https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPY9Mxg3OJQ
Brandon Acker importance of characteristics —
Playability – not fighting the player
Timbre
Resonance
Projection (un-trapped)
Sustain – all fundamental, no overtone, coloration
Notes on guitars and price points —
$200 guitar – overbuilt inside for abuse, cheap laminated top. Sound is trapped, no colored overtones.
$2k guitar – solid top but laminated sides and back. Sound has immediate booming / blooming resonance (deemed good). Nice bass end, good for drop-D tuning. Action in mid fingerboard begins to fight player. Huge change from $200 guitar.
$20k guitar – Brune (Segovia). Brazilian rosewood sides and back; bearclaw top. Resonance is immediately even, not bass-heavy booming. The feel, the timbre, the ease of playing is night-and-day. Lots of overtones, amazing sustain. 16:05 “wow, the clarity”. Super clear. Precise. 18:23 — “It becomes an extension of you. … We want the tool to be as invisible as possible; we want the immediacy of the intention to reach the audience uninhibited.” Halo of overtones.
$200k guitar – Herman Hauser (manuf). Comparatively light; better balance. Good smell. Settles into player’s body, doesn’t tend to fall away. Sweet sounding E right away, tuning blew him away within a few notes. When playing, the other guitars in the room also resonated. Inertia of sound, a solidity without overbearing. Tone and clarity and also power, immediately noticeable on the recording (no changes made to recording equipment). Maybe doing 25% of the work he was doing with the $200 guitar. So sweet.