Category: General Musings

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I Swap Out a Larger Irish Guitar for a Smaller More Comfortable One… I Review the Lowden S-50

Introduction:

During the Summer of 2023, right after I moved to North Carolina, on the way to visit my daughter in Wilmington, I stopped along the route at the small town of Southern Pines and visited Casino Guitars. I’d become aware of Casino Guitars because of the owner, Baxter Clement’s omnipresence on YouTube and, most importantly, I also knew that they were one of the rare U.S. dealers of Lowden guitars. I’d owned a all Koa Lowden many years ago and regretted trading it in and wanted to explore reacquiring one. With me along for the ride was my Collings 0002H as a potential trade item. I wrote at length about the purchase process of my Lowden F-50 on that trip and the blog article can be found here.

Me and my Lowden F-50 that I purchased in early June 2023.
The F-50 was a beautiful guitar

Though I wrote enthusiastically about the F-50 when I published my review, I’d since become somewhat disaffected by the guitar. I’d written about the guitar’s playability and how I struggled with it, and finally took it to my local shop for a set-up. I was initially pleased with the set-up, but in time came to the conclusion that the guitar was just too difficult to play. When compared to my Martin 1937 Authentic and my Santa Cruz H-13, it was just not in the same league of playability, so I was playing it less and less, mostly because it was too difficult to fret the strings. Perhaps it was the long scale length but mostly likely the string action.

Further, one evening a friend who was an accomplished guitarist, played the F-50 while I sat in front to the guitar’s sound hole. Unlike me, he really dug in with a pick, which was more aggressive than I ever play, and to my disappointment the instrument just sounded so harsh to my ear. Even though I play finger style with a lighter touch, I was deeply affected, and not in a good way by what I had heard. Still, I stuck with the guitar for a year, but I knew it was a serious problem for me when I finally put extra light strings on it, which was an admission that this guitar was just too difficult to play the way it was intended. Finally, the large lower bout, on occasion, resulted in shoulder soreness because of the “reach over” of my right arm required to play it. As i’ve written before, at the time of this guitar’s purchase my enthusiasm overrode my sense of good judgement.

Casino Guitars in Southern Pines, NC

I Return to Casino Guitars

Baxter Clement and the Lowden S-50

On occasion, I check out Casino’s guitar inventory on their website and one day, I discovered that they’d stocked a new Lowden S-50! This is a smaller more intimate guitar than the F-50 that I currently owned. In addition, the guitar was built with Sinker Redwood over Cocobolo, which I thought would offer a warmer sound then the Spruce over Cocobolo F-50. Further, the guitar had a shorter scale length which in theory makes it easier to play. I was interested in auditioning this guitar.

Interior of Casino Guitars
The Lowden S-50, Baxter Clement and me….

I watched the S-50 from a distance for quite a while, holding my breath every time I dialed into the Casino website, hoping it was not sold. It was only after I crawled out of a month’s long medical rabbit hole that I decided to celebrate life and make a pilgrimage to Southern Pines to audition the S-50, and along with me was the F-50 to see if I could trade it in exchange.

It was a typical visit to Casino Guitars. The guys who work there were exceptionally helpful and when Baxter became aware I was lurking around the store, he came down from his apartment, which is upstairs above the shop. He made time to visit with me despite the fact that it was his son’s birthday and it was a Saturday. We played some music together and he auditioned the guitar for me too so that I could hear it directly. As you probably know, the acoustic guitar sound hole projects the guitar’s sound away from the player, so it’s nice for someone else to play the guitar as you sit in front of it. In the meantime, Sean gave the F-50 a once over and arrived at a reasonable trade in value.

In sum, the S-50 really suited my sensibilities and we closed the deal. Afterwards I met my wife for ice cream across the street from the shop and then we headed back home.

An Initial Comparison Between My New Lowden S-50 to the Older F-50

George Lowden in his shop in Northern Ireland

I drove into Southern Pines with a large bodied Lowden guitar, built with Cocobolo on the sides and Lutz Spruce serving as the soundboard. Later, I returned home with smaller bodied Lowden guitar with Cocobolo back and sides and Sinker Redwood in place as the soundboard. A tonal variation would be expected based on size and wood differences between the old and new guitars.

On the other hand, a key commonality between the two guitars was Lowden artisanship. Lowden guitars are exquisite instruments that are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and made with obsessive attention to detail, which is why they’re expensive. According to George Lowden, what might appear to be small trifling details in guitar manufacturing, add up over the course of the build, finally making a considerable impact on the instrument’s performance. In addition, both guitars were designated style “50” models, which means they were built with the very best master grade tone woods in the Lowden inventory.

Partial bracing pattern under the sound board with example of dolphin shaping

Both of the Lowdens were braced similarly with what is referred to as an “A-frame” design. According to Lowden, the A-frame design stiffens the guitar around the sound hole and up through the neck so no sound is lost to unnecessary movement, but leaves the lower bout to vibrate freely, which creates the guitar’s sound. The braces themselves, which support the sound board, are individually hand carved in the form of a dolphin cresting the waves to give maximum stiffness with minimum mass for efficient sound transmission. As a result, Lowden guitars are known throughout the industry as being exceptionally powerful with extraordinary sustain. In other words, with a Lowden it is possible to get a loud sound without having to work the guitar hard and the sound lasts or sustains for quite a long time. It’s quite marvelous to behold when you strum a Lowden or pluck an individual string.

Lowden S-50 Headstock

Another common design feature between the two Lowden’s are the headstock, neck construction and neck join to the body of the guitar. The headstock of both guitars is similarly sized, shaped, and adorned with an attractive veneer on both sides, though the veneer differs between the two guitars. It’s a bit of a mystery what the wood veneer is on the newer S-50, but I suspect it is Sinker Redwood to match the guitar’s top. The tuners are Gotoh 510’s with Ebony buttons. There are lots of effective guitar tuners out in the world, but the high-tuning-ratio Gotoh 510’s are, in my judgement, the best. While they probably are not congruent with the aesthetic of a traditional (Martin-like) guitar, for a “contemporary” guitar like the Lowden, they are a perfect complement.

Lowden five piece neck and dovetail join to the body

Both the S-50 and the F-50 were built with a five piece mahogany and rosewood laminated neck, which lends to stability and resistance to torque. I’ve owned a guitar with a twisted neck and it’s not pretty. A twisted neck will render a guitar largely unplayable.

The necks of the Lowden F and S models are joined at the body with a traditional dovetail join “which offers excellent transfer of vibrations from the neck to the body due to the tight fit, producing a warm, rich tone with good sustain, and offers tonal depth and resonance.” (ChatGPT)

Lowden S-50 with 12 fret neck, Ebony fretboard and Sinker Redwood soundboard

Finally, the S-50’s neck is built with an ebony fingerboard, but unlike the F-50, the newer guitar has an old school, more traditional 12 fret length, generally offering a warmer, fuller tone, which is what I was looking for in the F-50’s replacement. With 12 frets as opposed to the more common 14, the bridge is closer to the center of the lower bout, where the soundboard is more flexible, enhancing bass response and overall resonance. Further, in theory, the shorter scale length should make it easier to play.

In sum both guitars, the one I traded off, and the new one I brought home were made with the highest level of attention to detail, as well as the characteristic Lowden design features such as the rigid neck, dovetail joint and their idiosyncratic soundboard bracing. All the aforementioned result in both power and sustain, which are incredibly important attributes of an acoustic guitar. What differed between the two guitars and why I selected the new one over the old was the guitar’s tone character and playability, which is a function of design differences like the number of neck frets, scale length, guitar size, and selection of woods on the top, back and sides.

Below is an excellent video of a seminar held by George Lowden where you can hear, first hand, his design philosophy in his own words:

The Lowden S-50’s Playability

Compared to the F model, the S model is smaller in both width (approximately 1 inch) and depth (approximately 0.5 inches), making it more intimate and easier to handle, especially for fingerstyle playing. In other words there’s far less effort to wrap my arm around the guitar to get to the strings with my right hand.

Smaller guitars can run the risk of sounding boxy, but that is not the case of the S-50. It’s reasonably deep body, 12 fret design, and Lowden’s bracing method free the guitar’s body to push out sound like a cannon.

Similar to the F model that I traded in, the S model came from the factory with, for my taste, string action that was too high. The Lowden literature refers to the string height as middle low, which it is anything but in my judgement. It’s not quite a cheese grater but it is too high for me to enjoy playing. It’s just too much work for me to fret the strings with the in factory set height. My first two acoustic guitars were higher end Taylors and they had very low string action, so I’ve been spoiled ever since. I don’t own those Taylors anymore, but my ’37 Martin Authentic D-28 and my Santa Cruz H-13 have low action and are a dream to play.

Brian McGee at Twin House Music in Carrboro, NC

I knew that I was going to have to get the guitar set up properly if I was ever going to enjoy playing it. As I recollect, back in the past with the F model, the luthier adjusted the neck relief with the truss rod, which in the end was just not enough for me to feel comfortable playing it. This time I had to get it right! I was going to have to have the string action lowered more effectively then when I had the F model in the shop.

As preparation for the trip to my luthier, using a string height gauge, I measured the action of the Lowden S, the Santa Cruz and the Martin guitars that I owned. At the twelfth fret the Lowden’s 1st string was almost 1/3 a millimeter higher and the 6th string was 1/4 millimeter higher off the fret when compared to the Martin and Santa Cruz guitars. That’s an annoying difference that can be felt during play! Before taking the guitar to the shop, I actually contacted Lowden in Northern Ireland about lowering the action, and they saw no reason to prohibit adjustment downwards. To them it was a matter of taste and they believed it was easier to drop string height than to raise it, which was why the action comes out of the factory a bit on the high side. Some players like it a bit high, but not me.

Lowden Split Saddle

I took the Lowden into the shop at Twin House Music with the measurements I’d made and asked that the Lowden be adjusted to match my other guitars. Brian McGee, a great luthier, was initially reluctant to make the changes, being concerned about string buzz and also working with the Lowden split saddle. Most guitars have a single saddle, but the Lowden is split in two pieces to enhance intonation. Making action adjustments are more challenging with a split saddle because they have to be sanded down identically to avoid introducing unwanted intonation issues. I was really insistent and Brian finally agreed, and in the end he did a fantastic job. I’m now happy with the action on a Lowden guitar. Lowden’s do not have to be cheese graters!

The S-50’s Aesthetic and Tonal Character

Lowden S-50 Sinker Redwood Top and Cocobolo back and sides

A key determinant of an acoustic guitars aesthetic appearance and tonal character are the woods from which it is built. My Lowden is built with the master grade tone woods of Sinker Redwood for the top and Cocobolo back and sides. Master-grade tonewood refers to the highest quality of wood used for crafting guitars and other musical instruments. It is a premium designation reserved for tonewoods that exhibit exceptional visual, structural, and acoustic qualities, making them ideal for producing high-end guitars. 

Cocobolo

According to ChatGPT, Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa) is a premium tonewood, often commanding higher prices due to its scarcity and desirability. It is is visually stunning, featuring a variety of colors such as reddish-orange, deep browns, and even purples, often with dramatic grain patterns and black streaks. Cocobolo produces a lush, vibrant tone with pronounced overtones, offering a complex and harmonically rich sound. The treble response is bright and clear without being harsh, making it well-suited for fingerstyle playing. The low end is focused and powerful, providing a solid foundation without being muddy. While not overly pronounced, the midrange is clear and contributes to a well-rounded tonal palette. Its density and stiffness give it excellent projection and sustain, making it a favorite for players who want their sound to carry. Cocobolo excels in styles that require clarity and articulation, as it allows individual notes to ring out beautifully lending itself well to finger style, which is how I play.

The beauty of Cocobolo heartwood as well as sapwood shown in the center.

Cocobolo shares some tonal similarities with Indian and Brazilian Rosewood, such as a rich low end and sparkling highs, but it has more pronounced overtones and a slightly brighter overall character. While Mahogany has a warmer, more midrange-focused tone, Cocobolo offers more tonal complexity and dynamic range.

From a builders standpoint, Cocobolo is very oily and must be handled accordingly to ensure glue joints are sound and finishes remain in tact. The dust from this wood can be obnoxious too, causing an allergic reaction during cutting. Of course, the oil and dust are not an issue with the finished consumer product.

Finally, from a sustainability standpoint Cocobolo is becoming less readily available because of unfortunate and unscrupulous over-harvesting. Only ten to twenty percent of Cocobolo harvest goes into musical instruments including both guitars and woodwinds. On the other hand furniture, cabinetry, and flooring account for up to eighty percent. As the attack on Cocobolo sources continues, premium guitars made with it will be seen as rare heirloom instruments. My Cocobolo Lowden will be a guitar that goes on to my children after I’m gone, though I am dubious that they will understand what they have in hand. At that point, I probably won’t care.

Sinker Redwood

Sinker Redwood top on the Lowden S-50

Probably the most remarkable aspect of the S-50 is its top, which is comprised of two book matched pieces of master grade Sinker Redwood. It’s my first experience with this type of soundboard where its reddish/brown hue, with vertical dark streaks embedded across the boards set it apart. My other acoustics have sunburst or standard unstained spruce tops, so the S-50 just looks different from typical acoustic guitars that I’ve owned in the past. The guitar is endlessly fascinating to behold.

As I said, my other acoustic guitars all have traditional spruce tops, though they are of varying subspecies, including Sitka, European, and Adirondack (Red Spruce), so from a sonic/tonal standpoint the S-50 stands apart. Generally speaking, Spruce offers a sound that is bright, clear, and dynamic, while Sinker Redwood is warm, rich, and overtone heavy, so there’s a nice difference in both appearance and sound that distinguishes the S-50, making it a great addition to my collection.

The origin story of Sinker Redwood is fascinating in and of itself. In the late 1800’s on into the early twentieth century, which was a time of rapid industrialization in the U.S., loggers harvested Northern California Giant Redwoods without abandon. These were old growth forests with trees as old as 1000 years. Sadly, only five percent of the original old growth forests remain, and they were saved by a combination of conservationists, activists and government intervention.

Harvesting of Giant Redwoods in Northern California

The trees situated along waterways were the easiest to manage as they could be dropped and floated downriver to the sawmills on the California coast. Along the way downriver, the trees were sometimes held back in large jams with the use of chain booms until the sawmills needed them. It was under those circumstances that some logs sank to the bottom of the river and became embedded in the river bottom mud never to make it down to the sawmills.

Redwoods making the trip downriver to the sawmills.

Submerged in anaerobic conditions for decades, perhaps some for a century, the sunken Redwood logs would undergo physical change. While submerged,Sinker Redwood logs absorb water, which, over time, leads to compression of the wood fibers. Submersion can enhance the grain density of redwood. Logs that had sunk and remained submerged tended to have very tight grain patterns due to the slow-growing nature of the old growth trees from which they came. While submerged, the Sinker Redwood absorbed minerals from the surrounding water, which changed its color. The wood often took on rich, darker hues, ranging from deep reddish-brown to even greenish or purplish streaks, depending on the minerals present in the river water.

Sinker Redwood embedded in the river bottom in Northern California

Over time, submersion in water leads to a breakdown of the wood’s structural components, lignin and cellulose, particularly in the outer layers. The cold and anaerobic (oxygen-deprived) conditions underwater slowed this breakdown process, allowing the core wood to remain structurally sound while developing unique tonal characteristics. This slight degradation can contribute to a smoother resonance when used in guitars, often resulting in warmer and more responsive sound.

Recovery of Sinker Redwood from rivers and estuaries in Northern California

Many years later at the close of the twentieth century entrepreneurs discovered and began recovering sunken Redwood logs from the rivers and estuaries in Northern California. Only the logs that had not rotted were of value, so recovery is a tedious and expensive process. Since old growth redwood was so rare, the thinking was this recovered wood would have value in end-uses such as fine furniture, paneling, sculptures. Also as a function of its appearance and tonal properties, custom guitar builders and boutique luthiers adopted Sinker Redwood for high-end musical instruments.

Luthiers discovered the wonderful properties of Sinker Redwood tops in the early 2000’s.

Sinker Redwood Combined with Cocobolo

Sinker Redwood on Cocobolo

The combination of Sinker Redwood for the soundboard and Cocobolo for the back and sides on a small-bodied guitar creates a unique tonal palette. Both woods bring specific acoustic properties that complement one another beautifully, resulting in a guitar that is both visually striking and acoustically rich.

Sinker Redwood’s warmth and harmonic richness blend seamlessly with Cocobolo’s bright, articulate clarity, creating a balanced tone that is neither too warm nor overly bright. Sinker Redwood enhances responsiveness for nuanced playing, while Cocobolo’s density adds sustain and projection, even in a small-bodied guitar. Both woods have rich overtone profiles, resulting in a lush and dynamic sound with a natural reverb-like quality. The small body shape focuses the sound, while Cocobolo ensures that projection and presence aren’t sacrificed, even in a compact form.

Finally, the visual contrast between the richly colored Sinker Redwood top and the bold, exotic Cocobolo back and sides enhances the guitar’s aesthetic appeal, making it a showpiece as well as a fine musical instrument.

Comments On Some Aesthetic Appointments

Singing Cowboy with highly adorned guitar

There was a time when I believed that one should aspire to eventually own the blingiest guitar possible, with abalone adornments and inlays galore like Gene Autry’s famous decked-out Martin D-45. In fact the very first really upper end guitar I ever purchased was a Taylor 914, which was loaded with glitz. Eventually, after playing incredible sounding but relatively unadorned guitars like my Collings and Santa Cruz instruments, I realized that the wood, the build quality and the tonal output far outweighed the importance of external appearance enhanced by inlays and other doodads..

Lowden S-50 sound hole rosette

By most accounts George Lowden also thinks that an overly-ornamented guitar is not proper design philosophy. Besides the classic dimension of the instrument, the preponderance of Lowden guitars are tastefully simple in surface appearance. The tone woods, the wood bindings and the purflings contribute to an elegantly simple appearance.

