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Post by John on Jan 16, 2022 8:31:33 GMT -7
In my other 'guitar' thread, I posted about buying a new Martin OM-21. I have had a Martin OO-28 for about 4 years. I have come to realize I dig smaller bodied guitars.
The fit of the neck/body of the smaller OO-28 has always been a bit questionable. I have shaved down the saddle as far as I dare, but the action is still a little high for my tastes. The neck needed to be either built/installed at slightly different angle, or just higher. As it stands, it's just inside 'acceptable' tolerances. I've often wondered about selling the guitar and trying a different model. Recently there's been something about the tone that doesn't grab me. I can't put my finger on it, but I could sense it. I have had 13's on it for most of the years I've owned it. I "think" I remember posting soon after I got it that when I moved up to 13's I REALLY liked it.
But when I got the new OM-21 recently, it has the lighter 12's on it. I liked it so much that I wasn't going to even try moving up to 13's. And when I would quickly A/B the OM against the OO...I felt the OO was off. As I said in the other thread, the first thing that came to mind is the 13's felt too big. So I put a set of 12's on the OO...and wow...I like it. Both in tone and feel. Even though I have the brand new OM-21...I find myself picking up the OO-28 to play it. That final bit of magic has come back. So a guitar that was sort-of being considered for sale, has now jumped back up to the forefront of likeness. So it's sort of like getting TWO new guitars.
I think years of playing in rock bands made my playing a bit aggressive, and the lighter acoustic strings would buzz because I would hit them so hard. After 5 years of nothing but acoustic, perhaps my playing has mellowed out a bit.
Here they are together.
2022-01-16_10-08-05 by John Doe, on Flickr
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Post by GuitarZ on Jan 16, 2022 8:46:27 GMT -7
They certainly look nice.
I’m in week #3 of 12’s on my Dread. The last time I tried this, they stayed on for about an hour before heading back to my 13s.
This time, I promised myself they’d stay on until it was time for a string change. I almost reneged on that deal over the first few days. I’m glad I didn’t.
The playability is great with the 12’s. For solos, I kind of hit a chord and then play in between kind of like my electric. I’m not fighting the guitar with the 12’s. I do miss the canon boom of the 13’s and that sound is part of why I bought it. But, the 12’s sound pretty good too. And, it’s weird, but they seem to inspire more dynamics. My other change was moving from an extra heavy pick to heavy to not over power the 12’s.
So, I think I don’t have the same magic. But, it feels like I’ve found a new magic. The experiment continues. Although , the look of your guitars does tweak my desire to try a smaller body made for 12’s. 😀
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Post by John on Jan 16, 2022 9:36:32 GMT -7
...the look of your guitars does tweak my desire to try a smaller body made for 12’s. 😀
I'll get another picture with the dread included so you can see a bit more of the difference. The dread tone is something I've discovered can get a bit stale with me. It's big booming bass often overshadows the mids. The smaller bodies have less bass and it lets the mids come through. It seems to be a tone that appeals to me.
Of course, I say that, but recently I went several months with the dread in the case...then I pulled it out, slapped a new set of strings on it, and I REALLY liked the tone. But this has happened in the past, and I think I tire of the dread tone easily.
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Post by j4gitr (John) on Jan 16, 2022 10:14:33 GMT -7
John, Those are a couple of fine looking Martins. My 000-28EC has had 12’s on it since I bought it near 20 years ago. I’ve not found a desire or curiosity to change until recently. I’ve begun to search for a supplemental guitar to the aforementioned. My quest has lead me to a Dreadnought, D-35 in particular, or a Jumbo, J-40. I like the size of my 000, but I want a different voice. The Dreadnoughts and Jumbo as I understand are shipping with 13’s, so that has aroused my curiosity on string gauge. Maybe I will try changing things up soon.
John how do find the sonic difference between the 00 and the OM? I know if I really wanted to change things up, I would look at something like a D-18 or other mahogany guitar, but I really like the sound of rosewood. That’s why I’m looking at a radical body size and scale change. I’ve played the D-35, liked it, but I’d like to find and try a J-40. That’s a little tougher task.
I over analyze everything. I know that about myself. Maybe I should just look at a similar sized guitar with different strings.
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Post by John on Jan 16, 2022 10:38:27 GMT -7
John how do find the sonic difference between the 00 and the OM? I know if I really wanted to change things up, I would look at something like a D-18 or other mahogany guitar, but I really like the sound of rosewood.
Both the OO and the OM have rosewood back and sides. I also have a D-18 with mahogany back and sides. I chose the D-18 over a D-28 because the mahogany's mid push was needed for such a bass heavy guitar. (I did have the opportunity to A/B both when I was making the purchase...the D-18 just had more presence.)
But as for the OM vs OO.....
The OM is brighter with recessed mids
The OO has less high end and significantly more mids
I think the mids of the OO are so strong they're drowning out the highs. I would consider the OM a more balanced tone.
And strangely, the OO is just a bit louder...probably because of the heavy mids.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jan 16, 2022 10:45:05 GMT -7
I've got 10s on my Taylor GS Mini Koa. Love 'em.
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