Does Dave have a contractual obligation to use Rockbridge guitars or jst a bff thing?

[SandraDMB]

Does Dave have to use Rockbridge guitars due to some sort of contract or does he do so because he wants to, the owner is his bff, they're Charlottesville based, yadda yadda?

The box of wood on the one he has now seems uncomfortablely big.

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by SandraDMB

Does Dave have to use Rockbridge guitars due to some sort of contract or does he do so because he wants to, the owner is his bff, they're Charlottesville based, yadda yadda?

The box of wood on the one he has now seems uncomfortablely big.

being perhaps the only musician besides dave to own a rockbridge, a taylor dmsm, and a martin dm3md, i can tell you that the Rockbridge is quite honestly the finest guitar i've ever played. The craftsmanship is unparalleled and since Brian is a personal friend to dave, dave and his guitar tech can really pull exactly what he wants out of them.

[Cscottrun]

Originally Posted by dustin41

being perhaps the only musician besides dave to own a rockbridge, a taylor dmsm, and a martin dm3md, i can tell you that the Rockbridge is quite honestly the finest guitar i've ever played. The craftsmanship is unparalleled and since Brian is a personal friend to dave, dave and his guitar tech can really pull exactly what he wants out of them.

Interesting because I really prefer the sound of the taylors he used to use. But I'm not trained or anything so maybe I just like the wrong sound lol.

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by Cscottrun

Interesting because I really prefer the sound of the taylors he used to use. But I'm not trained or anything so maybe I just like the wrong sound lol.

the older taylor 914's he used to use were fantastic and i'd been looking for one for awhile when i got a great deal on his DMSM signature taylor.

I think his mix used to be a little different than it is now - it seems as if they've dropped his guitar out a little in the mix compared to when there was no Tim onstage.

[snow1868]

For a guitar that everyone who has played them raves about, they sound so thuddy and dull in a full band setting. I miss the Taylor 914.

[ToySoldier#34]

No clue about answering the question being asked


... did get to play a Taylor 914Ce for the first time recently and it was great

[DMBstandUP1984]

Might be a dumb question, but does the brand of guitar matter? Especially when it comes to someone like a Dave, Mayer, Tim etc...

[grilldanmo]

Dave is at that point where he's using what he wants. Part of the tradition in the world of acoustic music seems to be about supporting local artists, in this case luthiers (stringed instrument builders). James Taylor was instrumental in building the reputation of Olson guitars, John Denver and a few others helped Taylor transition from being a boutique builder to one of the biggest acoustic guitar manufacturers int eh world. Of course, people still love their Martins and rightly so. But the folk/acoustic guitar playing (and singer/songwriter) world, like the jazz guitar world has a penchant towards supporting handmade boutique builders. Rockbridge has the leg up as they are based in Charlottesville. Warren Haynes, Eric Krasno, Mraz, and other notable players have also come to favor Rockbridges. I don't the timeline as to whether Dave introduced them OR if one of his friends introduced him...

Overall, Dave has never been exclusive to any company. When the Gibson Chet SSTs were his main stage guitars in DMB he still played Lakewoods and Martins in other settings. When it was the Taylors you still saw the Martins. He currently loves the Rockbridges for the bulk of the acoustic work and uses Veillettes for specialty acoustic needs. Joe is another small shop luthier out of Woodstock. I've ogled his stuff for years, but haven't the disposable income to justify $3K or significantly more on a guitar. If I could, I'd contact Veillette first.

[grilldanmo]

Originally Posted by DMBstandUP1984

Might be a dumb question, but does the brand of guitar matter? Especially when it comes to someone like a Dave, Mayer, Tim etc...

Psychologically it likely does, but given the same pile of materials no. Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild, Larrivee, Olson, Rockbridge, Collings, Breedlove, Bourgeois, Manzer, and many other big companies and smaller builder around the world will make an excellent guitar than any of these guys would love and sound great playing.

That said, any of these guys would make a cheap Ibanez acoustic sound great, but it would not likely inspire them the way a guitar made by the luthiers and master builders from the above list would... It's about build quality and sound. Some players' ears are tuned to Martins or another brand.