One of more extravagant touches on a Lowden S-50 guitar is the abalone and figured wood sound hole rosette. It’s really quite beautiful in person.

Final Comments

I put pickups in all my acoustic guitars. I like playing the guitar plugged into an acoustic amplifier (Genzler Acoustic Array Pro) facing me so that I can appreciate the output of the guitar. I use K&K Pure Mini pickups exclusively because they sound natural and don’t require a lot of fiddling, although an acoustic DI like an LR Baggs Venue is very helpful in the signal chain, which I have on my acoustic guitar pedalboard.

The K&K Pure Mini is a snap to place in an acoustic guitar with a pinned bridge. Two of the pin holes are used to accurately place the pickup under the bridge with the use of a jig that K&K supplies in the box. A pinless bridge like the Lowden is built with is a more challenging installation. If you follow the K&K instructions, it requires drilling two small holes underneath the saddle. This is not for the faint of heart. My luthier cleared it with me and followed the instructions, including drilling the holes. The installation is perfect and the pick up work flawlessly. I wish I could have said the same for the F-50’s installation. I don’t think it was done quite right as I had to really boost the gain to get the pickup to function at all, which was another irritant about that guitar.

Some Sound Samples

I am embedding a couple of sound samples from YouTube. The first is Baxter Clement from Casino Guitars playing the exact model guitar I purchased from him, but this was one he had in stock several years before mine arrived. Note Baxter plays with a plectrum, which I do not. He is a very accomplished musician, much more so than me:

Below is a video produced by Heart Breaker Guitars, a dealer in fine guitars and a major supplier of Lowdens. After a brief introduction, Mike Romano plays an S-35, very similar to the S-50, with the woods the same but maybe not quite as choice. Mr. Romano plays finger style and he’s quite good.

Here’s a sample of me playing my S-50 through a Shure mic that’s designed to interface with an iPhone that’s doing the filming. As a result there are limits to fidelity. To boost it a bit, I am running the guitar through my Genzler Acoustic Array Amplifier and my pedal board. I am playing the Mississippi John Hurt classic, Spike Driver Blues.

Here’s another sample. This is Townes Van Zandt’s instrumental arrangement of the Rolling Stones tune Dead Flowers:

Finally, here’s the instrumental arrangement for Taj Mahal’s Queen Bee:

A note of thanks to ChatGPT for help with questions about woods and some history, and for the creation of support illustrations.

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Closing the Loop… printing my photographs in house…

Introduction

my first at home print
Zenfolio Desktop

I’ve heard it said many times that the process of photography is not completed until you hold a printed image in your hands. That statement reminds me how exciting it was, decades ago, in my 8th grade photography class to pull a print from the developer bath and to witness what I’d created! It was all very satisfying.

Nowadays most of us “develop” our prints on a computer using a software program like Adobe Lightroom to fine tune the image. Then if you are like me, you’d show them off to your family on a computer screen and then perhaps post them on various forms of social media, hoping for positive feedback. Finally to preserve the best photographs in a safe place you would upload them to a cloud server, which in my case is Zenfolio. There the photographs would sit in the dark until you decided, for whatever reason, to retrieve them, which nowadays is a major PITA because Zenfolio archives the images and it takes a minor act of Congress to view or retrieve them. In other words it is very tedious waiting hours for an archived group of photos to be retrieved!

Photo album

Before the days that I uploaded to the cloud, I would send images out for print processing. To keep costs reasonable, I would have standard 3X5″ prints made and mount them into a photo album. It wasn’t long before the albums accumulated in number and started taking up considerable space in my home. Further, the smallish prints were not very satisfying to look at and finally I had little control over the quality of the print process. Most of the time, the prints were good enough, but not always. At any rate, the aforementioned Zenfolio cloud account eliminated most print charges and saved space both on my computer and in my home, but at the cost of the images disappearing into the cloud.

Lighthouse on the coast of Maine hanging on my wall

Not all my photographs disappeared into the cloud. There are some that adorn the walls of my home like the exquisitely framed shot of a Maine Lighthouse that I took on a vacation in the northeast. Printed and framed images are truly special because they evoke important memories and are typically the best I can do with a camera. Large prints are expensive to produce and professional framing costs are quite prohibitive, but I think it’s worth it for those rare photos. Recently I had four smallish North Carolina wildflower images framed for our home and they cost close to $400 for the set! These recently framed images can be seen below hanging in our sun porch.

North Carolina wildflowers printed, framed and hung in my home

Before moving on to the main subject of printing in more detail, I would be remiss not to mention another way in which I’ve preserved some of my best photographic projects, and that would be the production of printed photo books. Below, you can see three books I’ve created with the help of Apple. Two of the books cataloged my extensive work with woodlands and tall grass prairies wildflowers, and the other documented my son Parker’s successful Eagle project. The books are a marvelous way to professionally depict photographic images in a story-like format. It is a lot of work putting one together and moderately expensive to produce, but they’re a fantastic way to show off your work!.

Apple bound photo books

Mama Don’t Take My Kodachrome Away

This summer I re-invested myself in my photography hobby with the acquisition of a Leica Q3. I take it almost everywhere I go because it is so portable and can make extraordinary photographs, plus I love taking pictures. As in the past, I started out posting them in social media and finally stored them in the cloud.

Then, I started to wonder how I could raise my game to a higher level. How could I push my photography a step further than I’d ever done before? It then occurred to me that wouldn’t it be a hoot to professionally print my own images in-house on a printer that I owned! And so I began the process of researching and acquiring a photographic printer.

Acquiring a Professional Printer

Canon ProGraf Pro-300

Well, I started googling around for “best color photographic printers” and Canon kept showing up in the upper register of the lists. There were Epson’s too, but when I considered that Canon also manufactures state-of-the-art cameras, I gave them the edge. Further, the Canon ProGraf 300 hit a sweet spot in terms of weight and footprint.

If you intend to follow the path that I was on, be aware that photographic printers are rather large devices. They are considerably bigger than typical home document printers primarily because device size is required to make larger prints. So as you would expect, the larger the output print size capability, the larger the required printer’s footprint and corresponding weight. Also affecting device weight is the amount of ink the printer will store. For example, the Canon ProGraf Pro-1000, which uses “ink tanks” will print up to a 17″ X 22″ print, but the device is almost 29 inches wide and weighs just over 71 pounds. There is no place in my home where the Pro-1000 would fit and even if there was, it’s far too heavy for me to move around!

An A3 sized 13 X 19 inch print

In the end, I ordered a Canon ProGraf Pro-300 after watching multitudes of YouTube reviews and tutorials. It had a slightly smaller footprint than the Pro-1000 and weighed half as much, but only makes a print as large as 13 X 19″ and uses smaller ink storage cartridges, which is probably good enough for my purposes. In fact, most of the printing I do for my collection of keepsake images are 8 X 10″ copies which the printer handles quite easily. Occasionally as seen above, I do make large prints too. Further, the Pro-300 is a newer design than the Pro-1000 and is said to recreate blacks in a print more effectively.

The Process of Producing a Photographic Print

Select an image and fine tune it to meet your technical and artistic sensibilities. Below you can see my old fraternity brother Captain Mike, retired USN, where his assignment was as a captain on an aircraft carrier. His image was post-processed in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex and it is now ready to be printed.

Image prepared on my laptop

Days earlier, when the ProGraf Pro-300 arrived, I unboxed it and went through a relatively easy set-up which involved installing the printer head and ink cartridges into the printer, as well as installing printer drivers onto my MacBook Pro. Further, I had to get the printer on my home network so that it would receive signal from my laptop. Finally, I installed onto my laptop a Lightroom Plug-in called Canon Professional Print and Layout, which could be accessed directly from Lightroom and/or Photoshop as well as run independently as a stand alone application. It is also possible to print directly from Lightroom using Adobe’s internal print program, but my analysis indicated that the Canon plug-in was easier and more effective to use. Below, you can see the pull-down Lightroom menu that leads directly to the Canon plug-in.

Lightroom pull down menu to access Canon printer plug-in

Now you can see the image of Captain Mike laid into the Canon printer layout work space. It is here that a variety of final fine tuning settings can be made. For example, the size of margins can be varied. More importantly, color adjustments, brightness and contrast can be altered too. The setting sliders are on the right side of the workspace.

Canon print layout software work space

Matching the Print to the Computer Screen

My experience is that color adjustments are best made in Lightroom and not in the Canon Layout software. Thus far, I’ve had pretty good outcomes matching color in Lightroom on screen with the final print because Lightroom has a lot more nuanced sliders to make alterations. This is no mean feat because I’m dealing with two different color theories existing between the computer and the printer. The computer screen creates hues by blending colored lights similar to stage lighting with the primary colors being red, green and blue. On the other hand, when we see a printed image we’re seeing reflected light with primary colors being cyan, magenta and yellow. In other words, the computer is transmitting mixed light and the printed image is selectively absorbing and reflecting light. To deal with these opposing color theories, It is not unusual for photographers to invest in color calibration tools to ensure best color matching between screen and print. Fortunately for me, MacBooks come from the factory with pretty accurate color calibration which helps go a long way to produce a reasonably well matched print.

On the other hand, I’ve had to master adjusting the brightness of the screen image in the Canon software to match the brightness of the final print. Depending upon my observation of the image on the screen I may adjust it to the bright side by 15 to 25 points on the slider scale of 100 to get a good match and am getting pretty accurate results.

Below you can see the image delivered from the Pro-300. It looks pretty good!

Other Considerations During Printing

Printer ink volume indicator

There are two consumables required to operate the Canon Pro-300. They are ink and paper. The ink is visibly consumed when the printer operates. This is known because the printer does a good job of keeping me aware of dwindling ink levels. This is important as it’s really bad form to run the device with a dry ink cartridge because the printer head can be damaged. Damaging the printer head should be an avoidable failure with just a little care in keeping up with ink volumes. In order to maximize the printer’s color gamut, the device is engineered to run 10 different ink colors. My experience indicates that the inks exhaust at varying rates depending upon what the prints call for. Thus far the photo-black and the gray cartridges seem to expire more quickly, so I keep some extra spares available.

Ink cartridges in printer head assembly

Thus far I’ve ordered my ink directly from the online Canon site. It is very easy and quick to change out an ink cartridge. You can purchase a complete set of all the required colors or buy them independently. I’ve done it both ways because I want some extra black and gray available. I considered making the purchase through Amazon out of habit; however, all the ink that was available was from aftermarket suppliers, and everything I’ve read suggests staying away from non-Canon inks. It’s pennywise and pound poor as the non-Canon inks appear not to perform as well according to general user experience, particularly from a color accuracy standpoint.

Canon printer papers

There are multiple paper sizes and finish types available for photographic printers. Further, there are multiple companies producing varying qualities of paper. The choices can be overwhelming, so in response, as I learn the ropes of photo printing, I’ve started with a basic Canon Pro Luster paper which is a nice neutral cross between a matte and low gloss finish. I’ve been very satisfied with the print outcomes and am not in a huge hurry to switch to other finishes yet; however, with a recent purchase of fresh inks, Canon threw in a sample pack of 4 different types of paper and I am looking forward to experimentation.

After Print Action

Shortly after I started printing photographs, I realized I was going to need some method for trimming the output. For example, I was printing 8 X 10″ photographs on 8.5 X 11″ paper and needed some way for neatly trimming off the excess margins. My old frat brother John Gellman advised me that the best trimmer for photographs was the Rotatrim Pro and insisted that I get the 24 inch model. He said “it’s the best and accept no substitute!” So, I followed his instructions. The Rotatrim was expensive but it is an extremely precise tool. Since it is self sharpening, it should require very little maintenance too, which I like. Below you can see the finished Captain Mike photograph after trimming:

Finished print image

Storing Prints

Photos stored in a drawer… bad form!

It’s very exciting seeing one of your images delivered by the printer. The question now is what do you do with the print? I’ve given some away to neighbors if I’ve photographed them, or stuck some on the refrigerator with a magnet, and framed one for the wall in my home. Too often, I found myself accumulating prints and stuffing them in a drawer to keep them safe which was not particularly satisfying!

So, after giving it some thought, I began a search for a portfolio type contrivance to hold the prints that I thought represented the best of my work. After scrambling around in Amazon, I found a line of photograph oriented portfolios by Itoya sized for 8.5 X 11″ prints. It will hold as many as 100 prints, which I thought would be a perfect way to archive images in an easy to show format. If I chose to archive the larger 13 X 19″ prints that the Canon is capable of producing, Itoya makes a portfolio large enough to hold them!

Itoya portfolio binder

Completing the printer set-up

When I first purchased the Canon printer, I knew where I wanted to place it. We have a location in our home called the resource room, where my guitars are stored, as well as Annette’s writing and weaving space. There’s also a day bed in this ” third bedroom” for a guest if our second bedroom is occupied. At any rate, spare space in our home has its limits, but I determined that the printer would fit perfectly at the foot end of the day bed and located it there. The printer rested on the carpet floor and I wanted to get it onto a platform. The problem in finding a platform is that photographic printers are much larger than home document ones. In other words, the preponderance of home printer stands available were too small for the Canon. Eventually, I found a shelving company that offered a nice platform that the printer would fit on and now the set-up is complete.

Final Thoughts

If you subscribe to the notion that the photographic process is not complete until you hold a tangible print in your hands, then acquiring a printer that can produce a quality image may be for you. There is an upfront capital cost to set up a printer, but I’ve spent more money on a camera lens. In my judgement the cost of ink and paper are not out of line for a serious avocation or hobby. Mastering the printing process is fun, but you should enjoy working with a somewhat fiddly technology before you venture down this path.

Finished product for a wall in my home
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A Memoir: My Personal Journey with Cameras, As Best I Recollect…

For my own amusement I am writing a memoir about my cameras and my associated photography since I was a child. You’re welcome to join my journey. As you’ll see I’ve had a lifelong fascination with photography and cameras.

Brownie Starlmite Camera

The first camera I recollect owning was a birthday gift from my parents when I was around 10 or 11 years old or so. Sadly none of the photographs taken with this camera are in my possession. I don’t think I shot a lot of images with it, primarily because film and processing was expensive and my family did not have the money to indulge large scale use of the camera. On the other hand, I do remember two very clear instances of using the camera.

My junior high school in Gastonia, NC routinely took all 8th graders on a day long field trip to Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, NC. I brought the camera long and shot a roll or two. Mostly, I shot the sites along the way like the NC Penitentiary where I saw the gas chamber used to execute the condemned, the old Dorton Arena, which was considered a regional architectural wonder, and finally the campus of the University of North Carolina. I thought I did a pretty good job documenting the trip, but when I showed the developed photos to my mother, she was apoplectic because none of the photos included my trip companions. She really dressed me down for this failure, and it actually affected my photography for a long time afterwards. Ahhhh, the damage that parents can do to their children… I call it my mom’s curse and I labored under it for a long, long time.

Typical school darkroom
Photo by Don O’Brien via Wikimedia Commons

In the 8th grade, at my Junior High School, a photography class was offered by the shop teacher, Mr. Cloninger. The focus of the class was the technology of film development and processing in the school’s iconic basement darkroom, which, as they all were, was buried near the Balrog’s lair down in the bowels of the earth. For class, we were all instructed to purchase film developer, fixer and photo paper. My parents were good enough to fund the experience.

I had no fancy film developer device. Instead in the pitch dark of my home’s bathroom, with towels stuffed under the door, and using two cake pans for the chemicals, I developed the film taken from the Brownie with the help of my Mom timing the process, as I sloshed the film back and forth, first in the chemical developer and then finally the fixer. It was pretty rudimentary but actually worked quite well. I’d then take the film to the dark room and print the images. Sadly, none of those photos exist today, but the class created lifetime memories! I have no memory of what happened to that camera.

Kodak Instamatic

I recollect being gifted with a Kodak Instamatic camera in my early teens from my parents. Back in those days of the early/mid 1960’s Kodak heavily advertised their simple Instamatic cameras. They were relatively inexpensive mass produced devices that were perfect for producing family memories. The film was encased in a hard plastic container that made loading into the camera very easy with little chance of accidentally exposing it. I remember thinking that if I wanted to develop the film, getting into that plastic enclosure would be very difficult. The film was a very small format 110 size which offered the user limited image size and resolution but they were great for photo albums. I do not think I used this camera very often except on family outings and have no examples of the images taken, though I can remember some of them like the ones taken on a family trip to Tweetsie Railroad in the North Carolina mountains. Again, I think the cost of purchasing and developing the film was a prohibitive factor.

Photo of me and Brad Silver, Frat President

After Junior High School, I had little to do with cameras or photography, and this dwell period lasted until I finished undergraduate school. It is important to note that one of my fraternity brothers, John Gellman, was as avid photographer and happened to be on staff of the Daily Tar Heel at the University of North Carolina. He could be seen everywhere with a Nikon 35mm camera around his neck. The photo to the right is one he took of me in the backyard of our frat house in Chapel Hill. In short, I was inspired by John’s photography and thought I would like to be a 35mm shooter some time in the future.

I got my first taste of actual 35mm film photography in graduate school at the Institute of Textile Technology (1978), where there was a Canon manual 35mm camera available on loan. I shot a couple of roles of film and was, in short, quite enthused. The camera had a normal 50mm lens and an onboard, in camera TTL (through the lens) light meter. It was up to the shooter to select f/stop, shutter speed and film ASA(light sensitivity) to get the proper exposure. After that experience, I committed to purchasing a 35mm film camera when I could afford one. I really liked the feeling of peering into the view finder and capturing the image with a click of the shutter button.

Canon AE-1

After graduate school, I took my first post as a technical manager in Tallassee, Alabama at a very large textile manufacturing complex. It was during my time in Alabama that I purchased my first 35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera. It was the popular Canon AE-1.

