What acoustic guitar to buy?

bke

bke

Inspired
Hi,

Have owned and played electric guitars since forever. Never really spent time on acoustics but getting an itch that i need to scratch.

Now whilst i know lots about strat's and les pauls etc, i realised i know very little about acoustic guitars, or where to start.. would love some suggestions -

considerations
1. Ive pretty big hands, not quite shovels but thicker fingers vs long dexterous shredder fingers
2. Im not looking for really high end, more something id be happy to pull out at a party and enjoy vs being worried if i accidentally scratch (i take good care of my guitars so not looking for something id be ok to wreck either)
3. I don't play out, and my music room is quit small so don't need something that has a huge sound
4. Looking for something with a good balanced sound thats good from strumming, finger style and even a few licks when called for,
5. No specific budget as such, but reasonable for what im looking for... hobbyist, I like quality and am ok to pay for it, but not a collector...

basically i guess a middle of the road, jack of all trades type..

I live in Ireland so would need to be generally available -
I do plan on going to one of my local stores to spend some time with different guitars to try myslef but would appreciate any suggestions to help me on my way,

Thanks
 
I bought a couple of Takamine (6 and 12 strings) and I'm very very happy of the quality and sound. I changed the piezo pu and preamp of the 6 strings because I prefer the Fishman but the "acoustic" sound is very good.
 
Carvin Cobalt series Acoustic's are a great bang for the buck, the are no longer made but you can find them used between $3-500 and are very comfortable to play even if you have large hands as I do!
 
Greetings,

Though I've got an awesome old Martin (factory 2nd) HD-2852 since the mid-1980s, I've been itching for another six-string acoustic with a cutaway and good electronics. After years of putting that off, I very recently picked up this D'Angelico Premier Gramercy model during a Musician's Friend "Stupid Deal of the Day" that knocked off $200:

https://dangelicoguitars.com/guitars/premier-series/premier-gramercy/#DAPG200VSBCP

After tightening the truss rod a little and breaking in the strings for a few days, it turned out to be an incredible acoustic guitar for only (US) $299. The Fishman pickup/preamp sounds fantastic as well. The string spacing is a hair on the close side, though, so it may not be optimal for someone with really thick fingers.

I try not to buy guitars without playing them first, but the deal was great and the few reviews I could find quite positive. It turned out to be an incredible axe, though, especially for that price. (It's really quite beautiful in person too.)

Cheers,


Alan
 
A trip to the local music store would be a good idea. As mentioned, I have a Takamine as my "knock around" guitar. I bought it around 1995. It has held up great over the years. It has a very nice woody tone. Even though I have higher end guitars (Martin and Taylor) I actually find I love the sound of the Tak so I have recorded it quite often. It did not break the bank buying it.
 
I have Gibson's, Taylor's and Takamine's in my stable. Obviously, you can't go wrong with any of these brands. I'm currently rehearsing with an amplified acoustic group and, after a few sessions, I chose my ancient Takamine Santa Fe's from the 1990's. They sounded best and were easiest on my hands.

I've also recently demo'ed a couple of Maton's and was very impressed. The Tommy E model was one of the nicest I've played.
 
Seagull would be worth playing. You can get a solid wood guitar for around $500 or so. I plan on getting a seagull mahogany/cedar combo to complement my taylor rosewood/spruce.

The seagulls sound great and since they are solid wood only get better with age!
 
I have a few acoustic. Yamaha AC3R, Taylor 314CE, Martin D35.

The Taylor gets the most playing time. It's great for everything. I do mostly fingerstyle playing on it. The string spacing is a little wider than the others so that makes it better for fingerstyle playing. For your requirements, I'd recommend the 314CE.

The Yahama is a nice overall guitar. The neck is very comfortable with rolled edges. It has an unfinished sort of feel... almost like composite decking. Only complaint about it is the bevel on the fret ends is rather shallow and as a result strings tend to slip over the edge when playing something like a G chord.

The Martin is a good strummer & picker, but not a good fingerstyler. Sounds is huge and full.
 
dpeterson said:
Taylor is hard to beat... playability, sound, etc. I bought a used 114ce, in their lower line, and it plays as good as their big dollar stuff and i'm not afraid to play it.
Click to expand...

Couldn’t agree more. I got a 214ce about 10 years ago and it is just a joy to play. I remember I was going back and forth with the 214ce and 314ce and while the 314ce had some nicer features, it was over $700 more. It’s as though Taylor did too good a job with the “low end” 100 and 200 models.

I have my acoustic for life. No need for another one.
 
Acoustics are definitely something you need to play before buying in my opinion. I think you've just got to go around as many shops as you can and get hands on.

If your part of Ireland is like my part of Ireland then the past decade has wiped out a lot of retailers (or those that have survived have forgone quality in place of affordability) so the choices are somewhat limited to what you can find hanging on walls. Guitar with even a basic setup to play nice to potential buyers seems a thing of the past in most places now though.

I ended up getting a Seagull and then later a Faith (cutaway) from local(ish) stores ..... probably the latter being bought 10 or 11 years ago though. Both were mid range priced and sounded/felt good to play.

Mid range Taks and Taylors generally come with a good degree of quality .... from what I've plucked from a shop wall in the last few years to plonk with, the Taylors were interesting.

Used from online local classified ads sites also sometimes brings up decent stuff .... and you get to go try before you buy.
 
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