appreciation or depreciation of the original Aura models has to do with the technology that is somewhat out of date.

The Mortis and Tenon neck joint was a cost-cutting measure by Martin and has since been replaced by the much improved Single Dovetail neck joint on guitars of this caliber. You can read more about the technical aspects of that through the link below.

At the time, having an M&T meant the Aura models had the same construction as the 16 Series, in terms of the neck joint, neck block, and bracing (which is identical to traditional Martin bracing, but has two extra braces under the upper bought to help the much-smaller neck joint remain stable.) It also means the acoustic voice of the Aura models sounds a little different compared to traditional Martins, having brighter more effervescent fundamentals, especially in the trebles, which get a bit brash and brassy under heavier attack, and more of a separation between that bold top voice and the sympathetic undertone resonating behind it.

But that is all very subtle stuff, since they still sound like Martins compared to other makes of guitar, and they have much more of that resonant Martin bass and wavering undertone than one typically hears in a bolt-on neck guitar like a Taylor or Huss & Dalton.

So, at first glance the OMC-Aura appeared to be a 16 Series Martin dressed up with pearl trim and hallow hexagon inlays, but costing a lot more than a typical OMC-16E from that same era.

But the Aura models had higher grade rosewood and spruce finished in a high gloss, and came standard with the revolutionary Aura electronics, which can be blended into the pick-up signal, greatly increasing the “acoustic guitar sound” compared to undersaddle pickups alone.

When viewed from modern times, the old Aura models have the first generation of the Aura system, which has been streamlined while made more sophisticated in terms of controls and sound quality. But the original version is still very much a professional level system that can sound excellent when dialed in for the particular venue, PA or guitar amp.

But while the Modified Low Oval neck shape was frowned upon by many Martin traditionalists, it has withstood the test of time, and has now been adopted as the main profile in use on modern Martins, appearing on just about every 2016 Martin, except those made with vintage Martin specs.

Your guitar does not have the modern High Performance taper that starts at 1-3/4” at the nut, but tapers to a slender 2-1/8” at the 12th fret. Instead, your Aura model has the traditional Martin OM fingerboard, which measures 2-1/4” at the 12th fret, and has the 2-1/4” string spacing found on the pricey OM-42 and other OMs made before the new taper took over the Standard Series.

That is all I can think of to say today about the Martin OMC-Aura.  If you are happy with your Martin, that is perfectly understandable to me. I hope you may continue to enjoy it in as musical a manner as you are able.

More Reading

Martin’s Simple Dovetail and Other Neck Joints

New 2016 Martins

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM

Martin’s 2-5/32″ String Spacing and High Performance Taper

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New Martin models released with a new spec called the High Performance Taper.

And with it comes a new string spacing at the bridge, listed as 2-5/32″.

These new Martins will appear at the NAMM Show, next week in Anaheim, Califorina.

I wrote to various people inside Martin to get more information was told the following:

The High Performance Taper is the same thing as the Performing Artist Taper, or PA Taper, which has previously appeared on spec sheets.

Martin has simply changed the name to to avoid confusion now that more and more guitars are made with the taper but are not in the PA Series of modern acoustic-electric guitars, where this feature first appeared.

The change to 2-5/32″ string spacing applies to all models previously spec’d with 2-3/16″ string spacing, in addition to the new models coming out next week that have the High Performance taper.

“…the change is all about moving the E strings in a tiny bit, to further avoid the strings rolling off the fingerboard when a player pulls them too close to the edge of the a fret.” It should noticeable effect in terms of feel for the player.

In practical terms, this HP taper (formerly PA taper) means that the fingerboard measures 1-3/4″ at the nut, but narrows more quickly than traditional Martin necks, to only 2-1/8″ at the 12th fret – the same 12th fret measurement found on guitars with Martin’s traditional 1-11/16″ at width at nut.

This adds up to a sleeker, narrower neck overall, compared to earlier 1-3/4″ Martin necks, which measure 2-1/4″ at the 12th fret, while still allowing a little extra room out near the nut, where a guitarist’s wrist must bend at the most acute angles.

