Acoustic Tone | Guitar Tone Talk

Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar Review

This is a guest post by Freddy Charles

The logic behind a travel guitar has always peaked my interest, mainly because I’ve traveled to nearly 80 countries thus far, and have spent chunks of my life on the road. When inspiration strikes, having the proper tools on hand can go a long way for us creatives. While the idea of a carry-on guitar is good in theory, the products available over the years have really fallen short. The Martin backpacker for instance, quite compact in its design, but barely an acceptable instrument to practice or really play on. Other companies have made some attempts in this space as well, but in my opinion they all miss the marker.

Taylor introduced the GS Mini a few years back, taking the shortcomings of their “Baby” model and turning them into a “real” guitar. The Mini is the answer for the guitarist who travels extensively, and needs to keep his chops sharp. While it is a tad bigger than your typical travel guitar, once you get a feel for it, you’ll understand why this instrument is worth every penny.

Technically speaking the GS Mini is a 23 1/2″scale guitar. The body is comprised of a solid Sitka Spruce top, with laminate Sapele back and sides. The guitar has 20 frets with an overall length of just over 36 inches. It’s a well made instrument, and seems to have been designed to take a good beating.

The Taylor GS Mini in my opinion is a functional acoustic guitar that can be used in a performance or rehearsal setting. I think it would be unfair to call this a practice instrument. The sound from this smaller scale guitar will shock you. The low end is what initially captured my attention, and its big fat tone resonates like a guitar twice the price and size. The mid range sounds are perfect, as are the highs; crisp and tight. Playability on the guitar is quick, smooth and accurate- very similar to higher end Taylor guitars. As with most Taylors, Elixir Nanoweb strings are standard, and medium gauged are recommended to achieve the bigger sound. The guitar doesn’t need much breaking in; Taylor does an excellent job of setting the action just right, out of the box. I found the guitar extremely comfortable from the gate. Even though the body is smaller, it feels secure while your seated, or even when you stand and attach a strap.

The GS Mini also comes in a few different configurations. You can opt for a Mini with or without electronics, and choose between the spruce or mahogany tops. For me, the spruce suits my needs better than the mahogany. It’s much brighter as you would expect, but I also feel that with a guitar this size, you’re better off opting for the wood that gives you better projection. In this case the spruce top wins. Volume-wise, it’s loud enough to compete with full-sized guitars.

Lastly, the Taylor GS Mini comes with a convenient soft travel case that can be worn as a backpack, or carried in traditional fashion. It’s also thoroughly paded, you need not worry about dropping the guitar or banging it while in its case. For a retail price of $499, the GS offers everything you’ll need to rehearse, travel and perform in any musical setting.

Check prices for the Taylor GS Mini on Musician’s Friend

Resophonic Tone – A History of Resonator Guitars

A Guest Post by Al @resoguitar

The resophonic, or resonator guitar, has a distinct tone that sets it apart from other acoustic and electric guitars. It was born in the Jazz Age of the roaring 20’s, an era prior to the invention of the first electric guitar, as a means of mechanically amplifying the sound to be heard above an orchestra. The man behind the invention was a Slovak-American craftsman, inventor and musician named John Dopyera who later went on to found the Dobro guitar company. The word “Dobro” has become synonymous with resonator guitars much in the way that “Xerox” has with photocopy machines. When someone says “Dobro” the picture that immediately springs to mind is an acoustic guitar with a shiny hubcap-like object in the middle where the soundhole usually resides.

Actually, there are at least three distinct flavors of reso-guitars, each with its own unique sound. Mr. Dopyera’s original guitar was a tri-cone model consisting of 3 small aluminum cones, about 6 inches in diameter, resting on a mechanical bridge that transferred the vibrations of the strings to the cones. The cones act as speakers, amplifying the sound without the need for electricity. The tone is balanced, the sustain is good and the volume is LOUD! It is a marriage of form, sound and functionality. The unusual design of the body, made of German Silver alloy with art deco lines, was unlike any guitar before or since. The list of notable guitarists who play a tri-cone is long, but guitar wizard Bob Brozman is at the top. Mr Brozman deserves a lot of credit for the resurgence of these wonderful instruments today and his mastery of the instrument is second to none.

Tri-cones are a joy to hear, see and play. Mr. Dopeyera considered it his greatest invention. It was marketed under the National Guitar brand and became quite popular among Hawaiian guitarists. Hawaiian music was all the rage during that time and the National Tri-cone quickly rose to prominence and popularity. It is still the flagship instrument of the new National Guitar Company, who make faithful reproductions of the original Nationals along with new and exciting designs of their own.

