Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

So I walk into the guitar store

#81

Cool! Glad you got her setup to your liking. Mine is long scale too, 25.4.

I’m not much of a guitar tech and the guitar is setup pretty good, but I thought about getting another saddle to drop in for different seasons. Bob Colosi has a pre cut Bourgeois saddles that look like they would drop right in for a little lower action (maybe for fingerpicking). Might do some experimenting to see how low I can go.

My frets are looking pretty good too after 5 years. A lot better than the Martin after 8 months. Pretty stout fret wire on the Bourgeois but I’ll refret the Martin every year if I have to.

#82

The only thing you need to watch on saddle height is that you don’t get it to low and remove the string bend over it, the flatter it gets the less tone you get. Also make sure you have either a flat or slight relief in the neck before you lower the saddle and make sure the strings gauges fit the nut slots…Merry Christmas, Jerry

#83

[attachment=4]DSCN0483.JPG[/attachment]Hey Shawn I got the disease to I guess, gotta stay away from guitar stores for sure, hate to say it but…Walked Into the guitar store and am now the proud owner of a Collings D2HA…ya I know… :mrgreen:

#84

Oh no you didn’t! Haha, that’s nice!

I bet that guitar is a beast. Love to know what you think of it when you get a chance. Does it have the Vintage or Vintage Now neck?

I must admit I’ve been looking at some Collings CW’s. It’s a sickness. :smiley:

Congrats on it man! I don’t think you’ll find anything that will cast shade over that. I see ya with that Elliot on there too, yer killin’ me Jerry. :smiley:

#85

That looks like a keeper. Congratulations!

#86

Thanks guys, yes a keeper for sure, especially if I want to stay married… :unamused: The neck well I am not sure to be honest, I only know it is super comfy for me to play, a modified v shape, not like the Martin V but suttle, if you look at the back it has just a little v shape but kind of rounded.
The difference between this and the Bourgeois is the edge of the neck is just a tad rounded in towards the fingerboard, and the Bourgeois more flat, hard to explain but this Collings neck is the best I have found for my small hands.
I just got it back from the luthier yesterday had the free set up done on it, offered by the store on all new guitars, man it’s even better yet, he set it at 3/32 top to 2/32 bottom at the 12th, cut the nut a wee bit and man it plays like butter now.
Shawn I didn’t mention it before but the story is this, any guitar you buy from McKenzie River here in Or. is for thirty days full refund towards any other guitar if your not happy. Not a refund like GC, but I traded my Bourgeois back in for the 3K I paid and put it towards this one, the reason this came about was I sold a rifle I had sitting in the safe that I never shot and with the extra cash was able to swing it. This one was 4200. I loved the Bourgeois but originally when I got it I only had the 3k and had looked at this one but was short. So when I got the cash I RAN over to the store tried it out and got it.
I am not rich and for me this was a once in a lifetime chance to get it so I jumped on it. Now i am back to being broke, but smiling… :mrgreen:
When the luthier was telling me what the setup took and so on he said the guitar is about as square and perfect as they come at any price, and in 12 years of them handling Collings he has never had a neck reset issue, they have three truss rods in there and the workmanship is really special.
I can still go in the guitar store but no more than strings from now on. If you decide on a Collings you won’t be sorry.

Jerry :smiley:

#87

Forgot to mention this one has the 1 3/4 option on the nut and it’s perfect for me, must be the string spacing because it’s the first guitar that I have ever owned I can make a totally clean C on the B string with no dead E, just perfect, maybe it’s the neck shape, I don’t know but I gotta say it’s wonderful.
I was so excited at being able to buy the darn thing i never even noticed until I got it home and looked at the tag that it was the wider option. Guess it was meant to be because this is just how I would have ordered one. I also tried the custom with the Adi braces but liked the sound of this one better, a little more bottom to it. Anyway you guys can tell I am really stoked…

#88

Jerry that is awesome. It sounds like a great guitar. 3/32 is right around where I like my action, and the 1 3/4 nut is my personal preference as well. Collings makes fantastic instruments.