Martin has a copyright on the term High Performance Neck. It refers to ANY Martin guitar that has the High Performance taper (formerly called the Performing Artist taper.) Again, the taper only refers to the width of the fingerboard. So a guitar with a Modified Low Oval profile or a Performing Artist Profile (which is shallower and flatter) both have a High Performance Neck.

 

 

Acoustic Guitars / Artists

David Bowie Acoustic Guitarist

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The late David Bowie knew his way around an acoustic guitar.

He favored the 12-string varieties of various European makers, American guitars being even more expensive back then. But he played 6-string guitars as well, particularly on his records.

He began his career as a psychedelic-folk troubadour rising out of the Dylan-tinged late ’60s before embracing the pre-punk Glamrock and ultimately moving ahead of the various new waves rolling across popular music, rather than riding or following them.

And while he always had a way with interesting chord progressions and creative and lively strumming, he also had a knack for employing exceptionally gifted lead guitar players.

His first U.S. album, Space Oddity (UK title David Bowie) features some wonderful acoustic guitar playing, by Bowie himself and a lead guitarist who was probably Keith Christmas.

The fills and leads on “Letter to Hermione” and “God Knows I’m Good” had a profound influence on my own guitar playing, even if it took me many years before I got out of cowboy chords.

And while David Bowie has featured monster electric guitarists like Carlos Alomar, Stevie Ray Vaughn, G.E. Smith, and Earl Slick, I will ever associate him with the late, great Mick Ronson. His true genius was somewhat stifled on the Bowie records, due to the production style in use, compared to the sheer power he brought to live performances, with rhythm full of hard rocking improvisation and extended solos of raw, unbridled sensuality and bravado. In some ways, I feel Bowie never topped the Spiders from Mars shows, when it came to full out rock n roll.

But Ronson’s acoustic guitar playing on Andy Warhol, from the Honky Dory album remains a wonderful no-nonsense performance of unplugged rock n roll.

David Bowie made it all seem so easy and effortless. But so too did the guitarists whose fingers danced in and around those countless, memorable songs.

So I am happy to take this time on an acoustic guitar blog to share some of those early acoustic guitar songs of the one and only David Bowie.

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Letter to Hermione

 

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God Knows I’m Good

 

 

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Andy Warhol

 

More on the life and death of David Bowie HERE

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM

Martins New for 2016

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New Martins

C. F. Martin & Co. announced their new models for 2016, following up on last week’s sneak preview of the entrants in the Authentic Series, CS Series, and this year’s limited editions.

New String Spacing

A whole new world of acoustic-electrics has appeared in the Standard Series, with a Modified Low Oval profile and the High Performance taper (formerly known as the Performing Artist taper, which referred to the Performing Artist series where it first appeared.)

And starting in 2016 all such guitars have a new string spacing of 2-5/32″, which is 1/32” narrower than the 2-3/16″ that has been used on all previous Martins that have this particular neck, sometimes called their “High Performance Neck.”

According to Tim Teel, Martin’s Director of Design, this change will be affect all Martin models with the High Performance taper.

Tim told me that the change is all about moving the E strings in a tiny bit, to further avoid the strings rolling off the fingerboard when a player pulls them too close to the edge of the a fret.

Since this means a difference of 1/64″ on either side of the fretboard, it should be unnoticeable to guitarists.

New Electronics

Many of these these models come standard with the new Fishman VT Enhance electronics.

The V stands for the Volume control, and the T stands for the Tone control, which are both hidden from sight inside the soundhole, near the bass E string.

The “Enhance” refers to a new control wheel inside the soundhole near the treble E string, which controls an plate transducer – a first for Martin.

This new element picks up its sound-producing energy from the wooden bridge plate, rather than the saddle. This means it will pick up tapping techniques, where the player taps or slaps the guitar’s body, as well as adding an extra dimension to the overall sound, when the bridge plate sensor is blended into the signal from the undersaddle pickup.

