Readers Guitar Photos

by one manDecember 17, 20130

We are pleased to present a new feature, a gallery of readers guitar photos

As more and more people send us photos of their guitars, to use with our reviews, or simply to tell us about a new guitar they have purchased, we will begin to share them in our gallery dedicated to readers guitar photos.

We just got some great shots from a new reader in Malaysia, who has purchased a guitar built by Québécois luthier Michael Greenfield which we are using to christen the new photo gallery

FOUND HERE

We will continue to add photos to the gallery as time allows. Please feel free to share your guitar photos with us by sending them via email to oneman@onemanz.com

We never grow tired of looking at great guitars made from great woods.

And that is one man’s word on…

Readers Guitar Photos, the new gallery at One Man’s Guitar

Greenfield G2 Guitar Lutz spruce top readers guitar photos — Readers Guitar Photos

Spoon’s thumbpick or extension? – Reader Q&A

by one manDecember 16, 2013February 20, 20142

A reader asks about Spoon’s thumbpick or extension when playing fingerstyle guitar.

I just became introduced to your excellent playing through Maury’s Music. What a great idea! Anyway, I’m a lifelong finger picker and I was noticing your thumb in the videos. Do you have some sort of pick on, or is that like an artificial nail you had put on? I’ve heard of guys doing that, but never seen it done. If it’s some sort of slide on thumb pick, I’m also interested.

Thank You,

Kevin in Kansas City

Spoon writes:

Hello Kevin,

Thanks for the kind words. Maury and I go back a good ways, but I am proud and pleased to be helping him out by shooting those product demonstration videos for their YouTube channel.

As for my thumb, I wear silk wraps on the nail. I also have them on my fingers. But I am playing with the pad of my thumb or fingers with just a bit of nail, unless I have gotten lazy and failed to file them properly, as they grow out. The nail acts as a stiff backing, while it is still more finger than “pick.” That is, except for downpicking. I often use my index finger like a flatpick, so having the silkwrap helps there on the down strokes.

About ten years ago I met up with Howie Emerson at a guitar show and he had recently started wearing acrylic nails at the suggestion of his wife. As with many guitarists of a certain age, my nails were getting thinner and breaking more and more easily. Also, I just tired of constant nail care, with all that buffing and shaping, just to break a nail at the last rehearsal before a show.

I tried the acrylic, but I found using the slightly more expensive silk sounds better and to my ear they are more like a real fingernail than a guitar pick.

I use them on my thumb and first three fingers. The little Korean ladies put them on at the nail salon as a thin weave of silk fibers, which then get layers of liquid or powered glue put overtop. They make them as short as their conscious allows and then I have to take them home and shorten them up and shape them with an emery board to the way I like them. And that requires playing the guitar to see where they need rounded off or filed down. The also require filing over time, as they grow out along with the real fingernail.

In New York City four silk wraps means about $25 with tip. They can last up to three months or so. But then, I am supposed to bring them in to get touched up every two weeks, but I usually only do when they start looking really bad.

The silk only goes back a ways and then they fill in the gap between that and cuticle with the powdered glue. That powder stuff wears down and needs replaced, but I like that because it means at least some of the nail is getting oxygen.

The major downside to all this is the real nails get REALLY thin as a result. And they say it takes about 6 weeks for them get back to normal, but I have never stopped using them since I started. There is a slight risk of fungal infections, another reason they are supposed to get filled in and sealed every two weeks, but I have never had anything like that happen.

I know many players do this, and many do it themselves. The nail glue is the same chemical as Super Glue, only watered down. So Bruce Cockburn makes his own, I think out of pingpong balls, super glue and sawdust. Chet Atkins was doing the same sort of thing when I took a workshop with him back in the day. But he too eventually started having the silk put on.

I hope that helps. They look a little weird, especially when they get old. But I don’t care. Not having to worry about it until one chips or breaks off (usually when going to grab something and missing and catching the nail and usually only when they have been on a good while) work it for me.

They ARE thicker than a 1.0 pick, so that took some getting used to at first, at least when it came to using my index finger as a flatpick. But now I am adjusted to it and only use a real pick if I am expected to be doing lots of rock lead stuff or mandolin type trills – or if I am demonstrating a guitar on a video to show what it sounds like with an actual flat pick.

