November 26, 2024

Latest Acoustic Guitar Reviews and News

Artists / Electric Guitar

George Barnes – the first electric guitarist

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George Barnes just may be the best guitarist you (thought) you never heard. He appeared  at more recording sessions than any musician in the union files – blues, jazz, rock n roll, folk, country and western, you name it.

… Then, I heard the duets of George Barnes and Bucky Pizzarelli. I was enthralled with the musicality of the tunes, the breathtaking licks, the slower passages of glistening, liquid tone. For some reason I assumed the suave, James Bond looking guy with the colorful name must have been doing all the exquisite lead playing. Only later did I realize it was the squat, cigar-chomping George Barnes who was tripping the light fandango in such a transcendent manner.

He had a lot of practice, as it turned out…

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George Barnes

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Huss & Dalton TD-M Custom Sinker Mahogany – NEW REVIEW

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And what a Huss & Dalton TD-M Custom it is too!

In a word, the voice is huge … a good example of a Bluegrass banjo killer with focused trebles that cut through the stout, strong bass of its pronounced bottom end … If you are familiar with the brand, I can say this guitar is warmer, fatter and more resonant than even some rosewood Huss & Dalton offerings, as that dense tonewood and reflective spruce reverberate and amplify each note and every strum. It still sounds like mahogany, but mahogany that has been working out in the weight room …

Read Full Review of Huss and Dalton TD-M Custom

tdm1

Acoustic Guitars / Review

Huss & Dalton TD-M Sinker Mahogany

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Huss & Dalton TD-M Sinker Mahogany – our next review!

A Huss & Dalton TD-M Sinker Mahogany model will be the subject of a video and hi-def audio recording later today. We look very forward to visit from the owner, and to playing this guitar again.

It has been chosen as our next review, which we hope to have up early next week.

For those unfamiliar with sinker wood, it refers to timbers that were salvaged from bodies of water, where it has lain for years. In this case the mahogany came from Belize, where whole logs of old growth Big Leaf mahogany was submerged in a river for perhaps a century or more. Kiln dried in Belize, it has made its way to various luthiers, in this case it was made into a Huss & Dalton TD-M. Yum.

READ THE FULL REVIEW!

Related Content:

 http://www.hussanddalton.com/woods.html

Artists / Review

CD Review – Howard Emerson’s It Ain’t Necessarily So

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Howard Emerson’s It Ain’t Necessarily So offers tracks that are bluesier, while some are more poppy, or even churchy. Many are written in alternate tunings, and most of those are cross-tuned so the key is something other than the root of the tuning itself (no small feat when done with such mastery.) But all are neatly constructed and expertly rendered…

Emerson’s style is easily recognizable, by its authoritative thumb-driven rhythms matched with an intelligent use of mid range and treble that weave texture and highlight around simple yet fresh melodies. And there is always that impeccable timing, with flow and tension, space suddenly appearing and just as quickly filling up again. That is all notably present on tunes like “Pop Top” and “That’s What She Said.”

Read Full Review of Howard Emerson’s It Ain’t Necessarily So

Artists

Bob Brozman 1954-2013

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We are greatly saddened by the news of the untimely passing of Bob Brozman, at the age of 59.

An innovative traditionalist and with a wide scope as a musicologist, his was a unique style grounded with deep roots. He will be in many ways irreplaceable.

In the words of our good friend Stan Jay, of Mandolin Brothers:

Bob was a great person, musician and friend to the heritage of styles of the 1920s and ‘30s, and also to both the National Reso-Phonic and the Santa Cruz Guitar Companies.

He was always willing to share information and advice.

He was, in every way, a true professional.

We will greatly miss him.

Amen

Acoustic Guitars / Review

Featured Review – Lowden O50C African Blackwood

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We present our latest featured review, of an exquisite Lowden O50C, our first taste of African Blackwood.

“From the beautiful, master grade woods, the obvious expert craftsmanship, the sensual display of light and line, of arch and symmetry, of plane and undulation that make up the understated, woody aesthetic, everything suggests the best of the very best. And it has a voice every bit as good as its looks.”

Read Full Review (with video)

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Richie Havens 1941-2013

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Who didn’t get goosebumps and have the hair stand up on the back of their neck at least once during a viewing of Richie Haven’s Handsome Johnny, and the iconic Freedom (Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,) when he was the opening act at Woodstock?

Who else in popular music picked up a guitar and made the most out of doing the songs of other well-known artists, but could still be defined as a one of a kind original?

That rich, fertile baritone voice is now forever silenced. That amazing fretting thumb that turned Open D tuning into an ocean of ringing tone, and the phrasing that made each song seem like his was the way it was always meant to be, have rang the walls for the last time.

Rest in peace, Richie. I am grateful we will have a record of your art, even if it is but a tiny collection of your many, many performances.

Like this one, when you appeared on a bill with the biggest stars of your era and came out to play one, solo song at Columbia Records Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden, and showed them what it meant to have true class and genuine style all your own.

 

Artists

Laurence Juber has a new CD and a new guitar on the way

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We heard from our friend Laurence Juber this morning.

The double Grammy-winning guitarist dropped by One Man’s Guitar to check out the new site, and then dropped us a line to let us know about his new guitar, and tell us that our copy of his latest CD is on the way.

The album was recorded entirely with his  Martin OMC-44K LJ. It was made in Martin’s custom shop and features Hawaiian koa wood and special ultra-light construction for maximum resonance.

It was also available to the public in a limited edition of 25 guitars, available exclusively through Wildwood Guitars of Louisville, Colorado.

But LJ let us know he has a new personal custom on order. It will be identical to his OMC-18 LJ, only with a top made from the high altitude Swiss spruce that debuted on a small number of special Martins this past January, like the Custom Shop’s own CS-OM-13.

We can’t wait to LJ’s new axe on stage and CD!