The new models in the Standard Series get the Aura® VT Enhance™ system, which comes with a pre-blended Aura microphone image built into the preamp, increasing the “acoustic feel” to the plugged-in tone.

Like the sophisticated Fishman F1 electronics found on the Performing Artist Series and Retro Series Martins, the simpler VT Enhance systems have the 9 volt battery pack installed near the end pin. So the player does not need to take off the strings to change the battery.

While the VT version of the Aura technology does not come with 9 different microphone images, and all the fancy EQ, phase-shift, compressor, and on-board tuner of the Aura F1+ system, it also does not have holes cut into the solid tonewood side of the guitar required to operate all those bells and whistles.

And, frankly, most of us who use Aura systems usually end up with one particular microphone image we like, and then stick with it.

In the of the VT, Fishman and Martin have chosen one microphone image they felt sounded best and was the most versatile for the particular model of guitar, and put that into the preamp, so the player can have a uncomplicated, plug-and-play experience. And now they can blend in a bridge plate transducer along with the simple-to-use volume and tone sweep controls.

And all of it is manipulated by discrete little wheels set just inside the soundhole. Out of the way, and out of sight.

Acoustic-electric Martins below the Standard Series now come with the Matrix® VT Enhance™ electronics, which offers the same bridge plate transducer blend, but does not have the fancier Aura technology.

New Models

There are 17 new Martins between Style 15 and Style 35, as well as two NAMM Show Specials available only to dealers at next week’s trade show in Anaheim, California.

One of the show specials, the SSC-GPC-16, is a Grand Performance with a cutaway and made with cherry sides and back wings, and a flamed maple back wedge, topped by Adirondack spruce. It is available only to the Canadian market. The other show special, the SS-OMVine-16, features ornate aluminum inlays and a body made entirely of figured English walnut, with Adirondack bracing.

New 15s

The uber bargain 15 Series gained two new models, including the return of the OM-15! Only now it is an OMC-15ME, with a cutaway and the new Fishman Matrix VT Enhance electronics. The 15s have been redesigned in recent years, and now are made with African sipo mahogany for the back and sides. They also have a solid rosewood fingerboard and bridge like the 15s of the 1940s.

New 17s

Three new sizes have been added to the 17 Series of all solid-wood guitars, made more affordable by the use of Martin’s Simple Dovetail Neck Joint, simpler appointments, and no electronics.

There is a 14-fret 000, a 00L that has the same body size as the ultra-popular CEO-7, and a 12-fret 00.

African sipo Mahogany is used for the back and sides along with a Sitka spruce top, and each has a Guatemalan rosewood fingerboard and bridge made in the old-timey straight design, with no belly or pyramids.

Each of these new sizes are available in one of two cosmetic schemes, “Black Smoke” with an all-black body and white pickguard and trim, and “Whisky Sunset” with a golden sunburst that keeps all the dark stuff in the upper bout, and a tortoise colored pickguard and trim. However, the 00-17S version of each scheme does not have a pickguard.

The D-17M and 000-17SM remain in the lineup, with their own cosmetic look and Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

New 18s

OMC-18E – At long last we the first OM18 in the Standard Series, only it is the OMC-18E. It looks a great deal like the old OM-18V from the Vintage Series, but it has the modern High Performance neck and the new 2-5/32″ string spacing, as well as a cutaway and the Fishman Aura VT Enhance electronics.

DC-18E – A Dreadnought version with the same build as the Standard D-18 and D-18E Retro, but now with a cutaway and the simpler Aura VT electronics, when compared to the Retro’s multi-image Aura system with the built in tuner and EQ parameters.

GPC-18E – The Grand Performance body size has come to the Standard Series with the same build and electronics of the other 18E models, but without the vintage toner on the top, interestingly enough. And it has forward-shifted, scalloped 5/16″ bracing, the Dreadnought. The OM has traditional scalloped 1/4″ OM bracing.