[ToySoldier#34]

Originally Posted by DMBstandUP1984

Might be a dumb question, but does the brand of guitar matter? Especially when it comes to someone like a Dave, Mayer, Tim etc...

Great posts above this one, they can all get whatever they want and brand isn't the end all be all, when you are at that level you can help their company as much as they can help you. The specs, type of wood, craftmanship etc. is what matters and if anyone like a Dave or John were to approach a company about building acoustic guitars for them they would do it in a second.

[DMBstandUP1984]

Originally Posted by ToySoldier#34

Great posts above this one, they can all get whatever they want and brand isn't the end all be all, when you are at that level you can help their company as much as they can help you. The specs, type of wood, craftmanship etc. is what matters and if anyone like a Dave or John were to approach a company about building acoustic guitars for them they would do it in a second.

Originally Posted by grilldanmo

Psychologically it likely does, but given the same pile of materials no. Martin, Taylor, Gibson, Guild, Larrivee, Olson, Rockbridge, Collings, Breedlove, Bourgeois, Manzer, and many other big companies and smaller builder around the world will make an excellent guitar than any of these guys would love and sound great playing.

That said, any of these guys would make a cheap Ibanez acoustic sound great, but it would not likely inspire them the way a guitar made by the luthiers and master builders from the above list would... It's about build quality and sound. Some players' ears are tuned to Martins or another brand.

thanks

[crashintonickdm]

I’m sure he’s just supporting his hometown manufacturer and they’re quite nice. They’re not better than martins imo. Nothing is to me

I had a blast going to Rockbridge and testing out the guitars. Brian is very nice and the guitars were awesome. Base model being 4200 seems absurd though. You could get a used 000-18 from the 50s and get so much more guitar than a base 000 mahogany/spruce Rockbridge

[ToySoldier#34]

Originally Posted by crashintonickdm

I’m sure he’s just supporting his hometown manufacturer and they’re quite nice. They’re not better than martins imo. Nothing is to me

I had a blast going to Rockbridge and testing out the guitars. Brian is very nice and the guitars were awesome. Base model being 4200 seems absurd though. You could get a used 000-18 from the 50s and get so much more guitar than a base 000 mahogany/spruce Rockbridge

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by grilldanmo

Dave is at that point where he's using what he wants. Part of the tradition in the world of acoustic music seems to be about supporting local artists, in this case luthiers (stringed instrument builders). James Taylor was instrumental in building the reputation of Olson guitars, John Denver and a few others helped Taylor transition from being a boutique builder to one of the biggest acoustic guitar manufacturers int eh world. Of course, people still love their Martins and rightly so. But the folk/acoustic guitar playing (and singer/songwriter) world, like the jazz guitar world has a penchant towards supporting handmade boutique builders. Rockbridge has the leg up as they are based in Charlottesville. Warren Haynes, Eric Krasno, Mraz, and other notable players have also come to favor Rockbridges. I don't the timeline as to whether Dave introduced them OR if one of his friends introduced him...

Overall, Dave has never been exclusive to any company. When the Gibson Chet SSTs were his main stage guitars in DMB he still played Lakewoods and Martins in other settings. When it was the Taylors you still saw the Martins. He currently loves the Rockbridges for the bulk of the acoustic work and uses Veillettes for specialty acoustic needs. Joe is another small shop luthier out of Woodstock. I've ogled his stuff for years, but haven't the disposable income to justify $3K or significantly more on a guitar. If I could, I'd contact Veillette first.

The Rockbridge i have is like what i'd expect pre-1967 Martins to sound like. It's projection is unparalleled. I used it in a large hall for a wedding recently and since the Wedding DJ didn't have a 1/4" inch input, i had to play it near a wireless condensor mic for "here on out". It filled the entire room of 300 people perfectly whereas i don't think my DM3MD would've been capable of that.

I have a 2012 Veillette Gryphon Custom and the sheer amount of wood Joe uses in such a tiny instrument is astounding. it's the loudest instrument i own, it's unreal. If you don't want to spend $3600 i'd suggest checking out a used Avante Gryphon, they are inspirational little tools.

