Ashurbanipal
Well-known member
So, some of you know I've moved to the UK recently, and not long after scoping out the guitar shops where I live I came across an ad for this guitar show, so on Saturday I went along to see it at the Leicester racecourse.
It was on two levels, with a food stall/performance area downstairs, as well as a ukulele stand. Upstairs was where all the goodies were. My camera isn't the greatest, and using flash yielded worse results, so...
General area upstairs.
Godin/Seagull stand.
Should've had a go on the 'ud...
To paraphrase George Gruhn, never thought I'd see a 1k Tanglewood. Should've played it to see if it was good
Alvarez booth.
Lakewood booth.
Same...
Played this Lakewood M45. Bit stiff like many new spruce guitars but should be good once played in.
Lowden booth. Didn't get to play any as everyone was hogging them.
More... Would've liked to give that 12 a whirl...
Lots of people love Martins, and I haven't really played any, so a good opportunity to see what the fuss is about.
First up - Clapton's 000-28. Excellent midrange voice and lead sound, good bass too. Surprising amount of volume and girth despite the shallower body. However, it excels with a pick or fingers; I play with nails and it didn't work out. The V profile of the neck is a bit hard for my taste, and the Waverly tuners were a bit stiff. However, an impeccably assembled guitar with a tone to match.
75th anniversary D28. A total cannon when strummed and flat-picked, wow. You can bash this one and it'll just give more sound, not 'distort'. As usual, dreads don't really suit my style, but a cool guitar for the right application.
So yeah, Martins seem pretty good, but not for me, so much.
Now, the guitar I spent the most time on I don't have a pic of (typical...). A spruce/rosewood Martinez classical - very good player with strong tone. F# on 4th and 5th strings weak (wolf notes) which was unfortunate but the rest of the guitar was nice feeling and sounding.
There were also people playing/talking through the day.
Thomas Leeb spoke about his signature Lowden, the pups he uses, and played a few pieces.
The Toy Hearts. Quite liked some of their mixing of Gypsy Jazz with bluegrass, bit different.
So, the day was lots of fun. Next time, I need to go for longer to play more axes and also hang around for the evening concert.
It was on two levels, with a food stall/performance area downstairs, as well as a ukulele stand. Upstairs was where all the goodies were. My camera isn't the greatest, and using flash yielded worse results, so...
General area upstairs.
Godin/Seagull stand.
Should've had a go on the 'ud...
To paraphrase George Gruhn, never thought I'd see a 1k Tanglewood. Should've played it to see if it was good
Alvarez booth.
Lakewood booth.
Same...
Played this Lakewood M45. Bit stiff like many new spruce guitars but should be good once played in.
Lowden booth. Didn't get to play any as everyone was hogging them.
More... Would've liked to give that 12 a whirl...
Lots of people love Martins, and I haven't really played any, so a good opportunity to see what the fuss is about.
First up - Clapton's 000-28. Excellent midrange voice and lead sound, good bass too. Surprising amount of volume and girth despite the shallower body. However, it excels with a pick or fingers; I play with nails and it didn't work out. The V profile of the neck is a bit hard for my taste, and the Waverly tuners were a bit stiff. However, an impeccably assembled guitar with a tone to match.
75th anniversary D28. A total cannon when strummed and flat-picked, wow. You can bash this one and it'll just give more sound, not 'distort'. As usual, dreads don't really suit my style, but a cool guitar for the right application.
So yeah, Martins seem pretty good, but not for me, so much.
Now, the guitar I spent the most time on I don't have a pic of (typical...). A spruce/rosewood Martinez classical - very good player with strong tone. F# on 4th and 5th strings weak (wolf notes) which was unfortunate but the rest of the guitar was nice feeling and sounding.
There were also people playing/talking through the day.
Thomas Leeb spoke about his signature Lowden, the pups he uses, and played a few pieces.
The Toy Hearts. Quite liked some of their mixing of Gypsy Jazz with bluegrass, bit different.
So, the day was lots of fun. Next time, I need to go for longer to play more axes and also hang around for the evening concert.
