2bornot2bop Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 Well I did find it interesting to note that a SKB with a single set SD '59 performed quite differently than Lady Rose with a pair of stock Schallers. Even acoustically the the SKB has louder volume...very interesting indeed since reportedly the SKB is only a rebadged Florentine SE. Hmmm...
MartyGrass Posted September 21, 2012 Author Posted September 21, 2012 Your SKB is a different bird. It is cross braced. That traditionally is believed to bring out the best of the sound board. Two years ago I was chatting at Heritage. I asked about SKBs and Roy Clarks. Two of the guys, Ren and Bill, told me that they don't sell many of either because the price goes up with the artist endorsement. I expressed an interest in getting a SKB someday. Bill told me not to waste my money and just order a Super Eagle with a Florentine cut. He said the SE and the SKB are the same guitar with minor cosmetic differences but a large price gap. The SKB has a lot of lattitude in its build. It can be cross or parallel braced, it can have a wider nut, thick or thin neck, and a variety of pickups. All of them have Kenny Burrell's signature on the label though. Compare that with the Johnny Smith. That guitar does not have flexibility in the build except for the finish and whether there is a rose inlay on the pickguard. There was a time when ultra woods and tap tuning were optional as well. The SKB I had sounds beautiful but definitely is an electric guitar. My Johnny Smith also sounds beautiful but is an acoustic guitar with a pickup on it. There is a difference. If money were no object I would get a parallel braced and a cross braced pair of SKBs. Or one of them could be Lady Rose with another set of pickups. SD 59s would work fine for me. I even have a couple of sets on hand.
Keith7940236 Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 Ah, if money was not object..........I don't know if I should go there!!!
FredZepp Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 I love the pics of this amazing instrument in this thread.... closeups of the binding/ f-holes included. Certainly, fine woods were used throughout ... I find that Seths work for these types pretty well.
MartyGrass Posted September 21, 2012 Author Posted September 21, 2012 I know that some will gasp. I have a set of Alumitones on the way that I'm going to put in a hollow body, probably my Johnny A. I may have drunk the Kool-Aid, but I'm expecting good things. Their high fidelity may better capture the harmonic spectrum. If the Lady Rose happens to stick around, she might be next. I will definitely post a review of these radical pickups.
2bornot2bop Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 Your SKB is a different bird. It is cross braced. That traditionally is believed to bring out the best of the sound board. Two years ago I was chatting at Heritage. I asked about SKBs and Roy Clarks. Two of the guys, Ren and Bill, told me that they don't sell many of either because the price goes up with the artist endorsement. I expressed an interest in getting a SKB someday. Bill told me not to waste my money and just order a Super Eagle with a Florentine cut. He said the SE and the SKB are the same guitar with minor cosmetic differences but a large price gap. The SKB has a lot of lattitude in its build. It can be cross or parallel braced, it can have a wider nut, thick or thin neck, and a variety of pickups. All of them have Kenny Burrell's signature on the label though. Compare that with the Johnny Smith. That guitar does not have flexibility in the build except for the finish and whether there is a rose inlay on the pickguard. There was a time when ultra woods and tap tuning were optional as well. The SKB I had sounds beautiful but definitely is an electric guitar. My Johnny Smith also sounds beautiful but is an acoustic guitar with a pickup on it. There is a difference. If money were no object I would get a parallel braced and a cross braced pair of SKBs. Or one of them could be Lady Rose with another set of pickups. SD 59s would work fine for me. I even have a couple of sets on hand. So Mark, was your SKB parallel braced with a thin or fat neck? Ms. Tobacco Road has a noticeably fat neck. Nothing like Lady Rose. In fact, the neck's profile is almost a dead ringer for a Gibson Lucille both in shape, feel, and dimension, which for me turned out to be a big plus. Ironically enough, Ms. Tobacco Road has an acoustic volume not experienced in Lady Rose. Perhaps there's something to X-braced design and archtop performance? You know U've got it bad when you name your archtops. Rhapsody in blue, on and on...
Gitfiddler Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 I'd like to get up close and personal with Rhapsody in Blue. Would you mind posting a full frontal body shot of her?
hotfordcoupe Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 Ms. Tobacco Road has a noticeably fat neck. Wow, a big bottom and a fat neck. Sounds like my dating pattern in the 80s.
2bornot2bop Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 I'd like to get up close and personal with Rhapsody in Blue. Would you mind posting a full frontal body shot of her? Full frontal nudity greatly encouraged. She's got a zillion shades depending on the type and angle of light striking her...here U go brother!
2bornot2bop Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 it's not allowing me to add her best pic.
MartyGrass Posted September 21, 2012 Author Posted September 21, 2012 My SKB was parallel braced. The neck was more medium - thin. Pardon me, I'm still vertiginous from all that blue! And I have to mop up the slobber.
2bornot2bop Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 My SKB was parallel braced. The neck was more medium - thin. Pardon me, I'm still vertiginous from all that blue! And I have to mop up the slobber. Ha, U've been RHAPSODIZED brother!
Gitfiddler Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 2B~ THANKS! I have a weekness for blue archtops.
DC Ron Posted September 21, 2012 Posted September 21, 2012 Saw the Chinery blue guitar collection many years ago and became a convert...this one's a beauty, too.
Gitfiddler Posted September 22, 2012 Posted September 22, 2012 Saw the Chinery blue guitar collection many years ago and became a convert...this one's a beauty, too. We are on the same page (again), Ron. That big blue beauty of 2B2B reminded me also of the Scott Chinery collection of blue archtop guitars. Author, Ken Vose's book "Blue Guitar" captures the beauty of these instruments. I highly recommend it to all lovers of archtops! http://books.google.com/books?id=D1IYv67k58MC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false and... http://kenvose.com/blueguitar.html
2bornot2bop Posted September 22, 2012 Posted September 22, 2012 We are on the same page (again), Ron. That big blue beauty of 2B2B reminded me also of the Scott Chinery collection of blue archtop guitars. Author, Ken Vose's book "Blue Guitar" captures the beauty of these instruments. I highly recommend it to all lovers of archtops! http://books.google....epage&q&f=false and... http://kenvose.com/blueguitar.html Thanks brother for the links! Ms. Rhapsody and I will have to do some required reading.
2bornot2bop Posted September 22, 2012 Posted September 22, 2012 We are on the same page (again), Ron. That big blue beauty of 2B2B reminded me also of the Scott Chinery collection of blue archtop guitars. Author, Ken Vose's book "Blue Guitar" captures the beauty of these instruments. I highly recommend it to all lovers of archtops! http://books.google....epage&q&f=false and... http://kenvose.com/blueguitar.html Okay brother, you made me spend some money. There's apparently a history here this newb' was totally clueless about prior to acquiring Ms. RIB. I only acquired her because I owned a NYL2 in blonde and knew they were decent guitars. I wonder if Vestax was paying reverence to D'Aquisto with the shading of their blue NYL2?
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.