Dad3353

Good afternoon, Mike, and thanks for your comments. Please be aware that I'm officially an 'Old Duffer', with wildly out-dated tastes from the '60s and '70s, so Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention, Joni Mitchell figure high on my list of daily plays. There's more, of course (Schubert..? Bruckner..? Shakti..? It goes on and on and on...). What guitar do I play..? I'm a drummer, with a very fine Camco kit bought new back in the '70s, Paiste and Sabian cymbals..! I also play bass (several, but my prize bass is a Hofner Verithin...) and guitar, with a long list there, too, of instruments, including a couple of Hofner Verithins, A Daisy Rock Retro 12-string, Hofner Comittee; the one I play the most (acoustic...) is a Takamine G220NS, or, electric, a Xaviere XV610 (A Telecaster Thinline clone...). I did have, decades ago now, an acoustic 12-string (a Gibson Hummingbird clone, by Antoria...), but she was unfortunately destroyed in a domestic fire, and so was lost, darn it..! I'm intrigued as to why your attention has gone to this very specific guitar, though. Not because it's not a Good Guitar (because it is...) but rather... Why this one..? I'd say that, if you're 90% convinced, then you're convinced. If you order through a web-site (there are at least two mail-order sources in Ireland, and others elsewhere in the UK or Europe...), you have the option of returning the instrument if, after having it in your hands, it turns out to be a deception. Personally, I think that that's very unlikely, but you have that protection, exactly for this kind of situation. On another note, and concerning 12-string acoustic guitars particularly, it may be worth noting that it's a common ploy to down-tune the guitar by a whole tone, and play with a capo at the second fret, thus retrieving 'standard' tuning. The idea is to reduce the tension or 'pull', of the twelve strings, which, in olden times, could pull enough, over time, to buckle the sounding-board slightly, pulling the bridge up. It's less of an issue on correctly-luthiered modern instruments, but could be considered, and would surprise no-one to see it played that way.Just sayin'. Anyway, hope this helps, even if only a little; I'd like to know how this plays out, and what you finally acquire. Meanwhile... Keep well, stay safe Douglas

Tanglewood guitars are designed in the UK, and manufactured in China. Yours looks to be maple, but obviously can't be sure without more pictures. Hope this helps.

Good afternoon, Mike , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. Sorry, no personal experience from having owned any Hagstrom guitars, but from my years in a music shop (in France...), I don't think I'll be much wrong in stating that all their guitars, at any price point, are excellent, and none have any issues regarding tone, intonation nor tuning stability. I'd go further, and say that I'd be very surprised indeed to hear of any make of guitar at the price point of that 12-string that had any issues of the sort. Having said that, acoustic guitars maybe more than others are a very personal choice, and great tone for one person can be dull, or bright, to another. Much depends on how one plays, too (it's all in the fingers, right..?), so it's really down to trying out all sorts of instruments to get some idea of what 'clicks'. If you're after a fine 12-string, that Hagstrom is as good as any other, and better than some, but only you can say if it fits the use you want to put it to. If you're really a 'newbie' player, you'll be rightly spoiling yourself by acquiring one, and any tuning issues will be down to you, not the instrument. Hope this helps.

These ... D'Addario EJ27N Student Classics Normal Classical Guitar Strings ... ... are pretty much the standard for that guitar.

Good afternoon, Harry, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Good evening, Clarky, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

+1 ^^ now you come to mention it. Well spotted.

Maybe I cheat, I dunno, but I use my thumb for the 'A' string (and the low 'E', of course...), The index for the 'D' string and barre the top three with my ring finger (although I don't have rings; it's just called that, s'all...). The 'real' way to play it is shown here ... Dominant 9th ... Hope this helps.

I've good enough results from my Vox jack-plug micro-amps. Several 'flavours' to choose from, these days... Vox Amplugs, Amazon ... Not hifi, certainly, but they do the job very well, I've found.

