acoustic guitar question

i want to start playing an acoustic guitar, but i dont know anything about a good make or model. i have a grand saved up. so whats a good quality brand of guitar? i dont want to buy a cheap peice of crap. i want an instrument that produces beautiful sound. so whats a good model? what should i look for? what should i avoid? i need some good advice

 

acoustic or classical? specify a bit better
my best acoustic is a fender semi - it cost £450
my best classical is a rodriguez c - it cost £550
aside from that, anything you can afford with a grand will be good really

 

takamine and ovation are good brands i have a takamine dreadnought and i love it

 

my buddy bought a washburn. i never heard of washburn guitars before but it deffinitl;y produces the most beautiful and vibrant sound i have ever heard. i think he spent like 600-800 on it.

 

careful, dont fork out too much mulah at the beginning... ive seen plenty of people spend a grand on acoustic guitars and then quit 5 weeks into it... so dont spend more than 500 but dont spend less than 200

 

I DEFINITELY AGREE!!! I've seen a lot of kickass guitars go to complete waste in just a few short weeks. Don't make this mistake. There are plenty of good guitars out there that don't cost nearly a grand! It's all about the sound. Go to a bunch of guitar shops and just play them all! You'll find one that you like. I guarantee it!

 

Martin 15 series, hands down.

You won't have to worry about a price drop in re-sale value... it's a Martin. Lifetime warranty... they have the best damn warranty there is in the guitar Market. I own two D-35s and a Martin Backpacker...

Eh, I'm not too fond of Taylors, but if you want a less warm and a more thin cutting sound, buy a Taylor 14 series.

Fender, Takamines, Washburns, and Ovations are a no-no, in my house... They're good guitars, but if you want the best bang for the buck, take my word for it. I also advise you to look into the Larrivee 03 series and the Larrivee parlor series. The new Larrivees parlor series guitars are gloss finished, as opposed to the old ones which were satin.

You'll probably have to spend $700 at the most, case included, if you buy new, but I wouldn't worry. If you're not sure if you want to stick with it, buy used and you'll get more value. You also may want to look into the Martin 1 series guitars. If you can find a good deal on a used Martin 16 series, that'd be the best to shoot for. I wouldn't buy off of ebay if you're not experienced but if you do decide to go there and take a look at anything or if you have any questions, I'd be glad to help you. Anything to get someone started at guitar.

All of the above mentioned guitars with the exception of the Larrivee 03 series and the parlor series and of course, Ovations, Washburns, Takamines, and Fenders (though Larrivees are made in the canadian Larrivee factory in its hometown of Vancouver, BC, Canada... the rest are kinda on the low quality side) are made in the United States. The Rodriguez guitars are made in Madrid, Spain, but I still wouldn't buy and acoustic that's owned by Fender, with the exception of the pre-fender Tacomas and Guild 12 strings. The Martins are made in Pennsylvania... the company was founded in 1833 and is the oldest mass-production guitar manufacturer in the united states and still belongs to the Martin family (Chris Martin IV being the current CEO). Taylor, I am not fond of. I do not like Bob Taylor at all. I've met Chris Martin on a factory tour and he's a cool guy... he's really liberal when it comes to things and treats his workers and customers as if they were family... although I shouldn't purchase based on politics, I just like his hospitality. Bob Taylor supposedly fired a luthier for his political beliefs and "moral values", or so I've heard...stupid republican... Jean Larrivee is one of the oldest and the most respected luthier in Canada.

Now for a classical nylon string guitars... if you have enough, I'd buy a used lower priced Ramirez or a possibly, a used Taylor... but these would be in the upper scale. Rodriguez is pretty good, but I still don't agree with Fenders building meterials, from a tech/luthier point of view. Hate to be a gear snob, but overpriced laminate nato and agathis won't cut it with me.

 

From this point of view, I'd look into any guitarmakers owned by Godin.... Seagull, Art & Lutherie, Norman, Simon & Patrick... etc. All made in Canada. I'd also look into Garrison guitars. They're also a Canadian brand.

Oh, and there are three companies I'll make an exception for. The Yairi (Kazuo Yairi) handmade series that is owned by Alvarez. These guitars are handmade in Japan and are excellent. Much moreso than Alvarez, themseves, which are more typical mass-produced asian guitars.

