Does your Repertoire Determine your Guitar Choice?

[William2]

Listening to some ragtime and blues guitar today. I wondered if these players favor a certain kind of instrument. They seem to be smaller body, appear light weight, and have a certain sound to them. I'm thinking of Waterloo, Iris, or maybe a small body Gibson. If I were to look at this type of music seriously, I'd probably want an instrument to inspire me in this type of music. My own repertoire favors a more modern sound like a Larrivee. arrive makes small body instruments but not that old timey sound. While you can play anything on any guitar; do you think ragtime and blues type of music is better served with a certain type of instrument? I'm thinking of expanding my repertoire.

[StringPicker6]

I have yet to hear or try one of the larrivee 24 series guitars with the shorter scale lengths, but my short scale larrivee p-03 is a fun little blues box. Pretty much all Gibson acoustics are short scale and have that darker old time blues sound.

[Gill]

I've got a long time guitar player friend who plays ragtime like a pro, he plays it on my OM -10,his Epi EJ-200, Yamaha dread, a Dobro,in fact, whatever comes to hand at the time, and it sounds just peachy, it's the player I think.not the guitar,though it helps.

[William2]

I've got a long time guitar player friend who plays ragtime like a pro, he plays it on my OM -10,his Epi EJ-200, Yamaha dread, a Dobro,in fact, whatever comes to hand at the time, and it sounds just peachy, it's the player I think.not the guitar,though it helps.

interesting! When I came back to guitar, I started looking at a ragtime book by Lasse Johansson and I had a Waterloo WL-12 at the time. I'll read through it and see how it sounds on a dreadnought. Still, there is a sound to these instruments that try and replicate the 20s and 30s.

Here is a guy I like and lefty also. He put me on to my Waterloo WL-12. There is a sound to these guitars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE3V6kZI2IE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbNVkaFZW2I

[B0WIE]

If your music benefits from a more percussive attack and less sustain, then it only makes sense that an instrument which has those qualities will help you. While I do believe that tone is in the fingers, it's also clearly in the guitar.

I've found different instruments encourage me to develop my playing and explore different musical styles. Owning a Waterloo really taught me a lot. I was so disappointed at first, but I knew there must be something special in there in there I was missing. I discovered jazz through this and I never would have gone that way had I kept chasing guitars with more sustain.