Guitars with dry sound and quick decay?

ChristopheCarington

Semi-hot take: no luthier nails every guitar.

I know the "dry" sound you're talking about - loud with a strong attack, a lot of decay if you don't use vibrato, little to no sustain, and a quick release.

I've heard this from a Barault, a few Duponts, a Cache Vit, a few Selmers, a few Favino's, an Anastasio, and a few DiMauro's. But I've also heard those same brands not achieve the same tone. As someone who owns a Stringphonic, and played multiple - they are very consistent and don't shift with weather changes... but they're not the tone you're looking for.

Honestly, your best bet is to just try many luthier-built guitars at large meetups and wait for one to speak to you.

voutoreenie

How about an even hotter, semi-hot take? Almost every player coaxes out a different sound/tonal projection from each guitar they play. Put another way, whether attack/technique/pick/etc., it's sometimes crazy how much tone certain players can get from guitars vs. other players playing the same guitars, even in terms of both dryness and quick decay. Which isn't to say that individual guitars don't have specific sonic characteristics, they most certainly do; more that the player can never be discounted, kinda like how Charlie Parker could play almost any alto sax and still sound like him despite playing different instruments (even plastic horns lol).

Also, I own a few Django boxes and I've also noted how much the tone can change during the seasons, especially during humid times. I have a Dupont Busato and I'd call that my most "touchy" guitar in terms of tone because it can seemingly go from blunt/unexpressive/all attack to bright/complex/resonant from one month to the next. Meanwhile, I also have a Park Encore and it's probably a bit inherently louder and more generous than the Dupont but it still goes from sounding loud/"boomy" in one month to short/abrupt the next.

Buco

It's true that guitars will inevitably vary even within the same model. But sometimes luthiers will have a different sound in mind while building. Because a friend has a Mazaud which is one of the most overtones rich guitars in this style I've played. One of the nicest sounding guitars I've played in any style as well. The same guy had a Barault he sold after getting the Mazaud. It was dry but not explosive like the 503 copy (at least Wim's, it's the only one I tried).

I would have a hard time buying a guitar unless I tried it and immediately wanted to run away with it.

Case in point, back in 2013 I heard a guy play his guitar in the class and was immediately like "whoa man, what's this thing?". He let me play it and I thought it was magical. Then he said "oh, I'm selling its sibling, I ordered two at the same time". They were supposed to be identical. I went with him to play the one he was selling and it was nothing like its sibling. Nice, nothing wrong with it, but it didn't have whatever the other one did that made me wanna run away with it. I told the guy if you'll sell me the other one, I'm buying. He said "no, that's the one I'm keeping". 😁