Building the perfect fingerstyle guitar

www.timvanroy.com
www.pdsguitars.nl
patreon.com/timvanroy
Peter, from PDS Guitars, joins forces with me in a search for what we think is the perfect fingerstyle guitar. In part 1 we look at what set off this search, and I'll be introducing Peter (and showing you how serious he is about this project)!
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:01 Pointers
2:30 Intro
2:53 Harmonic Intro (Bars 1 - 2)
8:36 Regular Intro (Bars 1 - 2)
#guitar
#luthier
#fingerstyle
#lesson
#fingerpicking
#tutorial
#fingerpicking
#fingerstyleguitar

[@TimVanRoy]

Show some love for Peter! It's not easy to find someone who is so eager to get into a project like this! This first video is just about how we got into this idea in the first place, the next one will be the first step of the building process!

[@GuitarReviver]

Can't wait for the next video!

[@noncompulsoryl]

Looking forward to this!

[@glensmusicroom8638]

Brilliant! I'm looking forward to following this series.

[@JBDebtFree]

Awesome intro to a great topic! Very interesting. Can’t wait for the next one!

[@Collunism]

I've been asking myself this question for years! Looking forward to the next video ❤

[@nikitabs4808]

We love you Tim, thanks for sharing this cool insights

[@padraigparker1839]

This is such a good idea for a video cantwait for the next one

[@JamesLee-yz9fx]

Awesome video series premise. Cant wait for the next instalment. Tim, you make excellent KZbin videos. You are a credit to the guitar community.

[@donsires7677]

Thank you very interesting video series that you’re going to produce. Looking forward to watching the step-by-step progress. And Peter, you must be at amazing person to know.🙏

[@Dm.ReZnikoV]

Тим, поздравляю тебя с дебютом! Уверен у вас получится достойный инструмент! Успехов!!

[@WimBlock]

Very interesting topic Tim! Looking forward to what's coming!! 🤩🤩😋

[@TimVanRoy]

Part 2 is dropping today!

[@Paul_9.53]

Dann bin ich mal auf das Video gespannt. 👍🏼

[@markhernden9472]

Great idea for a series Tim. Funny how guitars can be such a personal preference. I have owned a Taylor 314-CE for more than a decade and I love it's sound and playability so much that I've never had a desire to "upgrade". Years ago a buddy of mine was looking to buy a Martin so we went to a dealer and tried several models. It came down to choosing either a D-28 or a D-35. After playing both, passing them back and forth, we both agreed that although they sounded different, we couldn't say one sounded better than the other. He ended up choosing the D-35 because he liked the 3 piece back.

[@TimVanRoy]

Taylors are great! I just don't like their pickup system, it lacks a bit of punch and I never got it to "cut" as well as it needed to. But the feeling you're having (not feeling the need to upgrade) is what I always had with my Martins. I just stopped looking at other guitars once I had those. And It's a good feeling, you shouldn't question it 😜

[@Robert-og2kr]

I have one of Peter's guitars. I love the guitar and Peter is just an amazing craftsman, artist, and human being.

[@TimVanRoy]

That's awesome! And I can only confirm your kind words about Peter!

[@gennadiiarmashula1585]

Long awaited topic) in pursuit of an ultimate tool)

[@perfect237]

Cool

[@thomaslopez4946]

nice video

[@floatstone]

Hi Tim, if you find it appropriate, please say hi to Peter from Brick. What a nice man. I delight daily in the skill he put into uplifting the quality of my Takamine.

[@TimVanRoy]

Peter is the ultimatte craftsman! I'm seeing this message just a bit too late as I visited this week. We're posting the new video later today!

[@perfect237]

For the first time, I'm the first to comment and like a Tim Van Roy video or any other KZbin video for that matter. Love you Tim ❤️🤩.

[@TimVanRoy]

I'm happy to be your first "first" here 😜

[@AndrewDeFaria]

Tim you're crushing it! Will future episode all appear on KZbin or just on your website?

[@TimVanRoy]

This whole series will be available for everyone on KZbin!

[@ursblapp4536]

Thanks Tim, brilliant idea. I am very vey curious about the impact of the bracing and his opinion about it

[@TimVanRoy]

On that subject I'm going to get every possible little bit of information out of Peter. He's the authority on this matter!

