Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/14/2009:  14:06:23

After a few years playing a '96 Dobro F60 & researching the idea of getting a better guitar the past months I recieved a 2007 Beard E Model from Janet Davis today. WOW!! The guitar is in wonderful condition w/not even so much as a notable pick mark on the coverplate. The only mar I could find is where the soundhole screen evidently came out during shipping & very lightly marred the top (lucky there!). I have little doubt that it should buff out completely & other than that the beautifully figured wood & superb fit/finish thru-out make this a truly stunning guitar. As for sound, well this is my 1st experience w/any reso other than my F60 & so I'm not an expert by any stretch, but the difference between these two is remarkeable. The E is obviously a much better quality guitar in every respect. A very powerful attack & a clear resonance w/sustain that is even better than I had hoped for. In short, this guitar easily exceeds all my expectations & needless to say I am VERY pleased w/my purchase.

Vic




The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

Edited by - Arrowsmit on 02/28/2009 04:57:32

SGB - Posted - 02/14/2009:  14:43:51

Vic,
Congratulations on your new reso. I trust you'll many hours of pleasure tied to that guitar.

Steve

9 out of the 10 voices inside my head are telling me to go home and clean my guns.

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/14/2009:  14:50:50

here are a couple pics:







Vic





The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

jaykellogg - Posted - 02/14/2009:  16:53:42

I got a new instructor yesterday and he plays a Beard maple E. It is truely an awsome guitar! Congratulations.

W. Jay Kellogg

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/14/2009:  17:55:36

Much obliged Jay!

Vic



The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

jwstahl - Posted - 02/15/2009:  04:28:36

Vic,

Thanks for the pics. That's a stunning reso. Enjoy it!

John

piknleft - Posted - 02/15/2009:  09:29:42

Beautiful box Vic! Like everyone else, would love to hear a lil' sound byte. The "E's" resemble a dred shape but I'm just guessin' they're a little smaller. Could ya share some specs? Upper and lower bout widths, length of body, waist width? I have a mold for a 000 size guitar and I'm wondering how close the upper and lower measurements compare. The 000 is larger than the typical "R" body. Many thanks and congratulations on a very nice "get". Mike



"Ya can't tell the depth of the well by the length of the handle on the pump."

bhampton - Posted - 02/15/2009:  10:10:35

I saw on the Beard Site that the "E"'s are designed to have a controlled decay for optimum note separation (not an exact quote) which made me wonder about the sustain???
Sounds like you are plenty happy with the sustain on yours though, huh?

I live on the western slope of Colorado, so don't get a lot of opportunity to see and hear premium reso's.

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/15/2009:  12:29:24

piknleft, I have no recording equipment. As for measurements, these aren't exact (used a tape measure & stayed away from the finish) but here's what I got:

OAL 19 1/2"

UPPER BOUT WIDTH 10 1/2"

LOWER BOUT WIDTH 14 1/2"

WAIST WIDTH 9 3/4"

DEPTH AT NECK 3 1/2"

DEPTH AT TAILPIN 4"

...hope this helps.



bhampton, I don't have experience w/lots of other resos to use for comparison, but IMO this guitar has plenty of sustain...way more'n the F60.

Vic







The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

Slideman1939 - Posted - 02/15/2009:  15:22:10

Your sustain and resonance on the Beard come from a good cone and good body depth.Paul is now spinning his own cones AND used to use quality Quarterman cones previously.A premium cone is an aircraft aluminum(metal formula) alloy that is harder and stiffer than pure aluminum--so the volume is better...particularly on bottom end (lower strings). Measure the body HEIGHT on the Beard E vs. the F-60. A bigger box with good tonal woods is sure to yield a different sound than Gibson's birch ply smaller box. You get what you pay for, and you have experienced the Ford to Cadillac upgrade.Different strokes for different folks--some recording artists like sweet tone of the O.M.I. 1970's thru mid 1980 STAMPED cones with straight sides (rather than bowl shaped) and actually haunt E bay to buy the older hardware.

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/15/2009:  17:50:32

Thanks Slideman, good stuff there. Curious as to when Beard started spinning his own cones?

Vic



The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

piknleft - Posted - 02/16/2009:  01:47:13

Vic, many thanks for the measurements and your time to take them. Mike

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/16/2009:  13:32:30

NP bro!

Vic



The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/28/2009:  05:04:50

After a couple weeks playing it I gotta say that this E is really sweet. I definitely feel like I've found 'the one'. It's so different from my F60 that I've decided that I need to keep em both.

Vic



The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

Edited by - Arrowsmit on 02/28/2009 05:07:50

jaykellogg - Posted - 02/28/2009:  05:48:21

My instructor taught me to tune the B strings on my Beard 12½ minutes flat. You do that by recalibrating the tuner to 437Hz. It sounds a lot sweeter to me. My instructor does recording and he says it sounds better recoded that way. profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?...217040077
If you don't do it now, you ought to try it.

W. Jay Kellogg

Arrowsmit - Posted - 02/28/2009:  07:02:51

I just flat em 5 cents at 440...worx 4 me.

Vic



The more I learn about playing this crazy thing the more I realize how very little I know about it...

RW - Posted - 03/01/2009:  14:56:39

Congrats, that's a real beauty. IMO, there aint nothing prettier than curly maple on an instrument.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. -2 Chronicles 7:14