I don’t want to sound like a nag, and you probably already have it covered. But just in case, it’s winter time, and a brand new guitar plus winter’s low humidity can do things to a guitar that make a grown man cry. There are devoted forum topics here, but if nothing else you can make a case humidifier with a ziplock baggy and a piece of good sponge.
bryankimsey.com/humdifier/index.htm

#89

Hi Mike and thanks for the concern, only I live in Oregon right on the ocean front and believe me there is no fear of a dry guitar around here, if anything to much humidity. I keep a hygrometer here in my music room and in the winter I run from 48 to 56% and in the summer it hangs in right at 44% almost every day.
The guys at McKenzie told me one of the reasons there are so many vintage guitars of great age in such good condition is due to the climate here in Or. and Wa. state, I have never owned a humidifier but run a dehumidifier in the winter for our house. We get around 200+ inches of rain here from Nov. to Apr.
I did order a guitar a while back from a shop in Ohio and it got here with the fret ends sticking out due to being in a dry shop most likely with forced air heat. I kept it here in my room and stuck a cup of water in the case and in about 2 weeks they were almost back to normal. The shops around here don’t even use controls just the regular levels are fine. Jerry

#90

Good deal. Sorry to be a worry wart :smiley:

#91

Thanks Mike, I keep a close watch on my guitar and mando for any problems but like I said perfect climate here for woods. Gotta say this Collings is the loudest guitar I ever owned, enormous sound! The other thing I have found is the sustain and clear notes on the higher end of the neck are unbelievable. For a new guitar this thing is really open I can only imagine what it will be like in a year or two. Think I finally found the perfect dread…

#92

I wish we had that perfect humidity. It’s a challenge keeping it reasonable here in the winter. I am sitting on 42% now, and that’s a pretty good day even with the humidifier going. I usually end up needing to add case humidifiers more often than not in winter.

I am ecstatic for you. Finding “the one” guitar is awesome. To find it in something new is extra special as you will get to watch it grow over the years. Well, not exactly grow, but you know what I mean. I don’t own a Collings, but I have come close several times. If I ever get serious about mando, I’ll probably get one of theirs. They also make incredible ukuleles. Based on what I heard, I probably should have jumped on that varnish Collings Ben briefly had for sale for a friend. That thing sounded exceptional. It sounds like yours is similar. Congrats again!

#93

Sorry to hear you got rid of the Bourgeois but glad you found one you like. I think the Slope D is a very versatile instrument and does a lot of things well, but I don’t know if it’s a hardcore Bluegrass instrument. Atleast not for rhythm, it does fine with lead. The jury is still out on that one. If I do trade it, it will be for Collings Mahogany like a D1A or CW, hold the Varnish please. :smiley:

#94

Ya I wish I could have kept both but not being that well healed it came down to one, after having my Collings now for a few weeks I’ve got to say I LOVE IT!!! This ones not going anywhere for sure, best guitar hands down I ever owned for sure. If I was rich I would get the Hog as well so I could have both but this Rosewood is beautiful and I think the tone is great and the volume is tremendous. I don’t even look at guitars anymore just practice so I know I found the right one for me. Jerry

#95

I know the feeling; when I was working over time and made 1201.00 clear a week I had a different guitar about once a month . It was 80 hours a week and I still found time to play, about 1994 I think it was. I was not into flat picking then but later I got enamored and now I can’'t quit . About March of this year I will be sporting a new Martin, it is not the expensive kind but about all I can afford being retired, DCAP4 I think, it is sapele sides and back solid wood and the spruce top it has the black richlite fret board and I under stand that is a composite with paper and some kind of resin but it is hard as nails and feels smooth to the touch. I played a OMC 160 gte this morning and it felt good and had a great tone and was loud enough for me . The one I am getting has the Fishman electronics also . I shy away from binding on the neck as it is a pain to replace the frets when they need to be replaced.
The Takemine I have has a haunting tone to it but is not that loud . I got that in 1989 . I play for fun and not for others unless I am asked to play and then it is with apprehension I play . I sure miss having a picking partner . Makes it all sound much better when two play together .

#96

Hey Welder,
The PA series guitars are nice. I think you will really enjoy it. I have a GPCPA3 I bought for plugging in and I have really enjoyed it. The GPC size isn’t going to be as loud as the DC you are looking at, but it is a real comfy guitar. It’s really a good “do anything” guitar. It has a nice warm tone that works great with a pick or fingerstyle. Mine came set up perfect right out the box. The frets were spot on and the action was on the low side of martin specs. The neck is a very comfortable shape. I think you will enjoy it.

As a disclaimer, you might see me sell mine at some point, but my posting nice things about it is unrelated. If I sell it, it’s just because the GPCPA3 became a bit redundant when my wife bought a Taylor. They both fill the same basic role.

#97

I may shoot for the Dred instead but The sides and back has to be made of Sapele as the Takemine has sapele and it has a great tone. I agree the smaller bodies do not have the volume . No better n I play I could get by using a sears roebuck 29 dollar one . But hey you only go around one time. I do have a banjo I might sell later .

#98

If a dreadnought fits you, they are your best bet in a guitar shape for flatpicking. That’s why you see so many of them. I like sapele too. It does have a nice tone.