Standard Style 18 is made from genuine mahogany (Martin’s code words for traditional Big Leaf mahogany from tropical America,) a Sitka spruce top, and ebony for the fingerboard and bridge.

New 28s

The OMC-28E, DC-28E, and GPC-28E have the same overall construction and features of the 18s listed above, but in Standard Style 28 – Indian rosewood back and sides, Sitka spruce top, ebony fingerboard and bridge, black pickguard, white binding, and black and white ply trim.

The Dreadnought and Grand Performance versions have straight, non-scalloped 5/16” bracing, while the OM has scalloped 1/4” bracing.

New 35s

The OMC-35E, DC-35E, and GPC-35E have Standard Style 35 woods and appointments, including the signature three-piece Indian rosewood back, Sitka spruce top, ebony fingerboard and bridge, along with the cutaway body, new 2-5/32″ string spacing for the High Performance neck, and the Aura VT electronics.

As with the Standard D-35, this new cutaway DC-35E has straight, non-scalloped 1/4” braces. The Grand Performance version has straight, non-scalloped 5/16” bracing, and the OMC-35E has scalloped 1/4” bracing.

I am looking forward to getting all of these in my hands next week. And then telling you all about them.

You can find more information about the new limited edition, CS Series, and Authentic Series models below this post.

Acoustic Guitars

2015 Recap

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As we look forward to what is new for 2016, here is quick recap of some of the reviews posted during the year that was.

Please use the links below to see the guitars of your choice.

Martin LE-Cowboy-2015

Martin D12-35-50th

Martin HD-35 CFM IV 60

Martin CS-D41-15

Martin 00-15E Retro

McPherson Manhattan Skyline 4.0XP

Collings C10 Deluxe Custom

Taylor 814ce Review

Martin CEO-8

Martin CS-00041-15

Martin OM-28 Authentic 1931

 

Articles:

Martins New Vintage Gloss Finish

Torrefication (Torrefaction) in Guitar Making (Revised for 2015)

 

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM

2016 Martins Revealed

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The appetite is whetted by news of new 2016 Martins.

C.F. Martin & Co. revealed some of the new models slated for release at the Winter NAMM show later this month, in the form of Limited Editions and the latest members of their Authentic Series of meticulous vintage guitar recreations.

2016 Martins - 1939 000-42Topping the list is the 000-42 Authentic 1939, a replication of this guitar, which the Martin Museum purchased at Christie’s auction house in 2008.

As with most Authentics, it features Madagascar rosewood, rather than the endangered Brazilian rosewood used in the 1930s. With a street price just over $9,000 it is a good deal less than what a one-off Custom Shop order would run that has similar specs. And many thousands of dollars less than a Brazilian rosewood version would have cost. A 12-fret 00-18A 1931 is coming out as well.

The Ditson 222 100th Anniversary is released in celebration of the 100th birthday of the Dreadnought design, which was originally made for the Ditson musical department stores.

This is a modern interpretation, retaining the mahogany back and sides and cosmetic looks, while having a torrefied Sitka spruce top and a 1-3/4” modified V neck. So it is quite similar to the D-18V model of the 1990s, only with the Vintage Tone System top.

Speaking of birthdays, the D-28 John Lennon 75th Anniversary guitar is a commemorative model made in cooperation with Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, marking the influential musician’s 75th birthday. it has peace signs inlaid around the soundhole, and other unique inlay work, and is made from Madagascar rosewood. It has traditional straight braces, like Lennon’s 60s D-28, but a modern Modified Low Oval neck profile with the Performing Artist Taper.

The Custom Shop Series is offering the CS-OM True North-16, made from highly figured koa and wooden marquetry with a compass motif. It has hide glue construction and should be of similar high quality as the previous CS Series guitars.

There has been no mention of what will be new for NAMM in terms of a “show special”, or the Standard and PA Series, et al. But they will be debuting their new on-board electronics, the VT Enhance. Made in partnership with Fishman Electronics, for the first time Martins are being offered with a bridge plate transducer, that gets blended with the signal of an under saddle pickup.

