Goodall LTRD

2004 12 fret slot-head Long Traditional Dreadnaught with honey-style Bearclawed spruce top (Sitka I believe), rosewood sides and back, wavery tuners and ebony fingerboard. Made in Hawaii - ahh yess! Neck is solid one-piece mahogany. Apart from manufacturing ease is there really an advantage to having a three piece T&G neck like Taylor? Smaller ebony bridge as customary with all Goodalls. Far from ornate the guitar is all about the beauty of the wood and apart from the black laminate on the headstaock and "G" with wings headstock logo and tiny snowflake position markers the guitar is essentially wood including binding. Nice. Not a showstopper-jawdropper at first glance, yet understatedly gorgeous on closer inspection.

I know sound is so very subjective, yet as players we strive to communicate that within our limitations to do so. That said, the sound is deep, rich and majestic right off the wall. Balance from bas through midrange and high end was insane, great focus, presence and loud projection. Nothing short of stunning really. Fingerpicked, strummed soft or hard this guitar delivered bass that was not overly boomy at the expense of the midrange or treble registers, midrange that was cutting and complex and treble that was strong, round, articulate and sweeter than I would ever expect from a new guitar. The stength and focus of this dreadnaught coupled with the incredible dynamic from soft to hard playing is rare among even the best, high end acoustics and I've played many of them including the Huss& Daltons, Ryans, Santa Cruz, Collings, Breedlove, Froggy Bottom, Bourgois, Manzer, Martin, Gibson, etc. While I love the aesthetics of other makers more Santa Cruz and Bourgois (beautiful crisp lines, very pleasing to look at and hold) to name a couple, the sound of the Goodall, by no means just this dreadnaught, is the best I've heard on a consistent basis. Until I played a few dozen Goodall guitars over the space of years I was never, ever prepared to claim a favorite acoustic guitar maker. THe Goodall is my favorite; I'd buy in a heat if I could afford it.

Low, superb action, topt to bottom and end to end, smooth frets set up perfectly, light nitro-lacquer finish the way that does not suffocate a top, gorgeous choice of book-matched rosewood and spruce top, all with meticulous wood binding (maple?) and flawless interior binding and joining. No build issues whatsoever. As flawless as I would ever expect. The fittings of the hardware, bridge, saddle and tuners is equally on the nose.

All I can say is that build-wise,this guitar possessed all the wonderful traits you'd expect for a long, well-played life, light but durable construction, tight solid feel and no obvious signs of potential future problems. We all know how long and how well Martins stand in this area. I see no reason why a Goodall would not be as reliable or long-lasting. I've never seen a Goodall that was more than 5 years old.

Personally, I don't know. However, I've heard good things from retailers who deal with them regularly. Doesn't sound like an issue but your mileage may vary.

Been playing since I was fifteen, Christmas 1975. I currently have a great Les Paul Black Beauty '57 reissue, various blackface amps and some outstanding vintage Marshall plex-era gear and a much loved Strat that I had built. I've had a crap-load of great vintage stuff in the past including tweed amps, Vibroverbs, Super Reverbs, etc., etc., and early 60s Strats and so forth. Played only acoustic for nearly four years before getting into electric as well. So, I've always had a soft spot for acoustic guitars. I've owned a few nice ones, '67 Martin D-18, Gurian Brazilian Rosewood model 3R, Guild D-50 NT which I bought at 17, even before I bought a car, and currently a nice Martin D-28 that sounds far better than most off the wall. More importantly, I've always played every nice acoustic I could ever lay my hands on in search for something exceptional. I have learned a couple things: There are a great many well built, beautiful, expensive guitars built by legendary builders/companies that IMHO their sound ranges from mediocre to constipated to better off as firewood. I've contemplated the standard vs. scalloped bracing controversy ad nauseum. A great many people would be curious to learn Goodall guitars are not scallop-braced. James Goodall's theory and design application on this topic is by my estimate one of the more intelligent and viable soultions to those who dream of the focus and articulation of a standard brace with the volume, projection and bloom of the most exhalted scalloped braced examples. In very BASIC terms, Goodall thins his tops around the perimeter, thereby allowing better top vibration, thus elimintating the need for scalloped bracing to achieve opitmum top movement. Moreover, his bridges are smaller, which also enhances top movement. Proof of the viability of this design characterisitic is borne out by the inherent loudness and projection of Goodall guitars from one to another across the entire range of models which I've sampled over the years. IMHO his guitars are consistently louder and more focused than any builder I've ever encountered, period. James Goodall's guitars are unashamedly and unaplogetically standard-braced. Apart from sounding as good as ANY sclloped-braced guitar I've ever played, their structural soundness is superior as well. Not a small detail. Although I, like some don't find his guitars to be the prettiest or the most ornate (e.g. well-dressed Gibson J-200) I know without hesitation the next acoustic I buy will be a Goodall if I can afford it. I say this knowing that I do come across the occasional expensive boutique or Martin or Gibson that rivals the Goodalls. However, these examples are usually more expensive or in a model I do not prefer. My way of saying I just think the Goodall guitars are consistently better. To me they really are. God they are expensive though. Around 4K for a typical model all in. One final observation: The hands down best sounding, best playing 12 string I ever played was a Goodall Jumbo Rosewood that aesthetically, I never would have looked at twice. Other level stuff to be sure. Peace.