For its time, the AE-1 was a breakthrough camera. Because of advanced design and manufacturing techniques, the camera was reasonably affordable for the technology it had to offer the user. It was one of the first SLR’s that had through the lens exposure metering which allowed precise exposure of the subject by automatically adjusting the aperture. This approach was referred to as shutter-speed priority. In other words, the user controlled shutter speed and the aperture automatically stopped down to the appropriate f/stop as determined by the TTL exposure meter. The basic out of the box AE-1 came with a relatively fast f/1.8, 50mm lens. Later, I purchased a Tokina 105mm lens to serve as a modest telephoto lens.

Still suffering under my mother’s curse, the preponderance of images I shot with the AE-1 were family photographs. I don’t have many of the photos from that era as they got lost in the shuffle of life. The image below is a great example of the AE-1’s ability. It must have been taken by my wife, at the time, after I set the camera up for her. It demonstrates how the camera was used to document family activity. It’s me in my younger days with my first born, Jessica:

Jessica and her dad…

With the AE-1, I shot a lot of 400 ASA film, which was a fast (good in lower light) and popular film for the time, but I eventually gravitated to 100 ASA because it was less grainy. I think I also experimented with a few rolls of slide film to save some cost in film processing, but found it unsatisfying squinting through a viewer to see the images. Though I enjoyed photography, I was irked at the cost of film processing and lack of control over the final product, so it limited how much experimentation I would do. In a single 24 picture roll of film, I would typically have a handful of keepers, so film photography was not a very shooter and cost efficient enterprise. For more process control, I considered purchasing a dark room set-up but ruled that out because I did not have the physical space and I preferred color photography. A color dark room was completely out of the question because of its increased complexity and cost.

The AE-1 was a fun camera to use and very popular, as evidenced by the advertisement shown above. I used the camera for several years before becoming distracted by changing jobs and later beginning work on a doctorate at the University of Virginia.

Minolta SLR with Autofocus

It was in the late 1980’s that I was on a business trip to New Orleans, where I was attending the annual meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which accredited the institution where I was dean of the graduate program. Between sessions there was plenty of time to walk around the commercial district. I was astonished by the number of camera shops on the main drag. In retrospect, I suspect that many of those stores were owned by a single company. Nevertheless, I visited several of the shops and in doing so, I became aware of technical advances in consumer SLR cameras that had been made since I’d purchased the Canon AE-1. Most notably, the Minolta SLR that I scrutinized in the store had a state-of-the-art autofocus system, a motor-assisted zoom barrel, and selectable aperture or shutter speed priority. Further, there was a program mode where the camera could make all the decisions itself, which was great if you were feeling lazy while snapping off some quick shots. Motivated by the new technology, I purchased a Minolta in New Orleans and used it through the 1990’s. It was a fine camera to use during the waning days of film photography. As with the Canon AE-1, most of my film photographs were for family documentation. Similar to the AE_1, prohibiting factors were film and processing costs, and the lack of control over the final product since outside processors still developed and printed the film.

Below, you can see a scan of a shot taken with my Minolta of Nettie and four of our five kids on our honeymoon trip to Lake Superior,

Madeline, Mary, Nettie, Ben and Sally at Lake Superior
Basic early digital point and shoot

When I took a post at the University of Northern Iowa as a Professor of Textiles and Apparel in 1999, one of my first tasks, outside of teaching and research, was to support the annual student design show. I was loaned a small digital point and shoot camera to photograph the show. No one had ever photographed the show before me. The camera was about the size of a cassette tape, easy to use, was magical in how quickly it rendered an image to be seen on its rear LCD screen after the shot. On the other hand, the camera suffered from serious shutter lag, which was very disconcerting at first because I never experienced that phenomenon. Shutter lag meant the camera did not actually take the shot for some time after pressing the shutter, so that what you saw produced on the LCD panel was different from what you saw when you activated the shutter. Latter digital cameras removed the lag. Despite the shutter lag, I was beguiled by this new technology.

Kodak DC265

Shortly thereafter, I prevailed upon my department to order a digital camera for our use, which ended up being occupied primarily by me, mostly because I was the only who cared about photography. It was an early generation 2.1 megapixel Kodak DC265 digital range finder. I used it extensively for several years to document activity in my department and also to support my field research, which at the time was to study Civil War Reenacting, its meaning, and the relationship of dress and appearance to the activity.

You can see below a photograph of a national reenactment that I shot with the Kodak in the early 2000’s. The image was subsequently published in a monthly Civil War Reenactment journal, called the Camp Chase Gazette. This version was post processed to look like a painting.

At the Battle of Chicamauga National Reenactment

The Kodak digital camera was a true workhorse out in the field. It was exceptionally durable and its NiCad batteries held charge long enough to make it through a multi-day reenactment. It knocked out 8×10 inch images without difficulty, though that was about its maximum resolution limit, and the color rendering was reasonably accurate. Digital photo post-processing was pretty rudimentary in those days; however, I did manage to isolate my image from one photograph, and then cut and paste it onto a Matthew Brady original of captured Confederates at Gettysburg. I did this for a presentation at a professional meeting. See below:

Dr. Strauss (right) captured at Gettysburg

I dabbled around with my university’s digital cameras for several years, including a later upgrade to the Kodak. My department purchased a 5.1 megapixel, Nikon Coolpix E5000. It was a step up from the Kodak in that it had a host of more advanced features and was thus considered a prosumer camera. I had access to the camera from around 2003 to 2005. It was used to document department activities, and I shot some personal photos too like the one below that was taken on the shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin:

Young Parker on the shore of Lake Superior at Madeline Island, Wisconsin
Nikon D70

Around the spring of 2005, I stumbled upon a news article reviewing the new Nikon D70s. I was astonished because I had no idea that SLR’s were being manufactured that replaced film with digital sensors. They were referred to as DSLR’s. Further, my wife and I were going to spend 5 weeks in Lyon, France with our family teaching textile history at a museum and I wanted to document the trip with photography. I decided it was time to jump in and get a new camera of my own. For quite some time I was very interested in acquiring a Nikon camera, as that’s what my frat brother John Gellman shot when we were both at the University of North Carolina.

So, on a visit to Iowa City in May 2005 to see our daughter who was in school at the University of Iowa, I stopped by the local camera shop in the downtown area. The shop did not have the highly demanded D70s, but had an older stock D70, and I jumped all over it. Most exciting was that this was a real SLR camera but with a digital sensor replacing film! I suspect that the camera shop charged me top dollar, but I was delighted to leave town with the Nikon in my possession. The kit contained an 18-70mm zoom autofocus lens with a 6.1 megapixel sensor, which was larger in comparison to the university point and shoots I was using. The sensor was DX sized, which meant it was smaller than the size of a piece of 35mm film; nevertheless, it was a very capable “relatively” affordable consumer DSLR and I loved it the moment I heard the shutter click the first time.

Apple’s Post-Processing Software

Unlike the digital point and shoots, where the photos unloaded from the camera were pretty much ready to go, the D70 RAW files were anything but ready. I was shocked to see how dull and lifeless they looked like until they were post-processed on my computer to bring out the brilliance of the camera’s capture. To get the best post processing that I could at the time, I adopted Apple’s Aperture software, which I used religiously through every update, until Apple dropped the photo post-processing business. I later adopted, somewhat reluctantly, Adobe Lightroom and use it still today as I write.

I also found myself shaking off my mother’s curse and started making images for art’s sake. I felt liberated by the ability to instantly see the results of my photography and to subsequently fine tune the final product using Apple Aperture. Shortly after purchasing the D70, I took off for Lyon, France with the Nikon as well as a MacBook, and had a wonderful time using the D70 every day. Below you can see a depth of field perspective shot that I made while visiting a French Chateau. I was inspired by a similar shot I’d seen in my thumbed through classic Handbook of Photography!

At a French Chateau outside Lyon

Inspired too by a photograph of Coco Chanel on a scooter that I’d seen in my wife’s office, I created a derivative shot of our son Parker with his sister Madeline.

On Rue de la République in Lyon
Coco Chanel on scooter
Nikon D200

A couple of years after owning the D70, I became interested in the Nikon D200 as a step-up camera. It was an interesting time in DSLR development with companies rapidly developing advancements in sensor size, sensor light sensitivity, camera build and operating features. In short, it was a golden age of camera development. Camera companies like Nikon and Canon put out a lot of marketing pressure to make photographers feel left behind if they did not get on board with the latest models! I was not immune to these tactics.

What attracted me about the D200 was its pro-build. Unlike the D70, the body was not plastic but instead was built upon a magnesium skeleton. There were control features the D200 possessed like the ability to do back-button focusing that were not available on the D70. Further, the sensor megapixels rose to 10.1 versus 6.1, which would be visibly different in the image, allowing for more cropping and greater enlargements. I gave the D70 to my daughter Sally and purchased a D200. It made me feel like a pro of sorts.

With the D200, I continued to try to raise the level of my photography beyond simple family snapshots, though I still made plenty of them.

Parker leading the pack at Cub Scout Camp
on the Jax Beach shoreline
Nettie and Madeline at the Iowa Caucus in 2008
Nikon D300

The Nikon D300’s imaging technology was considered an evolutionary step beyond its predecessor the D200. The D300 offered an increase in megapixels from 10 to 12, which may have not been visibly noticeable; however, the D300 had better color rendering, better highlights, better shadows, enhanced autofocus and far better battery life. By the opinion of most reviewers, it made the D200 technologically obsolete. Sadly, the D300 arrived just shortly after I purchased the D200, and Nikon’s marketing machine beat me into submission. As a result, I sold the D200 to an associate at my university and purchased a D300!

As I wrote earlier, the middle late 2000’s was a period of rapid development in digital sensor and data processing technology. Photographers like myself suffered from fear of missing out (FOMO) and were easy prey for corporate marketing strategies. I don’t regret dumping the D200 so quickly, but I probably could have saved money and taken photos with it just fine for several more years. Moving from model to upgraded model was the state of the hobby back then. In the end, my experience with the D300 was that it was an excellent and versatile pro-level camera. I took a lot of excellent photographs with it.

Many of the photos I shot were of everyday quotidian life, but I continued to push myself to add a level of artistic expression to the images. The D300’s rapid shutter speed, color rendering, and improved low light sensitivity let me push my photographic boundaries a bit further beyond my previous cameras. It was a ruggedly built device too, so I took everywhere when travelling.

My friend Grant on the drums
evening on Lake Superior
Parker rounding third base and heading home for the score
Nikon D700

As with all the other Nikons that I owned, the D300’s sensor was a DX size, which meant that it was measurably smaller than the size of 35mm film, which the original film SLR’s used. The DX size limited the field of view that could be capture and required lenses to be multiplied by a factor of 1.5 to accurately express the true focal length.

As I recollect, at the same time that the D300 was introduced, Nikon also began selling a model designated the D700. Though its external appearance was very similar to the D300, internally it contained an FX sized sensor, which was the size of 35mm film. What this means is that DX has about 60% of the surface area as compared to an FX sensor. The FX was commonly referred to as a full frame sensor. At that time, in the middle-late 2000’s there was a good deal of discussion about the merits of FX vs DX sensor technology. Many hardcore photographers believed FX full frame was the only way to go because it best replicated the “film experience.”

FX vs DX field of view and sensor size comparison

Both the Nikon D300 and the D700 had 12.1 megapixel sensors; however, because of the size advantage of the D700’s more expansive FX sensor, its pixels were comparatively larger. If you consider that a pixel is a light capturing bucket, then the D700’s are considerably larger than the D300’s, permitting it to capture more light, which in turn allows it to be much more effective in low light situations, and also to capture more data from an exposure yielding more color richness and image detail.

I shot with the D300 for several years and was delighted with its performance; however, after exposure to consistent praise for the D700 during those same years, I eventually opted to purchase a used one from eBay. In short the D700 was, in my opinion, a breakthrough piece of technology. I now consider it a classic camera. The images it created were magical. Combined with the acquisition of a Nikkor 105mm macro lens, the D700 opened a broad new vista of artistic creativity for me. I was functioning at a higher level than ever before.

lead end of a corn snake
Macro shot of a Self-Heal wild flower
Macro shot of a Dahlia bloom in the rain
Headwaters of the Mississippi

Note: the D700 is now in my son Parker’s hands and still functions beautifully. As I said, it is a classic camera. On the other hand, the D300 shutter quit functioning, which was a disappointment. It may have been repairable, but I thought that would be throwing good money after bad as I’d moved away from DX sensor photography.

Nikon D810

In the summer of 2014, Nikon announced a new flagship model called the D810. It was a major enhancement beyond the magical D700. The D810 was such a quantum leap in technological advancement it raised questions among D700 shooters as to whether it was time to upgrade.

For photographers who dislike using flash like me, the D810 was capable of working in lower light than any other Nikon. More importantly, the sensor resolution leapt from the D700’s 12.1 megapixel up to the D810’s 36 megapixel, thus the camera with its FX sized sensor was capable of grabbing huge amounts of detail for an image. In fact, for me it would require a computer upgrade to handle the files efficiently. There were other enhancements like enhanced LCD resolution and improved autofocus too.

Nikon D810 kit

Reviewers at the time haled the D810 as “the best” professional camera available, so I ordered one and handed the D700 down to my son, who has used it to good effect. I’ve used the D810 for the past 9 years with little thought to upgrading because it never limited my creativity and often resulted in amazing photographs.

Along the way, I built a conserable support kit for the D810, including a pro tripod, monopod, state-of-the-art ball heads, multiple lenses, including two for macro shooting, a standard top mount flash, and a lens mount flash. Here are some example shots made with the D810:

Shoemaker in Florence, Italy
Monarch Butterfly in an Iowa Prairie
The Grand Tetons and Jenny Lake
Compass Plant in an Iowa Prairie
Anole Lizard in a North Carolina garden
Leica Q3

Just this spring 2024 I purchased a new camera, which has offered me a fantastic experience as a photographer. The background story on my purchase can be found on this weblog here. Below are examples of some of the images I’ve taken with the Leica thus far.

Bloom from a Tulip Tree
Dogwood Tree bloom
May Apple wildflower bloom
Local guitar luthier in Carrboro, North Carolina
Springtime in Fearrington Village
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Glass and Silicon… Entering the World of the Leica Q3…

The best camera is the one you have with you – Chase Jarvis

Nikon D810 Kit

Much of the writing on this weblog focused on my involvement with guitars and roots music; however in addition to music, I’ve been a dedicated photographer too for many years. I spent years with film cameras, but I’ve used DSLR’s (digital single lens reflex cameras) almost as long as they were available, including the Nikons D70, D300, & D700.

For the past nine years, I’ve happily used a Nikon D810 kit for my photography. In addition to the camera itself, I also own a multiplicity of lenses, tripods and flash lighting systems. It was and still is a fantastic camera, and photos taken with it adorn the walls of my home and those of my kids. I generated over 4000 followers on Tumblr with photos shot from the D810 and I used it extensively to support my work as a university professor, including shooting fashion shows and teaching several semesters of fashion photography. I even held an art show of my photography at my local coffee shop when I lived in Iowa.

Macro photo of an Atamasco Lily with the D810

Over the years I’ve shot a variety of styles, including sports, fashion, and landscapes, but I have a special affection for macro images, particularly wild flowers in the woodlands and the prairie, which was facilitated by my residence in Iowa for over two decades.

Landscape Shot of Monument Valley with the D810

Despite the incredible capabilities of the Nikon D810, I’ve found it. over the past couple of years, to be a major burden to haul around. The camera, particularly with one of my macro lenses attached, feels like a cinder block around my neck after just a short time out and about. Sadly, I am no spring chicken anymore, and as a result, I am less inclined to have my camera with me when I should. I find myself too often using my iPhone 11 Pro Max. In a pinch, the iPhone grabs a decent image, but there’s so much more a good camera can do by comparison.

Is There A Lighter More Capable Camera?

Shot of my son driving to the hoop with the D810

It occurred to me that it might be time to search the marketplace for a lighter camera that I would be more willing to carry around with me when I was out and about.

Since the time I acquired the D810, the technology for digital cameras transitioned rather dramatically away from Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR), technology, where the camera used a mirror to divert the light traveling through the lens to the view finder so the photographer could frame the image. When the shutter was activated the camera would lift the mirror up out of the way to let the light traveling through the lens strike the digital sensor. To reduce mechanical complexity and to limit the internal moving mass of the camera, the new technology eliminated the mirror and introduced an electric view finder (EVF) to take light directly from the lens to the viewfinder, to produce what is referred to in the marketplace as a Mirrorless digital camera. In very short order, the major manufacturers of digital cameras dropped production of DSLR’s.

iPhone Shot recognized by Lensblr on Tumblr

To save weight I gave passing thought to acquiring a mirrorless Nikon, but examination of the specs indicated the newer cameras were not particularly lighter and there was serious question as to whether my existing lenses would work effectively on the newer mirrorless camera bodies. Buying a whole new kit with no appreciable gain in portability made no sense to me. I was further convinced when I saw a neighbor hauling around a new state-of=the-art Sony camera body with a telephoto lens and it looked like a back breaker.

Horst Faas and his Leicas

In addition to the Nikon mirrorless cameras, I also considered a Leica as a lighter, but very capable “walk around” camera. I was influenced by images of war time photographers like the great Robert Capa and Horst Faas using the smallish Leica film cameras of their day. They now manufacture state-of-the art digital Leicas which are highly regarded. Further, my old fraternity brother John Gellman who has been a major influence on my development as a photographer, also shot with a Leica for a time.

Not knowing much at that time about the array of models that Leica offers, I initially only looked at their M body and some of the detachable lenses that they offer. I was put off very quickly by its prohibitive pricing, and did not realize at the time that the M is strictly a manual focus camera, which would have been a deal killer for me.

