Yet another D vs O

Buco

That's very common with the oval holes, where the player doesn't get a lot of feedback playing all the while the guitar projects extremely well into the room.

DragonPL

https://www.djangobooks.com/forum/discussion/comment/116726#Comment_116726

EXACTLY!!! I'm often told I'm "too loud" though I can't hear myself in noisy situations. That's why for me it's a bit better with a D hole.

MikeK

There is no factual basis for what I'm about to say (historical or otherwise), but I thought I'd share it anyway. And I ask for forgiveness in advance if I offend anyone. But here's how the whole D-hole vs. oval hole dilemma played out for me: when I first started studying this music & realized that I wanted to get serious about it, I started shopping around for my first GJ guitar. I ended up finding Michael here at Djangobooks who suggested I begin with an Altamira M-01D, their entry level D-hole at the time. One reason he suggested it was that, at the time, I also played other types of music. He noted how this guitar would be perfectly suitable for playing around the campfire, singing my kids to sleep, etc. So there's the versatility factor. I went with it and that's a decision that I've never regretted. But perhaps more interesting is the fun notion about this dilemma that a friend & early GJ mentor mentioned to me. He commended my decision to start on the D-hole and said something like "D-holes are really good for playing rhythm guitar in this music. But of course many great players (Django included) have used them for soloing as well. Spend a year on your D-hole petfecting your La Pompe, while simultaneously working on your soloing. After the year is up, if you feel like your rhythm playing is strong & solid, reward yourself buy buying your first oval hole. And then work towards perfecting your soloing on that". I took his advice and it was a lot of fun. Again there's nothing even remotely factual about this decision, but I'm glad I did it that way. To me, the oval hole was something I worked hard to earn. And I was like a kid on Christmas morning the day that my first oval hole arrived at my house. It's just my history with this but I thought it worth sharing.

billyshakes

@MikeK For me, when I started 20 years ago, I was not playing improvisational music. So, it was natural for me to be the rhythm player and therefore I gravitated towards a D-hole. I was single (i.e. extra cash laying around) and living in NW Washington at the time so reached out to Shelley Park and had her build me one, but hedged my bets by making it a full 670mm scale length, 14-fret join. I was also playing other styles of music and enjoyed the broader tone from this instrument. And that was the guitar I played for many years. It was only ~5 years back that I picked up an Altamira oval hole at a reasonable price to use as a practice guitar. It took a moment to make the switch between the two, as they were really different animals. Now I guess I have a D-hole, an oval hole, and an F-hole. When playing them for my wife to see which she preferred, she couldn't really choose as she said they were all different voices. Around this house, that's a win for me because it means I get to keep them all!

MikeK

That's a win! Great story, Billy. I love how we GJ guitar players have the luxury of choosing between a D-hole or an oval hole. It can add a nice dimension to how we get inspired and/or express ourselves musically.