NGD - Martin DCPA4

RVA said:
Does that really happen? The fact that they say it takes at least a decade makes me very skeptical. Have you experienced this?
Click to expand...

yes... someone who's a bit gray around the muzzle can vouch for that. acoustics do get better with age.
...till they get to a certain point, (maybe 100 years) and they they begin to go downhill and have to go in the
glass case. Like all generalizations, that one's horse feathers, and glosses over individual instruments that age
at their own pace. But I do have a 1936 Martin 0-17 which is at its peak right now perhaps. And my 1975 Mossman
dred sounded good when i bought it used in 1977, but it has steadily developed real soul over the years I've been
working it.

Three Acoustics@100.jpg
The Martin on the right is from 2006, so she's got a decade on her. And she's only an upstart compared
to the older ladies, but has a fine even tone that works well onstage or in a recording studio.

I actually love the sound of your Martin without the Fishman. It's got that 'new strings' sound that we all like.
I listened carefully to the sound of the new Martin plugged in, and it's obvious that improvements keep being
made in the technology of amplifying acoustics. The plugged in sound is very good, and useful.

For me, plugging in solves problems, so I'm happy to do it and I seem to be able to get an effective sound.
I'd EQ the tone of yours a little differently, but that's the beauty of plugging in eh? You can give the signal a boost
in this frequency, and a notch in that one etc.

So, congratulations. I think you did well. I just had the two beauties on the right out in the living room, with their strings
off and both getting a rub down with guitar polish and Howard's Feed n Wax, tuners examined and cleaned, new batteries installed
inside. For me, New Year's day is new batt'ry day, and I check over and replace 'em all... smoke detectors, paddle boards
and guitars. So I've been loving' my acoustics lately.
 
Col Mustard said:
yes... someone who's a bit gray around the muzzle can vouch for that. acoustics do get better with age.
...till they get to a certain point, (maybe 100 years) and they they begin to go downhill and have to go in the
glass case. Like all generalizations, that one's horse feathers, and glosses over individual instruments that age
at their own pace. But I do have a 1936 Martin 0-17 which is at its peak right now perhaps. And my 1975 Mossman
dred sounded good when i bought it used in 1977, but it has steadily developed real soul over the years I've been
working it.

View attachment 1405
The Martin on the right is from 2006, so she's got a decade on her. And she's only an upstart compared
to the older ladies, but has a fine even tone that works well onstage or in a recording studio.

I actually love the sound of your Martin without the Fishman. It's got that 'new strings' sound that we all like.
I listened carefully to the sound of the new Martin plugged in, and it's obvious that improvements keep being
made in the technology of amplifying acoustics. The plugged in sound is very good, and useful.

For me, plugging in solves problems, so I'm happy to do it and I seem to be able to get an effective sound.
I'd EQ the tone of yours a little differently, but that's the beauty of plugging in eh? You can give the signal a boost
in this frequency, and a notch in that one etc.

So, congratulations. I think you did well. I just had the two beauties on the right out in the living room, with their strings
off and both getting a rub down with guitar polish and Howard's Feed n Wax, tuners examined and cleaned, new batteries installed
inside. For me, New Year's day is new batt'ry day, and I check over and replace 'em all... smoke detectors, paddle boards
and guitars. So I've been loving' my acoustics lately.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information and the compliment. It is nice to know that playing will improve my skill and my guitar! You have some very nice guitars. I think I must buy a vintage guitar to get that sweet, aged tone though, since I am 47 and a decade seems to be a mere drop in the bucket for acoustic wood aging!!
 
RVA said:
It is nice to know that playing will improve my skill and my guitar! You have some very nice guitars. I think I must buy a vintage guitar to get that sweet, aged tone though, since I am 47 and a decade seems to be a mere drop in the bucket for acoustic wood aging!!
Click to expand...
If you want to speed up the tone-ageing of a new acoustic, look into this gadget made by ToneRite. It's a variable intensity string vibrator. I have one, and it works as advertised. About $150. It will not improve your guitar playing though... lol.

http://www.tonerite.com/collections/featured/products/guitar-tonerite

Pic is from StewMac:
ToneRite_for_Guitar.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: RVA
syscokid said:
If you want to speed up the tone-ageing of a new acoustic, look into this gadget made by ToneRite. It's a variable intensity string vibrator. I have one, and it works as advertised. About $150. It will not improve your guitar playing though... lol.

http://www.tonerite.com/collections/featured/products/guitar-tonerite

Pic is from StewMac:
View attachment 1414
Click to expand...
Cool! They are very conservative with the info on their site. So you found a noticeable difference? Does it make string noise while operating?
 
