Dave
Halfnote
Posts: 56
Formerly Known As: Belgarath
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Post by Dave on Sept 10, 2020 22:09:17 GMT -5
In a good way... I haven't done much with a guitar in a few years and have always been somewhat of a perpetual beginner in spite of having spent a lot of time modifying and building strats and a tele electric over the years. All that said it's probably been about five years since I've tried playing. I discovered I have nearly enough parts to build a strat once I acquire the few bits and pieces I'm lacking. In the meantime while looking for those bits, I stumbled onto an acoustic guitar similar in looks to a Martin 000-18 that sells for $129 and I just had to take a chance on it. My grandpa always had Martins and to me it's just what an acoustic guitar should look like.
I didn't really expect much from it but I tuned it up and ran a couple of G runs and was pleasantly surprised at how it sounded. I don't have a lot of experience with acoustics, but I like how the resonance of it feels just playing scales and g runs and spider walking on it. The small body is plenty loud for the living room strumming chords.
The brand name is Sigma but its not the old Martin Sigma brand. These are made in Indonesia and distributed by St Louis Music. It has a gloss finished body with a vintage tinted solid spruce top and sapele back, sides and neck. The neck is satin finished with a fairly dark rosewood fingerboard and a Martin-shaped head stock with Grover tuners. The frets, if a little on the small side, are nicely finished as are the fret board edges. It has rosewood bridge and a nice if slightly undersized to my eyes tortoise pick guard. At this price the nut, compensated bridge saddle, and pins are white plastic. They come with D'addario strings. The setup is pretty good and the only quality control issue I've found is a little extra glue on about half an inch of binding that I scraped off with my thumbnail.
I'm not saying you get the equal of a Martin guitar for $129 by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems like a lot of guitar for the money. It's gefinitely a keeper and suits my needs well though I'll probably eventually replace the plastic saddle and nut with bone.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Sept 11, 2020 7:17:42 GMT -5
Dave, I haven't seen this specific brand but I know what you're talking about.
It is *amazing* to see the good quality of some (many?) low-cost imported guitars. I think the reality if it all is magnified for us older players that lived through a time when an inexpensive import was made with inferior materials using inferior methods and remained very difficult to play--no matter what one did to help the setup. And it never stayed in tune.
I can remember when a $20 ukulele was little more than a wall decoration. Today you can spend $20 on a uke that is well made and plays and sounds great. Scale the price and size up a bit and we have guitars today that we could only dream about when we were kids.
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Post by orrk01 on Sept 11, 2020 8:58:17 GMT -5
My very first acoustic guitar from back in the day was a Kingston. The action was set so high that by the time I was able to play an F-chord, I could crush a coconut with my left hand. I am constantly amazed at what you can get these days for very little money.
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Post by rangercaster on Sept 12, 2020 17:52:46 GMT -5
I have a Cort AF590, Laminated mahogany concert body 12 fret slothead with a Fishman Sonitone pickup...
Full scale neck ...
$250...
The Martin USA is solid wood, but costs $1600 and no pickup...
It sounds amazing, and is beautifully constructed...
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Post by FlyonNylon on Sept 22, 2020 23:17:10 GMT -5
Sounds like a cool guitar and you like playing it, which is most important.
I have a classical guitar that I bought for ~$20 in Czech Korunas back when I lived over there. It still stays in tune and I still enjoy playing it.
It's a great time to be a guitarist since quality control improvements have made for very nice inexpensive guitars, especially with a new set of strings and a proper setup.
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Post by LTB on Sept 23, 2020 10:23:33 GMT -5
I have a 1979 Takamine F-349 a Japanese Martin D-17 copy all Mahogany Guitar that Carol and I bought my mom that year for Christmas and when she passed away my dad gave it to me. I love the guitar now that I put Elixir Phosphor Bronze .012's on it. Woke the tone up in the guitar.
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Post by hushnel on Sept 24, 2020 9:53:31 GMT -5
There was a time when I wouldn’t consider or even check out a cheap instrument. I learned along the way that spending time on the set up was giving me increasingly better results. Now they come off the shelf playable with decent sound.
A while back I was checking out short scale basses, I was friendly with one of the Guitar Center instructors , he made violins on the side. He pointed out a $149.00 Bronco, told me it was the best playing bass in the store. He was right on, it was amazing. I bought it. It was worthy, I put a Bi-Sonic pickup in it and upgraded the tuners and pots. I get a kick out of playing it, It’s fun listening to the armchair rock stars dissing my Bronco, then asking me about it after the set. It certainly lowers the expectation of my ability, and creates the conversation.
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Post by Lefty Rev on Sept 25, 2020 10:46:17 GMT -5
I get a kick out of playing it, It’s fun listening to the armchair rock stars dissing my Bronco, then asking me about it after the set. It certainly lowers the expectation of my ability, and creates the conversation. LOL! Whenever I end up playing bass instead of guitar, I always say " I don't play the bass; I play AT the bass." It lowers expectations... ...sorry - off topic - carry on! |
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Post by LTB on Sept 25, 2020 15:59:39 GMT -5
I get a kick out of playing it, It’s fun listening to the armchair rock stars dissing my Bronco, then asking me about it after the set. It certainly lowers the expectation of my ability, and creates the conversation. I'll bet you sound better on your Bronco than I do on my American Pro  I put a Bi-Sonic pickup in it and upgraded the tuners and pots Which brand BiSonic Pickup and tuners did you put in it? |
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Post by hushnel on Sept 26, 2020 12:34:05 GMT -5
I used the Guild BS-1, I just checked the price, I paid a good deal more for it 5 or 6 years ago. The tuners are Hipshot USA. The first bass I built is probably the best looking instrument I’ve made so far. I went all out with, both hardware and wood selection and dry runs, building jigs etc.. I was a wimp and purchased a finished ebony fretless neck from Warmoth. I’ve made and fretted necks since but will on occasion still purchase a prefab. This first build looks roadworn now I used it exclusively for at least 10 years closer to 15. linkinsert code here |
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Post by LTB on Sept 27, 2020 2:02:40 GMT -5
Nice Looking Bass hushnel!
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Post by hushnel on Sept 27, 2020 11:46:02 GMT -5
Thanks I had a lot of support from the early FDP.
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