Goodall "3-D" tone ?!

[guitarplayer]

I'm looking for a guitar for recording that will produce warm overtones for vocal/guitar folk/rock type music. I recently played a Goodall "Standard" and wow! I was very impressed with the overall tone and plethora of overtones it produces. It seems to have a 3-D quality that other guitars I've played in the same price range just don't have. Don't get me wrong, the other guitars I compared it to - Santa Cruz, Collings, Martin, etc., sound great too but more straight ahead classic woody tone verses the 3-D overtones I hear from the Goodall. Is that the same experience others have had with the Goodall? Why wouldn't one want more complex overtones from an acoustic for primarily fingerstyle singer/songwriter type stuff? I would think that the more complex tones, the better - true/false?

 

[riffmeister]

I personally prefer the more fundamental, direct sound of a spruce/mahogany guitar. It's simply a personal choice. I've owned two Goodalls, a jumbo and a concert jumbo, and they were fine guitars, no doubt. I also recently had a chance to play a cedar/Brazilian grand auditorium Goodall that was just fantastic. I'd love to have that latter guitar as a foil to my Collings OM & dread, it would be a great instrument for solo fingerstyle pieces.......shimmery & rich & beautifully balanced sound with effortless tone production.

 

[pinner]

I believe its personal taste and application. For solo fingerstlye, Goodall's are great. The overtones are lush and heavenly. I had a TROM which I loved and miss. Only sold it to finance a high end electric (only plaing electric now). In a group setting I could see it being to much, but there are no absolutes. Example Pete Huttlinger uses a Collings om (Spruce/mah) which is very fundatmental to me and sounds great. What ever works!

 

[seriousfun]

My Goodall is my go-to for almost any style. It has that complex harmonic sound, but it gives me a colorful palette to work with. I doubt my technique will ever catch up with the variety of sounds this can offer. It complements just about any voice, solo or as part of a mix.

Still, sometimes a simpler sound works better. An ex-girlfriend had a '60s Yamaha that just sounded right, and as good as most Gibsons or many Martins from that era (that's an ex-guitar, too). I don't have a real alternative right now - my old Ovation doesn't do it (it never did much), my Johnson resonator almost does, surprisingly. I will probably own a role-player like this someday.

But right now, I am unworthy of my Technicolor Goodall!

 

[JohnSS]

I am also a big Goodall fan, especially love their full jumbos which have become rarer in favor of the shallower concert jumbos. In my experience, Lowdens are the only other non-boutique brand whose sound compares to Goodalls in terms of the wealth of lush overtones. From a sound reproduction level, however, Goodalls and Lowdens tend to sound muddier than Taylors or Martins, and even excellent microphones find it difficult to reproduce them accurately. Guitars with clearer fundamental tones and less overtones reproduce much more accurately when miked, which is why maple and mahogany record more easily than rosewood, even though the latter often sounds richer to the naked ear.

 

[JSeth]

Let me be clear about one thing - I do not own a Goodall guitar...YET!

James moved back to Fort Bragg, Ca, about the time I moved up here from the Monterey Peninsula. Being a player and lover of acoustic guitars, I made it a point to stop by his new shop and meet James, his son Luke and his wife Jean; all lovely, wonderful folks...

James was very gracious to have me come down to the shop on a pre-arranged day and "audition" a bunch of the guitars that he'd made before moving the shop from Hawaii to Fort Bragg; realizing that it would be some time before the new shop was up and producing, he made a variety of shapes and woods in the guitars he brought with him... and I got to sit down and play about 12 of 'em! In a nice empty room with hardwood floors and glass and a reasonably high ceiling... Heaven! I even took my Mark Angus 6 string along so he could check it out, see what I've been using these past 30 years...

I was absolutely KNOCKED OUT by every guitar I played! They all sounded different; Concert Jumbos and Grand Concerts and Standards and even a little 00 parlour guitar. The sound was very even - nice overtones but the fundamentals were what grabbed me. The volume of his guitars is exceptional, the quality of the tone wonderful... I did not find, in the slightest, that the overtones were anywhere close to overwhelming the fundamental.

In the past 6 months, I have actually become friends with James, and I'm excited about ordering one of his instruments... I just played one of his Jumbo guitars and I must say, it was phenomenal! After looking at some smaller bodied guitars, I'm seriously thinking of going for the big one...

I can't say enough about the quality and sound of these guitars!!!

play on....................................................>


John Seth Sherman

 

[guitarplayer]

Let me be clear about one thing - I do not own a Goodall guitar...YET!

James moved back to Fort Bragg, Ca, about the time I moved up here from the Monterey Peninsula. Being a player and lover of acoustic guitars, I made it a point to stop by his new shop and meet James, his son Luke and his wife Jean; all lovely, wonderful folks...