I hope that helps.

Spoon, out

And that is one man’s word on

Spoon’s thumbpick or extension

Find more Reader’s Questions in Spoon’s Mailbag

D-45 Authentic Differences – Reader Q&A

by one manDecember 16, 2013February 20, 20140

A reader writes with questions regarding the D-45 Authentic differences found in models 1942 and 1936.

I’m thinking of buying one of the top end Martins. I would appreciate a little more of your take (which you touched on a little in your review of the D-45 S Authentic 1936) on the difference between the D-45 Authentic 36 and the 42, apart from just the size of the Neck. I’m from and live in Asia and therefore I do not have the opportunity to touch, see and play an actual one before making up my mind.

Your take will go a long way. Thank you.

Yoon in Malaysia

Spoon writes:

Hello and thank you for your query about the differences between D-45 Authentics.

You mentioned in a comment on one of our reviews that you were studying guitar again after some decades. I think it is wonderful that you are returning to the guitar after some years away. While I can understand why someone would want to do such a thing with the best guitar possible, it may not always be a wise move.

Unless you are certain you will be dedicating the time and effort required to truly get back to playing guitar, you may find it worth getting a less expensive guitar at first. At least less expensive than a D-45 Authentic.

But if you are certain you wish to go the high on the hog way, these two Martin models are on the very short list of the best new guitars available in the entire world.

The difference between necks is not just about comfort or spacing preferences, a more massive neck can also effect the sound of the guitar. Steve Swan of Steve Swan guitars likes to say, “Big neck, big sound.” Stan Jay of Mandolin Brothers is typically more expressive in his opinion that a large V neck in combination with a old fashioned, non-adjustable truss rod “makes the sound vibrant, airy, transparent, punchy and powerful.”

And this D-45 S 1936 has about as large a neck as I have ever seen on a modern day Martin.

But there are plenty of great guitars made that do not have large V necks. And the D-45 Authentic 1942 is certainly one of them.

In addition to the bigger neck, there is the wider top (and back) on the A S 36, which increases the size of the sound chamber compared to the A 42. That also contributes significantly to the robust and throaty voice. It sounds huge, because it is huge.

Other differences between these two exquisite models include the extra-thin finish on the A S 36, as well as having the top, back and sides planed even thinner than the already thin wood on the S 42.

It is likely the bracing should be similar in terms of the size of the struts and the way they were scalloped. But the 36 has forward shifted braces, further increasing the roar and rumble in the bottom end, while the rear shifted braces on the 42 helps to bring a more focused clarity to the bass string fundamentals. There is still plenty of power and presence, but the resonant undertone doesn’t swamp the bottom end so much as glow out from under it.

Both will have a bridge plate tucked under the X brace, the 36 has a bridge plate reputedly made as close to identical as the one in the real 1936 guitar in terms of thickness, even minor deviations in the shaping. Since this was not mentioned before the 2013 Authentic releases, I assume the 42 has the same sort of bridge plate found on the D-18A 1937 and D-28A 1937.

The 36 will also have a bridge, fingerboard and headstock that are made a bit thinner. Again, I assume they are thinner than those on the 42, because the 42 came out during the previous year, before they had instigated the new “make them as close as possible to the old timer they are based on” policies.

That all being said, if I had the dilemma of which one to choose, I would go with the D-45 Authentic 1942. They both sound great and there is much to love about the huge power and voice of the 36, and the clear and ringing beauty of the 42. But that honking-big neck and string spacing on the 36 would simply require too much effort to play more than basic chords in the first position – for my hands, anyway.

But Lordy! I would love to have BOTH of them if I could.

