New guitar(s) day!

[BB]

craigslist has been my good friend for some super deals lately. First off is a Peal acoustic/electric ( I have never named my guitars, but will call this one Emma ) DC-20 I got for $50 with gig bag. Looks brand spankin new. Lam top with what looks like mahogany ( though I'm sure it's some sort of Asian mystery wood ) back and sides. Artec piezo with 4 band eq. It plays extremely well and the sound is surprisingly good......both acoustically and plugged in. Not as loud or detailed as my beloved old Larrivee, but for what it is, it smokes nearly everything I've played in the $500 to $800 range. I have a new Tusq nut and saddle to install and a few sharp fret ends to deal with, but could easily leave it as is and be totally satisfied.Next up is an old Lyle Dove copy I found for $20. The back and sides look to be Brazilian RW, although I doubt it...but one never knows! It needs a new saddle, but I did string it up with an old classical saddle I filed down and the old boy has some poop to it Nice deep, fat tone with some excellent punch. I had a Lyle dread around 1972 that was killer....even after a friend accidently punched a fist sized hole in the lower bout! Here are a few pics for your perusal.

[mudbean]

Emma's a looker! Been diggin the CL quite a bit myself, lately.

mud

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Originally Posted by mudbean

Emma's a looker! Been diggin the CL quite a bit myself, lately.

mud

Thanks Mud! For a cheapster, she is a darn good girl. I'm amazed at the quality of guitar your can get for so few dollars these days. A year or so ago, when MF was buying out Music 123, I dropped $49 on a blow out Fullerton solid top dread. That stoopid guitar blew my mind with it's tone and playability. I loaned it to a friend from Australia who was here for two weeks. He has a couple of killer Matons and fell in love with the Fullerton. He now has it back across the pond with him.

For $99 new, the Peals are among the best sounding and playing cheapies I've come across. The fact it has a very nice sounding electronic package with it is just gravy! Wish I had a way to record as I think many would be surprised at the depth of tone it produces.

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Well, it's been around 5 months now and the Peal continues to impress. A good bud and former band member stopped by last night. I pulled out the Larrivee and the Peal. IHe played the Peal and flipped over it. I was amazed at how well it help up tone and volume wise with the Larrivee. I'm not sayint the quality is anywhere near on par with the Larrivee, but for 1/20 the the price, it certainly is a bargain.

The Lyle is just too cool........it also produces a tone that is rich, deep, crisp and detailed. The action is quite high and I'm not sure what to do to address that. Paying for a neck reset on a $20 guitar chaps me! Of course, it would be worth it due to it's glorious tone. Right now i have it tuned to double dropped D.....even with the higher action, it's still fairly easy to play and kills for slide.

Anyway, much fun with two acoustics that total $70 out of pocket.