[tyler3440]

From a fan prospective I miss the Taylor 914ce and the Taylor 12 string. Both sounded amazing and were beautiful guitars.

[tyler3440]

Anybody notice that Dave’s new Rockbridge is already wearing down by the hole?

[grilldanmo]

Originally Posted by dustin41

The Rockbridge i have is like what i'd expect pre-1967 Martins to sound like. It's projection is unparalleled. I used it in a large hall for a wedding recently and since the Wedding DJ didn't have a 1/4" inch input, i had to play it near a wireless condensor mic for "here on out". It filled the entire room of 300 people perfectly whereas i don't think my DM3MD would've been capable of that.

I have a 2012 Veillette Gryphon Custom and the sheer amount of wood Joe uses in such a tiny instrument is astounding. it's the loudest instrument i own, it's unreal. If you don't want to spend $3600 i'd suggest checking out a used Avante Gryphon, they are inspirational little tools.

The Avante version is something I've been following for years, even before I knew Dave played any Veillettes. It's definitely closer to "affordable", but not something I can swing right now.

I have a Morgan Monroe MMV-12CE that sounds great, but the action is rough. It's got good materials, but it wasn't masterfully built. I need to buy and cut a new nut, but the action is sorta set. The cost to fix it would surely be more than it's purchase price, so it's been a planned side project. I can tune it up a bit (I've done a whole step), but what I've done more is extend it's range...drop-D with tuning the B and E strings up a whole step (C# and F#). Keeps the tension okay. I've fooled around with it tuned in fifths, but that's a string popper...the high Es.

My rig is mostly a "middle-class man's" collection, with a mostly "standard" line MIA stull (Strat, TL Tele, ASAT, Godin Session), acouple of high-end electrics (PRSes bought new in '90 and 94), and my two best steel strings are Taks (a '97 LTD and a TAN55C...like poorman's Lowden [he wished!]). Sorry, I listen all of this stuff in the musician's thread.

But's it's all what sounds best to me. I adapt to playability, since I'm not in the position to get a guitar tailor made to my lack of style and highly erratic technique.

[grilldanmo]

Originally Posted by tyler3440

Anybody notice that Dave’s new Rockbridge is already wearing down by the hole?

Yes, caught that on SPAC N2. He also has two black Rockbridges now...

[ToySoldier#34]

Love the look and sound of the Avante Gryphon

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by grilldanmo

The Avante version is something I've been following for years, even before I knew Dave played any Veillettes. It's definitely closer to "affordable", but not something I can swing right now.

I have a Morgan Monroe MMV-12CE that sounds great, but the action is rough. It's got good materials, but it wasn't masterfully built. I need to buy and cut a new nut, but the action is sorta set. The cost to fix it would surely be more than it's purchase price, so it's been a planned side project. I can tune it up a bit (I've done a whole step), but what I've done more is extend it's range...drop-D with tuning the B and E strings up a whole step (C# and F#). Keeps the tension okay. I've fooled around with it tuned in fifths, but that's a string popper...the high Es.

My rig is mostly a "middle-class man's" collection, with a mostly "standard" line MIA stull (Strat, TL Tele, ASAT, Godin Session), acouple of high-end electrics (PRSes bought new in '90 and 94), and my two best steel strings are Taks (a '97 LTD and a TAN55C...like poorman's Lowden [he wished!]). Sorry, I listen all of this stuff in the musician's thread.

But's it's all what sounds best to me. I adapt to playability, since I'm not in the position to get a guitar tailor made to my lack of style and highly erratic technique.

The only discernible differences in Avante vs Veillette Gryphon is the amount and type of wood and that they're made by ESP in South Korea i think. The DTAR pickup in the Veillette is insane though - 18v madness.