As the world sank into the Great Depression of the 1930’s the tri-cone suddenly was too expensive for most musicians to afford. John Dopyera created a second model that was less expensive to produce, but every bit as loud as his original. This was the single cone model, sometimes referred to as a “biscuit cone” because of the round wooden disc that sits atop a larger, single convex cone. This model became the choice instrument for the traveling Bluesmen of that era because of their incredible volume and rugged metal bodies. The metal body of National Guitar could even be used to fend off a hostile crowd in a juke joint in a pinch. Their sound is different from the Tri-cones with a sharper attack and less sustain. Johnny Winter, the great modern American Bluesman, once described it as nasty, like a metal garbage can with a wire attached to it. Not a very flattering but still fairly

accurate analogy. It’s the sound we associate with Country Blues Giants like Son House and Bukka White. In more recent times you might have noticed Mark Knoffler’s National Guitar gracing the cover of Dire Straits’ “Brothers In Arms” album.

Shortly after Mr. Dopyera perfected his single cone resonator he ended his business partnership with National Guitar and started his own company. Since he didn’t own the patents for his original designs, he set about creating yet a third model of resonator guitar that became known as the spider cone. This is a concave aluminum cone with a metal alloy bridge riding over it that resembles a spider’s web. The spider’s sound is characterized by clear, loud tones and good sustain. Dobro guitars can be found in both wooden and metal style bodies. The choice of materials influences the tone of the instrument. The Dobro is commonly associated with Bluegrass or Country Music and it’s often played lapstyle with a metal bar instead of the bottleneck that traditional Bluesmen often use. In the hands of a musical genius like Jerry Douglas the sky is the limit. Mr. Douglas and some of his peers, like Rob Ikes, have taken the sound of the reso-guitar to new places and they continue to push those boundaries today.

There are three main types of resophonic guitars; the tri-cone, biscuit and spider. The bodies can be made of metal, wood or even fiberglass in some cases. The necks can be round (like most guitars) for chording and playing bottleneck style or square with the strings sitting high off the fretboard for lapstyle playing. All of these factors will have an effect on the tone of the instrument, along with the quality of the materials and the care and craftsmanship that goes into building it. There are no rules when it comes to selecting a certain model of resonator for a particular style of music. It’s up to the individual to find the tone that’s right for them. If you’re having a difficult time deciding, you can always own more than one reso-guitar. Please exercise caution, as they can be habit forming and I’m not aware of any 12-step programs that can assist with your recovery. Cheers!

Paul Simon’s Guild Acoustic Guitar

Back in the ’60s, Simon and Garfunkel were one of the best acts around. Though their setup was very simple, two voices and an acoustic guitar. During this time, Paul Simon was using a Guild acoustic guitar (the F-30 Special) which produced the most perfect acoustic guitar tone that I can think of. Warm, balanced, and extremely responsive.

Sometime in the ’70s and later, Paul Simon played many different acoustic guitars. Though something seemed lost in his acoustic tone I feel. Nothing sounded quite as beautiful as his Guild guitar.

This has led me to become very interested in a Guild acoustic guitar. I believe they are a real competitor to Martin and Gibsons.

Bjarton – Vintage Guitars from Sweden

A couple of years ago, I was visiting my local vintage guitar store, Paul’s Boutique, here in Toronto. As I made my rounds of the vintage gear, I went to the back room where they keep their acoustic guitars. I scanned for something interesting and a used classical guitar caught my eye due to its natural finish. I picked it up, and proceeded to play some spanish guitar licks, classical music, and a bit of blues. Immediately I was struck by the beautiful tone.

As I inspected the guitar, I saw that it was made by a company called Bjarton. It was a weird sounding name which I had never heard before. Noticing that the price tag was $150, I figured it was a good deal for a good playing instrument with a nice warm tone. Also I like used guitars for some reason as it feels like they have their own little history. And being 3/4th’s the size of a regular classical, I thought it’d be cool to have! I paid at the register, was given the crummy soft case that came with it, and I was on my way.

After playing a little more at home and appreciating its nice open, beautiful sound, I needed to do some investigative work on this guitar made by Bjarton. My model specifically was the Carmencita as written in the inner label. It definitely had the spanish vibe, thats for sure. After some googling, I found that Bjarton was an old company from Sweden who handmade their guitars. And my guitar specifically was made in 1971! Wow, a 40 years old classical guitar! No wonder it sounded so good. And now it sounds even better since I have played it in.

