Hey Guys and Gals! New Guy from St. Louis

[Shannon]

Hey everyone.

My name's Shannon and I've kinda been lurking for a few weeks or so since I first learned about TA guitars and my new OBSESSION the :"Crowdster Plus.":cool:

I have been in search of the "perfect" stage acoustic that could allow me to play through an entire service without having to switch to one of my many electrics just to fill the gap on our rockier stuff...and after some innovative google searching, I was able to determine what one of my favorite artists (and fellow worship leaders) is playing...

Yeah, you guessed it... the Crowdster... I can't believe that I never realized that the guitar David was playing was NOT a T5, but after playing one myself, I KNEW it just couldn't be... and I was right.

Anyway, I am searching hard for the right one for me and was hoping to not have to order one though I'd REALLY like a KOA just like everyone else here. I may have to get a "stop gap" used C+ and save up the money to buy some "special" Koa from Aloha-land and send it in for a ONE OFF C+ that's all MINE! If'n Tom even DOES that sorta thing...:confused:

I've been a musician for as long as I can remember, but semi-professionally for about 15 years or so. (I say SEMI because I still have other "jobs" like the majority of us do)

It seems that people who play "TAG's" swear by them and I have to honestly say that I have not experienced a guitar YET that I swear by, so I'm intrigued to find out what it is that makes them so special...

Any input there would be much appreciated as well.

Glad to be here!
Hope to join the "family" very soon...;)

Thanks,
Shannon

[csd]

Hands down, TAG's are the best tool out there! I play with a Worship band and the comments I get about "...the tones and the quality of its sound,...." are, well, very nice to hear! The guitar plays effortlessly and is a 'need to have' situation, especially if you play on a team!
I have a Hollow Classic, and it rocks out, it works very well for blues and all the 'pretty' sounds for church stuff are made almost perfect with this instrument. C+ is a great choice for that.
Welcome and best of luck getting your choice.

csd

[dannopelli]

Hey Shannon! Welcome!

Swear by? I have four now, have had as many as nine at once, and have owned about 12 different ones altogether.

I can tell you I had a Crowdster for a short while. But I really do not do enough acoustic to warrant keeping it.

That said, it was the BEST sounding easiest playing plugged in "acoustic" I have ever had my hands around.

These are simply the best guitars. From what I have seen from your posts a Crowdster Plus would be perfect for you. The Taylors are VERY nice. But for my money I'd go Andy.

[Shannon]

Thanks for the welcomes and the info and advice.

I actually DO play quite a bit more acoustic than electric for the most part. I ENJOY playing electric, but being the actual LEADER of the worship band, My actual focus is singing with a secondary focus on rhythm guitar. I have a lead guitarist (actually 2 of them usually one of which is generally keeping rhythm on a clean electric of some flavor), so my opportunities to do leads are very minimal.

However, some of our stuff is on the rocky side, so the option of being able to flip a switch and send my "humbucker" to my Vox amp and play a nice dirty rhythm riff is pretty important to me as well.

I enjoy my Taylor, but it's big and bulky and gets a bit cumbersome when I'm actually trying to "lead" or direct the congregation. (I tend to talk with my hands and that big box in front of me gets in the way sometimes) BUT it has such a nice sound plugged in that I refuse to sacrifice tone for ease of use... Of course, it has NO option for a dirty electric sound.

That being said... if the Andys tones rival (or exceed) the plugged in acoustic tone of my Taylor (keep in mind it's ONLY a 414CE, but it is PRE-expression which I prefer) then I really may have my ultimate musical "leatherman tool" on my hands in a C+... at least for MY purposes.

That doesn't mean that it will ever replace my other guitars in my collection, but for live performance duty when I am doing worship or folky acoustic stuff with the occasional dirty riff, it could be all I need.

In my studio, on the other hand, the Strat, 30 year old Les Paul, Taylor, (maybe), Charvel Jacksons and other random axes will still get their time to come out and play too... just not at CHURCH so much.

Thanks again for the welcomes!

[Pietro]

Shannon, I do what you do. I am the worship pastor at a church in PA. Got a Crowdster Plus in November of 06.

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z209/Pietro_gtr/PetersCrowdy.jpg

The Crowdster Plus is the PERFECT tool for the job! When I am playing mainly electric I pull out one of my electrics, but for mainly acoustic with a dash of electric thrown in... NOTHING touches the C+. Mine is maple capped (not a big koa fan) and sounds just beautiful. Best money I ever spent on gear by a long shot.

To really make it sing... You MUST separately process the acoustic and electric signal. Don't bother running this in mono. I only use the mono switch when I'm playing acoustic only.vSounds like you have that covered.

If you can afford it... just do it!

[akivisuals]

Welcome to the boards Shannon! Like you and others on this board I play on a worship band and lead worship once a month or so. The Crowdster Plus is the best tool for this job that I've found. I have had a few great acoustics and a T5 but this Crowdster slays them for plugged in tones. My Goodall sits at home in the case... :o The electric tones are great as well. I could never bond with the electric tones in the T5. It just didn't sound good to my ears, but I love the pickup in the Plus! My buddy, the main worship leader at my church, has also converted to the Crowdster Plus. It plays great, sounds great and looks great. Props to Tom!