[@john-ob7bv]

Id love to hear you play a maton through an amp and see how close to tommys sound you can get 😊

[@christhorpec]

love these types of videos. Very helpful. I struggle as am not as tall as you or Tommy. Smaller hands ;) Feel like instead of my 000 or OM would prefer to use an 0 or 00, but worried if too small? But makes it easier for some chord and difficult stretches.

[@TimVanRoy]

It can be a challenge to get the balance between sound and playability right! I can see how an 0 or 00 would be better suited for some people, but it's always the question if you are going to like the sound as well! Maybe just one one each to be sure, no? 😜

[@christhorpec]

lol that’s what I am thinking ;) one of each.

[@TrailerNerds]

This is an interesting video cause it's a topic we all pretty much face, and based on my experience, having tryed a lot of different brands raning from sub 1000 to over 3000 euro guitars i can safely state that my conclusion is the same as the one in the video. The price has little to do with sound over a certain treshold. Eventually expensive instruments come down to brand and the luxury of having one. Sure the build quality will be great and probably even the sound but far from overshadowing a less expensive instrument just cause it cost's less. The mayson that i have never heard of before seeing Tim play it sounds impeccable and dig around a lot to understand who makes them and how. The only other instrument that resembles it'a sonic qualities in my ear is the faith neptune that i still consider the greatest fingerstyle instrument i ever layed hands on. And i even own matons that are superb in tone and build quality but still hardly match or do better for the extra price. Considering the advancements in construction and knowledge of instrumentents i think we are over the days in which price=quality. Buying an instrument now is harder than ever cause even unknown ones can sand great and you need to test them. I also believe the mayson was at least on par with the others featured in this video and that the extra price does not mean anything anymore except when it comes to build quality and materials chosen.

[@TimVanRoy]

Good to know I'm not imagining things 😜 One thing I should mention in one of the upcoming videos is that a major part is also how well a guitar "translates" when being recorded. The Mayson only needs a little bit of work in terms of EQ, but that also has to do with the fact that the guitar doesn't sound as big and wide as my Martins. If I record those I always have to cut and shave things away to make it a bit manageable!

[@TrailerNerds]

@@TimVanRoy thanks for the repply tim i really am considering the mayson model that you played in the video it sure sounds great for the money and indeed is quite tight so to say but perfect for fingerstyle, and thanks again for your instructional efforts !

[@aklilmalik9405]

Hi Tim! Thanks for the video, also can you suggest for your experience wich the best size of frets do use or you prefer?

[@TimVanRoy]

That topic is definitely coming up in the future! I'll first gather all the info I can from Peter, because he really is the expert here... I have always played larger frets for my electrics, but on acoustics it has always been medium frets so far!

[@brechtdebaene]

Interesting! I'm lucky enough to own a Maton and I do agree that is it not a good sounding guitar....until you plug it in! the combination of those woods along with the AP5 mic system sounds very good to my ...admittedly untrained. ear. I still don't like the Maton just acousticly without amplification, but something special happens when you connect it to a soundsystem.

[@brechtdebaene]

are you going to amplify your guitar?

[@vyvynylification]

My messiah sounds quite good acoustically honestly. Not on the level of my furch red. And it lacks some bass but, really it's okay! Amplified tho, nothing compares.😊

[@brechtdebaene]

@@vyvynylification I have a furch Red as well, its the best sounding guitar I own. and the most beautiful. the maton I just have issue getting the same amount of volume from it as my other guitars. its just so quiet, which means I have to play harder which means more mistakes hehe. its the TE signature model though, so I don't know how that compares to your messiah.

[@TimVanRoy]

I do agree Maton guitars are built for stage use, not for the studio. And interesting to hear you both have a Furch guitar. I recently bought a nylon crossover from them and it is amazing. So I'm really curious about their acoustics as well now!

[@brechtdebaene]

@@TimVanRoy Ill show you next saturday ;)

[@B4ndit15]

Im convinced, where can I buy it?

[@TimVanRoy]

You mean the Mayson MS7? I think it has been discontinued, or at least it's hard to find right now. Mayson is a Chinese company and really took a hard hit during Covid, and I don't think they have fully recovered yet...

[@nicovonck1046]

Top lutier

[@TimVanRoy]

One of the very best!

