Acoustic Guitars

[MoeFOH]

Who plays? Guitars you own? 

In the market for a new one, and while I realise the selection criteria is subjective, I'd still love to know your experience and recommendations, etc... 

I'm not a serious player, just casual at home, catch-up with mates, etc, but still like to have nice gear... especially in an acoustic. 

Looking at Taylor, Martin, and Guild in particular. American made, if my budget will stretch. Though I believe the Taylor and Martin Mexican made are pretty good quality, these days... ??

Please post any advice / pics of your guitars (if happy to).

Any help appreciated! 

[JohnS]

If money is no hindrance, I wouldn't think twice of about getting a Martin D-28 (it's the same acoustic guitar that John Lennon and Paul McCartney played at the end of the Beatles' tenure as a band).

However, for quality and value for money, I would highly recommend a Cole Clark acoustic guitar. They are based out of Melbourne, Australia. Excellent guitars.

Maton is another Australian company that make great acoustic guitars, albeit they tend to be more expensive than Cole Clark.

If you were able to hunt down an early-80s Takamine 'lawsuit' acoustic guitar then you would've hit the jackpot. Martin sued the Japanese Company, Takamine, in the eighties, because they copied their Martin D-28 acoustic guitar so well that it's practically impossible to tell the difference with the real thing (i.e. the Martin D-28)!

[SigmundChurchill]

1 hour ago, MoeFOH said:

Who plays? Guitars you own? 

In the market for a new one, and while I realise the selection criteria is subjective, I'd still love to know your experience and recommendations, etc... 

I'm not a serious player, just casual at home, catch-up with mates, etc, but still like to have nice gear... especially in an acoustic. 

Looking at Taylor, Martin, and Guild in particular. American made, if my budget will stretch. Though I believe the Taylor and Martin Mexican made are pretty good quality, these days... ??

Please post any advice / pics of your guitars (if happy to).

Any help appreciated! 

My only serious acoustic is my Martin D-42.  The thing resonates like a Steinway grand piano.  When I bought it about 15 years ago, it was between that, and a "high end" Taylor dreadnought, but it was really no contest.

There are people who are obsessed with Taylors though, so you have to pick what's best for you.  Takamine makes some great sounding guitars too.  Garcia loved his Takamine, which to me, says a lot.  You've got to like not only the sound, but the feel of the guitar while playing it, and the only way to do that is by getting your hands on the guitars and playing them.

Here is a pic of my D42.

 

 

 

[Ford2112]

I have a Seagull Guitar I got for 300 bucks and it sounds amazing for what it is. Hand crafted all wood,killer sound. They are made by Godin guitars. 

My friend has some Guild acoustics that sound amazing. I played my friend's Taylor once and I sounded great on it lol.

My only advice is to play before you buy. Many good instruments that you don't need to break the bank for that are good. I would probably not drop thousands on a guitar as a beginner. Ymmv.

Good luck in your search.

[Bords]

I’ve been through many, many over the years and was a high end dealer for about 10 years. I sold one last year that funded a full year of my son’s college tuition, it was a to die for Martin OM45 replica built by a very in demand luthier.

To ease the pain of that sale, I bought a Gibson custom shop Historic SJ-200 that I really love at 1/12 the cost of the OM45 replica. I would highly recommend something from the Gibson custom shop Historic line or the Martin Authentic line. I’ve been a hand built solo luthier snob but have really been impressed by guitars from these two lines. Both use traditional build techniques like hot hide glue and have torrefied tops which give the tone a more vintage flavor.

Might seem excessive for a casual player but I say you only live once and kicking back with a great guitar is one of life’s great pleasures. If those are too far out of budget, Iris guitars are great bang for the buck instruments.


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[MoeFOH]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

If money is no hindrance

Sadly, John, it is. Lol. But there are Martin's et al in the realms of possibility. Basically, I'm an intermediate level player who wants something probably a tier or two above what my capabilities warrant. That said, not averse to a "lesser" make/model if the thing really sings.

Haven't picked up a Cole Clark, but will keep an eye out locally. Cheers. 

[MoeFOH]

1 hour ago, SigmundChurchill said:

My only serious acoustic is my Martin D-42.  The thing resonates like a Steinway grand piano.  When I bought it about 15 years ago, it was between that, and a "high end" Taylor dreadnought, but it was really no contest.

There are people who are obsessed with Taylors though, so you have to pick what's best for you.

Gorgeous D42! Not sure it gets much better than that. Thanks for posting the pics! 

I've picked up a few Taylor's recently in-store, and have to say I was pretty impressed with the playability and tone. They're probably the front-runner, at the moment. 

[MoeFOH]

1 hour ago, Ford2112 said:

My friend has some Guild acoustics that sound amazing

Very interested in these. The F40 model in particular. But not that easy to locate here, unfortunately. 

[MoeFOH]

38 minutes ago, Bords said:

Might seem excessive for a casual player but I say you only live once and kicking back with a great guitar is one of life’s great pleasures

This is 100% my philosophy behind this purchase! Don't want to go way over the top, but I certainly want to dip my beak into the realm of excessiveness. 