I Choose the Leica Q3

Leica Q3

A year went by after I dismissed the notion of purchasing a Leica. In the meantime, springtime arrived again in the Piedmont of North Carolina where I live, and it can be stunningly beautiful. There were too many photographic opportunities that I was going to miss because I resisted schlepping my big Nikon around. Consequently, I decided to take another look at Leicas. This time around I dug deeper and attempted to familiarize myself with the broader array of Leica models and in very short order I noticed a great deal of positive buzz about the Q model camera. The Q3, which was announced in May 2023, is the third generation of this model camera.

Leica Q3 – lens cap off

I learned that the Q3 is regarded as a compact camera and that both Sony and Fuji also make popular versions in the same genre. These compact cameras are relatively small, have a fixed lens (around 28 mm), a mirrorless shutter, autofocus and selectable control of aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity. They do vary in terms of the sensor resolution (i.e. megapixels), sensor size, and the proprietary algorithms used to process the image data. The viewfinders also vary too as to whether they are optical, electronic or their internal size.

If you take the time to explore YouTube there is an abundance of information about cameras and photography, including dozens of reviews on compact cameras, thus making an informed purchase decision possible. Below is an example of a typical Q3 review:

On YouTube most reviews for the various cameras are enthusiastically positive, so they should be taken with a grain of salt; nevertheless, the basic camera specifications and capabilities differentiating the devices become pretty obvious. There were some key elements that made the Q3 stand out in my meta-analysis. The Summilux 28 mm, f/1.7 lens paired with the state-of-the-art 60 megapixel sensor set the Leica apart. Also attractive to me was the large bright EVF, and the sleek relatively simple control features to manage the camera. The downside was the expense, but no compromises are made in the design of this device. You pay for the legendary history of Leica, the design, and their incomparable lenses.

Purchasing a Leica Q3: Largely a Matter of Timing and Luck

Deciding to purchase a Leica Q3 and actually acquiring one are not the same thing. There are limited supplies of the camera and considerable global demand making it a challenging purchase. Initially unaware of the limited supply of Q3’s, I went to trusted national retailer B&H Photo but was informed that the Leicas were on backorder with no estimate of resupply. The same was true with Adorama, as well as every other reputable online camera sales organizations. Scalper prices were available on Amazon and eBay, but aside from the extra exorbitant pricing, there was probably a very good chance that their supply was from the gray market, meaning they were slipped into the U.S. from Europe or Asia through the back door, putting legitimate service and warranty at question!

Leica Meatpacking District, NYC

I placed an order with B&H but had no idea what the wait time would be. After a couple of weeks of frustration, I received some advice from one of the several Leica Q Facebook groups. One knowledgeable member suggested calling around to the U.S. corporate Leica stores. I had no idea that there were such stores, and a quick search indicated there were eight of them. The third call was to the recently opened Leica Shop and Gallery at the Meatpacking District of NYC. I stumbled into good luck because the store was so new, they had a very small Q3 waiting list and a shipment arriving very shortly. Two days later I closed the deal on a Q3. The people at the shop were very accommodating.

I completed the order on a Friday, and the camera arrived on Monday, which I thought was pretty amazing. To the left, you can see what arrived with my order. The Q3 camera itself and the battery comprised the basic order. In addition, I grabbed the Leica half leather protective case, a Leica UV filter and a 128 Gig SD card.

Setting Up My Leica Kit

Leather Half Cover

There is a prevailing belief that a filter to protect the lens limits how much light can transmit through to the sensor. On the other hand, the Summilux lens is so exquisite and expensive, I am not going to leave it vulnerable to scratching, so I put a Leica filter on it. In fact, the Leica ambassador in New York recommended one. By the same token, I want to protect the camera body as best I can because I plan to keep it around my neck a lot, so I purchased the Leica buff-colored leather half case. The front half of the camera is protected by the case, but the back is left open for the LCD Panel and the various surface control interfaces. You can see on the right that the protective case has a trap door at its bottom to access the battery compartment, which is great, but the SD card slot and the side ports are not accessible, which makes the case a bit of a pain in the ass because it must be removed to get to those features. Fortunately it is a relatively easy install and removal… still…

Battery and memory card access for the Q3

To the left you can see the lower portion of the camera where the battery compartment is, as well as the memory card slot. As I mentioned above, with the leather half case installed the battery is easy to exchange, but not the memory card. I’ve seen half cases from other non-Leica manufacturers that have a larger access area so that the memory card can also be accessed.

Thumb grip and soft shutter button

At this point, I should note how outrageously expensive Leica brand accessories are. There are less expensive after-market products that perform the same basic function; however, I decided to trust Leica engineers to produce a case that fits perfectly onto the camera since it serves such a major protective function. The same logic held true when I made a decision to mount the Leica brand thumb grip. The Q3 was a bit like holding onto a wet bar of soap until I mounted the thumb grip. There are other aftermarket grips but in my opinion none engineered as precisely as the Leica version. You can see above the brass thumb grip which locks firmly onto the flash shoe. Note also the two black function buttons on the grip that sit astride similar buttons built into the Q3’s body and work perfectly.

Soft shutter release

On the other hand, I mounted an aftermarket soft release shutter button onto the Q3. You can see it in the image to the left. The standard shutter button is flush within a circular enclosure on the camera body, so you have to dig down a bit with your finger to activate it. The soft release screws into the shutter button, and makes it far easier to fire off a photo. I saw no reason to pay the exorbitant Leica price and instead acquired a very nice one from Popflash Photo for one third the cost.

Leica Q3 battery

To complete my kit I also added a spare battery and a small carry bag. The extra battery I purchased because the Q3 too rapidly drained the battery when I had the camera on for an extended period of time while watching Youtube videos for proper set-up advice. Now that I am using the camera on daily photography walks, I keep it turned off until I need it for a shot, and as a result the battery charge is lasting much longer. Still, I think it’s good form to have a backup battery even though it was quite pricey.

Domke Case

The Domke bag, that I purchased is shown on the left and is a brand I’ve used before. My main Nikon kit is in a large Domke bag, which you can see at the top of this article, and a similar but smaller one is used to hold a Nikon D700 which is now with my youngest son. Domke manufacturers well made coated canvas bags that are moderately priced. While sourcing other camera bags, I observed that some of the bags very popular among Youtube and Facebook Q3 owners ranged in priced from $600 to almost $1000. The Domke is a fraction the cost. All this leads me to believe (as a person who co-authored a book on fashion theory) that those wildly expensive camera bags serve more as a status symbol than the functional Domke I now own. This also suggests that there may be some people who purchase the Q3 for as much as a status symbol than for the extraordinary photographic technology that it represents.

Shooting With The Q3

Leica Q3 shot of Springtime in my Village

For me, the Leica Q3 has been a delight to own and shoot with. I’ve been amazed at the initial color rendering, the dynamic range of light to dark, and the general clarity of the images. Of course, the image needs to be framed skillfully and the camera needs to be set properly at the outset to achieve the highest level of image quality (IQ).

Framing the photograph properly was my initial challenge with the Q3. I do not ordinarily shot with a wide angle 28 mm focal length. To get a photo that suits me with 28 mm, it requires getting close to the subject or cropping the image in post processing. A 28 mm lens grabs up a good deal of real estate, but because the camera’s resolution is so great at 60 megapixels there is the capability to crop the image quite dramatically, though it makes me a bit anxious to discard so much data.

Below you can see a surreptitious street photograph of a woman sitting across from me in my Village. I thought she looked interesting, but at the distance I was sitting from her, the 28 mm lens grabbed way more than I was interested in capturing:

Below is a severe crop of the above image, and now you can see the interesting visage of the woman sitting across from me. Despite the severe crop the image is not breaking up and is holding together well because 60 megapixels offers you a lot of leeway. I would not recommend this level of cropping as a habit, nor would I recommend making a large print of this image, but for a social media post it would serve its purpose quite well.

Q3 LCD Panel

When taking your shot, the image can be observed and framed either through the EVF or from the LCD panel. The information available to the photographer is exactly the same. A light meter and other important settings including aperture, shutter speed and ISO are visible. I prefer to use the EVF when I shoot, with the possible exception of some down low macro shots, and there I’ll use the tilt-out LCD to great effect. In direct sunlight, when I use the EVF, I find my self cupping my hand around the viewfinder so that I can see it well.

I initially used the camera in complete manual mode, with the exception of autofocus, which really slowed me down to concentrate on what the camera was doing. After a while, on the recommendation of one of the many Q3 photographers on YouTube, I set the shutter speed and ISO to automatic with a ceiling of ISO 3500. I set the aperture myself and concentrate on framing the image. In addition, I have the camera exposure adjusted to one stop below optimal to preserve bright highlights. With this arrangement my exposures have produced many useable images like the one below of the Old Well at the University of North Carolina.

The Old Well with the Leica Q3
The Macro barrel selector

I mentioned earlier that I have a natural predilection for macro photography and as a result, the built in capacity of the Summilux lens for macro work was a major selling point to me. A simple twist on the barrel of the lens converts the Q3 into an effective macro shooter. My Nikon kit contains two macro lenses, a pair of screw on magnification lenses and a macro flash set, so it’s hard to beat the images it produces, but it is so heavy I now hesitate to drag it around. Fortunately, the Q3 is far more portable and the macro images are very nice indeed, as you can see below:

Macro shot of a wildflower with the Leica Q3
The Aperture barrel selector

Another feature I really like about the Q3 is how fast the Summilux lens is, with its maximum aperture of f/1.7. With a lens that opens so widely, the photographer has lots of opportunity to play with shallow depth of field, which adds another element of art to my available palette. The Summilux’s out of focus bokeh is also very pleasing to the eye.

Further, the fast lens combined with the Q3 sensor’s wide dynamic range and low light noise control gives the photographer a great deal of leeway in low light circumstances. Most photographers on Youtube recommend using an ISO ceiling of 3500; however, others believe you can go a step higher and still maintain clarity, sharpness and low noise. I have yet to work with the Q3 in low light, but look forward to it. Below, you can see one of my experiments with narrow DOF indoors with natural light:

Demonstration of the Leica Q3 at f/1.7

In Sum

I’ve owned the Leica Q3 for a few weeks and to this point, delighted with my purchase. The camera is light enough to carry around everywhere, which I do, and if I properly work within the constraints of the fixed 28 mm lens, it is possible to make some excellent photographs. In short, this camera is a very flexible companion and a great deal of fun to use.

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Fixing a Guitar Neck Ding…

National Resophonic M1 Tricone

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I first started playing my guitars on stage around mic stands, because of inexperience, I unfortunately whacked my guitar’s neck into the stand, which leaves a small ding. Difficult to see, but irritating when moving your hand up and down the neck, particularly when playing with a slide. While the guitar is still playable and the tone is not adversely affected, it is really annoying and distracting to feel the ding during playing. It’s particularly frustrating when playing a premium guitar knowing how expensive it can be.

I was playing my National M1 the other day and was immediately reminded of the ding(s) I had in the neck. One ding from a mic stand strike and another from my friend’s careless swing of his guitar neck onto mine, which is doubly irritating!

Cue Doctor Ding Remover

Driven by my irritation, I started rooting around on the internet for a solution and discovered multiple remedies for ding repair. Several involved application of moisture and heat which I did not want to mess with for fear of exacerbating the damage. Fortunately, I did stumble on a relatively inexpensive mechanical solution that was worth a try.

The Cue Doctor is a dense and solid cylinder of glass that is intended to remove dings in pool cues. Apparently a ding on a pool cue is as irritating and distracting as one on a guitar neck. The device is very simple to use. Holding the cylinder in the palm of your hand and rapidly rubbing it over the ding with a modicum of pressure will flatten out the damage. According to the manufacturer the combination of pressure and heat created by the friction of rubbing will cause the indent to rise and flatten out.

Some luthiers have taken the same technology and applied it to guitar necks. I did the same to the M1’s neck and it works amazingly well!

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Being one more than two…

After a thousand miles on the trails, I relate my experience with the Catrike Dumont…

Introduction

My Specialized Roubaix

I’ve been a lifelong traditional “diamond -framed” cyclist; however, for physical reasons resulting from surgeries in a delicate area of my body, I found myself no longer comfortable on a two wheeled bicycle. This was a shame because my most recent bicycle (Specialized Roubaix) was an almost “light as air” carbon fiber technological wonder that epitomized the elegance and efficiency of human powered motion.

As I recollect just prior to my surgery last year, my doctors suggested that I might want to consider another form of cycling that would be more comfortable. I was not alone in this circumstance. In fact, physical limitations of vary sorts seem to be the rule rather than the exception for riders transitioning from traditional bicycle technology to alternatives like recumbent designs. I dismissed my doctor’s concerns until early this summer when I rode the Roubaix a few times and realized I might undo the good work of my surgeons if I kept at it.

Recumbent Bicycle

According to Wikipedia, “a recumbent bicycle or tricycle  is a conveyance that places the rider in a laid-back reclining position. Most recumbent riders choose this type of design for ergonomic reasons: the rider’s weight is distributed comfortably over a larger area, supported by back and buttocks. On a traditional upright bicycle, the body weight rests entirely on a small portion of the sitting bones, the feet, and the hands.”

Recumbent cycles come in two basic configurations, which are either two or three wheeled designs. Initially my inclination was to acquire a two wheeled version, but I was dissuaded by my local bike shop for two related reasons. First, they don’t sell them and second the owner does not trust their basic stability. His quote to me was, “you ever seen one of those things going up a hill?” Saying this while he moved his hands back and forth horizontally indicating that they have difficulty keeping a straight line, which is essential safe-cycling behavior. This was further confirmed to me when I stumbled upon a gruesome YouTube video of a rider crashing his Cruzbike recumbent into a curb when he briefly took one of his hands off the handlebar grip! You can see this disaster in the video below which caused me to rule out the two-wheeled version of the recumbent. The wreck happens about the 3:15 mark, and at the 8:40 mark the rider shares the injuries he sustained:

I Purchase a Recumbent Trike

At first pass I was very reluctant to own a recumbent trike. My understanding was that they were heavy, wide and incurred increased rolling resistance because of three wheels in contact with the road surface. The was anathema to a “roadie” cyclist like me who placed the greatest value on limited mass, precision components and maximum speed! My feelings were also complicated by my disdain for trike riders. They never appeared to be serious cyclists, instead tooling along at a leisurely pace in their lazy boy chairs on wheels! I wondered where they kept their remote controls and beer koozies on those odd conveyances.

I had to set aside my prejudices regarding trikes because I very much wanted to get back to riding on the bike trails. Cycling with my wife is a very important part of our daily routine. So I went out shopping for a trike.

The trike zone in my local shop

My purchase was initially driven by what was available in my immediate Iowa location. I’ve had a longstanding relationship with my local bike shop and felt very comfortable buying my trike from them. I wanted a place that I could reach easily for the inevitable service that trikes require. My instincts were correct because my trike spent a good deal of time in the service bay during my initial thousand miles of ownership.

At the time of my searching, my local shop listed on their webpage Catrike, ICE, and TerraTrike brands. Probably because of global supply chain issues there were a just small number of TerraTrikes in the shop, no ICE’s and a pretty good inventory of Catrikes. At any rate, the Catrike designs were more appealing to me so I focused on them. I ended up purchasing a Dumont because trikes are fairly large mechanisms and this one folded up to a smaller size. Further, it was designed with both front and rear suspension. Since you cannot lift up out of the seat when encountering a bump on the trail as you can on a traditional diamond framed bike, I thought suspension to soften the impact on my aging body made great sense.

My newly acquired Catrike Dumont

I’ve never owned a Candy Purple bike, so I selected it over a Liquid Black one, which were the two available. The Catrikes are known for their exquisite paint jobs. They apply the paint with powder coating technology using their own unique color mixes. The powder coated paint is supposedly more evenly applied and more durable. Sadly though, because of the powder coat technology, Catrike does not offer touch up paint, which can be an issue if you ding up the frame which I did in very short order. Other than adding some Shimano SPD pedals, a water bottle holder and some fore and aft lighting, I rolled out of the store with a stock Dumont.

I Add an eCat Bosch Motor

Bosch Active Line Plus Motor

The Dumont weighs in at 43 pounds. That is a lot of aluminum, steel and rubber to power along the trail. The trike was equipped with a triple crankset up front and a 10 ring cassette in the rear, giving 30 possible combinations. Riding on the flats and rolling down hills was fun, but climbing any inclines was tedious for me as gravity comes into play in a big way when you’re driving a beefy trike such as the Dumont. After about 150 miles of toiling with the Dumont, I decided I was not having any fun on my summer morning rides with my wife. Compared to the ease of riding my Specialized Roubaix, the Dumont was a boar hog. Cycling had become a chore, and I had to take some kind of action or I’d quit riding.

Dumont with Bosch motor

During my initial trike shopping, I became aware that a Dumont could be retrofit with an electric assist motor, but that would be a big step for me because I actually disdained bikes that used motors. I just thought they were for the unmotivated or lazy.

Nevertheless, being desperate to raise the Dumont to the level of fun to ride, I laid down a sizable chunk of cash and had my shop install a motor on the Dumont. The installation was pretty easy as the front end of the boom is completely swapped out. The three ring crankset, cranks and pedals are removed and replaced with a boom that holds a German made Bosch Active Line Plus motor, subcontracted by the Catrike manufacturer. The old boom went into a box in my garage and I transferred my new Shimano SPD pedals to the powered boom.

Riding with the new motor took a bit of acclimation, but very soon the Dumont was great fun to ride! The motor is torque-activated, meaning that pedaling is required to trigger the assistance that it offers to the rider. In the above graphic you can see that the Active Line Plus motor offers four levels of assistance ranging from 40 to 270% additional power beyond the baseline offered by your own legs.

