What's your favourite acoustic guitar tone on record?

Dave_Vader

Not strictly acoustic, but that fucking ugly noise John Sebastian cranked out at Woodstock was a thing of beauty.
I stuck a strat pickup in my acoustic in tribute.

Or Nick Jones on Penguin Eggs. The whole damn album

bandmaster188

Little Martha by Duane Allman and even though I'm not a G&R fan really, I've always liked the acoustics in patience.

MagicPigDetective

Kurt Vile gets great Martin acoustics tones, such as this

https://youtu.be/ffL4YfkAi_8

Also have to agree about Johnny Marr; the acoustics on Queen is Dead are pretty much perfection. 

AliGorie

yup

HPhillipsmusic

Dave Rawlings is up there, and of course John Martyn/Nick Drake. But the record Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge put out last year is hands down the best recordings of acoustics out there for me, and those guys seriously push the boundaries for me. Heres a live track from the record

rustneversleeps

ICBM said:

Neil Young on almost anything.

Also Steven Stills on his D42 wasn’t to shabby.

Tone71

Dave Rawlings & Gillian Welch





David Crosby and Graham Nash great sound, it was hearing the first Crosby Sill and Nash album that made me want to get a guitar, in fact I still listen to it regularly.



So it must be the sound of a dread Martin for me that ticks the boxes, have never played one though but have 2 Taylors!?

richardhomer

So @RandallFlagg - is the correct answer ‘D28’, or am I talking drivel?

RandallFlagg

richardhomer said:

So @RandallFlagg - is the correct answer ‘D28’, or am I talking drivel?

Yep, A D28 is the acoustic tone of choice for me. It's quieter and a has less low end /high end than a HD28 but records all the better for it. The woodier and more mid-rangey on an old 70s recording it is, the more I like it!

However, that tone that Eric Roche gets with his Benjamin OM is very special, have you listened to it?

My D28 is 2 years old and the top is starting to yellow slightly, losing the anaemic look of new wood and the satin neck is now polished glossy smooth from playing. It's hard to tell if it sounds better than when new as the changes are gradual but to my ears it does.

Jalapeno

CSNY - Carry On

Funkfingers

Thommo. Difficult to single out one example. Try Beeswing.

Rocker

RandallFlagg said:

Any my absolute favourite of all...

Eric Roche - With These Hands played on his Benjamin OM model:

Having met and listened to Eric Roche play live [as in unmiked and in the same room], the tone of his guitar on his recordings is quite a bit more processed sounding that when he was sat right in front of me.

richardhomer

RandallFlagg said:

richardhomer said:

So @RandallFlagg - is the correct answer ‘D28’, or am I talking drivel?

Yep, A D28 is the acoustic tone of choice for me. It's quieter and a has less low end /high end than a HD28 but records all the better for it. The woodier and more mid-rangey on an old 70s recording it is, the more I like it!

However, that tone that Eric Roche gets with his Benjamin OM is very special, have you listened to it?

My D28 is 2 years old and the top is starting to yellow slightly, losing the anaemic look of new wood and the satin neck is now polished glossy smooth from playing. It's hard to tell if it sounds better than when new as the changes are gradual but to my ears it does.

Big D28 fan here too - hence the John Martyn clip I posted.

I’ll have had mine for a quarter of a century in August of this year - the longest I’ve owned a guitar.

I work from home a couple of days a week - it provides a constant temptation as it’s on stand next to my desk....

RandallFlagg

richardhomer said:

RandallFlagg said:

richardhomer said:

So @RandallFlagg - is the correct answer ‘D28’, or am I talking drivel?

Yep, A D28 is the acoustic tone of choice for me. It's quieter and a has less low end /high end than a HD28 but records all the better for it. The woodier and more mid-rangey on an old 70s recording it is, the more I like it!

However, that tone that Eric Roche gets with his Benjamin OM is very special, have you listened to it?

My D28 is 2 years old and the top is starting to yellow slightly, losing the anaemic look of new wood and the satin neck is now polished glossy smooth from playing. It's hard to tell if it sounds better than when new as the changes are gradual but to my ears it does.

Big D28 fan here too - hence the John Martyn clip I posted.

I’ll have had mine for a quarter of a century in August of this year - the longest I’ve owned a guitar.

I work from home a couple of days a week - it provides a constant temptation as it’s on stand next to my desk....

Have you had it refretted yet? Mine is showing some light wear around the cowboy chords after 2 years of light playing

RandallFlagg

Rocker said:

RandallFlagg said:

Any my absolute favourite of all...

Eric Roche - With These Hands played on his Benjamin OM model:

Having met and listened to Eric Roche play live [as in unmiked and in the same room], the tone of his guitar on his recordings is quite a bit more processed sounding that when he was sat right in front of me.

Yep I met him too and have been up close and personal with him playing in the room. Met his first at Bath University at the guitar festival around 2001 or so. Had a coupe of beers with him after the show in the student bar, lovely fella.

Watched him perform intimately at Sleaford Playhouse in front of what was a round 25-30 people and he sat cross legged, bear footed on an indian rug and played "With The Hands"...you could have heard a pin drop, it was breath taking. He announced that night that it was his last gig before surgery for the cancer of the saliva gland and we could visibly see the size of the tumour under his chin.

Never met him again but followed his blog as he passed through surgery, all clear, remission then return of the cancer which ultimately took his life.

I shed some tears when he passed away and this tune is very special for me.

richardhomer

RandallFlagg said:
Have you had it refretted yet? Mine is showing some light wear around the cowboy chords after 2 years of light playing

No - still got the original frets and shows little wear - I’ve not even had them dressed. I use Martin Mediums (13s) - but I have a light left hand.

To be fair, I often capo it and use quite a lot of open tunings, so it gets played all over the neck.

I seem to be unusual in this respect - I’ve never had any fret work done on any of my guitars.

tralfamadan

Oh man I've been trying to answer this for days. Too much to choose from. If I had to pick something maybe I'd go with John McLaughlin's playing on Peace One of My Goal's Beyond. Second would be Charlie Byrd on Sambe Triste of the Jazz Samba album.

Gear wise I dunno. Both playing Classicals. McLaughlin is using a Plectrum which I always think sounds really cool.

My actual favourite Acoustic record would be Bert & John, but tone-wise I think there are better candidates. Plus I'm pretty sure there's a dog barking in the background of one of the tracks.

bugileman

The Eagles do it for me......

Nitefly

Some very good calls here, to which I'd like to add:

Richie Havens - a big Guild if I remember aright - sounded like he was beating the living crap out of it sometimes; and:

Eric Bibb - saw him a couple of times at the Colne Blues Festival.  He had 2 guitars, one a 60's Levin dread, and the other a Dave King custom, built entirely from a lightning-struck tree, according to Eric.  He was a lovely chap to talk to, very pleased with his guitar.

soma1975

Most of Nick Drake's 'Pink Moon'.