My rig is unfortunately really absurd, i've meticulously been copying dave's rig as best as possible - Veillette gryphon, taylor w65, taylor dmsm, martin dm3md, jerry jones neptune baritone, chet atkins sst, usa deluxe strat, and the rockbridge is a dreadnought brazilian adirondack that is the only one that isn't identical to what dave uses. bought it impulsively for way too much $ and it's a little big for full band shows. that and i use a taylor 814 instead of 714 for Raised B tunes...the rockbridge is up on reverb in case anyone wants to tickle their fancy!

[grilldanmo]

Originally Posted by dustin41

The only discernible differences in Avante vs Veillette Gryphon is the amount and type of wood and that they're made by ESP in South Korea i think. The DTAR pickup in the Veillette is insane though - 18v madness.

My rig is unfortunately really absurd, i've meticulously been copying dave's rig as best as possible - Veillette gryphon, taylor w65, taylor dmsm, martin dm3md, jerry jones neptune baritone, chet atkins sst, usa deluxe strat, and the rockbridge is a dreadnought brazilian adirondack that is the only one that isn't identical to what dave uses. bought it impulsively for way too much $ and it's a little big for full band shows. that and i use a taylor 814 instead of 714 for Raised B tunes...the rockbridge is up on reverb in case anyone wants to tickle their fancy!

This one:

https://reverb.com/item/22158885-roc...-added-7-17-19

That's gorgeous. Way too spendy for me. I'm working on getting a Gibson J-15. I played a couple a really loved everything about them, despite being Gibsons. I greatly desire an all solid wood non-cutaway.

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by grilldanmo

This one:

https://reverb.com/item/22158885-roc...-added-7-17-19

That's gorgeous. Way too spendy for me. I'm working on getting a Gibson J-15. I played a couple a really loved everything about them, despite being Gibsons. I greatly desire an all solid wood non-cutaway.

that's the one! paid 7200 for it and it'll most likely take forever to sell. The braziian alone is worth 10,000, the guitar in this config would be 14000 now. It's honestly just too big for full band shows, i have a little bit of a neck issue where larger guitars become uncomfortable after a couple of hours so i've been using my dmsm and chet atkins. if i sell this one i'm going to beg brian calhoun to make me a rockbridge chet atkins - i accept affirm payments ! (prob be like 550/mo for 12 mo)

[jwrice5]

I’ve heard the “Dave’s mix/volume” rationale when explaining the sound of the Rockbridge before. If that’s really why they sound so muddy, then I wish they’d go back to whatever mix they used when he played the 914. I’ve said for years that the 914 is his best full band sound, and the Martin is light years ahead of anything else in a solo/D&T setting.

[jmkratt]

Originally Posted by dustin41

The only discernible differences in Avante vs Veillette Gryphon is the amount and type of wood and that they're made by ESP in South Korea i think. The DTAR pickup in the Veillette is insane though - 18v madness.

My rig is unfortunately really absurd, i've meticulously been copying dave's rig as best as possible - Veillette gryphon, taylor w65, taylor dmsm, martin dm3md, jerry jones neptune baritone, chet atkins sst, usa deluxe strat, and the rockbridge is a dreadnought brazilian adirondack that is the only one that isn't identical to what dave uses. bought it impulsively for way too much $ and it's a little big for full band shows. that and i use a taylor 814 instead of 714 for Raised B tunes...the rockbridge is up on reverb in case anyone wants to tickle their fancy!

You have a phenomenal collection

I am not sure I am in agreement with the Veillette though. I've owned multiple variations of the Gryphon. For the price you can't beat the Avante I would agree, but it's more than wood. It's a luthier vs a factory manufacturer. I ended up selling all but this Octave Gryphon I have now. It's a phenomenal instrument. Not what Dave plays but it's excellent. Joe is ridiculous.