[@JohnB.6251]

Tim, Is there a way to become a member on your site - year membership - and not have automatic renewal? Don't like leaving my credit card saved on any sites. - John B.

[@TimVanRoy]

Hi John. I'm thinking Paypal might be a better option then, but you maybe have the same reservations when coupling your credit card there as well. If you are on an Apple device you could use Apple Pay as well! I also don't store any credit card info, the payment will be processed by a highly secure (even by EU standards) payment service and all the info stays there, not on my website!

[@JohnB.6251]

Thanks, Tim! I'll check out Apple Pay, have not used it before, but have their devices. I'll join soon, need to warm up my hands after a break with some health issues. I really appreciate all the time and effort you've put into the difficult songs you teach. I saw Tommy Emmanuel in Minnesota, USA where I live. He was on a State Fair outdoor stage for free a couple of years before he got world famous, though was well known in certain guitar circles. He signed a CD and we spoke briefly after his show. 20 years ago? Anyway, I play classical, and know how much work you put in to get this good at it... John B. @@TimVanRoy

[@seriossam2009]

my best guitar is some random china guitar for 100$. And she sound realy good with my old strings 1 years old)

[@TimVanRoy]

I guess it's a matter of luck! I have done a promo tour for Santa Cruz guitars in the past, and he was lamenting the fact that he saw so many perfectly fine (and high quality) spruce tops on very cheap Chinese guitars with rubbish back and sides. He thought it was a waste of perfectly good tonewood... But if you get lucky, like you did, you can get a great guitar for little money!

[@ericbolz]

About listening test videos... I have a few high quality headsets on my computer, and when I listen to KZbinrs doing comparative guitar demos, I am very hard pressed to hear significant differences. But if I go to a guitar store and try 10 different guitars I find them to be hugely different. So it's not my ears that are the problem and I don't think it's my headsets which are of good quality. It's possible KZbin is compressing the videos so much they lose the high frequency content. Or perhaps many KZbinrs are not setting up their microphones correctly. In any case, I simply don't trust listening tests on KZbin. So if you do comparative demos, please provide your own subjective opinions about the differences you hear.

[@TimVanRoy]

I get what you are going for! I have had the same experience... It makes you wonder how much of your "in person" playing test is also influenced by the way the guitar "feels" when you are playing it, or how the sound is influencing the way you are picking the strings. Because that all drops away when just listening to something. And doing some blind tests might be interesting too. Whatever happens, I'll do my standard 48kHz stereo recordings for all these demos!

[@smandez2023]

…and then they listen for…. Something. 😂😂😂

[@TimVanRoy]

I hope to be able to show you what to listen for in the next video (that will be posted today)!

[@bob7067]

Hey Tim, enjoyed the video. I have watched and commented on numerous videos of yours, And am ready to take the plunge! Okay, so I watched your 4 year anniversary video and I know it takes a while to answer e-mails. But my dilemma is this: I sent you an e-mail on your website, but I don't know if it even made it to you, and that is why I am writing you on KZbin. I live in the states, and I believe your website is based in your country. But never the less, I was going to enroll, but you have questions on your registration page that I have no idea what they are. Such as an IBAN account, VAT number, and your prices are in euros, maybe? I would love to explore the website, but it says to register/subscribe and there again, I don't know how. If you think I would be better suited for patreon, I am fine with that. But, again, do I pay for tabs, do I need to purchase "sound slice", (what is that by the way)? I don't mind paying for what I need, I just don't know what I need. But I do know that I would love to learn from you my friend. Your playing and teaching are worth whatever you may charge. So, any info you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Bob

[@TimVanRoy]

Hi Bob! I rechecked all my inboxes after reading this message, but it seems your message did not arrive where it was supposed to. Would you mind sending me another one at [e-mail]? Then I can get you all the info right away!

[@bob7067]

Hey Tim, I sent out the e-mail right after I read your reply, on 02/02, but to no avail. So! I'm sending another as we "speak". @@TimVanRoy

[@TimVanRoy]

@@bob7067Hi Bob! Seems like we have a broken email chain because I replied immediately when you message came in! I have just sent you the message again. Can you check the spam folder in case in ends up there?

[@bob7067]

Will do, Tim.@@TimVanRoy

[@TimVanRoy]

@@bob7067I just replied to both your emails! Let's hope it comes through now!