Ran across this site on Blogsnob. A bit on the electric side but a great site to catch news about guitarists and gear.

After running around all day yesterday, gathering the proper documents needed to sell my Father-in-law's house (he died two years ago) I set up a contract signing meeting with the Russians for Sunday morning. Since I have single handedly nurtured this entire transaction along (if it weren't for my work we wouldn't be close to a signing) my darling wife promised me a new guitar!!! Now, which one to buy?! Oh what a lovely feeling, choosing a new guitar. In addition, I'm getting all my stuff out of pawn, my computer (contains my recording software), a brand new digital camera (to sell or not to sell), stuff like that.

I'm working on a new song called You Are Everywhere I've written four brief verses, need a bridge, I have the melody and the way I want the mix to be set up. That'll be my first recording project. I'll post a snippit of the final product on this web site.

Besides my delight in handling, hagling, talking, and playing as many guitars as I can squeeze into a work day, I also love the curious guitar. That would be the ornately decorated, tasteless display of Mother of Pearl/Abolony inlay. I have found such a model on display at Galaxy Music. It's a "Dallas" model, made by Lone Star Guitars and it sells for around $450. The treble is tinty, the bass shallow. In my opinion this guitar is without any redeeming audible value. Yet visually it is an amazing tribute to Ketzche. I want it for my wall.

Along similar lines, I found a big blonde maple Alverez Jumbo (MDJ 60), at Miller's regularly $849, marked down to $499. No cracks on the top, back or sides, no box burn, no cheap electronics. The sound is full and well rounded, a little heavy on the bass, but jumbo bodies usually are. The only problem with this guitar is...there's no name on the headstock! There are no identifying features on the headstock at all. Just a clear high gloss varnish over blank maple. Adding insult to injury to this blonde beauty is the absence of an inside label! There is nothing pasted inside! There are absolutely no identifying features in or on this guitar. It's like finding a coin with only one side minted; You know it's a quarter by the way it's shaped, but there's no $.25 anywhere! I would buy this Alverez in a minute if I had the 5 bills. I truely doubt that it has any appreciable value because of the mis-manufacture. But on a curiosity scale, this is a full fledged 10! I would love to pull it out at one of our get togethers at Serandipity, play a number or two and just wait for the questions. What great fun.

I have discovered the center of the Alverez Universe. It is on Buford Highway, inside I-285, near the IRS. It's called Miller's Music and I have never seen so many Alverez Acoustic Guitars in my life, all of them Factory Seconds, all of them heavily discounted. I played and played to my heart's content. Played so many that I lost track of which one I liked best. There was a very ornate MD95 with MOP scroll work down the fingerboard, very woody bass in decent treble. Lists for $1149, Miller's price was $419. I literally could find nothing wrong with this guitar (tag said 'Box Burn')! Another was the very sharp Acoustic/Electric Cutaway ADJ90S. Once again nothing wrong with this guitar (the dreaded 'Box Burn'again). Regular $899. cut to $379!

Maples, Mahogonies, Rosewoods, Sitga and Engleman Spruce, most with solid tops, backs and sides. Gloss, satin, dreadnaughts, cutaways, natural and sunburst. Anything you want. I could go on but like I said, I lost track. I mean a hundred guitars. The kid there said they get in 25 per week, they fix'me up and sell'em cheap. Some did have cracks on the top or back and I would think twice before purchasing a crunched guitar. But believe me there are plenty on display with only cosmetic blemishes. Y'all come!

All of the high end guitars at Ken Stanton have "top hat" humidifiers in their sound holes now! Well that's all well and good for the hydrogological health of these guitars but that means you have to go through a whole lot of shenanigans in order to play one, much less compare several. You'd have to ask a sales person to take the top hat out of one, put it back in, take the top hat out of another, etc. What a pain. Of course keeping proper humidity in a guitar is essential for long term playability. I remember once I played a Martin DR at Mars Music (now bankrupt) which had been exposed to too high humidity. The back was bowed out! I looked really odd. Thank God, the sales person steered my away from the Martin in favor of a Taylor 410 which I purchased for $1000. This high humidity problem can be fixed through the use of desecants but I'd rather not go through that. I guess I'll have to strike Ken Stanton off my list of stores. I know of another one close to my work but none out in the north east part of Atlanta besides Galaxy Music. That will have to be my new mission: Scour Lawrenceville and Lilburn for a decent guitar shop...maybe Tucker and Decatur too. I know of one other music store in Snellville, but they mostly sell band instruments and violins...I think they sell Simon and Patrick guitars...not something I like.

After work yesterday I stopped off at Guitar Center (it's right across I85 from where I work in Atlanta). They rotate their stock with other Guitar Center stores across the country, so there are always some new used. many times vintage, intstruments to play. First choice was the Martin Sunburst with the split top (from a previous post). Very impressive bass, sparkly treble. But played with the slightest bit of vigor and the strings snap. This is the same problem I've encountered on many Alverez'. I guess it's a direct product of action. If the action is that low, you're going to get string snap. Sorry, not for me.

Next was a Taylor 414, the smaller of the 400 series with that beautiful ovengkol back and sides. I quickly forgot about the size as slid into 'One Dime Blues.' The bass deep and warm, clear midrange and ringing treble. I swear this 400 series is the best sounding Taylors I've ever heard. This one goes for $1278 w/case. If it had been a 415 (the jumbo version) I would have seriously talked to them about some way I could get this guitar (sweep floors for a year?).

I learned a valuable lesson with my next one: a Taylor 914 at $2200. String snap! On this beautiful Maple Taylor! Can this be fixed? Lesson learned: Never buy a guitar without playing it first. There are all kinds of deals on E-Bay, good prices on well known models. But you never know how they are set up. My style of playing may not be yours. What works for you doesn't for me. Let me play it and decide.

Last shot was in a seperate room, mostly with Martins on the wall. Best on of the bunch was a D16GT(?). It had that super deep Martin bass and clear treble, played very well for only $849. A real deal!
Today I'll stop off at Ken Stanton, visit my future Nephew in Law.