[SCgarman]

I currently have a Gibson Les Paul, but would also love to have a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic in cherry sunburst finish. Really nice guitar, and I really would prefer a nitrocellulose lacquer finish over anything else due to how they resonate and age.

[hrs1]

Went through a similar exercise awhile ago and landed on a Taylor. The playability & tone were big factors for me as well.  

[Ford2112]

My lowly gear. Sold my Les Paul and Marshall. Now I have a Roland Cube, Dinky Jackson and my Seagull. I do plan on grabbing my friends SG off him though.  Gotta riff out!

[BoliDan]

Any recommendations for a nylon string?  Im a finger plucker/hammer and hate picks.  I'm just looking for something decent in the $1200 usd range.

[Chas.Alpha]

Al Di apparently had a heart attack at a show this past week. Just a reminder of how precious y’all are to me…🤔

❤️

[TomCC55]

I have an Ibanez acoustic which plays phenomenally! But I would also recommend to try out some electrics… It is such a different feel and more noise. PRS is a very good make.


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[rcarlson]

On 9/29/2023 at 10:22 PM, SigmundChurchill said:

My only serious acoustic is my Martin D-42.  The thing resonates like a Steinway grand piano.  When I bought it about 15 years ago, it was between that, and a "high end" Taylor dreadnought, but it was really no contest.

There are people who are obsessed with Taylors though, so you have to pick what's best for you.  Takamine makes some great sounding guitars too.  Garcia loved his Takamine, which to me, says a lot.  You've got to like not only the sound, but the feel of the guitar while playing it, and the only way to do that is by getting your hands on the guitars and playing them.

Here is a pic of my D42.

Very nice.  

[Ford2112]

I've played a few nice Ovation guitars as well. 

[SigmundChurchill]

On 10/1/2023 at 8:11 AM, Ford2112 said:

My lowly gear. Sold my Les Paul and Marshall. Now I have a Roland Cube, Dinky Jackson and my Seagull. I do plan on grabbing my friends SG off him though.  Gotta riff out!

Seagull makes a great sounding guitar. I was messing around with a little one in a guitar shop and was so impressed with the sound that I bought it as a travel guitar. I can't for the life of me remember the model, but in this pic, it is the guitar hanging in the left corner of the room.

[Ford2112]

1 hour ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Seagull makes a great sounding guitar. I was messing around with a little one in a guitar shop and was so impressed with the sound that I bought it as a travel guitar. I can't for the life of me remember the model, but in this pic, it is the guitar hanging in the left corner of the room.

Everyone who picks up my guitar is blown away by its tone and playability. Digging that little Orange .

[SigmundChurchill]

43 minutes ago, Ford2112 said:

Everyone who picks up my guitar is blown away by its tone and playability. Digging that little Orange .

Yeah, it's a great little amp. Its got a "Fat Mode" switch, which is basically on all the time when I use it. Pairs great with the Les Paul.

[Ford2112]

Nice! 

[loose_axle]

I’ve a tangle wood acoustic electric that is beautiful and plays well above its $400 price tag (16 years ago that is). Have had epiphone acoustics (awesome sound but neck like a baseball bat) and have used Cort, Ibanez and Maton over the years and would rate them all highly. The Maton was like an acoustic guitar that was as effortless as an electric. 

[ayedfy]

On 9/30/2023 at 12:34 PM, Ford2112 said:

My only advice is to play before you buy. Many good instruments that you don't need to break the bank for that are good. I would probably not drop thousands on a guitar as a beginner.

This cannot be overstated.

I was once in a recording studio and they had a cheap $80 nylon string guitar usually given to beginner school students in a classroom setting. But this played and sounded better than some $800+ name brand guitars I've played.

Apparently the bloke had a friend in a music shop who received a shipment of 50+ guitars and invited him in to play them before they made it to the shop floor. He played every single one and walked away with the one he liked most. Incredible amount of variation in the one shipment from the same brand out of the same factory.

[Ford2112]

57 minutes ago, ayedfy said:

 Incredible amount of variation in the one shipment from the same brand out of the same factory.

Why does this sound familiar? 🤣

[dangarneau]

On 9/29/2023 at 7:50 PM, MoeFOH said:

Who plays? Guitars you own? 

In the market for a new one, and while I realise the selection criteria is subjective, I'd still love to know your experience and recommendations, etc... 

I'm not a serious player, just casual at home, catch-up with mates, etc, but still like to have nice gear... especially in an acoustic. 

Looking at Taylor, Martin, and Guild in particular. American made, if my budget will stretch. Though I believe the Taylor and Martin Mexican made are pretty good quality, these days... ??

Please post any advice / pics of your guitars (if happy to).

Any help appreciated! 

Just throwing in my two cents here...but I love Breedlove. It was started by a luthier who left Taylor to start his own company. They are gorgeous, well-built in Oregon, and sound and play amazing. And best of all they have a great range of guitars to fit any budget. I own two.

https://breedlovemusic.com/instruments/acoustic-guitars