It's always commonplace for folks to have the opinion that the make of acoustic guitar you use to play blues music is really vital to the sound. Whenever I've played blues well in front of people, or upload a song on my Youtube Channel, I very often get comments of the nature "great performance - what make of instrument is that?"
This poses the very obvious inquiry - how vital is the guitar to a guitarist's sound? It should seem obvious, the guitar style isn't the most important factor, but represents an important part. When asked what kind of instrument he best performed with, Muddy Waters simply said "Doesn't matter at all - just hand me a guitar and I'll make you cry!"
There are great film clips on Youtube showcasing the legendary blues men giving astonishing performances using just run of the mill instruments, such as Mance Lipscomb playing a cheap Eko guitar. It almost goes without saying that when the master blues men were starting out,they didn't have the money to lay out on expensive instrument, and these men perhaps played a lower priced Stellar,bought from the Sears catalogue (like Elizabeth Cotton) or a used instrument shop. My own favorite guitar when I was beginning to perform for audiences was a 000 body size Yamaha acoustic put together with laminated wood. It pushed out the sound and efficient, which was exactly what I wanted.
But of course the quality of the instrument makes a difference?
This is surely so, and you need to assess the effect of that difference for you personally. The variance in sound quality when comparing a $150 instrument and one priced at $1500 is not too enormous nowadays, bearing in mind the cheap, excellent quality instruments being made in China. Apart from the difference in the quality of sound, the major factor is playability.The expensive hand-crafted modes are easy to play. You can do the same music with the less expensive instrument, but it will take more work. As well as this, generally the sustain and harmonics of the sounds using the less expensive instruments isn't so good. Gently strike the bass string of a high priced Martin and hear what I'm talking about. It seems to sustain for a couple of minutes!
Which Guitar To Buy?
Logically, some styles are better suited for different types of performance, together with string height above the sound board adjustment and what kind/size of string to use. A big body Gibson has profound bass notes and pushes the sound away from the guitar - fantastic for picking with the fingers wearing plastic or metal picks, strumming or using a plectrum. Ragtime style guitar players preferred to play small bodied instruments, such as the Stellar or Gibson parlor type.
Parlor instruments are being offered once more and are increasingly popular. While not strictly parlor size, the body size designated 000 is becoming a kind of standard guitar for playing acoustic blues, like the 000 28EC produced by Martin Guitars.
Depends On How You Play.
Do you strike the strings softly or with a hard approach? This is also a major factor in choosing a guitar. Some guitars don't don't really like being hit hard, but some love it! Ideally, the top of the range instruments(which are usually the high cost items) will play happily with many styles of playing. My counsel for guitar searchers is 'go and play some!'
It doesn't always follow that the high dollar guitar is naturally best either. A few years ago, Gretsch created a range of instruments named the 'Americana' Series which cost around $95 when brand new. The four instruments in the range were in garish shades and were covered in pictures, like as cowgirls, cows and UFOs! Although intended to be a novelty item, these small guitars turned out to be really good (they were made by a major guitar maker after all) with all wood construction and quality top. These guitars are not manufactured today, and it's almost impossible to acquire one - just one example of cheap being good.
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