🎸 Your guitar, and how you found it

Michael Dunn from 1971 -- bought it new on advice of teacher who was playing one.  He is a Canadian luthier who now specializes in Selmer type guitars with internal resonators for Jazz but back then he was making "classical" styles.  It has a dark cedar top and a strong sound.  I played seriously back then -- but went away from guitar completely for about 35 years and returned about 2 years ago it did not "all come back"  so not quite like starting from scratch but almost.  The guitar is still lovely and nicely balanced and I've been told it has beautiful tone.

Always have used Savarez strings, tried others but they sound muddy.  Shocking how much difference strings make.

If I could change something it would be it's scale.   A 640 would fit me better and probably will get one but will keep this one as it has sentimental value.

Right now, I'm playing a used 2019 Yulong Guo Chamber Concert.

I've owned five guitars over the years, each outlining a different chapter of my life.

My first was a cheap Aria classical with sky-high action and a thin sound. I still managed to get accepted into the conservatoire with it. I had to borrow someone else's guitar for the actual audition because mine was that bad :)

My second was my first good instrument: a Yamaha Grand Concert. It was an excellent factory-made guitar, bought with money saved from a cleaning job. I eventually stopped playing as my progress stalled in the mid-90s. Every time I tried to play, it didn't feel right; I was still dealing with leftover emotional baggage from the conservatoire. Around 2015, I lent it on long-term loan to my daughter's friend, who loved how it sounded. A good instrument shouldn't collect dust, and I was ready to let go of that era.

Next, I tried transitioning into popular music with an electric guitar, but I lacked the bandwidth to commit, so I parked music for a while again.

A couple of years ago, with more time on my hands, I bought a Godin nylon-string acoustic. It played easily, even if it sounded a bit thin. Gradually, classical music crept back in, and playing it finally felt as joyful as when I first began. A year ago, I sold the electric and the Godin to get the Yulong Guo. Currently, I'm working on the RCM Level 10 repertoire.

I'm still figuring out the strings, and the action could probably be lowered a touch, but it's a real treat to play; I've never owned an instrument of this quality before.

I doubt this will be my final guitar. There are far more affordable, high-quality luthier instruments around today than there were back in the 90s.

I play a double-top cedar guitar by Johannes Kitselis, that I bought used but in great condition. It has a warm and powerful sound at the same time, with great sustain. I typically use Aquila Ambra 800 strings, I really like how they sound.

Like someone else here, I too play the Yulong Guo Chamber Concert double-top (cedar/Nomex/cedar with lattice bracing) model.

The Yulong Guo is more than I deserve. I like a guitar that can be played loud, soft and anywhere in between. The chamber concert model is that guitar for me! I play with medium/high tension Knobloch strings on the Guo, and RJ 45's on my practice guitar. I find that those strings sound the best for each guitar.

I tried swapping strings and the guitars suffered from lack of clarity and sustain. Yes, the strings make a big difference so try something and don't be afraid of the process!

If I could change one thing about my guitar, it would be the piano. I think a guitar that can play soft and quiet yet still sing is something I would like to experience along with the great tone and volume of the Chamber Concert.