And that is one man’s word on…

D-45 Authentic Differences

Find more Reader’s Questions in Spoon’s Mailbag

Lyric Classical Acoustic Microphone by L.R. Baggs

by one manDecember 11, 2013December 11, 20130

Designed for live performance, the new L.R. Baggs Lyric Classical microphone raises the bar for classical guitar amplification

An internal microphone with a high-quality preamp featuring proprietary anti-noise circuitry, and variable presence adjustment “crafted” expressly for nylon string guitars

The L.R. Baggs Lyric internal microphones use technology found in their famous Anthem pickup system, only without the undersaddle pickup. It is placed on the bridge plate about 3mm from the saddle, and it offers a sound much like an external microphone without the feedback and proximity issues. It also has an internal battery pack, that can be mounted most anywhere, and a volume and presence control that mounts out of site, just inside the sound hole.

While it may condense the tone of the guitar a bit more than a large, external mic, especially when under a harder attack, it really is about the best amplified nylon string guitar sound we have ever heard.

Here is Omar Torrez, one of the “most talented emerging artists on the global music scene today” demonstrating the Lyric Classical microphone has he performs “The Dance (of Leon and Frida)” from his latest album, A Night of Heavy Drinking.

Learn more about the Lyric Classical and other fine products at L.R. Baggs official website HERE

Learn more about Omar Torres at his official website HERE

And that is one man’s word on…

Lyric Classical Acoustic Microphone by L.R. Baggs

David Gahr Photography

by one manDecember 7, 2013December 7, 20130

The evocative time capsule photographs from the estate of David Gahr resurrect some of popular music’s most beloved artists in their prime, at the Morrison Hotel Gallery, in Soho, NYC.

From Leonard Bernstein to Patti Smith, a young Willie Nelson to a very young Bruce Springsteen, the royalty of Jazz, Folk, Blues and Rock n Roll preserved by David Gahr in living black and white.

Clowning around, or intent in their work, with joyous expressions or taken in moments of deep reflection, there is an intimacy to these pictures that seem to capture the personality of the personalities, as if one might still hear the breathing or the laughter if they listened hard enough.

These limited edition prints are available for sale and can be viewed here:

https://www.morrisonhotelgallery.com/set/default.aspx?setID=2674

Or better yet, see them up close and in person.

The gallery is at 124 Prince Street, between Wooster and Greene.

I wish I could afford all of them!

Special thanks to Stan Jay of Mandolin Brothers for the heads up on this wonderful display of David Gahr photography!

Dylan’s Strat Out-Guitars Clapton? Record sale for the “Gone Electric” Guitar

by one manDecember 6, 2013December 7, 20131

With a record price, the guitar that changed American music, Dylan’s Strat from Newport ’65, sets another milestone.

When Bob Dylan ripped into “Maggie’s Farm” in front of a stunned crowd at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, not many people realized they were seeing a paradigm shift in the current of popular culture that would reverberate around the globe for decades to come. Fewer still would have guessed that the Fender Stratocaster with the sunburst finish strapped around the lanky 24 year old that evening would later be sold for just shy of $1 Million Dollars.

But that is exactly what happened today at Christie’s in New York City, as the 1964 guitar used by Dylan to officially “go electric” sold for a record $965,000 to an anonymous bidder, almost doubling the top estimate of $500,000.

Serial number L31324, and sporting a neck date of 2 May 1964, this alder body, maple neck, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard guitar was used during sessions of Bringing It All Back Home, and possibly some sessions for Blonde on Blonde, as well as the infamous electric set at Newport.

Sometime after the historic gig, the guitar was reputedly left behind on a private airplane and taken into possession by the pilot, who claims to have made attempts to return it. After almost half a century, in 2012, the PBS television program History Detectives were able to match the wood grain on the top of the guitar with a close-up photograph of Dylan on stage at the concert. Originally Dylan’s attorney claimed the artist was still in possession of the fabled guitar, but after an undisclosed settlement between Dylan and the pilot’s family, the sale went ahead, and garnered a price beyond all expectation.

I remember vividly the first time I saw the black and white footage of the performance. While wild and a bit distorted, it is hard to believe that Dylan decided to go electric only the day before (after having performed three acoustic tunes at the “workshop” portion of the festival, but taking offense at the way festival officials spoke negatively about Paul Butterfield’s use of electric instruments.) With Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Jerome Arnold on bass, Same Ley on drums, and Al Kooper on organ, it is easy to see how electric the performance actually was, and how a great many people responded to the raw energy in a favorably manner, despite any actual booing that took place. While some people claim the booing was in response to the brevity of the three-song set, Dylan felt otherwise.

