Your favorite acoustic body shape?

brianlux

kbuchholtz's thread asking about acoustic body shapes brings to my mind a few questions:

What is your favorite acoustic body shape?

What styles do you have and how do they affect what you play on them/ what do you choose to play on them?

I've only ever had dreadnaughts. Most have been quite similar in size except for one that had a neck that was a bit too thick for my left hand. My first wife had a small concert o-series Martin that was super sweet. Would love to have one of those! I'm also curious about C. F. Martins "Little Martin" series guitars for travel- something a bit easier to pack around.

MagnumPJ

First acoustic was an epiphone dreadnought - which I still pick up from time to time as I keep it tuned 1/2 step down which sounds great on a dreadnought IMO

But I have two Taylor Grand Auditoriums - 114e and recently a 714e. I spent a lot of time trying out differnt body's, body's, brands, etc before going with the 714e and have no regrets (except that it will take a bit to pay off). Fully endorse the GA though as an every style body shape...for what it's worth

mccreadyisgod

My immediate answer is the Martin orchestra, although I also love: OM/000, auditorium, grand auditorium, grand symphony, concert, grand concert, parlor, and some dreadnoughts. In fact, the only acoustic shapes I generally don't care for are the travel guitars and the jumbos.

My general preference is for guitars that transition well between strumming and finger-picking, like the orchestra and auditorium models. I generally prefer Gibson-style dreadnoughts, which are much better at strumming than finger-picking; the Martin-style dreads are great for flat-picking, but that's not my style. Taylor dreads are sort of a hybrid, although they lean toward the Martin end of the spectrum. Parlor guitars are so much better at delicate finger-picking, and sometimes I'm in that mood. I guess the bottom-line is that my favorite acoustic is subject to my changing moods, so if I have to pick one, I'll pick the one that covers all bases better than the rest.

Lately, I'm really into the Grand Performance guitars that Martin is making now. They are basically Martin's answer to the Taylor -14 grand auditorium models (314, 414, 714, etc). Again, they are really well-balanced, tonally, between playing with fingers or pick, and strumming or picking.

Honorable mention here goes to the Taylor Baritone-8, which is one of the funnest guitars I've ever played and I want one so bad. It's really expensive, and I'm always afraid that the novelty will wear off. But damn, it's a great trick-guitar.

brianlux

mccreadyisgod wrote:

My immediate answer is the Martin orchestra, although I also love: OM/000, auditorium, grand auditorium, grand symphony, concert, grand concert, parlor, and some dreadnoughts. In fact, the only acoustic shapes I generally don't care for are the travel guitars and the jumbos.

My general preference is for guitars that transition well between strumming and finger-picking, like the orchestra and auditorium models. I generally prefer Gibson-style dreadnoughts, which are much better at strumming than finger-picking; the Martin-style dreads are great for flat-picking, but that's not my style. Taylor dreads are sort of a hybrid, although they lean toward the Martin end of the spectrum. Parlor guitars are so much better at delicate finger-picking, and sometimes I'm in that mood. I guess the bottom-line is that my favorite acoustic is subject to my changing moods, so if I have to pick one, I'll pick the one that covers all bases better than the rest.

Lately, I'm really into the Grand Performance guitars that Martin is making now. They are basically Martin's answer to the Taylor -14 grand auditorium models (314, 414, 714, etc). Again, they are really well-balanced, tonally, between playing with fingers or pick, and strumming or picking.

Honorable mention here goes to the Taylor Baritone-8, which is one of the funnest guitars I've ever played and I want one so bad. It's really expensive, and I'm always afraid that the novelty will wear off. But damn, it's a great trick-guitar.

Thanks, mccreadyisgod. Interesting info! Yeah, the Taylor Baritone-8 looks interesting- but I get what you mean about cost and novelty.

Pingfah

I can tell you my least favourite body shape, and that is roundbacks, like Ovation make.

Have you ever tried playing one of those sitting down without a strap? It's ridiculous, they just slide right off your knee!

brianlux

Pingfah wrote:

I can tell you my least favourite body shape, and that is roundbacks, like Ovation make.

Have you ever tried playing one of those sitting down without a strap? It's ridiculous, they just slide right off your knee!

I have a mandolin that is almost gourd shaped. It's definitely a challenge to hold! Most the of the time it just looks kind of cool hanging on the wall.