Higher-end Martins will also get a built in Aura imaging filter, which helps a guitar sound more like it is coming through a good microphone than an electronic pickup.

See the New 2016 Martins HERE

More Info About the New Aura-VT/Matrix-VT Enhance system HERE

 

 

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM / Review

Martin LE-Cowboy-2015

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Made in 2015 only, the Martin LE-Cowboy-2015 sounds even better than it looks

A 12-fret 000 of tradition and innovation

Specs include: All solid wood construction; 12-fret 000 (Auditorium) body size; Gonçalo Alves back and sides with high gloss finish; high gloss Sitka Spruce top with Vintage Tone System torrefaction, 5/16” A Frame bracing, printed cowboy artwork by William Mathews, Style 30 multi-colored wooden “rope” marquetry; mahogany neck with satin finish, Modified Low Oval profile, 1-3/4” width at nut, 2-1/4” string spacing, and Martin’s Simple Dovetail neck joint; ebony bridge and fingerboard with short pattern Diamonds and Squares fret markers; grained ivoroid binding; engraved Golden Age Relic side mount tuners with ivoroid knobs

This limited edition Martin guitar is available for sale to dealers only in 2015.

We end our reviews for 2015 with a look a Limited Edition sold to Martin dealers only in 2015, the LE-Cowboy-2015. It is a most interesting guitar that will surprise many people with its pretty tone and charming personality, once it gets out in more shops.

“…a pretty musicality from a clear and spacious treble, and the wound strings report with piano-like authority across the midrange and bass, defined but with a quick bloom of bassy undertone resonance.”

LE-Cowboy-2015 side

Read the Full Review Here

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM / Review

Martin D12-35 50th Anniversary LE Review

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Inspired by the 1965 original 1965, the D12-35 50th is a modern interpretation of grandeur.

A limited edition, 183 instruments will be made, equal to that first year’s production.

Specs include: All solid-wood construction; 12-fret dreadnought shape; Indian rosewood sides and three-piece back; European spruce top with M1 level Vintage Tone System treatment, including maple bridge plate; 5/16” Sitka spruce bracing; grained ivoroid binding; bound mahogany neck with solid headstock, 24.9” scale, 2-13/16” width at nut, modified low oval profile; ebony fingerboard and bridge with 2-5/16” string spacing; nickel open-geared tuners with butterbean knobs.

“This is the Harley hog of guitars, agile but oh so powerful. I love how it handles across intricate fingerstyle passages and wide open straightaways of full out strumming.”

D12-35 50th bridge

Read the full review and see the video HERE

Acoustic Guitars / NAMM / Review

Martin D-35 CFM IV 60th – Review

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A commemorative limited edition, the HD-35 CFM IV 60th was sixty years in the making.

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the Martin D-35. It also marks the 60th anniversary of the current Mr. Martin. And these two events have led to the creation of a unique guitar, the HD-35 CFM IV 60th, honoring the very successful career of Chief Executive Officer, Christian Fredrick Martin IV on the occasion of his 60th Birthday.

Specs include: Dreadnought body size; Indian siris sides and three-piece back with Indian rosewood center wedge; European spruce top with Martin’s Vintage Tone System; abalone herringbone purfling and Infinity Hexagon Outline fret markers; scalloped 1/4″ Adirondack spruce top braces; ebony fingerboard and bridge; grained ivoroid binding; mahogany neck with modified low oval profile and Performing Artist taper, 1-3/4” at nut and 2-1/8” at 12th fret; 2-3/16” string spacing; ebony headstock faceplate with mother of pearl Martin logo and CFM IV’s birth date; nickel waffle-back tuners; limited to 60 instruments

“The treble strings give off the tinkling chime of a music box, while the midrange notes stand firm and defined over a built-in reverb echoing from within…It is a voice of depth, color and definition, conjured out of a very interesting combination of woods and craftsmanship.”

Martin HD-35 CMF IV 60th pearl

Read the Full Review of the HD-35 CFM IV 60th