The Bjarton Carmencita has a very nice comfortable fretboard made of Jakaranda! Very cool! The bridge is made from the same material. The top, neck and sides are made of mahogany, which the top is solid spruce. Just a fine, well made instrument, and for $150, I felt so lucky to get my hands on it!

Bjarton seemed to have started sometime in the ’50s, and stopped making guitars in the ’80s. Check out these pictures from back in the day at their factory in Sweden:

All in all, Bjarton makes some excellent guitars, and if you ever see one in a shop, my advice is to pick it up. Why? Because it will be cheap, and you will be getting a handmade, aged, beautiful-sounding instrument!

Best Guitar Tuners on the Market

The best guitar tuner is dependent on a few factors. Do you want it in a pedal format, or as a clip-on to the headstock? So to decide which guitar tuners are the best on the market, we will showcase them in both of these categories. Continue reading Best Guitar Tuners on the Market

Guitar Hummer Review

About a month ago, we got our hands on a new product called the Guitar Hummer. In the form of a guitar stand, its purpose it to ‘play in’ your
acoustic guitar by the means of motorized vibrations. Its goal is to simulate the guitar being played, in order to produce a better sounding instrument in a shorter amount of time.

This may sound confusing. To simplify, playing your guitar vibrates the entire instrument. These vibrations condition the guitar to sound better. So essentially, the more you play it, the better the instrument will sound.
The Guitar Hummer works in a way to speed up this process, as it does take years of playing to really notice a difference in tone. Their ideas is to keep the guitar on their stand 24/7 when not playing and have it vibrate constantly. We decided to take the challenge of using the Guitar Hummer for one month to see if we could notice any difference in tone.

The test subject, my 40 year old classical guitar. I bought it used about a year ago, and it was virtually unplayed. Whenever I wasn’t playing it, it was left on the Guitar Hummer.

One thing I noticed right away was that when it was on the stand, you could hear a bit of a hum, hence the name of the company. Since I leave the stand out in the living room, this wasn’t an issue. The Guitar Hummer does have an intensity control to adjust the vibrations. So if it is too loud, you can dim it down and still get it vibrating.

The Result: After a month, we did notice a change in tone, although it was small. Still, it was impressive that in a months time that we could notice a change. What we noticed exactly was that the sustain improved a bit and the overall sound of the instrument was more musical.

While the result wasn’t much, this was only from a one month test. Since there was a difference, I’m very curious to see what a year with the Guitar Hummer would yield.

The Guitar Hummer is not cheap, retailing at $150 US. But its designed for high-end acoustic guitars that want to have the luxury of being a played-in instrument in a much quicker timeframe. So if you want your acoustic guitar to sound its best, and you don’t want to wait many years, then the Guitar Hummer is for you. In the end, it really is a truly innovative product in the acoustic guitar world. Would be very interesting if they expanded to other acoustic instruments such as violins. Until then, good vibrations.

What are the Best Classical Guitar Strings?

Finding the best classical guitar strings takes a bit of experimenting, as its all very subjective to the player and their ears. This article will help you figure out which classical nylon strings are right for you.

Low-Tension vs. High-Tension
If you have purchased classical strings before, than you have probably noticed that there are different tensions available. But what does the tension have to do with the sound. Use this guide to figure out the tension right for you:

Low Tension: Easier on the fingers, Softer Sound, Low Volume

High Tension: More Volume, More of a Rounded Tone, More Sustain

Personally, I’ve used all tensions and High Tension sounded the best with my classical. Again, its good to experiment as different guitars take strings differently. If you can’t decide, Medium Tension is a good middle-ground. If you are really unsure, then go with Low Tension.

Brands
Most brands of classical strings will be good, but if you are looking for some good ones, I can recommend ones that I’ve personally used and like. They are D’addario, Augustine (great for flamenco!), Savarez (expensive), and Sevilla (also expensive).

String Materials
While you can get all steel classical strings, I recommend nylon if you want the real classical sound. There are different kinds of nylon from rectified to clear. Both sound good, its just a matter of taste. As for the bass strings, you can get gold, silver and copper wound. They all are different in their own right. I would recommend to try them all and see what sounds best to your ears.

So there you have it. Use this guide when finding out what the best classical strings are for you.