I'll make two exceptions for mass-produced asian guitars... Blueridge guitars. The company was started by ex-luthiers from Martin. These guitars are the best Chinese guitars you'll ever see. I'll also make an exception for Carvin guitars... the Carvin Cobalt series is what I would look at, from them. Made in Korea, if I can recall, but they're excellent. They also make kickass guitar amplifiers, too. Billy Gibbons, Steve Vai, Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit....etc. They all use Carvin gear. They have an online site where you can purchase, and all. You can also buy parts and things. They have some pretty good after market stuff, but if I was looking into aftermarket stuff (off topic) I'd look into Stew-Mac. http://www.carvin.com

 

thank you everbody for your advice. i havent got a guitar yet, or decided on one specifically yet, but i will let you know when i do. i hope to get one the start of next week. also, any tips on WHERE i can find a nice product? there is only a guitar center around here and people say bad things about it. maybe ebay? thanks again for your advice!

 

NEVER buy from guitar center. Way too commercial, and the employees are the same usual whackjobs working at your local mcdonalds and don't know shit about guitars. Especially acoustics. They don't even know how to use a fucking hygrometer or a dampit humidifier... nor do they even worry about your average conventional humidifier.

That's another thing, you're going to want to ask for a "dampit" soundhole humidifier, so your guitar won't crack in dry air kinda times like winter.

First of all, where do you live? I know a lot of pretty good guitar shops in the United States... and if there isn't one I know of around your area, I can always look them up or ask a friend about their reputation, as I know a lot of other guitar players and such throughout the internet and on other forums... also, what's the distance you'll be willing to travel...

I can assure you that the minute you walk into that guitar center, if you go there, they'll try to sell you some bullshit talk and charge you $200 for some fake insurance coverage (most good guitars already have factory lifetimes warranties if they're unregistered/new) and they'll try to charge extra for the case (most good guitars come with cases from the manufacturer). You can also look around on ebay and if anything looks appealing, post it here and I'll be sure to give it a look or give more of an in-depth disection/analysis on it... as usual.

 

The seagull s60, cedar top. Bought one in LA in '97, having tried Martins and Gibsons costing thousands of bucks. It's performance/sound per $ is nothing short of amazing.

 

Yeah... the Seagulls are really nice... and I know a lot of non-us people and people in England value them as you pay big dollars for most US guitars there ...

 

my ovation cost me $300, worth every damn penny, and more

 

The best advice I can give to you is to find a friend who plays guitar and knows their stuff. Take them to a guitar shop with you, and see what they have to say.

I got myself a lovely simon & patrick cedar-fronted baby. I didn't pick it because of the name on the headstock. I picke dit because I played pretty much every guitar in the shop, and that was the one which i liked the most.

 

Said it before, and here it is again....BLUERIDGE, without a doubt the best bang for the buck. Other than that Orsino is right, personally I'd get a Martin 000-15S, actually I've already got one haha. I'd stay away from Taylor, they have been having some QC issues.

You might sign up at some various Guitar forums to get quite a bit more adviced from some more experienced people. (not harmony central!)

 

I have a Tacoma and I absolutly love it. Personally I would stick with American made instruments but thats just me. Tacomas are generally pretty expensive, I think I forked out 1000+ for mine but you can find some cheaper ones.

 

I like Harmony Central... just stay away from open jam... and there's a lot of idiots there.. haha, but they're fun to mess with. I was banned from there... I miss kefka and tweedbucket.

But... try places like the UMGF... and I used to be a friend of the founder of the tacoma forum... haven't been there in a while. The Acoustic Guitar forum is the former taylor forum.. I stay away from there. ick.

 

Another great guitar for just under $1000 is the Martin Smartwood (SWD) guitar. The guitar is all solid wood and environmentally friendly to boot!

 

oooooh yes... I forgot to mention that wood... I think it's a part of the 16 series spinoff.

 

I'm shopping around for a guitar too, and I gotta say that there is alot of name dropping. But from what I take it the best way to purchase a guitar is to go to the store and sit down and play all of them until you find the guitar that best fits you and sounds the best to you. I'm heading to Legends music in Pickering Ontario tonite and I hope I fall in love tonite with a guitar that takes me to the next level.