James was very gracious to have me come down to the shop on a pre-arranged day and "audition" a bunch of the guitars that he'd made before moving the shop from Hawaii to Fort Bragg; realizing that it would be some time before the new shop was up and producing, he made a variety of shapes and woods in the guitars he brought with him... and I got to sit down and play about 12 of 'em! In a nice empty room with hardwood floors and glass and a reasonably high ceiling... Heaven! I even took my Mark Angus 6 string along so he could check it out, see what I've been using these past 30 years...

I was absolutely KNOCKED OUT by every guitar I played! They all sounded different; Concert Jumbos and Grand Concerts and Standards and even a little 00 parlour guitar. The sound was very even - nice overtones but the fundamentals were what grabbed me. The volume of his guitars is exceptional, the quality of the tone wonderful... I did not find, in the slightest, that the overtones were anywhere close to overwhelming the fundamental.

In the past 6 months, I have actually become friends with James, and I'm excited about ordering one of his instruments... I just played one of his Jumbo guitars and I must say, it was phenomenal! After looking at some smaller bodied guitars, I'm seriously thinking of going for the big one...

I can't say enough about the quality and sound of these guitars!!!

play on....................................................>


John Seth Sherman

John,

What a great experience you had! My family and I were in Hawaii a few years back when James still had his shop there. We were just down the road from his shop but they were closed for the holiday weekend - darn! I would have LOVED to meet him and see his shop! I've always loved the tone and playability of his guitars. I hope to own one someday. Thanks for posting!

 

[gibson3798]

I've owned several Martin's, D-41, HD28, 000RGTE, and have a friend who has a very special early 70's D-41. I also make it a point to visit guitar shops across the country when on vacation and spend considerable time auditioning acoustics, mostly Collings, FroggyBottom, SCGC, Goodalls and Martins.
To MY taste, the Goodalls consistently sound incredible. I use a pick, no fingerstyle, and James' guitars respond with volume that hangs with a dreadnought. The overtones with a softer attack are lush and harmonic.
The impression I'm left with is a Goodall is the ONLY acoustic guitar I would buy without playng it first. I'm that confident in how it will arrive.

 

[landru64]

in a room, playing by myself, i completely understand the fascination with goodalls. but i would investigate more thoroughly what johnss is talking about.... there is a lot said on this forum and elsewhere about the recording characteristics of a 'rich' instrument versus a more 'straight' instrument. i only have instruments with hog back and sides and spruce tops, so i can't tell you about the comparison.

 

[royd]

in a room, playing by myself, i completely understand the fascination with goodalls. but i would investigate more thoroughly what johnss is talking about.... there is a lot said on this forum and elsewhere about the recording characteristics of a 'rich' instrument versus a more 'straight' instrument. i only have instruments with hog back and sides and spruce tops, so i can't tell you about the comparison.

I play Lowdens which reflect a similar tonal family...

I think the real question isn't recording but what the mix looks like. Those complex guitars often don't sit as well in a mix with other instruments because there is more overlap with them. So if you have a lot of other instruments in a busy arrangment, it can get muddy. OTOH, if you are doing solo guitar or a more simple arrangement you end up with a lot more going on from the guitar and a fuller sound. It becomes a question of the arrangement and the strategy for how everything fits together. That is the issue rather than the actual recording of the guitar. If the engineer can't get a good recording of any guitar, I wouldn't hire them.

 

[Ogre]

Lowden

 

[Pa'ani]

I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to have acquired a Goodall "Goose Spruce" CJ-22 which is such a special guitar, that top and James Goodall expertise is just phenomenal...Talking about 3-D like tones, it's such a great addition to my Kevin Ryan Mission Grand and Breedlove MJ-22 Custom, Goodman BC-000 acoustic guitars...

 

[lclyman]

My wife has a Goodall TR000 12 fret..

East Indian Rosewood/Adirondack spruce..

Absolutely beautiful sounding and looking guitar...

I've played a few others that were of equal quality..

His TR000 12 frets are really something special though..!!

LC

 

[rmofsky]

FYI - My '96 Rosewood Standard has been a go to and requested recording guitar on many a recording session w/both pro, multi-platinum and indie producers. The overtones actually enhance the fundamental.

 

[tonesurfer]

I like this one

 

[clicktone]

I've owned 6 ....and they certainly do have the tone. Stick with a rosewood and Sitka and you'll never go wrong.

 

[Curly]

I have the highest respect for Goodalls.

Yes, they do have a "different" tone. There is an article somewhere - maybe on his site - that talks about his construction, and he does use a different method than some others to voice his tops.

I'm fortunate to be close to a dealer who usually has a great selection of Goodalls, and I'm always impressed with their natural aesthetic beauty, as well as their appealing tone.