Oh yes, I did it, and it's good, and I don't regret it one little bit...
One of the things I do in my spare time, which I enjoy a great deal, is play my guitar.
My guitar is a Cole Clark Fat Lady. Let me say, these guys know how to make guitars. When I was shopping, I played a lot of guitars, and didn't find many better than this... not even those three times the price. There were one or two that I thought were maybe better guitars, but they were in the very serious money range, and I wasn't going there. Compared to other guitar in their price range (AU$1400 for my model) they are just way ahead of all the rest.
But...
When I bought it, it had nice Elixir strings on it. They sounded good, but only lasted about three months before I broke one. When I went to buy a new set, I looked at the Elixirs and discovered they were about twice the price of a basic set of strings. What's more, the marketing hype on the box looks so gimmicky, I nearly laughed in the shop. Apparently, these strings have the "Critical Zone of Tone." If that doesn't put you off, nothing will. So, foolishly, I bought the cheaper strings and put them on my guitar.
Never again.
It is astonishing how much difference nice strings make to a guitar. I don't know what Elixir do differently to those other el-cheapo brands (appart from the critical zone of tone, of course) but whatever it is, it is well worth the extra $20, even if I spend it every three months. They just sound fantastic.
I put up with my other strings for about three months. I figured I couldn't just throw them away straight away, and besides, maybe I was just imagining the difference? Maybe they were not really that much better.
Never again.
My guitar is, once again, the beautiful, stunning, delectable sounding instrument it was when I bought it, and it's only getting better as the timber ages a bit. I love it. The sound is just sensational. I can't describe to you how good it is. But I'll have a go.
It has a grunty bottom end. Muted, this makes a wonderfully crunchy sound I didn't think was possible without a distorting amp.
Played gently, it is delicate, wonderfully sustained; it just sings. This is where it shines above every other guitar I have ever heard. I have a friend who owns a $4500 Martin; for gentle plucked work, I'd rather play my Cole Clark any day of the week. The sort of thing I'm thinking about is Paul Simon's arrangement of Scarborough Fair. This delicacy has a down-side; it is very sensitive to tuning. It is painfully obvious when the tuning is not exactly right, in a way that other guitars tolerate better. But it is worth it. It is also pretty picky about how you strum chords; any slight fault in how you finger them is painfully obvious. But it is worth it for that glorious sound.
When played nearer the bridge, it gains a very pure, almost choir-like tone that is gorgeous. I wouldn't want to play a lead part from a rock song on it, it would be all out of place, but that's not what I want it for.
All in all, I think my guitar is the final proof of the existence of God; how could a random universe produce something so beautiful?
My guitar is a Cole Clark Fat Lady. Let me say, these guys know how to make guitars. When I was shopping, I played a lot of guitars, and didn't find many better than this... not even those three times the price. There were one or two that I thought were maybe better guitars, but they were in the very serious money range, and I wasn't going there. Compared to other guitar in their price range (AU$1400 for my model) they are just way ahead of all the rest.
But...
When I bought it, it had nice Elixir strings on it. They sounded good, but only lasted about three months before I broke one. When I went to buy a new set, I looked at the Elixirs and discovered they were about twice the price of a basic set of strings. What's more, the marketing hype on the box looks so gimmicky, I nearly laughed in the shop. Apparently, these strings have the "Critical Zone of Tone." If that doesn't put you off, nothing will. So, foolishly, I bought the cheaper strings and put them on my guitar.
Never again.
It is astonishing how much difference nice strings make to a guitar. I don't know what Elixir do differently to those other el-cheapo brands (appart from the critical zone of tone, of course) but whatever it is, it is well worth the extra $20, even if I spend it every three months. They just sound fantastic.
I put up with my other strings for about three months. I figured I couldn't just throw them away straight away, and besides, maybe I was just imagining the difference? Maybe they were not really that much better.
Never again.
My guitar is, once again, the beautiful, stunning, delectable sounding instrument it was when I bought it, and it's only getting better as the timber ages a bit. I love it. The sound is just sensational. I can't describe to you how good it is. But I'll have a go.
It has a grunty bottom end. Muted, this makes a wonderfully crunchy sound I didn't think was possible without a distorting amp.
Played gently, it is delicate, wonderfully sustained; it just sings. This is where it shines above every other guitar I have ever heard. I have a friend who owns a $4500 Martin; for gentle plucked work, I'd rather play my Cole Clark any day of the week. The sort of thing I'm thinking about is Paul Simon's arrangement of Scarborough Fair. This delicacy has a down-side; it is very sensitive to tuning. It is painfully obvious when the tuning is not exactly right, in a way that other guitars tolerate better. But it is worth it. It is also pretty picky about how you strum chords; any slight fault in how you finger them is painfully obvious. But it is worth it for that glorious sound.
When played nearer the bridge, it gains a very pure, almost choir-like tone that is gorgeous. I wouldn't want to play a lead part from a rock song on it, it would be all out of place, but that's not what I want it for.
All in all, I think my guitar is the final proof of the existence of God; how could a random universe produce something so beautiful?
posted by Tom at
21:50
1 Comments:
dito, the chocolate.
By
Ang, at 17:23
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