Where abouts are you..? It may be an idea to have someone have a look at the instrument. No decent guitar shops or luthiers nearby..? A good set-up by a good luthier is always a Good Investment, and most will explain what's up and give tips, too. Any use..? Edit : you mention having already tried lowering the bridge. Have you put it back to where it was before..?

Can you raise the bridge on the bass side a little..? Unscrew the bridge post, just a quarter turn, to see if it helps ...

Take the 'G' string off completely, and re-string it, being careful not to let it twist when threading through the tuner. Sometimes that's enough, if the string isn't damaged. Try it..? If it still buzzes, we'll have to know where it buzzes (Every note played..? Only the high/low notes..? Is it the string or the saddle or the nut that's buzzing..?). It's not always simple, and we can't see or hear what you're seeing and hearing. One step at a time, then...

Are the saddles not held in by a wire spring, in similar way to this..? Yours may be one single wire spring along all six saddles. No good, still..?

See reply in the other topic...

There are two places that determine the height of an individual string on guitars of the sort: the bridge and the nut. It's fairly easy to see if it's the bridge that's the issue: remove the 'D' and 'G' strings (or slacken 'em off considerably...), then swap the bridge saddles of these two strings and tune up again. If the issue is now with the 'D' string, have the offending saddle cut a touch deeper, or change it for one that conforms better. If the problem is still the 'G' string, the nut slot for that string maybe needs deepening. This is best done by a luthier, as a little goes a long way, and too much is a Bad Idea. Any help..?

First guess would be for an acoustic guitar. Yamaha are a pretty safe bet, in quality terms, both for the build and sonority, as are ibanez and Cort, but there are many more fine guitars to be had. In general, one gets better for spending more, but even the 'budget' ranges are worth playing. An option worth considering, although not indispensable, is an electro-acoustic. Plays as an acoustic, but can be plugged in; especially useful for recording directly into a computer interface without an amp. Here's a link to the Thomann German site; they are a highly reputed mail-order giant, based in Germany, so no delivery worries if that's where it's to go. This is their 'lefty' acoustic guitar section... Thomann Lefty Acoustic Guitars ... ... from which you might find inspiration. Filtered by 'In stock', then 'Five Stars' , with 'Pick-up system', and sorted by price, rising, I see a Harley Benson at £195, a Cort at £266 and an Ovation at £430. Without the Pick-up, I see two Fenders, at £155, a Takamine at £222, an Ibanez at £348 and a Taylor at £535. Any of these would suit an absolute beginner, and will give years of enjoyment. The higher end of the price range brings a more 'concert-ready' quality of sound, but none of these are 'duds'. There are others, of course; these are just a few. Any use to you..?

Lisa... If there's a decent, guitar-oriented music shop nearby (t'would be useful to know what region that may be...), how about asking them for a 'gift card' or similar, and arrange for your brother to come along and choose one, up to the value you've set with the shop..? T'would be nice if they knew, beforehand, that he's 'lefty', so as to have something to propose. Another big factor would be his tastes in music, and experience level. Does he already play guitar..? Would an acoustic be suitable, or an electric (which implies having an amp...), or even (sacrilege..!) a bass..? There are very many splendid guitars, or all shapes and styles, for £100 or so, and ten times more to choose from up to £500. Does the brother have an 'guitar heroes' that he may like to emulate..? When is 'soon'..? Time enough to order something on t'web and have it delivered..? Stuff from Europe may take a few days longer, but they have a wide range in their catalogues; there are several reputable on-line sellers in the UK, too (some with 'real shops' as well, such as Andertons; there are others still...). Hmm... More questions than answers, I'm afraid, but I know my brothers better than I know yours, so it's not easy. Fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge and we'll try to be more helpful still.

A gig bag for an acoustic guitar would do the job. I haven't any particular reference in mind, but there are nice semi-rigid foam cases, too, for acoustics. Thomann are very good at giving exact internal dimensions through their 'chat' system, I've found in the past. Hope this helps.

Santana, Carlos - Samba Pa Ti.pdf

Good evening, BB, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.