In a 1965 interview he was quoted as saying, “Well, I did this very crazy thing, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but they certainly booed, I’ll tell you that. You could hear it all over the place…. I mean, they must be pretty rich, to be able to go someplace and boo. I couldn’t afford it if I was in their shoes.”

In any case, “Maggie’s Farm”, from the electric side of the just-released Bringing it All Back Home, the single “Like a Rolling Stone”, which appeared a week or so before, and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh (It Takes a Train to Cry)”, then called “Phantom Engineer,” soon to show up on Highway 61 Revisited, made clear the direction Bob Dylan and progressive American music would be taking. And the three tunes were played at Newport on the guitar sold today, for a fraction of what Dylan has earned playing many other Strats through the years.

Did Jim Irsay, the zillionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts, have a hand in the bidding? After all, his collection includes Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger” guitar, the guitar George Harrison played at the Beatles’ last public concert, and he may have been involved in the auction that set a then record amount for Eric Clapton’s “Blackie.”

We may find out eventually.

Christie’s Official Page for Sale 3482 of Dylan’s Strat

Review: Deep Body Martin OM

by one manDecember 5, 2013February 7, 20220

The Shimmer of 42

Combining the looks of a pre-war Style 42 12-fret slothead with the convenience of a 14-fret guitar, made all the more powerful with extra-deep sides, this deep body Martin OM, Madagascar/Adirondack jewel box from their fabled Custom Shop is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

“From the first strum there is a stark ring to the fundamental voice, each note pure but with pronounced substance, clear yet dense, like diamonds. And with each steely note ringing off a string an expanding sonic reaction blooms, from an echo beneath the top voice and a woody hum deeper down, to a shining choir of lofty overtones. This guitar shows off the most sophisticated type of Madi-Adi tone.” This Deep Body Martin OM-42 rings and sings…

Read the Full Review

Neil Young Live at the Cellar Door – Solo 1970

by one manDecember 4, 2013December 4, 20130

After 43 years in a vault, Neil Young is releasing an album of performances recorded during a run of a dozen shows in Washington D.C., from November-December 1970. Entitled Neil Young Live at the Cellar Door, this time capsule offers intimate listening of a young Young and the young Martin D-45 he had been playing for less than a year.

The 13-song collection is available for pre-sale at the artist’s official website in high-quality digital FLAC, as a CD, or on 180 gram vinyl.

Performing two sets a night, Young used the week-long booking in the small club to hone material for his upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall, which became a mainstay bootleg record ever after. Live at the Cellar Door will provide state of the art audio mastering unavailable back in the day.

Including well-known Buffalo Springfield tunes along with fresh releases from the then new smash LP After the Gold Rush, the ever-changing artist also debuts new material at the dawn of his post-CSNY solo career. Young and vital, Young was a vital force in the post-Woodstock era and this record provides a glimpse of an emerging superstar on the verge of going supernova.

Official Neil Young Live at the Cellar Door Warner/Reprise Pre-sale HERE

Premium bundle includes a lithograph advertising the venue.

Also available at Amazon.com, including downloadable MP3 files HERE

And don’t forget to see what Neil Young has on his mind at his personal website, neilyoung.com

Martin 000-42 Marquis Photos

by one manDecember 2, 2013December 2, 20130

Our very good friend Rich sent us some of his 000-42 Marquis photos,

the beloved guitar he tracked down and purchased in part because of our review, written for Maury’s Music.com the year week that model came out. Now discontinued, it remains highly sought after on the used guitar market.

And why not? It has primo woods, beautiful pearl inlay, and Marquis Series specifications, including top grade Adirondack spruce for the top, supported with Golden Era 1/4″ scalloped braces. And the cross silking on the top of Rich’s guitar is absolutely luscious.

And you can see more of his photography focusing on this great example of one of the best Indian rosewood guitars Martin ever made – more 000-42 Marquis photos HERE

Thanks Rich!