Bosch Purion Computer

The level of assistance is selected by Bosch’s Purion computer which is mounted where the shift lever was for the old front derailleur that was replaced by the motor boom. Pressing the Purion plus or minus buttons move the motor through the four stages of assistance. I ride the Dumont mostly at the ECO or 40% assistance level, which to a large extent remediates the piggish weight of the trike. At the ECO setting I’ll tool along at about 12 mph. If I need to go faster, or I’m feeling lazy, I’ll bump the Purion up to TOUR level and there I can run 14 to 15 mph with a moderate amount of leg input from me. I will use the SPORT of TURBO settings for the rare Iowa hills, with the assistance level depending upon how steep they are.

Bosch battery

The Bosch motor and Purion computer are all powered by a rechargeable battery that is mounted on the side of the trike between the seat and rear wheel. The battery will dissipate its charge at a rate that is a function of how much assist you require during a ride. For example the Purion estimates that riding at the ECO setting gives a range of about 70 miles, TOUR 40 miles and so on. The battery can be recharged while attached to the trike. Removal of the battery requires a key.

It’s important to note that the battery and the mount add width to the trike when in its folded state. Before I added the battery, the folded Dumont would easily fit into the rear of my Honda Crosstour or my wife’s Subaru Outback. Now it won’t! This is a big problem and has pushed me to seek out a trike rack and trailer hitch for my Honda. This is an ongoing and costly process. It’s also worth noting that the Dumont now weighs in the neighborhood of 53 pounds with the addition of the motor boom and battery. The motor more than makes up for the additional weight!

The Annoying Rear Fender

Dumont rear wheel with fender attached

The stock Dumont is equipped with an aluminum fender mounted over the rear wheel. The fender is useful when riding wet, sloppy trails after a rainstorm. But, I removed it from the trike because it made an unholy racket any time I rode over somewhat uneven trails, which is all too common where I live. I tried tightening the fender mounts, adding rubber washers between the mount and the trike body and even worked with the body’s shock absorber all to no avail. Finally, I contacted Catrike and they basically admitted that they have trouble with “some” of their fenders and offered to send me a replacement. Further, they informed me that they were redesigning their fenders.

Read fender removed from Catrike

I saw no advantage to having Catrike send me a new fender since the one I had was perfectly good, other than being quite noisy. It was hard for me to accept the clashing about of the fender while riding through my bucolic, wooded bike trails, so I removed it. The removal process was stressful and tedious because the screw mounting the fender directly to the frame was very difficult to get to, but I eventually got it free. I miss the fender on those days that the trail is sloppy, but I do not miss the racket! Perhaps I will give the redesigned fender a go when and if it becomes available next Spring.

Those Dang Disc Brakes

Traditional Caliper Brakes

I’ve ridden with bicycles all my life that used wheel rim grabbing calipers. Adjusting them was relatively easy to do. On the other hand, the Dumont was equipped with Avid BB7 Disc Brakes on both of the front wheels. In addition, they are also equipped with Catrike locking brake levers. When adjusted properly, the trike’s disc brakes work very effectively however, it took multiple trips to the shop to get the BB7’s to function as they were designed to do.

Avid BB7 Disc Brake

Since the cables of a new trike stretch over the initial break-in period it was difficult to keep them properly adjusted. Secondly, the BB7’s are more difficult to access and way more complicated to adjust, making them beyond my capabilities. Consequently, any adjustments had to be done in my bike shop.

During the break-in period, I experienced several hundred miles of noisy pad to disc rubbing from the right brake before finally getting it adjusted properly. As a result of cable stretching, the parking brake on the left side quit grabbing and had to be reset. This is important because a trike will roll off if not locked down with a parking brake! Finally the brake levers had to be fine tuned so that they activated the brakes simultaneously when under equivalent hand pressure. For a while they were not set identically, which caused the trike to fishtail during rapid breaking. As of this writing the brakes are finally functioning properly, but it was an ordeal getting there.

Working Through Issues with the Rear Derailleur

SRAM GX Derailleur

The Dumont is equipped with a SRAM GX ten speed derailleur, which is a moderate quality device used often on Mountain Bikes. It is activated by an indexed shifter-lever mounted on the right steering grip. While it’s been working very accurately for the past several hundred miles, I had some difficulties with it until the control cable settled into its stretched out length and the derailleur limit screw settings were fine tuned. The limit screws control the lateral motion of the derailleur and this is important because when set properly, they reduce the probability of throwing the chain either into the wheel or onto the axle.

Twice I experienced the chain dropping off the rear gear cassette and jamming up on the axle. This malfunction prohibits movement of the chain and locks down the motion of the pedals. The first time it happened, I freaked out and went into emergency braking mode, and to this day I’m not sure whether or not the rear wheel locked up also. Nevertheless, the trike spilled over on its right side and I was thrown free from the trike onto the trail. OUCH! Sore hip and elbow road rash for days after.

After my first “chain drop” incident, my bike shop fine tuned the derailleur and I rode along fine for several hundred miles before the derailleur malfunctioned again. This time, I did not panic and let the trike roll to a stop. As with the first chain drop, it was difficult to free the chain from its jammed space on the axle but I eventually got it and the trike rolling again. I think my bike shop did another fine-tuning and the derailleur’s been working great since then.

I’ve read that the use of a motor places more strain on the chain and the derailleur as opposed to the unassisted state. Consequently, some effort by the rider to reduce pedaling load during a gear shift reduces stress on the system and the probability of malfunction. This is not always possible, but I try to do it now as often as I can.

It is also worth noting that the bottom of Dumont’s derailleur is fairly close to the ground with its lowest point being 5 inches above the trail surface. By comparison the bottom of the Roubaix’s derailleur is 6.5 inches above the surface of the road. This may not seem like a big difference, but it must be because unlike the Roubaix, I’ve picked up trail debris several times while on the trike and found it trapped between the Dumont’s derailleur and rear wheel. In fact, during one ride, after a rain storm, I picked up a small windblown branch with leaves still attached and it wove its way around both jockey wheels and several times around the rear cassette. What a mess that was to clean up while out on the trail!

Rohloff Hub

Because of chain drops and derailleur fouling I considered chucking the derailleur and replacing it with a Rohloff internally geared hub. They’re very expensive, but owners of those hubs are super enthusiastic about them. At this point, I’ve decided against allocating those funds because my bike shop guys are very unenthusiastic about doing the work. In addition, the Catrike literature about the Bosch motor indicates it is set up for use with a standard derailleur and finally, mounting a Rohloff on the Dumont requires a drop out adaptor kit which alters the trike’s frame geometry by extending it one inch in length. I am assuming that the Catrike designers were very intentional when they laid out the trike’s geometry and I am reluctant to mess with it.

Those Pesky Flats

The stock Dumont is dressed out with Schwalbe Marathon Racer tires. They’re advertised as the lightest of the Marathon tires, but boast of good durability and flat resistance. Nevertheless, I got a flat on the bike trail shortly after acquiring the Dumont and had yet to equip myself with spare tire tubes and field repairs tools. I had to roll the trike to a location where my wife could pick me up. Rolling a Dumont with a flat tire is an ordeal as the trike wants to curve off in the direction of the flatted tire. I never want to do that again!

Schwalbe Marathon Plus Flat Resistant Tires

After consultation with my bike shop I had them order a set of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires which are supposedly bullet proof and in the unlikely event of a flat I now have spare tubes and field repair tools. The Marathon Plus are big beefy tires and actually add some cushion to the ride.

The Marathon Plus tires come in E50 and E25 varieties. The E50’s are for bikes/trikes that are spec’d to run with motors that push the vehicle to speeds in the neighborhood of 30 mph. The E25’s are for trikes like the Dumont that are set to max out at 20 mph. For some inexplicable reason my shop put E50’s on the front and an E25 on the rear. I would have preferred E25’s all around as they are lighter than the E50’s. On rotating elements like wheels, lighter is better. I should have been a more attentive and knowledgeable consumer when I had the shop order the tires. In fact, I would prefer to pull the E50’s off and replace them with E25’s, which I’ll do if I ever wear them out.

I’ve run several hundred miles on the new Marathon Plus tires and so far no flats!

To the left you can see an image of the various items I carry along for tire repair. Included from right to left are tire tubes of two sizes, a patch kit, zip locks, a pump, hex wrenches, tire tools and a plastic snipper.

Rear rack and bag

I’d prefer not to carry all the aforementioned items; however, I don’t want to get caught with my pants down on the bike trails again with a flat that I cannot fix. Catrike builds a variety of pockets under and behind the seat that can be used to stow pumps and tools; however, I found it necessary to mount a rack and smallish bag on the rear to house the tire tubes. The rest of the bag is useful for hauling a bike lock and whatever else you want to bring along within reason.

The rack, bag and tools etc. violate my holdover minimalist “roadie” sensibility, but riding a Dumont with a motor assist is a completely different affect. So I bring it all along!

Being Seen

The Dumont is considerably less visible on the road or trail than my two-wheeled Roubaix. Since trikes are still relatively rare, neither motorists nor other cyclists recognize and respond to them as readily as a two wheeler. For this reason, making a trike more visible when out and about is the prime directive!

In the past, I’ve been critical of two-wheelers running daylight lights. The lights that are now sold are so bright they’re practically blinding or at a minimum really annoying when the rider is using the periodic flash setting. Bright lights can trigger a migraine for some, including me, so I will studiously look away from an oncoming riding running bright lights. Despite my antipathy for running day lights, I put them on my Dumont for safety reasons. A trike must be recognized quickly, but I do feel bad for passersby’s who may feel afflicted by my lights.

lights recharging

In the image gallery above you can see the front white light, the two rear red lights, and the flag I use on the Dumont to enhance visibility. I run the lights whenever I am on the move. Since the lights are expensive and would be very easy to steal off the trike, I remove them when I park in a public place, like in front of our local coffee shop. The lights are rechargeable, which must be done pretty much every day. You can see my recharging station in my kitchen.

Terratrike flag grommet

The Dumont was equipped with a rather prosaic, small orange flag. Shortly after purchasing the trike, I rode it under a tree that had partially fallen across the trail and unknowingly had the flag stripped off the pole. Consequently, I purchased a new larger and more interesting looking official Catrike flag which was pricey, but I like it! The flag and a rubber grommet that helps lock the flag pole into place were made and sold aftermarket by TerraCycle.

How Stable is a Catrike Dumont?

Cycling is an inherently hazardous pastime. Over the years, I’ve taken my fair share of spills from two wheeled, diamond shaped bicycle frames. I initially thought a trike would be different, so when I first sat down into the Dumont cockpit, I said to my bike guy, “you’d probably have to be intentional to tip over a three wheeled vehicle,” and he visibly shuddered. This he followed with a warning that several of his customers had mishaps on their trikes, and that I should ride mine with caution especially in the early days of ownership! So how stable is the Dumont? Here are some of my thoughts:

  1. From a stability standpoint, not all trikes are created equal. Some are more stable than others. For example, the Dumont is considered fairly stable with a Catrike rating of 10, whereas the 559 model is rated 7.5. Since the Dumont is all I’ve ever ridden, I can only speak about it.
  2. When you’re riding on a straightaway, the part of your brain that handles balancing on a two-wheeler is free to engage in other realms so as enjoying the scenery. With three wheels, the trike balances itself.
  3. It’s really nice when you come to a full stop. It is no longer necessary to unclip myself from the pedals and reclip when I start rolling, which was the case with my two-wheeler.
  4. On the other hand, taking curves requires more care than riding on a two-wheeler. Taking a sharp curve too fast can result in a spill. In time, you learn to lean into the curve which allows you to go faster, but a two-wheeler will always have an advantage.
  5. Despite its high stability rating, I’ve tipped the Dumont over twice and as a result been thrown from it landing hard on the ground. Fortunately, I was not hurt too badly, but I do not want to make a habit of this. In both cases, I was in an emergency braking mode. The first time, my chain dropped from the cassette onto the rear axle, locked up my pedals and I went into panic mode by over-braking. This spill was probably avoidable.

    The second spill was when some oversized clown on an eBike veered off the concrete trail into the grass, and in a panic over-corrected and swerved into me while I was passing him. Had I not hard-braked I would have hit him and that would have been a real mess. On this particular hard-brake, the rear wheel went airborne, the front end dug into the pavement and I was tossed. This was not, on my part, an avoidable accident. In the end, it is best to refrain from getting yourself into an emergency hard-brake scenario, if it is at all possible.

Epilogue

After 1000 miles in the Dumont’s cockpit, I find the trike’s functioning on the mark in all respects and a great deal of fun to ride. Were it not for the Dumont, I would no longer be on the bike trails, which would have been a great loss to me and my wife.

I’d like to thank the folks at Bike Tech in Cedar Falls, Iowa for their service, attentiveness, friendship, patience, and most of all for keeping me rolling.

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One ring to rule them all… a Martin Authentic 1937 moves into place…

Introduction

My Taylor T5z

When I completed the purchase of my second Collings, a lovely guitar inspired by Gibson’s 1930’s era L-00, I thought I was pretty much done acquiring guitars. My six guitar collection included two resonators (one being electric), two electrics (one being a hybrid acoustic/electric, and two acoustics. But I wasn’t really done. There were two remaining issues affecting my sense of guitar balance and purpose:

First, my hybrid, semi-hollow bodied Taylor T5z, was going for long periods without being played, and that’s a red flag warning that it may be time to go. In the end it’s a niche instrument best for switching back and forth between acoustic or electric tonalities depending upon the tune being played. It’s most suitable for a gig where you only want to bring one guitar, which is not a dilemma I ever find myself in. The truth was, if I wanted to play electric, I had a far better instrument (Collings I-35) to do the job, and there was no way the T5z could match the sonic performance of the Collings acoustics in my stable.

Secondly, I’ve found myself playing a number multiple tunings on my acoustic guitars, including standard, Drop D, and Skip James’s Cross Tuning. Further, there was a Chris Smithers Open D tune that I wanted to take a run at. My experience is that guitars like to settle into a specific tuning so it’s best not to be frequently changing the tunings on a single guitar. For this reason, I began thinking that it might be nice to have a third acoustic guitar at my disposal!

Consequently for the two aforementioned reasons, I decided to eventually trade the T5Z one day in the future. In preparation, via their online process, Dave’s Guitars give me a trade-in value so I knew what I had to work with. Not surprisingly, I was going to take a haircut on a trade, but that’s the guitar business. At first I thought I might swap the T5z out for an American Professional Stratocaster at my local shop, but I was reminded during that Strat’s audition that I was not, at some fundamental level, a Strat player and my Collings Electric really met all my needs, so dumping off the T5z was put onto the back burner for a while.

A Rare Martin Guitar Finds Me

at my local shop

I take lessons weekly at my local guitar shop and it’s not unusual for the former store owner Bob, now store consultant, to greet me and show me some new guitar arrival that might be of curiosity. Most of the time the guitars, usually recent trade-ins, do not arouse my interest. But a couple of weeks ago, Bob dropped a dreadnought into my lap and explained that it was a pre-owned “Martin Authentic” built to the exacting specifications of a vintage 1937 Martin from the golden age of dreadnoughts. The guitar was in immaculate condition too and had been owned by a collector who’d passed away. His son traded the Martin in for a Taylor 814ce. So much about guitar acquisition is driven by idiosyncratic personal taste.

Me and the Authentic at the Bob’s Guitars

Initially, the guitar Bob placed in my hands was not of interest to me. For years, I’d been playing smaller bodied guitars, not a Howitzer sized dreadnought. Yes, my first two guitars, in a former lifetime, were dreads, but when I gave up on bluegrass flat picking and took up finger-style I moved to 000’s, OM’s and other smaller sized instruments. Further, I’d never been that enamored by Martin’s tonality, fit/finish and general appearance for the cost involved. But this guitar was different, sounding and feeling unusually interesting to me! Perhaps this guitar’s tone appealed to my ears because it was seven years old and had “opened up,” or maybe because the vintage “hand-built” construction techniques employed by Martin’s exclusive Custom Shop appealed to my sense of design aesthetics. Finally, the combination of rare tone woods, specifically an Adirondack spruce top with Madagascar rosewood back and sides produced a tone I’d never experienced before. It was in contrast to the Martins I’d played in the past that required really digging-in to the strings to get a decent sound. As a finger style player, my touch was generally too light to elicit magic from a Martin dreadnought. I noodled around with the guitar for a while and then went to my lesson. Afterwards, on the way out, I glanced at the Martin again hanging on the wall and thought that it might be a nice complement to the Collings acoustics I already owned, particularly for the alternate tunings I like to use.

The next day, I went back to the shop and played the Authentic again for quite a while and found it even more appealing especially since Bob replaced the existing strings with some new ones. At some point, I played the guitar into a Shure SM-57 mic plugged into a Genzler Amp to better hear it and then went home to think about it some more. Finally, the next day which was a quiet rainy Saturday, I went back to the shop with my T5z, made the trade, and purchased the Authentic. The combination of the trade along with a considerable reduction from new because the guitar was pre-owned brought the price down to something reasonable. Current new versions of the Authentic are far more pricey than I’d be willing to spend, so I feel fortunate.

Overview of the Martin 1937 Authentic D-28

To the right, you can see the Authentic. It is a formidably large guitar. Both the size and depth of the body were designed to produce a large sound. In short, the Martin Company designed the guitar to meet the needs of a popular Hawaiian slack key player (open tunings) in the early part of the 20th century. It was some time later in the 1930’s, that the Martin Company decided to begin regularly producing this large guitar and named it the “Dreadnought.”

By the time of the Second Folk Revival in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s the Dreadnought guitar became the “go to” size for acoustic players. The Martin brand was one of the most prized among those large guitars, especially, the mahogany (back and sided) D-18 and the rosewood D-28.


