The Cellar - View Single Post

wst3 · 10-20-2003, 01:21 PM

Pimental is a really interesting builder, check out their site at: www.rt66.com/~pimentel

The father built classical guitars, quite well respected by the way, and one of the sons really wanted to build steel stringed instruments, and thus was born the instrument I have<G>!

I bought it for exactly the same reason you mentioned, I wanted more space for my stubby little fingers. A dread for fingerstyle is, sadly, a bit of a compromise though, and I have since picked up two much smaller instruments... the Larivees you noticed!

A thought or two about those, since they both have interesting stories:

I had sent the Pimental in for some minor work (I was able to afford it as the previous owner had broken the neck off, and the repair job was sub-par, no structural probems, but the cosmetics are bad. Anyway, when I went to pick it up the store manager handed me the OM to play while he went into the back to get my guitar. When he returned I called him a less than polite name, and added a deposit for the OM to the bill. It is that cool a guitar... took 5 seconds to know I wanted it.

The L-09 is even stranger. I had played it at a guitar shop up in Maine, but as I was about to get married, and was still paying off the ring, I decided I didn't need it. It sold the next day. Oh well.

Fast forward to our honeymoon, and we're driving around Maine, and we stop in at the music store, and the guitar is back. Fate? Well, my lovely bride decided that since we really had no idea what our finances were going to look like after paying for the wedding we might as well buy it... and it has thus been dubbed the honeymoon guitar! Both of my brothers have always thought that since the guy buys a ring, the girl should have to reciprocate... a concept all of our wives have laughed at... but this was pretty close!

Sorry about the site... I haven't really touched it since my son was born, almost 18 months ago... and then I simply added a bunch of pics of him (not too proud a papa!!!), and I think I deleted all the guitar pictures to make room!!!

The mandolin... Mid-Missouri makes some really great, really plain, really inexpensive mandolins. Not everyone carries them, but they are worth looking for! This was actually a 40th birthday gift from my family... I had been ranting for a bit about mandolins, so they figured they should get me one to mark the event.

Be forewarned... if you have stubby fingers like I do the mando is quite a challenge!!!

And no, I'm not ignoring the how did I collect this stuff question... just left it for last. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I was single till just a couple of years ago...

Being single meant I didn't have to explain my purchases to anyone, it also meant I wasn't supporting others, so I could be a little irresponsible. It also gave me the opportunity to work more than one job. I've done studio design and maintenance as a side business for over 20 years now, and it has provided me with a means to build my own studio.

And part of it has to do with just plain old dumb luck, you'd scream if I told you what I paid for some of those!!! Another amusing tale... back when Yamaha and Ensoniq were tryng desparately for floor space in music stores, my local dealer was ranting one evening about how great guitars were and how horrible all this electronic junk was, and how anybody with half a brain would rather buy a guitar. That particular evening I was looking at the Ensoniq piano module, which had a pricetag of around $500. The store owner asked me if I'd rather buy a guitar or the stupid little module... I replied that the Yamaha SA-800 was the guitar I was thinking about, but it was a lot more than the module, and he commented that I could have either one for the same $500. Well, that choice was pretty simple.

I went back the next day and offered to pay the balance of the difference, but he said no, he was ranting and he'd be more careful next time, but a deal was a deal. IT was nearly a steal!!!

The only other one I bought new is the D-18, and at the time the music store was owned by the father of one of my band-mates, who felt bad for me cause I had just had three guitars stolen, so even that was a pretty good deal!

Lots of guitars... lots of amusing tales...

10-20-2003, 01:21 PM	#615
wst3 Simulated Simulacrum Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Pennsylvannia Posts: 39	Pimental is a really interesting builder, check out their site at: www.rt66.com/~pimentel The father built classical guitars, quite well respected by the way, and one of the sons really wanted to build steel stringed instruments, and thus was born the instrument I have<G>! I bought it for exactly the same reason you mentioned, I wanted more space for my stubby little fingers. A dread for fingerstyle is, sadly, a bit of a compromise though, and I have since picked up two much smaller instruments... the Larivees you noticed! A thought or two about those, since they both have interesting stories: I had sent the Pimental in for some minor work (I was able to afford it as the previous owner had broken the neck off, and the repair job was sub-par, no structural probems, but the cosmetics are bad. Anyway, when I went to pick it up the store manager handed me the OM to play while he went into the back to get my guitar. When he returned I called him a less than polite name, and added a deposit for the OM to the bill. It is that cool a guitar... took 5 seconds to know I wanted it. The L-09 is even stranger. I had played it at a guitar shop up in Maine, but as I was about to get married, and was still paying off the ring, I decided I didn't need it. It sold the next day. Oh well. Fast forward to our honeymoon, and we're driving around Maine, and we stop in at the music store, and the guitar is back. Fate? Well, my lovely bride decided that since we really had no idea what our finances were going to look like after paying for the wedding we might as well buy it... and it has thus been dubbed the honeymoon guitar! Both of my brothers have always thought that since the guy buys a ring, the girl should have to reciprocate... a concept all of our wives have laughed at... but this was pretty close! Sorry about the site... I haven't really touched it since my son was born, almost 18 months ago... and then I simply added a bunch of pics of him (not too proud a papa!!!), and I think I deleted all the guitar pictures to make room!!! The mandolin... Mid-Missouri makes some really great, really plain, really inexpensive mandolins. Not everyone carries them, but they are worth looking for! This was actually a 40th birthday gift from my family... I had been ranting for a bit about mandolins, so they figured they should get me one to mark the event. Be forewarned... if you have stubby fingers like I do the mando is quite a challenge!!! And no, I'm not ignoring the how did I collect this stuff question... just left it for last. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I was single till just a couple of years ago... Being single meant I didn't have to explain my purchases to anyone, it also meant I wasn't supporting others, so I could be a little irresponsible. It also gave me the opportunity to work more than one job. I've done studio design and maintenance as a side business for over 20 years now, and it has provided me with a means to build my own studio. And part of it has to do with just plain old dumb luck, you'd scream if I told you what I paid for some of those!!! Another amusing tale... back when Yamaha and Ensoniq were tryng desparately for floor space in music stores, my local dealer was ranting one evening about how great guitars were and how horrible all this electronic junk was, and how anybody with half a brain would rather buy a guitar. That particular evening I was looking at the Ensoniq piano module, which had a pricetag of around $500. The store owner asked me if I'd rather buy a guitar or the stupid little module... I replied that the Yamaha SA-800 was the guitar I was thinking about, but it was a lot more than the module, and he commented that I could have either one for the same $500. Well, that choice was pretty simple. I went back the next day and offered to pay the balance of the difference, but he said no, he was ranting and he'd be more careful next time, but a deal was a deal. IT was nearly a steal!!! The only other one I bought new is the D-18, and at the time the music store was owned by the father of one of my band-mates, who felt bad for me cause I had just had three guitars stolen, so even that was a pretty good deal! Lots of guitars... lots of amusing tales...