G7th Performance Capo – a review

by one manNovember 21, 2013November 21, 20130

Some years ago I wrote a product review for Maury’s Music, on the G7th Performance Capo.

I have greatly revised my original review, as I have come to appreciate this capo more and more overtime. Basically, I learned how to attach it to the guitar neck better over time.

Unlike many capos, the G7th Performance Capo was the brainchild of a guitarist, Englishman Nick Campling, who is also a professional product designer. After 30 years of capo dissatisfaction, he fixed his eye upon the challenge of making a better mousetrap, err, capo. To do so, he looked at those produced in recent decades and how they may have fallen short in his demanding estimation.

His primary concerns were the effect of the capo on a guitar’s intonation, the ease of use in terms of applying and removing it, making sure the capo did not damage the guitar’s neck or get in the way of the guitarist’s fretting hand, and finally, a capo that was attractive to the eye. The G7th Performance capo does a good job in all these respects.

This is no easy order, given the long and not always pretty history of this little piece of guitar gadgetry…

We are pleased to present a new feature, a gallery of readers guitar photos

As more and more people send us photos of their guitars, to use with our reviews, or simply to tell us about a new guitar they have purchased, we will begin to share them in our gallery dedicated to readers guitar photos.

Readers Guitar Photos, the new gallery at One Man’s Guitar

Share this:

Like this:

A reader asks about Spoon’s thumbpick or extension when playing fingerstyle guitar.

Thank You,

Kevin in Kansas City

Spoon writes:

Spoon’s thumbpick or extension

Share this:

Like this:

A reader writes with questions regarding the D-45 Authentic differences found in models 1942 and 1936.

Your take will go a long way. Thank you.

Yoon in Malaysia

Spoon writes:

D-45 Authentic Differences

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Like this:

Designed for live performance, the new L.R. Baggs Lyric Classical microphone raises the bar for classical guitar amplification

An internal microphone with a high-quality preamp featuring proprietary anti-noise circuitry, and variable presence adjustment “crafted” expressly for nylon string guitars

Lyric Classical Acoustic Microphone by L.R. Baggs

Share this:

Like this:

The evocative time capsule photographs from the estate of David Gahr resurrect some of popular music’s most beloved artists in their prime, at the Morrison Hotel Gallery, in Soho, NYC.

From Leonard Bernstein to Patti Smith, a young Willie Nelson to a very young Bruce Springsteen, the royalty of Jazz, Folk, Blues and Rock n Roll preserved by David Gahr in living black and white.

Clowning around, or intent in their work, with joyous expressions or taken in moments of deep reflection, there is an intimacy to these pictures that seem to capture the personality of the personalities, as if one might still hear the breathing or the laughter if they listened hard enough.

These limited edition prints are available for sale and can be viewed here:

Share this:

Like this:

With a record price, the guitar that changed American music, Dylan’s Strat from Newport ’65, sets another milestone.

Share this:

Like this:

The Shimmer of 42

Combining the looks of a pre-war Style 42 12-fret slothead with the convenience of a 14-fret guitar, made all the more powerful with extra-deep sides, this deep body Martin OM, Madagascar/Adirondack jewel box from their fabled Custom Shop is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

Share this:

Like this:

The 13-song collection is available for pre-sale at the artist’s official website in high-quality digital FLAC, as a CD, or on 180 gram vinyl.

Official Neil Young Live at the Cellar Door Warner/Reprise Pre-sale HERE

Share this:

Like this:

Our very good friend Rich sent us some of his 000-42 Marquis photos,

the beloved guitar he tracked down and purchased in part because of our review, written for Maury’s Music.com the year week that model came out. Now discontinued, it remains highly sought after on the used guitar market.

And why not? It has primo woods, beautiful pearl inlay, and Marquis Series specifications, including top grade Adirondack spruce for the top, supported with Golden Era 1/4″ scalloped braces. And the cross silking on the top of Rich’s guitar is absolutely luscious.

Share this:

Like this:

Some years ago I wrote a product review for Maury’s Music, on the G7th Performance Capo.

I have greatly revised my original review, as I have come to appreciate this capo more and more overtime. Basically, I learned how to attach it to the guitar neck better over time.

Share this:

Like this: