John Pearse armrest
Robert Dygert
I'm considering attaching a John Pearse armrest to my Lowden guitar.
Is this a good idea or a bad idea?
Has anyone tried this?
All comments welcomed.
TIA
Bob Dygert
dygert@ sprynet.com
SMoppert
home with the armrest I read the directions and discovered that the glue used
for it was
" permanent". I thought it was something I could remove when I chose to. I
returned it to the music store and got a refund. Perhaps they have changed the
adhesive since then, but I would make sure that it is removable if I were you.
Steve
Paul Williams
Lowden guitar and has asked for comments.
Bob,
I attached an ebony John Pearse armrest to my Taylor 412 and it
improved the bass response enough that I decided to leave it on despite
following two annoyances:
1. It looks kind of orthopedic - which is O.K., the improvement in tone
is more important and I am slowly developing an appreciation for the
"new look",
2. It is ever so slightly uncomfortable - it does its job keeping your
arm off the guitar's top but, in my case, it presses on a nerve, or a
blood vessle, or something that forces me to shake my arm out every so
often to ward off numbness. I am also adapting to this, its just a
little annoying though and it's interesting to me that no one else in
the group has commented on this aspect of the John Pearse arm rest - it
marginally decreases playing comfort.
Paul Williams
Daniel Nestlerode
2. It is ever so slightly uncomfortable - it does its job keeping yourarm
off the guitar's top but, in my case, it presses on a nerve, or ablood
ward off numbness. I am also adapting to this, its just alittle annoying
though and it's interesting to me that no one else inthe group has
commented on this aspect of the John Pearse arm rest - itmarginally
decreases playing comfort.
I actually installed one on my Guild because the Guild is a 1/4" more
shallow than my Alvarez-Yairi 12-string. The shallowness was uncomfortable
on my forearm, the edge of the guitar was digging in too much. I put an
armrest on it and Bingo! no more discomfort.
The bass response of my Guild also improved.
Daniel
--
To reply, simply remove the "nospam." from my address
Dael Copeland
past Sunday and noticed that Watson had an armrest on his Olson. If he
uses one that should tell you something.
Dael Copeland
John
guitarist use one, nor any of the jazz guitarists I've seen. Maybe that
tells you more.
BTW, I like Doc Watson a lot, but he's not the last word on acoustic guitar.
Dael Copeland wrote in message <36372FDD...@nfis.com>...
George C. Kaschner
Dael Copeland wrote:
> I attended a Doc Watson/David Grisman concert in Owings Mills, MD, this
> past Sunday and noticed that Watson had an armrest on his Olson. If he
> uses one that should tell you something.
Yes, it tells me that Doc is as susceptible to switching guitars as the
next person! What happened to his Gallagher(s) and the SCGC?
Go for the tone,
George
Dan Bynum
never regretted it. Not only did the bass increase, the increase in overall
sustain was significant.
Dan Bynum
"If life were easy, everybody would be doing it."
Robert Dygert <dyg...@sprynet.com> wrote in message
7156rg$6bd$1...@lore.eur.sprynet.com...
tox...@my-dejanews.com
NO NO NO, I was at the same concert in Owings Mills last Sunday and Doc was
definitely playing a Gallagher! From a distance the G on the headstock may
have looked like an O but from my position and with binoculars it was a G.
Doc is still a Gallagher man.
Michael H
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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George C. Kaschner
tox...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> In article <36375BCA...@Juno.com>,
> "George C. Kaschner" <GeoK...@Juno.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Dael Copeland wrote:
> >
> > > I attended a Doc Watson/David Grisman concert in Owings Mills, MD, this
> > > past Sunday and noticed that Watson had an armrest on his Olson. If he
> > > uses one that should tell you something.
> >
> > Yes, it tells me that Doc is as susceptible to switching guitars as the
> > next person! What happened to his Gallagher(s) and the SCGC?
> NO NO NO, I was at the same concert in Owings Mills last Sunday and Doc was
> definitely playing a Gallagher! From a distance the G on the headstock may
> have looked like an O but from my position and with binoculars it was a G.
> Doc is still a Gallagher man.
Whew! Thanks for clearing up that bit of mis-information. I can accept Doc
playing a SCGC prototype made expressly for him but I cannot reconcile him
playing an Olson. Nothing against Olson, mind you, it's just a whole 'nother
sonic pallette than what Doc usually paints with.
Go for the tone (and note the high correlation of "Good Tone" with guitars that
have a "G" on the headstock), ;)
George
Hojo2X
but for the Triple O sized guitars I favor I find them essential for bringing
out the low end as completely as possible.
They are now available in solid wood as well as the black plastic. I have an
ebony one on my 000-42 and a boxwood one on my Blueridge mahogany dreadnought.
They make a rosewood version, as well.
Wade Hampton Miller
SMoppert
Uhhh... could you mean Global?
Steve
Gary Chvatal
>I'm considering attaching a John Pearse armrest to my Lowden guitar.
>Has anyone tried this?
I recently bought two. An ebony and a rosewood. I'm planning on trying
them but have not worked up the courage to actually stick them on yet.
One concern is the adhesive. It looks like a two sided tape but I
haven't stuck it yet 'cause I want to be able to get it off if I don't
like it.
Secondly....is it doesn't fit the curve of the guitar perfectly. If I
wiggle it far enough that the ends are flush...then I can see some
binding around the middle of the armrest. If I make the middle flush
to the edge of the guitar....the ends don't look right....
Maybe I'm just being too particular....
---------
Gary Chvatal
remove xyz to respond via e-mail
Jim Myers
xyzgc...@compuserve.com (Gary Chvatal) wrote:
>I recently bought two. An ebony and a rosewood. I'm planning on trying
>them but have not worked up the courage to actually stick them on yet.
>
>One concern is the adhesive. It looks like a two sided tape but I
>haven't stuck it yet 'cause I want to be able to get it off if I don't
>like it.
That adhesive is _really_ strong, but I have managed to get a JP armrest off
by very carefully working one end loose first. It doesn't stick quite so
doggedly the second time, but still works.
>Secondly....is it doesn't fit the curve of the guitar perfectly. If I
>wiggle it far enough that the ends are flush...then I can see some
>binding around the middle of the armrest. If I make the middle flush
>to the edge of the guitar....the ends don't look right....
The "complex curve" of the armrest is supposed to fit many guitars, but it
doesn't fit all. It's not too hard to shape the outer edge of the wooden
armrest to better match your guitar's curvature. Be careful not to file/sand
away too much of the outer attachment lip. You'll want to peel the adhesive
strip away from the armrest to work on it. I kept the strip in the backing
sheet from some peel&stick labels while I shaped the armrest to my liking.
>Maybe I'm just being too particular....
No, no. Hey, it's your guitar, and you wanna treat it right. I ended up
sawing off the straighter part of the armrest, which most poorly matched the
curve of my guitar, and shaping the remaining part to a fairly close match.
It's not perfect, but it's pretty good, and I think the smaller armrest looks
less jarring.
And it really does open up the sound of my guitar. I like it!
Uncle Jimmypie
AKA Jim Myers
johnp...@my-dejanews.com
We have always recommended that folks do not remove our armrests since, as
with anything that uses an adhesive, there is always some likelihood, no
matter how slight, that minor lacquer damage could occur.That's why we use
the word "permanent" in connection with the use of the armrest. The adhesive
we use, however, was developed to be non-injurious to lacquer and was tested
by us with every type of instrument finish for upwards of a year before we
introduced the armrests to the market. In no instance was there any damage to
the finish. Like anything that blocks the passage of light to the spruce,
however, if you do remove the armrest after it has been in place for a
protracted period of time, you may notice that the area it occluded may be
slightly lighter than the surrounding area, where the sunlight has converted
the sugars in the wood fibres. However I am at a loss to understand just why
you would want to remove a device that adds so much to the tonal response of
your guitar??????
If you DO decide that you want to remove the armrest, the procedure is very
simple.
Don't, whatever you do, try what one guy told us he did. He grabbed ahold of
it and yanked it hard....and pulled the top right off his guitar!
Just get a single-sided razor-blade and CAREFULLY insert the edge of the
blade between the armrest and the adhesive pad. GENTLY move the blade along
the armrest until it separates from the adhesive. Using a fingernail, GENTLY
lift up one end of the adhesive pad from the surface of the guitar.....then
GENTLY roll the pad up, using your thumb, until it detaches completely from
the soundboard.
Simple?....and a lot kinder to the guitar!
If you want to reuse the armrest on another guitar, just contact Breezy Ridge
Instruments Ltd. on 1 800 235 3302 and request a replacement strip of the
adhesive.
Heck! The armrests are so reasonably priced (even the handmade exotic wood
ones!) that you can afford to leave it on your guitar....and buy others for
all the guitars in your collection!
John Pearse.
Jim Ellis
dryer on the arm rest for a couple of minutes before you do John's removal
procedure. If nothing else, it'll make you think about it for a while, and
maybe determine that the thing DOES sound a lot better with it on.
I can't think of any reason to take mine off. . .
Jim
SMoppert
Thanks for your reply to my question about your armrest. As to your question,"I
am at a loss to understand just why you would want to remove a device that adds
One, resale, when I get ready to sell my guitar the new, prospective buyer may
not want it. Two, esthetics, I may decide I would rather have my guitar
unaddorned with an armrest. Three, I haven't played a guitar with an armrest
and might decide I just don't want one, or might prefer one with an exotic
wood. Using a razor blade, even carefully applied, to peel off the armrest is
more risk than I prefer to try on my guitar.
I have no doubt that your armrest improves the tone of any guitar it is used
on.
Steve
Ralph 'Bug' Glaser
have only seen the plastic ones.
pax,
Ralph
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David Martel
There are various shapes of armrest that may be permanently attached to
the face of a guitar. You can find templates on this page:
http://www.jpstrings.com/armrest.htm
Since your guitar is not a flat top I'd suggest writing to Customer
Service and ask for their advice.
Dave M.