Oh, let me know if Tom will make a Koa top C+ for you. I've been GASsing for one ever since I saw the one from the NAMM show thread. :o

[Shannon]

Thanks again guys.

I have a great setup right now to split my two pickups (I'm using it now just to play my Strat and my other acoustics without having to switch wires or wireless systems.)

I'd have to figure out a way to run dual wireless systems on one guitar.... actually RUNNING them is no problem... just finding a place to stash both transmitters will be funky... but I'll figure that out.

Don't worry purists... the wireless system I use is BAR NONE the worlds more accurate sounding system and actually makes my Taylor sound BETTER than the wires that I've been using at Church...


Anyway, I know that I can't afford to do the custom, one off, koa guitar right now and I simply CANNOT wait until I CAN afford it to get my first crowdster, so now I'm trying to decide...

Do I just go ahead and get a "relatively" cheaper Crowdster... play it while I save up, buy the Koa Billet, and then Order a Custom Koa top C+ (If Tom will even do that for me)

Or do I pay a little more, get the C+ in a less desirable color (for me... ANY color is less desirable than a natural wood top, but if I HAD to have color, I'd prefer something dark and NOT red and NOT a burst... just my opinion) and Hope that I can get my money back out of it when I do the order thing in a year or so...

Any ideas there?

BTW, I have a Godin A12 twelve string and it sounds "Decent" through my rig, but playing a 12'er for an entire worship service gets a little tiresome and it HAS to be a far cry from the Crowdys in both Tone and Playability... Right?

[akivisuals]

I've seen quite a few natural maple topped Crowdsters out there. Probably more than the darker colors or bursted colors. I'm a burst guy though so I tend to notice those first though. I'd say keep looking here, on TGP and on ebay. They pop up from time to time.

Koa would be nice, but they seem to be very rare. I'd love to have a shaded edge C+ myself... That would be my dream acoustic!

What kind of wireless do you use?

[Shannon]

I've seen quite a few natural maple topped Crowdsters out there. Probably more than the darker colors or bursted colors. I'm a burst guy though so I tend to notice those first though. I'd say keep looking here, on TGP and on ebay. They pop up from time to time.

Koa would be nice, but they seem to be very rare. I'd love to have a shaded edge C+ myself... That would be my dream acoustic!

What kind of wireless do you use?
I do like the natural maple tops, but they're starting to seem "common" that's what I like about the KOA guitars... of course, in a year, THEY will be common too, so I guess it's just a matter of getting a look that I really like and going with it.

I've seen a neat looking burnt orange color that I like quite a bit...
Have you seen that one?

As far as my wireless.
I'm using X2's latest gen. XDR95... It's a fully digital 4 channel diversity wireless monster!
I have NEVER lost signal or even had a hint of wavering in my sound regardless to my movements and honestly, it truly seems to sound better than an "average" quality guitar cable... now... that said... a $100 High end instrument cable MAY... JUST MAY sound as good, but I can't imagine it sounding any better to my ears or the ears of anyone other than a studio engineer with perfect pitch and too much studio time under his belt!:D

[Pietro]

Shannon, I've owned three Godins. Loved them all, still have one.

Imagine the difference between a high-end mercedes and a Bentley.

That is, imho, the difference between your Godin and the Crowdster Plus that you are destined to own.

[akivisuals]

I do like the natural maple tops, but they're starting to seem "common" that's what I like about the KOA guitars... of course, in a year, THEY will be common too, so I guess it's just a matter of getting a look that I really like and going with it.

I've seen a neat looking burnt orange color that I like quite a bit...
Have you seen that one?

As far as my wireless.
I'm using X2's latest gen. XDR95... It's a fully digital 4 channel diversity wireless monster!
I have NEVER lost signal or even had a hint of wavering in my sound regardless to my movements and honestly, it truly seems to sound better than an "average" quality guitar cable... now... that said... a $100 High end instrument cable MAY... JUST MAY sound as good, but I can't imagine it sounding any better to my ears or the ears of anyone other than a studio engineer with perfect pitch and too much studio time under his belt!:D

I don't know about Koa topped guitars getting too common. Koa isn't the easiest wood to acquire nowadays. But if I find one, man... look out. There are a lot of maple topped ones out. I haven't seen the burnt orange one but mine is a natural honeyburst.

I might have to try that wireless. I've heard some great things about the X2's.

[tom]

i doubt that koa will ever become common place. this little flurry that we've had is the first we've seen in quite a while, and the price keeps going up. it only comes from those little islands off the coast, so it's not like there are koa forrests that we can pillage. most of the wood these days is coming from stump wood left over from trees that are long gone.

[akivisuals]

i doubt that koa will ever become common place. this little flurry that we've had is the first we've seen in quite a while, and the price keeps going up. it only comes from those little islands off the coast, so it's not like there are koa forrests that we can pillage. most of the wood these days is coming from stump wood left over from trees that are long gone.

Hey Tom. Can I call dibs on the next Koa topped C+ that you send to one of your dealers?? Can I, can I, huh, huh? :p

[tom]

they're usually special ordered, but i'll take a look.

[Shannon]

they're usually special ordered, but i'll take a look.


I think... no I KNOW.. that I have ONE of them:D (thanks John@mass street)

Even think I might be getting a little something "special" on it too...

More on that later:)

[strat56]

Welcome Shannon, new here myself, but learning quickly.