For more background on Martin Dreadnoughts, you may enjoy the following wonderful film:

https://vimeo.com/594705036?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=133332214
Martin Guitar Museum

In the case of my guitar, the D-28, it has over the years, for a variety of reasons, been modified in terms of woods, bracings, and neck designs, still maintaining its general specifications. Because of a combination of rare aged woods and design features such as the hot hide glues used in the olden days, wood thicknesses, and placement of bracings, the 1937 era D-28 is considered a “high-water” mark in Martin Guitar design, and people will pay hefty sums for that vintage. Given that an original ’37 Martin D-28 is far beyond the price range of most guitar players, Martin, in the recent past, responded by producing a Custom Shop rendition of the ’37 that comes as close as possible to the original instrument. I’ve read that they took their museum specimen of the ’37 to the Smithsonian for detailed medical-technology imaging and analysis to generate the specs to manufacture an exact replica. Other than the substitution of Madagascar Rosewood for the practically unobtainable Brazilian variety, the guitar comes as close to the original ’37 as is technically feasible, hence the moniker, the “Authentic.”

Though I was certainly familiar with the value wealthy players placed on rare vintage guitars, up until the time Bob dropped the Authentic into my lap, I was unaware of Martin’s production of a more affordable “authentic/vintage” guitar. Below you can see a short YouTube film of Steve Earle speaking about his 1935 Martin D-28, which is also from the golden era of dreadnoughts. He refers to the ’35 as the holy grail of Martins. Earle’s enthusiasm for that guitar speaks to the motivation behind the Martin Company attempting to reproduce authentic versions of the past.

In addition to the singular sounds emanating from this combination of wood and steel, there is a perceived inherent beauty with this guitar connected to its decades long history as one of popular music’s most essential instruments. From the CF Martin & Co. decal on the headstock, down the mahogany neck, to the herringbone purfling surrounding the soundboard, as well as the tortoise colored pick guard, the guitar projects a culturally constructed aesthetic intertwined with the likes of Tony Rice, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Hank Williams and Bob Dylan among others.

Still, as an observable object in visual space, the D-28 body is not really proportioned to the dictates of classical aesthetic beauty. A more classically designed guitar would have a narrower waist separating a smaller upper bout from the larger lower one. In many respects the Martin dreadnought is a big box with curved corners attached to a long neck, but its awkwardness relative to classical proportions is today considered an essential part of its beauty.

The Headstock

Authentic Headstock with “traditional” decal…

Before I got annoyed with their heavy-handed marketing and later became disenchanted with their tone, I was the owner of several higher end Taylor guitars. I bring this up because In comparison to typical Martin D-18’s and D-28’s, my similarly priced Taylor’s were appointed way more nicely with wooden bindings and purflings, as well as abalone inlays in the rosette, fretboard and headstock. I was completely put off by the “prosaic” C.F. Martin decal on the headstock, wondering why Martin would not use an inlay in the headstock on their flagship (and expensive) guitars.

My opinion about superficial guitar “surface” bling changed after acquiring two incredible sounding and rather simply appointed Collings guitars. I finally realized that the nice features Taylor offered were all well and good, but the guitar’s tone was by far the controlling factor for the instrument’s worth and value to me. I came to appreciate simplicity in appearance when accompanied by superior tonal output!

Headstock rear showing Waverly tuners and carved volute.

Given my new frame of reference, I am delighted with the Authentic’s headstock. Although I myself would not recognize the subtle differences between other more modern D-28’s, the headstock of the Authentic is shaped in thickness and taper as the ’37 was originally made, in this case with a Madagascar rosewood veneer instead of Brazilian, and embellished with a stylish volute carved into the back. Topping it off on the face of the headstock is the traditional C.F. Martin and Co. decal.

The paddle style headstock is equipped with vintage-style Waverly open back tuners and nickel butterbean knobs. In the past, I became very partial to Gotoh tuners and had them on three different Taylor guitars, two of which I “after-market” installed. The Gotoh high gear ratio tuners make precision tuning very easy. By comparison, I think the Waverly’s do an equivalently nice job and work well on my two Collings’s as well as the Authentic. They look very cool too!

The Neck

The 1937 D-28 was one of the earlier models that was built with fourteen frets between the body and the nut. Despite the fact that the guitar was at least 7 years old, the frets were in mint shape with no visible wear. Eschewing modern CNC milling, the neck is hand carved in the Martin custom shop to the shape of the original ’37 out of a mahogany block. This, in part, accounts for the high cost of this guitar.

I’ve got six total guitars made by National, Collings and this Martin. The necks all vary in shape and I happily play them all. The Authentic has a “1937” shape which is actually kind of meaningless to me; however, I will state it is a pleasure to play.

The 1 3/4 inch nut is bone and wide enough for comfortable fingerstyle playing. The fretboard is a solid black ebony which is somewhat difficult to acquire nowadays. Due to ebony wood scarcity and preservation, most fretboards of that material today have blond streaks randomly running through them. The fretboard inlaid markers are subtle but handsome 1937 diamond and square shapes.

Dovetail neck join. Note the rich red color of the mahogany neck and the Madagascar rosewood sides of the guitar.

The neck has a reinforced T-Bar to give it stability and it is attached to the body using C.F. Martin’s traditional dovetail joint. Unlike modern guitars (like my other 5), consistent with the design of that era, the Authentic has no adjustable truss rod. Since I tweak my guitar neck with the truss rod on occasion, I find this a bit unnerving; however, from everything I’ve read the Authentic’s neck is supposedly very stable. Right now the string to neck play is quite good up and down the neck. I imagine controlling the moisture content of this guitar is fairly critical to maintain neck stability!

The Body

The Authentic soundboard. Note the Adirondack’s wide grain.

The Authentic’s body is constructed with an Adirondack spruce soundboard and Madagascar rosewood back and sides. Every other acoustic guitar I’ve ever owned was built with a Sitka spruce soundboard, as is 80 percent of all other quality acoustic guitars. In the early years of the D-28’s construction all the tops was made with Adirondack (Red) Spruce; however, due to scarcity of the heavily logged Red Spruce trees, the guitar industry transitioned to the more plentiful Sitka Spruce. Sitka is a pretty tight grained wood that yields a warm response when played, whereas Adirondack, a wider grained wood, is harder and more glasslike as compared to Sitka, giving it a sharper more more immediate response. Adirondack is prized by Bluegrass flat pickers and strummers because of the way the top responds to those styles of play, but I think too that the boutique crowd also values Adirondack because it is a relatively rare, high status wood. I do not have the ear to detect the subtleties of Sitka vs Adirondack, but I do, very much, like the guitar’s overall tonality (for a very articulate discussion of the Authentic’s tone as it relates to Madagascar versus Brazilian back and side wood, I suggest you read this blog article).

Close-up Adirondack top grain

The D-28 Authentic 1937 was first introduced at a 2013 NAMM show and records show that my instrument was ordered by Dave’s Guitar Shop for delivery to its previous owner in 2014. The initial production models of the ’37 did not utilize the Vintage Tone System (VTS), a torrefication heat treatment of the Adirondack soundboard to enhance the tone via “premature” aging. I think all subsequent production from 2015 on are torrified. I am agnostic about that type of wood treatment, but pleased the guitar has been played-in for 7-8 years in a natural manner. As I said before, it sounds quite lovely.

For a hefty monetary charge, C.F. Martin also offers an aging process in the custom shop to relic the instrument. I am not particularly enthusiastic about “relic” technique and am delighted this process was not applied to my Authentic. In fact, other than a barely visible crease-like ding in the soundboard, a small ding on the bottom, and some marking on the pickguard, this guitar was immaculate even though having been played for 7-8 years. The previous owner took great care of this guitar and makes me wonder if it ever left his home. Me, on the other hand, as much as I try to care of my guitars, I end up inadvertently beating the shit out of them because I play them and use them in and out of my home. Guitars are awkward shaped objects as they move through three dimensional space, and with me guiding them, they can attract wear marks, dings, and finish checking, so in the end I unwittingly relic them the old-fashioned way.

Unlike my Taylor 914ce, which was an exercise in excess, with abalone appointments galore, as well as wood bindings and purflings. The Authentic is more scaled down, but beautiful in its own right. You can see in the image to the left that the sound hole rosette is simple yet tasteful, and the soundboard is appointed with traditional bold herringbone purflings and grained ivoroid bindings. While I play fingerstyle and don’t generally like pickguards, if you are going to have one, the “old school” Delmar faux tortoise type is a nice one to have.

Rounding off the guitar’s top is the authentic ebony Style Belly bridge with long bone saddle. The bridge pins are polymer plastic with black dots. The bridge is located to give a comfortable 25.4 inch scale length.

A photo of the back of the guitar indicates the subtle beauty of Madagascar rosewood. The color of the wood is toward the red end of the spectrum and exhibits some nice but restrained grain. As suggested earlier, Madagascar rosewood has somewhat similar tonality when compared to the essentially unobtainable and certainly unaffordable Brazilian rosewood. A guitar constructed from Brazilian would be many times more expensive. Finally, note the 28 Style Zig-Zag (Authentic) purfling down the center of the back. It’s a very nice touch.

Cable jack for K&K Pure Mini Pick-up

I love my guitars and I love to play them. It is a privilege to own and play National Resonators, as well as Collings electric and acoustic guitars, and now an exceptional Martin Authentic. Nevertheless, I view those guitars as tools and a means to an end, which is to make music. I won’t leave the guitars hiding in their cases preserved from the dings, scratches and bumps of use. They’re tools and I will hammer nails with them as long as I can.

My acoustic guitar pedalboard

To that end, I perform with my guitars around town, and host a monthly open mic night at a local coffee shop. I own a Genzler Pro Array and a Bose L-1 Pro 32 PA that I plug into when I perform. Consequently, I had a pick-up installed in the Authentic. In the image to the left you can see the jack for a K&K Pure Mini pick-up, an elegantly simple device that utilizes 3 transducers that are glued under the bridge plate. I’ve seen some high end guitar owners fret about adversely impacting the resale value of their guitars by altering them, such as adding a pick-up. I do not worry about such matters, especially with a low impact addition like the K&K.

Because the K&K Pure Mini is so simple, without onboard preamp and tone controls, I’ve built an acoustic guitar pedal board to manage the tone of the Authentic and my two other Collings. For more information about the board, click here.

Summary

The Martin D-28 Authentic 1937 is one of the “Kings” of acoustic guitars. It is made with incredible care and dedication to evoking the golden age of guitars. In my home the Authentic has fierce competition for playing time from a Collings 0002H, a Collings C10-35, and a National M-1 Tricone, yet at this time it rules the roost. It is a magical guitar and rules them all…

Example Sound Clips

Below please find some Vimeo clips I made with the D-28 Authentic. The clips were made on an iPhone 11 Pro Max with a Shure MV 88 clip-on Mic. The guitar was played through my pedalboard into a Genzler Pro Array acoustic amp. I added a dash of compression, delay and reverb. The clips was processed on a elderly MacBook Pro with iMovie. The guitars tone would probably be best appreciated with headphones.

The first two clips are the Authentic tuned in Open D:

Following is a clip in standard tuning:

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On Building a Pedalboard for My Acoustic Guitars

At Dave’s Guitars, the Acoustic Room Manager

Late last year 2021, I was at Dave’s Guitars in LaCrosse, WI and it was there that I acquired my first Collings acoustic, a 0002H. Since I perform monthly live at an Open Mic Night that I host with a friend, and because I like to play through an acoustic amp when I play at home, I requested that the shop install a pick up in the guitar before I headed back home to Iowa.

K&K Pure Mini Pickup

The gentleman who manages the acoustic guitar department was emphatic that the best pickup for a Collings acoustic guitar was the K&K Pure Mini because it was generally transparent sounding, way less prone to feedback, and relatively easy to install.

L.R. Baggs Venue DI with tone controls and tuner

A challenge with a passive pickup like the K&K Pure Mini is the absence of a preamp/equalizer to control guitar tonality, such as bass, mids and treble, as well as to boost the signal. My previous acoustic guitars were Taylors which had a preamp/equalizer and pickup installed as part of the guitar itself, so I was at a bit of a loss, until my Dave’s guy suggested that I should also purchase a DI/Preamp with built in equalizer to manage the pickup, and he recommended the L.R. Baggs Venue for the job. When I suggested that I already owned a rather extensive pedalboard that I used with my electric guitars which might accomplish the same thing, he visibly shuddered and said he would never, ever run a Collings acoustic guitar through those electronics. It would be a major compromise to the guitar’s tone, which is what Collings guitars were all about!

At a gig with the Venue DI & 0002H

So, I ordered an L.R. Baggs Venue and put it to good use when I played a gig at one of our local coffee shops. The 0002H was cabled into the Venue which was then cabled into a Bose T4s Mixer and then on into a Bose L1 Pro PA and it worked well enough.

Still, I was unsure whether or not I had the best possible tool kit at my disposal for projecting the best possible tone from my Collings. Consequently, I started digging around the internet and discovered that the L.R. Baggs Company in the past few years has developed a line of pedals that were specifically attuned to the unique complexities and frequencies of acoustic guitars. They’re referred to as the Align series of acoustic pedals, and include a compressor, a DI, an equalizer, a reverb, a delay, and a chorus.

L.R. Baggs Session Compressor Pedal

In my judgement an essential pedal for all amplified guitars is a compressor, because to me it makes the guitar sound better. Most importantly the compressor levels the dynamics of different strings, which can be very helpful in making the guitarist sound more pleasant, especially when playing fingerstyle. As you can see on the right, the L.R. Baggs compressor has a simple layout with volume and gain controls at the top. I use just enough gain to keep the signal flowing through the chain as I don’t want gain fattening up the signal beyond what I perceive to be a natural acoustic tone. The various pedals in the signal chain all have some form of volume control, some of which alter the guitar’s overall dry signal and other control the loudness of the effect the pedal was designed for. I tend to keep the loudness/volume controls set close to mid-point and do final volume control at the Venue DI or the Amp/PA. The effects volume is set to keep the effect subtle and not to overwhelm the guitar’s dry signal.

The Compressor’s saturate knob can “enrich” the tone, but with a Collings I don’t find that a necessity, so I keep it tuned down so as not to affect the natural brilliance built into the guitar. Where the “rubber meets the road” is the comp eq knob and here is where the guitar tonal dynamics are controlled. What I do is adjust the knob, and then back and forth mute or activate the combined Session compressor and Venue DI so that I eventually get the natural sound of the guitar unplugged but simply louder when the signal chain is engaged, and “By-Jiminy” it works!

In truth, the combination of the Venue DI and Session Compressor would be enough if all you wanted during a performance was the natural sound of the guitar amplified. During the time that I possessed just those two pedals I ran them in series with the guitar into the compressor, then feeding directly into the Venue. When I used the chromatic tuner that is built into the Venue, I would turn the compressor off before hand so that a clean signal reached the tuner.

L.R. Baggs Reverb

The fact is, sometimes I like to use tone modulation pedals in very light doses to add mood or flavor to the guitar’s basic tone. Consequently, I anticipated eventually adding the L.R. Baggs Reverb and Delay pedals to the signal chain. I sold some old pedals I was not using and purchased the Reverb first.

Again, as with the Compressor, the control knobs for the Reverb are fairly simple. No choices of multiple types of Reverb are available as typical on pedals such as those manufactured by Boss or Neunaber. L.R. Baggs engineered a Reverb signal they thought best complemented an acoustic guitar, and I like it. In the case of this Reverb pedal, the volume and tone controls just alter the reverb effect and not the guitar’s dry signal. Also onboard are knobs to adjust the amount of reverb and the decay, which is the duration of the effect. As I said before, with an acoustic guitar like a Collings, if I engage reverb, I like to do it with subtlety.

FX Loop Input/Output in rear of Venue DI

After studying the L.R. Baggs Venue literature, I decided to reroute my pedals from a straight line configuration, meaning they connect to each other train car style, one after the other, until they reach the Venue as last entry point. Instead, I chose to use the Venue’s EFX loop with input and output jacks located in the back of the device. Basically the Compressor and Reverb pedals are lassoed together and run via a cabled loop into and out of the Venue’s rear. As I understand it, the native signal from a guitar’s passive pickup, such as my K&K Pure Mini, is not particularly strong. Consequently, it is prudent to use effects pedals after the guitar’s signal is strengthened by the Venue’s Preamp. Theoretically, this results in a cleaner signal for the pedals to manipulate, giving precise and more audibly pleasing control over the effects. Effects such as Reverb and Delay would clearly benefit from flowing through the EFX loop. Whether or not the Compressor belongs in the EFX loop or is instead located before the preamp can be debated; however, I have it located in the loop and it sounds just fine to me.

L.R. Baggs Delay

I completed the signal modulation section of my acoustic pedalboard with the acquisition of the L.R. Baggs Align Delay pedal. This pedal too is tied into the EFX loop and I tend to set it to give a subtle slapback effect, which, when used adds some further depth to the guitar’s tonality. To maintain subtlety, I limit the delay time with the delay knob, limit the number of repeats per unit time and keep the time of the delay relatively brief. The tone knob controls the brightness or darkness of the delay effect and I tend to keep that setting relatively neutral.

It is apparent via this discussion that I tend to use modulation and compression pedals in this configuration in a “set it and forget it” mode. I don’t like fiddling about with the pedals especially when performing. On the other hand, I do have separate Venue DI equalizer settings depending on which guitar I am using. I keep a photograph of the settings for the 0002H and the C10-35 on my iPad, and can easily adjust if I switch guitars when playing.

The last pedal on my board, which is a Korg tuner, really should not have been a necessity because the Venue DI has a built-in, onboard chromatic tuner. Sadly, it is not as responsive as other tuners I’ve used, and I lost confidence in its accuracy because of its oddball circular LED interface. Consequently, I added the KORG pedal and it works just fine! The raw guitar signal feeds directly into the Korg, which then cables into the Venue DI.