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by jmkratt

You have a phenomenal collection

I am not sure I am in agreement with the Veillette though. I've owned multiple variations of the Gryphon. For the price you can't beat the Avante I would agree, but it's more than wood. It's a luthier vs a factory manufacturer. I ended up selling all but this Octave Gryphon I have now. It's a phenomenal instrument. Not what Dave plays but it's excellent. Joe is ridiculous.

thank you! (also have a 97 taylor ab1, platinum custom shop SG and a custom florentine acoustic made by a local luthier)

that's pretty much what i meant. i've never held an avante but as you know the veillette's are surprisingly heavier and i dont know if the avantes use a 18v DTAR pickup which is insane. i'd love to hear an octave gryphon. i'm looking at a baritone 12 veillette now that i'm super into, baritone is my jam - i run a pretty accurate dmb tribute band and i'm OCD about giving the audience the closest visual/sonic representation of any era of the band. let me know if you want the rockbridge! lol

[jmkratt]

Originally Posted by dustin41

thank you! (also have a 97 taylor ab1, platinum custom shop SG and a custom florentine acoustic made by a local luthier)

that's pretty much what i meant. i've never held an avante but as you know the veillette's are surprisingly heavier and i dont know if the avantes use a 18v DTAR pickup which is insane. i'd love to hear an octave gryphon. i'm looking at a baritone 12 veillette now that i'm super into, baritone is my jam - i run a pretty accurate dmb tribute band and i'm OCD about giving the audience the closest visual/sonic representation of any era of the band. let me know if you want the rockbridge! lol

Yeah those Bari Veillettes are awesome.

Not a Rockbridge guy, more into Lowdens myself, but good luck in unloading yours

[dustin41]

Originally Posted by jmkratt

Yeah those Bari Veillettes are awesome.

Not a Rockbridge guy, more into Lowdens myself, but good luck in unloading yours

meh it'll never sell anytime soon especially now that reverb added automatic sales tax. it's a shame because it is an absolute cannon and of all the spruces i have, the adirondack really pops - apparently the brazilian rosewood on the back and sides was imported in the 1950s and is from very, very old growth trees. i absolutely love it but due to an old wrestling injury, i often am prone to a recurring minor neck strain and draping my arm around a giant dreadnought for 3 hours 3 days a week is painful. i use it on acoustic shows but i'm dying for a boutique-made Chet atkins sst clone.

[currupt3d**]

Lakewood forever

[wrhslax1996]

Originally Posted by dustin41

being perhaps the only musician besides dave to own a rockbridge, a taylor dmsm, and a martin dm3md, i can tell you that the Rockbridge is quite honestly the finest guitar i've ever played. The craftsmanship is unparalleled and since Brian is a personal friend to dave, dave and his guitar tech can really pull exactly what he wants out of them.

Don't own a rockbridge, but I've played one a handful of times (went to college near where they started making them and the local music store had some stock ones + the guy who ran the bluegrass ensemble at my college had one he let me play probably a dozen times) and I agree. Rockbridge guitars are my favorite to play, even more than the Taylor 914, and I was a Taylor shill for years. A Rockbridge will be my next guitar for that reason. They're beautiful instruments and I think they sound really fucking great.

[grilldanmo]

Originally Posted by wrhslax1996

Don't own a rockbridge, but I've played one a handful of times (went to college near where they started making them and the local music store had some stock ones + the guy who ran the bluegrass ensemble at my college had one he let me play probably a dozen times) and I agree. Rockbridge guitars are my favorite to play, even more than the Taylor 914, and I was a Taylor shill for years. A Rockbridge will be my next guitar for that reason. They're beautiful instruments and I think they sound really fucking great.

I think this last bit is the key. Even if he wanted to support a local Charlottesville luthier, I doubt he'd keep playing if they didn't sound great (and that's to Dave). If they weren't meeting or exceeding his expectations I'm sure he'd look elsewhere.

But it's got to be a really good two way street. Dave (and all the other players) undoubtedly gives Randall and Brian input on what he likes, wants, and needs and they make it happen. Same, I'm sure, goes for Veillette's team. It would be far easier and financially beneficial for Dave to work with a Martin, Gibson, or Taylor and just have they tweak a regular model and slap his name on it, but instead Dave gets guitars that are uniquely built for him...just like any Rockbridge customer.

It's seems like the best way to build instruments for those that can afford it. I used to dream of being a luthier, but never got around to building any substantial wood working skills. It's never too late, but it gonna take a money, a whole lot of spending money, it's gonna take plenty of money to do it (to do it), to do it right child.