Last edited:
RVA said:
Cool! They are every conservative with the info on their site. So you found a noticeable difference? Does it make string noise while operating?
Click to expand...
You really don't hear string noise. What you hear is the guitar vibrating from within...
Noticeable? It depends on the guitar itself. I used a low powered setting, which is supposed to harmonically enhance a guitar, on my Epi and it did make a difference for the better. You can barely hear it at low power if you're in the same room. Later, I tried the higher power setting, which enhances loudness, but I didn't keep it on consistently enough to give it a fair shot for results. At the higher setting, the vibrating sound was much more noticeable, and because my Mancave-Guitar room is just a few feet across our bedroom, the sound was annoying during "Quiet Time".

On my Martin HD-28... On low power, I could not tell if there was any difference. It sounded good before, it sounds good after. I don't even try high power on this one. The guitar is loud enough... lol.

I also like to use the ToneRite a couple times a year on each acoustic like a "freshening up" system.

Here's a pretty honest and controlled review:
 
  • Like
Reactions: RVA
I forgot to mention that by the time I purchased my used Martin, the guitar already had about 6 years of life and the original owner played it quite a bit. So it was well broken in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RVA
Sweet man! That's the model I have, except mine is all rosewood. They sound GREAT! I was in the market for a 000/OM when I stumbled across the DCPA4, and was blown away. They hafta be the LOUDEST acoustic I've ever heard. They'll easily overpower any Taylor I've played. And the necks are so sweet.....

Nice guitar man!
 
Lineboat said:
Sweet man! That's the model I have, except mine is all rosewood. They sound GREAT! I was in the market for a 000/OM when I stumbled across the DCPA4, and was blown away. They hafta be the LOUDEST acoustic I've ever heard. They'll easily overpower any Taylor I've played. And the necks are so sweet.....

Nice guitar man!
Click to expand...
Thanks! I feel the same way - the Taylor just did not stack up for my tastes.
 
Taylor guitars are excellent, and I always enjoy the sound of somebody playing one...
but I don't own one. For me, (owning the three beauties in the picture above) the one that got away
was a L'Arrivee ...Canadian made, I played one in a music store before they became outrageously priced
and should've bought it right then and there.

Aye weel... that happens. The L'Arrivee was lovely and sweet, and came alive in my hands when I played it.
I've come to know: Pay attention when that happens... you are likely handling the guitar of a lifetime.
I've played others since then, and not gotten the same response. Maybe I'm shielded because of the scary
price tag. I just don't know.

It doesn't happen every week, that's for sure. And I don't know (psychologically) what actually happens when
a musician touches an instrument that can enhance his/her life. Not every instrument has this potential,
and not every example of the same brand and model has it either. A scientific psychologist might not know
what to say about this "issue' because they might not be able to measure anything. Scientific method insists
that if you can't measure something in a repeatable way, you can't discuss it and still be talking 'Science."

But something happens, damn it. I just don't know what it is. We all know it when we feel it.
So scientists have to pound sand. They ain't calibrated for this discussion. *laughs

I was very intrigued by the careful (and scientific) controls on the experiment in the video above.
Thanks for posting that. To me, the 'after' tones sounded like the sustain was increased. And that has
been my experience. Sustain is something that electric guitarists rhapsodize about, but acoustic players
get what they get. I believe I have noticed an increase in sustain with my '06 Martin over the last several
years... it's subtle, but to me, it's there. It might be my playing... I've improved a lot. But it might be the
Ebony and Spruce of the bridge and top, aging together. If anyone knows how to put these things together
right, Martin does.

So happy New "Performing Artist" guitar day to the OP. Good choice, I say again. Play long and loud and well.
 
I shaved a little more off the top of the saddle on the base side only. She is as low as practical on the high E side, so the only alternative to getting E-A-D the lower was to shave off the top on that side - to me worth it, even if I sacrifice a bit of intonation. And down the action goes!

20170108_221125_zpsjq1d8dtc.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top