A handmade George L patch chord

It is worth noting that I use George L patch chords on both of my pedalboards. They are infinitely variable lengthwise because you build them yourself and have discretion as to how long the patch chord wire is. At my local shop, you purchase the plugs individually and the wire is paid for by the length. I keep a small coil of wire at home. The plugs are all nickel colored and the wire comes in multiple colors including black, blue, white and red. You build the patch chord by cutting the wire and then removing the cap to the plug. This is followed by inserting the wire into the opened plug and finally screwing the plug’s cap back down, which cuts the insulation on the wire and creates a proper circuit. I also use the optional rubber stress relief caps that keep the plug cap from unscrewing, which can happen over time. The George L’s are pricey. You can make 6 patch chords for roughly $100. My guitar shop guys consider them the best in the marketplace, but opinions around the web vary.

Genzler Acoustic Array Pro Amp

It goes without saying that an essential element in the signal chain is the amplifier itself. I currently use the Genzler Acoustic Array Pro amp and am very pleased with it. It offers a lovely transparent amplification of the guitar’s signal, which is a necessity when so much has been invested in the tonality of a Collings guitar. I would not want my guitars signal colored by the amp. The Genzler offers two channels, as well as chorus and reverb effects. I keep the effects turned off because I choose to use my pedals instead.

At home, I use one channel of the Genzler for the guitar and the other to practice singing my tunes. I own a very nice Sennheiser e965 condenser mic, which requires phantom power. Sadly, the Genzler’s phantom power is too wimpy to work with the e965, so I had to purchase a rechargeable phantom power booster that I stick between the mic and the amp and that works out adequately. I have not taken the Genzler out for a gig because I use a Bose L1 Pro PA; however, the Genzler is ready to go if I decide to use it. There is a socket built into the bottom of the amp so that it can be mounted on a stand at ear level for the audience.

The complete Acoustic Pedalboard

Above you can see the completed pedalboard. While there’s room for another pedal like the L.R. Baggs Align Chorus, I think this signal chain offers more than enough tone altering capability, without being excessive. You will note the pedals are velcro mounted on a Pedaltrain Classic JR chassis. Bolted below is a Pedaltrain Spark power block that offers 5 isolated power channels. Sadly, the Spark is no longer manufactured, but there are other power blocks in the marketplace. On my electric guitar pedalboard I use the excellent Walrus Audio Phoenix.

Below I offer some tone samples using various pedal combinations for both my Collings C10-35 and then my 0002H. I recorded the clips with an iPhone 11, equipped with a Shure MV88 mic plugged into its jack, and did final processing in Apple’s iMovie. The recordings are probably best appreciated with decent headphones.

The sound samples from the C10-35 are drawn from the music that accompanies Blaze Foley’s Clay Pigeons:

The sound samples from the 0002H are drawn from the music that accompanies Steve Earle’s Fort Worth Blues:

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My Search for Transcendent Acoustic Guitar Tone – I review my Collings C10-35.

Introduction

The first solid wood acoustic guitar I ever purchased was a 1994 era Taylor 510 (Mahogany and Spruce) Dreadnought. After I learned through hard knocks and dirty socks that I was not quick enough to be a bluegrass flat picker, I dumped the Dread and worked my way through a series of other Taylors more suitable for fingerstyle, including a 1997 612 (Spruce and Maple, now owned by my son), an early 2000’s 714ce (Cedar and Rosewood, traded away), a 2015 914ce (Spruce and Rosewood), and finally a 2016 812ce (Spruce and Rosewood). In short, I was a Taylor fan-boy. The brighter, more modern sound of Taylors, for a long time, appealed to my ears and sensibility. Over the years, I auditioned other major brands but they fell short of my expectations in tonality, as well as fit, finish and value.

Me and the 0002H

Then several months ago, my opinion about acoustic guitars took an abrupt change in direction when I traded my Taylor 812ce and purchased a Collings 0002H, which I discussed in some detail here. In sum, the 0002H bloomed with overtone when plucked, whereas the Taylor 812ce’s tone was more fundamental and somewhat anemic sounding by comparison. As a result I suffered zero remorse replacing the 812ce with the 0002H and have since greatly enjoyed playing it at home and when performing.

The 0002H and I were largely inseparable, except when I played slide in Open D on my National M1, which created a dilemma for me because I had my remaining Taylor acoustic, a 914ce, sitting idle and unplayed for an extended period of time. To try to remedy this situation, I put new strings on the Taylor and played it a bit to see if I could get some traction with it. Not suprislingly my expectations for acoustic guitar tonality had changed and the 914ce was now irretrievably disappointing to me ear… really disappointing.

My friend Grant and me at my local shop

In sum, the 914ce became a candidate for trade. Sadly, there really were no acoustic guitars at the local guitar store that interested me. They have a fine selection of Taylors but I was done with Taylors as I’d owned two of their finest instruments for several years. Further, I was pretty much underwhelmed by the tonality of their newer, reinvented, heavily marketed V-Class line of acoustics. The Taylor Guitar Company is a great company and over the years they’ve been very kind to me, but for now I am done with their guitars, with the exception of a T5z which I am hanging onto. My local shop also has some nice Martins in their inventory, but those guitars have always left me cold.

The Collings Corner at Dave’s Guitars

My thinking was that it might be really nice to have another Collings acoustic in my stable to replace the 914ce, so I asked the Collings Enthusiasts Facebook crowd what they might recommend in a small bodied guitar that would complement my 0002H. Several members made a variety of suggestions. I followed up with research on their recommendations and decided that the best candidate was perhaps the C10 model. Given that the 0002H’s body was constructed of Sitka Spruce and East Indian Rosewood, the C10 offered a nice contrast with a body of Sitka Spruce and Mahogany, The only store within distance that sells Collings Acoustic was Dave’s Guitars in LaCrosse, WI which is about 3 hours away by car. I thus cross-matched the Facebook recommendations with Dave’s inventory, which at the time was 12 guitars. Sure enough, they had a C10-35 in stock, which is a variation of the C10 and it was finished in a lovely sunburst! So I decided to take a trip to the store to check it out. There were some other models too, such as the Collings OM that I wanted to look more closely at also, but the C10-35 was at the top of the list.

Vintage L-0 & L-00

Collings is well know for designing guitar models based upon or inspired by highly regarded vintage classics of the past. But instead of duplicating the older guitars they apply a combination of precision machine technology, skilled, meticulous handwork, and the finest materials (i.e. tone woods) available to produce an instrument that exceeds the original vintage design in both tonality as well as fit and finish. It’s my understanding that the C10 was inspired by the Gibson L-00 guitars of the 1930’s. Vintage versions of this instrument are highly sought after by musicians and collectors. Collings’ limited production C10-35 variant pushes the voicing of the original C10 to more closely emulate a vintage instrument by using ultra-light tone woods, non-scalloped Adirondack bracing, a long cutthrough saddle, and other vintage inspired features such as an abbreviated tongue brace.

It is difficult for me to articulate the care, time and detail that goes into making a Collings instrument, which sets them apart from the big time manufacturers such as Taylor, Gibson and Martin. While a large manufacturer like Taylor makes consistent and beautiful guitars, they are still, in my experience, missing the fairy dust that makes them singular instruments. The brief documentary film I share below does clarify what the Collings philosophy is and why their guitars stand out in the marketplace:

As I wrote earlier, Collings often designs guitars that are inspired by the past, so as the highly regarded 1930’s era Gibsons. Below you can see Steve Earle speak to his vintage L-00, which inspired the C10-35.

If you’re interested in more background regarding Gibson acoustic guitars, the following video is quite informative:

I Purchase a C10-35

As I mentioned above, Dave’s Guitars had a relatively large inventory of Collings acoustics when I initially decided to trade-off the Taylor 914ce. Collings is a smallish operation, so the marketplace is not flooded with their instruments. It’s nice for me that a store just three hours away sells them. It was on a Saturday when I made the decision to move on the C10-35, but I also wanted to audition an OM too before making the final purchase. At that moment in time there were 12 Collings acoustics hanging on the wall at Dave’s. Sunday when I again checked into Dave’s inventory they were down to just 8 and the two OM’s in stock were gone! I was astonished and unnerved. There was a run on Collings guitars going on at Dave’s! In response, without even playing the C10-35, I put it on my credit card, and let the store know I would drive over the following Tuesday to pick it up as well as trade-in the 914ce. I figured that if I really did not like the C10-35, the folks at Dave’s would just refund what I’d paid… no harm no foul…

Me at Dave’s visiting his collection

So I went to Dave’s early Tuesday morning with my friend Grant. The C10-35 was sitting there waiting for me to pick up; however, I sat in the corner and auditioned it for quite a while before closing the deal. I also checked out a Collings CJ-45, a larger Gibson Jumbo inspired guitar but thought it was way too large for my comfort. While auditioning the two Collings, the store examined my Taylor and made, what I thought, was a very fair trade offer, considering that the guitar was pretty dinged up (it sold within the week, so they knew what they were doing).

I closed the deal and remanded the guitar to the custody of Dave’s luthier shop to have a K&K Pure Mini pickup installed. I like to play through an acoustic amp at home and I typically perform plugged into a PA system, so a pickup is a necessity. Dave’s acoustic guy, JR Rabie is emphatic that the K&K is the best choice for a Collings acoustic. I put one into my 0002H and was very please with its simplicity and transparency.

Grant and I grabbed lunch, checked out Dave’s upstairs collection of vintage guitars, visited Daves’ Drum Depot and by then the C10-35 was ready for pickup. I gave the guitar a cursory examination while in the case, then Grant and I headed home with the Collings in the back of car.

Ruh-Roh… This Is All Wrong!!!

Circumferential scarring around the jack

When I got home, I promptly pulled the guitar out of its case and the first thing I did was look at the bottom of the guitar to study what the pickup jack looked like and I was appalled to see that there was a circumferential gouge or scar around the jack’s location. It seemed pretty obvious to me that the luthier/tech damaged the wood around the jack when either enlarging the hole for the jack or when tightening the jack into its final location. Sadly, the damage was not reported at the time it occurred, leading me to have to find it after I got home.

After repair

I contacted several people at Dave’s Guitars via email with the above photograph and in very short order they responded with an apology and an offer to either repair the damage or refund me $200. The monetary refund was not very much considering the overall cost of the guitar, suggesting to me that what they really wanted to do was repair the instrument. I was informed that with a nitrocellulose finish, such as on this guitar, the luthiers would be able to repair the damage. At my request, Dave’s shipped me a suitable box and a prepaid return UPS label. I played the guitar for several days bonding with it before the shipping box arrived, and that same day I shipped the guitar back to Wisconsin. About a week after the guitar had arrived at Dave’s they completed the repair and shipped it back to me. Since it was so cold here in Iowa when the box arrived, I had to let it acclimate in my house for 24 hours before opening. That was a long day! You can see in the photo above the guitar bottom after repair. The damage is largely gone; however, if you look closely enough there’s still some slight evidence of the mishap, but not enough to quibble with. I am very glad to have it back.

I Review the Collings C10-35

Collings C10-35 in TKL Case

On the right you can see the C10-35 in the TKL hardcase that Collings uses to protect their guitars. It’s a decent case with a nice tight fit for the guitar, but the Tolex covering is vulnerable to tearing if not handled gently. As with a typical guitar case, there’s a compartment for storing necessities and there’s a key included to lock the case if desired. There is a cushioned, comfortable handle but rugged enough to last the life of the case.

Collings C10-35

Looking very much like a vintage Gibson L-00 the Collings C10-35 is larger than a parlor guitar but still in a relatively small body. Coming with a paddle style headstock, a mahogany neck, a Wenge fingerboard and bridge, with back and sides of mahogany and a top of sitka spruce. The nitrocellulose coating is so glossy and mirror-like it’s hard to photograph the guitar without revealing whatever is in the background.

The guitar is significantly lighter than my 0002H, which is probably a function of its somewhat smaller size, but also thinned out tone woods for the body. Internally is a pre-war, non-scalloped X bracing, composed of light Adirondack spruce.

The guitar is quite beautiful but spare in adornment. Other than the “just-showy” Ivoroid tuners, the body is bound by thin strips of Ivoroid with no purfling. The sound hole rosette is also basic Ivoroid with some simple black and white purfling. It’s the combination of the high gloss nitrocellulose finish over the stunning sunburst staining of the soundboard that gives the guitar its “wow” factor. As a rule, I do not like pickguards, but the vintage tiger stripe guard also adds to the guitars stunning appearance. The Taylor 914ce I traded for this Collings was a highly embellished instrument and physically stunning in its own right, but in the end when your playing a guitar, it’s not really what it looks like, but what it sounds like, as well as its playability and the C10-35 wins “hands-down” for me!

C10-35 Headstock

The C10-35’s headstock is carved with their recognizable haircut profile and topped with a gloss Ebony veneer and an Ivoroid Collings logo. The tuners are nickel Waverly brand with a 16:1 ratio, which makes tuning a pleasure. The tuner buttons are Ivoroid and the gearing is open in the back adding to he vintage appearance for the guitar.

I have some reservations about Ivoroid tuning buttons because my former Taylor 812ce tuners had Ivoroid buttons, one of which blew apart when I was restringing the guitar with an powered auto-winder. Straight metal knobs like the 0002H is equipped with would have been just fine. Still… the Ivoroid knobs are pretty and add to the vintage look. I really like the appearance of a slothead like the 0002H possesses, but they are considerably more fiddly to restring than a paddle head like the C10-35 has, so that’s good!

Note also, the 1 3/4 inch bone nut. That is a standard width nowadays and fine for finger picking.

Wenge Fingerboard

While the other C10 models are built with Ebony fingerboards, the C10-35 possesses the very grainy appearing Wenge wood. It’s the first guitar I’ve ever owned that has any Wenge on it. Why Collings made this decision eludes me, but I think it has a rather stunning and antique-like appearance with its broad and distinctive grain, The Wenge looks like it might be coarse feeling, but it’s quite smooth making for a functional fingerboard.

Santa Cruz strings

The guitar was shipped with D’Addario EJ 16’s, which I like and they’re pretty affordable; however, I’ve replaced them with Santa Cruz Low Tension Parabellum strings because they are easier on my hands and they sound good. They are very expensive strings so their longevity will determine whether or not I keep using them. Since they are micro-coated hopefully they will last a while.

C10-35 body

To the right you can see a close-up of the C10-35’s body. Note the sunburst stain, the simple unadorned bindings and paired-down soundhole rosette, the tiger-striped pickguard, the Wenge bridge, the vintage cut-through saddle and the plain Ivoroid bridge pins. Simple but stunning in appearance.

Some guitar designers believe the larger cut through saddle creates a different tonality for the guitar because of the larger surface area contact with the bridge. This is open to continuing debate; however, these cut through saddles were very common on pre-war guitars, which is what inspires the C10-35 design.

The guitar’s body has an elegantly narrow waist and proportionately different sized upper and lower bouts giving the guitar aesthetically pleasing dimensions and appearance. Highly regarded independent luthier Ernst Somogyi would point out that the Greek Golden Rule of Proportion was applied by constructing the waist of the guitar to give a perfect ratio of top bout size compared to the lower bout. Further, the shoulders of the guitar add a subtle sloping drop which enhances its elegance giving it an altogether more appealing shape to the human eye!

To the left is a section of the guitar’s back showing the rich Honduran Mahogany color and the stunning grain. There is a barely visible Walnut backstrip joining the two pieces of Mahogany that comprise the back.

Conclusion

This guitar, like my 0002H has great presence, both in tonality and appearance. Unlike the 0002H which blooms with a cascade of overtone, the C10-35 is somewhat dryer and more straightforward, but still dwarfs my Taylor 812ce and 914ce with it’s sonic personality. It is a very comfortable guitar to play with its small-but-not-too-small body size and its shorter 24&7/8 inch scale. In fact, it is easier to play than the longer scaled stiffer 0002H. It’s an instrument that earns respect and demands to be played!

The C10-35 at home…

Below is a Vimeo clip of me playing the C10-35. I play strictly fingerstyle and this piece is a section of the guitar accompaniment to Steve Earle’s tune Goodbye, which was arranged by Tom Feldmann in one of his online lessons, a teacher I highly recommend. As I said above I use a K&K Pure Mini pickup run through the following signal chain: First into an and L.R. Baggs Venue, which is a DI and tone control; Second, in my effects loop, that runs through the Venue, I applied some light compression using the L.R. Baggs Session Align Pedal, and finally through a Genzler Pro Array acoustic amp. I also have L.R. Baggs Delay and Reverb pedals in the signal chain but chose not to use them to keep the soundclip as natural as possible. The settings of the signal chain devices are such that the guitar sounds louder but matches, to the extent possible, the tonality of the C10-35 unplugged, and it comes pretty close. I recorded the clip with an iPhone 11, equipped with a Shure MV88 mic plugged into its jack, and did final processing in Apple’s iMovie. Probably best appreciated with decent headphones.

If you’d like to hear more samples from this guitar, I suggest you visit this blog entry and scroll down to the bottom:

On Building a Pedalboard for My Acoustic Guitars

Finally, thanks again to the Collings Guitars Enthusiasts Facebook page for their suggestions during my hunt for guitar tone transcendence!

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Reviewing the Collings 0002H: Acoustic Guitar as Industrial Art

There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go, no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
— The Grateful Dead

Introduction

Playing a Collings at my first official gig…

I’m not getting any younger and this past summer I entered my 7th decade. A couple of years ago when I embarked on retirement, my fund manager/guide offered me sage advice when he bade me not to wait too late to experience what I wished to (within reason).

To those who know me and others who’ve read this weblog, it is patently obvious that as a pensioner, I’ve pretty much devoted my efforts to developing myself as a musician/guitarist. While I’ve made tangible progress in my pursuit, there really is no end to the path I’m on… the guitar is an insatiable instrument with unlimited expectations for its players, and it will carry me to the end…

As a dedicated guitarist, I aspire to play the finest instruments that can be acquired within reason. In the past I’ve found that the best way to keep things within reason is to trade/sell an existing instrument(s) against the acquisition of another better one, which happens to be a common behavior among many guitar players! About a year ago, I traded two Taylor electric guitars for a Collings I-35 electric guitar (reviewed here). When evaluating the I-35, I became enchanted with the founder of the company. He was a singular, creative, precision driven engineer and world class manufacturing leader in the marketplace of guitars. As a result, I developed an interest in eventually adding a Collings acoustic guitar to my stable. Below is a brief video about this man, the late Bill Collings:

You can break down guitar building into two basic categories: factory versus luthier built. That’s not to say that some factories do not employ luthier quality builders, but the term luthier built suggests an individual who designs and assembles a guitar in a private shop from soup to nuts… i.e raw wood to finished product.

Somogyi’s excellent book on guitar design

One of the most highly regarded luthiers in the U.S. is Ervin Somogyi, whose exceptional book on acoustic guitar design I purchased and perused a couple of years ago. Most of Somogyi’s guitars are museum pieces that command staggering sums and are really built for well-financed private customers. Somogyi applies his skills to extract maximum sonic performance from wood and steel, and his embellishments often rise to high art. Somogyi is also a bit dubious about many but not all of the other independent luthiers practicing in the U.S. He pretty much says in his book that just because a person can build a guitar from scratch does not guarantee it will be a high quality instrument. Results will vary widely from builder to builder, so he says be wary of in the luthier marketplace. I simply do not trust that I have the wherewithal to distinguish a high quality luthier produced guitar from a run of the mill one. Consequently I stick with recognized factory built instruments because of their long history of essentially decent performance.

Taylor 914ce

The preponderance of guitars in the U.S. are built in factories of varying sizes with wide ranging production capacities, specifications, price points, manufacturing philosophies and subsequent qualities. In the U.S. Taylor, Martin and Gibson are excellent examples of the larger decent quality guitar producers. It’s hard to go wrong buying a guitar from those manufacturers, though it is important to be aware there is some product to product variability in performance simply because the guitars are built from wood which is a naturally variable material. In other words, these manufactures build, on average, decent instruments; however, within each companies productions some guitars may be better and some not as good.

Purchase choices are often based on taste and/or tradition-based brand loyalty. For example, I’ve owned several Taylor guitars because I liked their playability and voicing, whereas neither Martin nor Gibson ever appealed that much to me. I know other players who would never consider any guitar other than a Martin.

Besides the big companies, there are a host of smaller factory producers, such as Santa Cruz, Breedlove, Bourgeois and Collings who produce limited numbers of instruments mostly because of the care, materials, embellishments and extra labor they apply to perfect their products. Sometimes these smaller companies are referred to as “boutique” manufacturers.

Here’s a brief video that speaks to Collings manufacturing excellence:

Choosing among the small manufacturers is largely a matter of expendable income, taste and knowledge of the company’s specific products. Product accessibility may also be one of the most important variables. In fact, I’ve never actually seen a Santa Cruz, Breedlove or Bourgeois guitar in any of the stores I’ve ever frequented. I suppose I could acquire a boutique guitar online, but I would not want to spend that kind of money without trying the instrument out myself beforehand. I’ve had mixed experiences buying online. Having the ability to trade for the purchase was also a prerequisite for me, and that’s difficult to do online.

Unlike the other small builders, I’ve had some access to Collings acoustic guitars in nearby Wisconsin at Dave’s Guitars. I auditioned several of them a few months ago and thought they were decent, but still reserved judgment until I could A/B compare them to my current Taylor guitars. I still suspected that those guitars when compared to Taylors, Martins and Gibsons were a cut above, with their unique voicing (appealing to me), and build approaching the level of care and individuality claimed by independent luthiers. I intended to give Collings acoustics another visit in the future.

I Get Serious About Collings Acoustic Guitars

Taylor 812ce

Last week, I finally said to myself, “the hell with it, I’m not getting any younger” and decided to see what kind of trade-in offer I could get from Dave’s Guitars for my 5 year old Taylor 812ce. Usually what triggers me is reading about a musician, near my age, who croaks for whatever reason.

I’d special ordered the Taylor 812ce through Bob’s Guitars in my home town. You’ll note in the image on the left, I ordered the guitar without a pick guard since I play finger-style. The Taylor was a good guitar and I enjoyed playing it. A few years ago, when I was changing the strings, I inadvertently knocked a chunk of wood off the bridge. Taylor Guitars was kind enough to replace the bridge under warrantee if I paid for the shipping. After repair the guitar looked the same, but it never sounded quite like it did originally. I don’t think it was my imagination.

in Dave’s parking lot with iconic signage…

Upon inspection of the guitar via photographs, Dave’s Guitars made me a modestly reasonable offer, which they improved upon later when I arrived at the store. One issue that irritated the hell out of me was Dave’s statement that X-braced non V-Class Taylor guitars now have reduced trade-in value. A few years back, Taylor Guitars redesigned their bracing system to a V shape, supported by a massive marketing campaign. I actually think the older guitars sound better, but it’s hard to fight the extraordinary power of Taylor marketing.

So, I loaded up my car with the Taylor 812, my iPad which contains all my music and a mic stand equipped with an iPad holder. It’s a long 2.5 hour trip through the hinterlands of Iowa and Minnesota until you finally traverse the Mississippi and enter the river town of LaCrosse, WI. Dave’s guitars is within spitting distance of the river itself. Below you can see of section of the Acoustic Guitar Room at Dave’s. They have a large showroom…

I arrived early enough to get plenty of time auditioning the Collings acoustics that were available in LaCrosse. I planned to A/B my Taylor with several of the Collings with a focus on 12 fret guitars with slot-heads, since that was what I was what my Taylor was. My other acoustic guitar that I am keeping is a Grand Concert sized, 14 fret, fancy-pants, fully decked out, Taylor 914ce. I wanted to make sure the Collings I selected would be distinctly different from the Taylor 914ce.

The Collings collection at Dave’s Guitars

To the right you can see the Collings section of Dave’s Guitars, which contained three 12 fretted, slot-head guitars. Two of those can be seen on the lower row on the far left and far right. The guitar on the left was a 02H Traditional with a sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides. The one on the right was a 0001 Custom made with all mahogany top and sides with a custom dog hair finish with Pearloid appointments. Not pictured is a 0002H with a sitka top and Indian rosewood back and sides. When I shot this image that guitar was being equipped with a pick-up because I intended to take it home.

playing the Collings 0002H

When I auditioned the guitars, I sat down at the wall of Collings guitars on a comfortable stool and 90 minutes disappeared. I played all three of the slot head Collings, along with the Taylor 812ce side by side over and over again. It was absorbing and a lot of fun. The acoustic guitar room at Dave’s was quiet that morning, so I was able to give the guitars a nice listen to.

The 0002H was clearly the winner to my ears. The Taylor offered up nice clean and direct notes, but the 0002H played at a different level. Each note in comparison was almost 3 dimensional… in other words the notes bloomed outward. The 0002H presented more bottom, more punch and overtone. No contest… the Taylor was going on the trading block…

02H Traditional

I gave the 02H a serious look, but it did not hold up when compared to the 0002H. I suspect there were a couple of variables at play here. First the 0002H as a larger lower bout which will make it louder and deeper sounding. Secondly, the Traditional series, as I understand it, was designed to be physically lighter and engineered to reduce overtones to give more clarity to individual notes. I can attest to the fact that the 02H was significantly lighter than the 0002H, to the point that handling it was a bit unnerving as it felt so insubstantial. In the end, I did not appreciate the individual note clarity. The guitar felt like it needed time to open up as it sounded thin and insubstantial when A/B’d with the 0002H. The 02H was far more expensive too. Move along… nothing to see here…

0002 Custom

The all mahogany 0002 custom was quite an amazing looking guitar with it’s white pearloid headstock and pick guard contrasted with the blackened dog hair finish. It would be a crowd pleasing guitar based simply on appearance. It was the most expensive guitar by a long shot that I auditioned that day. I might have stretched for it had it sounded unbelievable, but the solid mahogany body just did not have the presence of the 0002H. Perhaps in time the mahogany would open up, but I did not have the patience to wait several years for that possibility. I kept going back to the 0002H after playing all the guitars several times over and decided to acquire it.

I carried the Taylor and the Collings 0002H to my store guy friend JR and closed the deal. When queried about installing a pickup, JR was emphatic that the K&K Pure Mini, a passive device, was the best choice. The Pure Mini is a simple 3 transducer pickup that mounts on the bridge plate inside the guitar. I went with his advice and was amazed at how natural sounding it was when I finally got a chance to plug in the guitar at home later that day.

JR behind the acoustic guitar desk and Dave’s Guitars closing the deal…

Reviewing In Detail My 0002H

Below is my 0002H resting comfortably in its TKL hard case, which was sourced out by Collings because they do not make their own cases. They dabbled with producing cases at one point in the past, but it was unsustainably expensive, so they quit. The interior of the TKL case is decked out in the interior with form-fitting cushions, covered with a dark green velveteen fabric. The fit is tight and requires a light pushdown by hand to get the guitar properly seated. The case clasps function well, and one is lockable. Inside the case was the key, a Collings micro-fiber wiping cloth, the warrantee registration form (which can alternatively be done online) and a pressure sensitive Collings sticker!

Collings 0002H in TKL hard case
Collings 0002H

A different view of the 0002H out of its case is on the right. You’ll note that it has an upper bout just shy of 10 inches wide, a narrow waist, and a largish 15 inch lower bout. The body length is just a little over 20 inches. The appearance evokes and older era and should be no surprise because this shape, originated by C.F. Martin is rooted in the very early 1900’s.

The narrow waist allows the guitar to fit in the lap very comfortably while playing in the sitting position, which is what I prefer. The combined upper and lower bout size difference creates a pleasant evenly balanced volume of tones, with plenty of low end to avoid thinness in output.

Again, the guitar is a 12 fret model with a slot head. The top is sitka spruce with back and sides being East Indian rosewood.

Starting at the top of the guitar, you can see below front and rear views of the headstock.

The headstock has a very pleasant “exotic” ebony veneer with a Mother-of-Pearl Collings logo inlay. I always found the excessively shiny veneer on the Taylor 812ce incongruous and not aesthetically in tune with the rest of the guitar. The Collings headstock just looks better. You might note too at the lower portion of the rear of the headstock is an embellishing pyramidal carving referred to as a volute.

The Waverly tuners are excellent and work far better than the Taylor tuners. Their turning action is reminiscent of the excellent Gotoh tuners I have on three other guitars. I am pleased that the Collings tuners are nickel because the Taylor ivoroid tuners can fall apart when using a mechanized winder for string changing.

Proper string wrapping on the Collings Slotted Headstock

When I had the K&K Pure Mini pick-up installed in the 0002H, the shop replaced the Collings spec’d D’Addario EJ-16 (.012″- .053″) strings with Elixirs of the same gauge. I observed two things when I got home with the restrung guitar. First, the string wrap on the peghead was done in a manner such that the lowest strings (the E strings) on both sides were in contact with the headstock wood which will quickly wear away the finish. To avoid this deleterious situation, the E strings should be wound on with one wrap to the outside and the remainder towards the inside. This wind does cause the E strings to take a sharp angle inwards, but they will now avoid contacting the wood. Examination of photos on the Collings website also indicate that all the strings are wound outside-in, which is unlike the winds used by Taylor and National on their slot heads.

The second thing I noticed was that the Elixir strings were far stiffer to play on this guitar than the D’Addarios, making it far less enjoyable to play. I also found the sound of the guitar adversely affected too, so as soon as I could I restrung the guitar with the original spec’d D’Addarios! Perhaps the strings won’t last as long, but now the guitar sounds and plays like the one I auditioned in the store. This was an odd experience for me because I’ve used Elixirs on my Taylor acoustics without any difficulty. Of course, for what its worth, Taylors are spec’d to play with Elixirs

Fretboard section with inlays

The neck is Honduran Mahogany and the fretboard is stained ebony. There is no binding on the neck and the fingerboard is marked with elegant but simple Abalone short diamond and square designs.

The neck has taken some getting used too because it is a bit chunkier than a Taylor acoustic’s neck and it is the widest necked guitar I ever owned coming in at 1 & 13/16 of an inch. That’s a lot of real estate to cover and requires some readjustment of finger muscle memory. All good for finger style playing though.

Below you can see an image of the the back of the neck where it attaches to the guitar body. The neck has a lovely gloss finish that allows easy mobility of the left hand up and down the fretboard

Neck join are of guitar back

Also visible on the left is the Ivoroid binding at the seam of the back and sides of the guitar as well as the grained Ivoroid cap on the neck base. The neck is a modified V-shape and compounded in circumference, widening outwards at the 9th fret. As I understand it the neck flattens out towards the body of the guitar which makes playing the higher notes in the region easier.

Collings employs a mortise & tenon hybrid attachment of neck to body. I am assuming this form of bolt on neck makes it easier to repair or replace the guitar’s neck. There’s some belief among guitar aficionados and builders that a dovetail join is the only way to attach a neck to a guitar’s body. In my judgement Taylor guitars proved that assertion wrong a long time ago.

Sideview 0002H body

The photo above and to the right show the East Indian Rosewood that comprises the back and sides of the 0002H. Collings builds their reputation on using the choicest tone woods for their instruments. The rosewood is straight-grained and a lovely deep brown with lighter streaking. The color is so deep it almost looks purple depending upon the light. Note too above the “zipper” backstrip that runs down the center of the guitar back. It’s quite striking.

I’ve tried lots of different tone wood combinations; however, I keep coming back to sitka spruce tops with rosewood back and sides as the classic combination that is most appealing to me ears.

Upper bout

The 000 sized Collings come in 3 basic styles, not including the wide variety of custom work they also offer. My 000 has the 2H designation, which basically means that it has some fancier appointments than the style 1, including the nice zipper backstrip, the geometric fretboard inlays, and most importantly the herringbone binding, which is a classic steel string acoustic guitar appointment.

Sound hole, rosette, and pick guard

To the right, you can see the sound hole section of the 0002H, with its elegant but not overly fancy rosette, which brings me to a point about the 0002H compared to the Taylor 812ce that I traded-in when I purchased the Collings. To be perfectly frank, the Taylor possessed a fancier level of appointment, including beautiful maple wood bindings, an abalone rosette with an inner sound hole maple border, and a more intricate fretboard inlay, all of it tastefully done and costing far less. But, and this is a big but, the Collings design, tonality, playability, and its visible connection to the past origins of guitar design make it a palpably singular instrument to own and play.

I’m not a big fan of pickguards as I play strictly finger style and I suspect they have some minor tone dampening impact on the guitar’s sound board. Had I the opportunity, I would have acquired the 0002H without a pickguard. Nevertheless, the 0002H I purchased from Dave’s Guitars had a pickguard, and you cannot remove one without the high probability of damaging the finish. I did note that the pickguard was pretty scratched up. I think the guitar had been there for at least a year and tested out by a number of people, including some careless assholes with a picks. My store guy, J.R. said that was no problem because they would buff out the scratches in their shop, which they did. The pickguard looks pristine now. I do not recollect how translucent it was before buffing, but now I notice the sound hole rosette grinning through the guard. After a query on Facebook, some other Collings owners suggested to me that it was always translucent.

In the above image, you may also note the nice, even tight grain on the sitka spruce soundboard. This is what Collings brings to the marketplace: the very best available tone woods.

Beneath the sound hole is the bridge section. The 0002H uses an ebony pyramid bridge, a design that harkens back to the 1800’s and some of the earliest Martin guitars. The bridge pins are unslotted, which some argue is a more robust design. I guess that may also be a vintage appointment. Residing in the bridge is a bone saddle which complements the bone nut back up the neck.

Iconic Collings label inside the sound hole!

To sum it up, I am delighted and it is my great, good fortune that I have the opportunity to play a guitar of such character and build!

Add-ons

K&K Pure Mini pick-up

I needed a pick-up installed to be able to plug my guitar into my portable PA (Bose L1 Pro 32) and into other sound systems around town. This is because I host Open Mic Night once per month at a Coffee Shop, sometimes play other Open Mic Nights in town and do a rare coffee shop gig on my own.

The best time to install the pick-up was at point of sale because they do not charge for shop labor at Dave’s when a new guitar is sold.

Dave’s had available the L.R. Baggs Anthem and Lyric pick-ups, but as I said earlier, my guitar guy J.R. was emphatic that the simplest, passive pick-up like the K&K Pure Mini would be the best choice to avoid sound balance and feedback issues. I was dubious at first but agreed. It was a quick install because the three transducers shown above simply glue onto the bridge plate within the guitar’s body. When I got home and plugged the guitar into my Fishman Loudbox Artist, the 0002H sounded very natural, so I was please that I followed J.R.’s advice.

L.R. Baggs Venue DI/Pre-amp/Tuner

Because the K&K Pure Mini is passive, it does not come with a pre-amp built into the installation, which is nice in that there are no added dials or buttons involved. While I like the Taylor Expression system, I was never a big fan of the rubbery dial/buttons protruding from the guitars body. On the other hand, without a pre-amp the ability to tone shape your guitar’s output is absent which could be a problem when interacting with a PA out around town.

To remedy this situation, I acquired an L.R. Baggs Venue DI/Pre-amp/Tuner. It’s a very nice portable device capable of precise tone shaping. I used it during a recent gig along with the Bose L1 Pro 32 PA and it worked just fine. The additional Notch filter for dialing out feedback frequencies is very cool and works great.

If you’d like to learn more about the L.R. Baggs Venue/DI and to listen to sound samples from my 0002H, I suggest you click on the link to another one of my blog articles below. The sound samples are at the bottom of the entry.

On Building a Pedalboard for My Acoustic Guitars