Guitar players - a question

[KitchenWitch]

What is a good brand for a steel stringed acoustic guitar?

[WCGreen]

1. how much do you want to spend

And how much hav you learned....

[KitchenWitch]

2. It is not for me but for my 14 year old son

He is incredible (self taught). Has a classical and two electrics (one cheapy Strat copy and one Gibson SG Special Faded).

[WCGreen]

3. Then I would suggest looking at Ovations....

They are sturdy, dependable and sound wonderfull..

And they dn't fight back atcha when you are trying to play them

[bertha katzenengel]

11. If he's that good, and if you can afford it, get him one of the best.

Martin. They have hundreds of models - browse on line. Very wide price range. Least expensive brand-new Martin I've seen is $650 (that was on eBay).

Also good are Gibson, Takamine, Yamaha.

WC suggests Ovation: I've never played one but I've heard they're good.

:hi:

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. Washburn.

Some good guitars that are sanely priced.

[Reverend_Smitty]

14. I second that opinion

I've had my Washburn now for about 10 years and I love it. I think I got it on sale for about $400. I also own a Fender acoustic-electric which is also a very good guitar which cost me somewhere in the range of $400-500. It had the added benefit of having a pickup so you could plug it right into an amp.

[dbt]

5. Takamine is a reliable brand.

Most of their "acoustics" have decent pickup systems as well. Nice action.

[DrDan]

6. depends on how much you would lie to spend

under a thousand - check out the Blue Ridge series

under 2K - then look at Martin, Gallagher, several other smaller companies making great guitars around this price

Take a look at gbase.com to get a feel for used prices - hundreds of guitars listed hear

or check out Elderly's, Gruhn, Mandolin Brothers, Mass Street Music - several of the best stores - with some very knowledgeable sales help

stay away from Guitar Center (imho)

[punpirate]

7. Depends on if you're starting from scratch...

... and particularly, how big your hands are. Short fingers combined with a guitar with a thick neck may simply discourage you from playing, so you need to find one that's comfortable to you at first.

Body size of the guitar also matters, because that affects the sound projection. If you plan to play for others without assistance from amplification, a bigger body is fairly necessary, but again, if your arms are short, that can be awkward.

That said, the best combination of performance at the lower end of the cost scale that I've found is a Canadian-made guitar called a Seagull (in fact, I have a couple of them for knocking around--the Martin doesn't leave the house much), but their prices have gone up a bit too much to be in the beginner range.

If you're just beginning, my advice is to find a good source for used instruments. Don't put a lot of money into one until you're ready for more guitar. You can find a satisfactory starter instrument for $100-150 used. The other consideration is that steel strings may be what you want, but playing on gut strings would be easier on your fingertips if you're just starting (as an example, I started playing on a cheap--$65--12-string with a cracked neck, forty years ago, and at first, my fingers would be damned near bleeding after playing for forty-five minutes--and I'm a pretty big guy with big hands).

But, for other brands than already mentioned, look for a low-end Alvarez (say, an RD10, which can be had new on sale for around $150). A new Austin AU506 can be had for ~$125 on sale. A new Epiphone AJ-100 can be had for about the same price at discount houses.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.


edit for punctuation.

[flakey_foont]

8. Martin

[Orsino]

9. Yamahas are easy to find, and cheap for the quality you get. n/t

[johnnie]

10. One word

Martin.
If he is that talented, then spend the money and get him the "Holy Grail" of acoustics, Martin. It is a beautifully made guitar, it sounds great and it never loses it's value. I can only dream of owning one.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

12. I agree with Martin...............

they used to be prohibitively expensive, but now Martin makes some "more-affordable", nice models starting as low as $499. However, like anything else, you get what you pay for and the $2500 Martins sound and play far better than the $500 ones.

Witch, go for a Martin. You won't regret it.

[XNASA]

13. If you're budget-minded then I'd recommend Epiphone and Yamaha.

If you want to spend large, then you can't go wrong with a Martin.

I'm an Epiphone fan myself, although my main acoustic is a Yamaha.

[Redstone]

15. There are lots of damned good and not too expensive guitars out there;

I would not disagree with ANY of the brands others have mentioned here.

Just make sure of one thing: It's not big deal for an inexpensive guitar to have plywood side, but do NOT buy one with a plywood top; insist on solid spruce (or cedar if youlike the tone that produces) for the top. You can tell if the top is plywood by looking at the sides of the soundhole.

A plywood top is indeed stronger than a solid top, but the glue and the fact that the layers of wood run cross-grain to each other really smothers the tone.

Whatever you guy, be sure to spend whatever it costs for a good, solid case. Not chipboard.

Redstone

[cleofus1]

16. i'm short and fat and have short chubby fingers

and little crocodile arms...

but the way to go is jumbo...
either a Martin for a pricey but exquisite sound...
or an Epiphone (gibson lo end imprint) for an affordable performance level guitar...

don't buy a cheap (150$) guitar...you will only regret it in the long run...make sure it has a solid top...and can't go wrong...

[jpgray]

17. Second XNASA on the Yamaha

But I would also recommend looking at Larivee if you're going for a new, solid spruce top steel string. Not too pricey and a solid guitar.

[cleofus1]

18. with this guitar your son could rule the universe

a solid mahogany guitar from martin with case is about 800.00 bucks
for this price there is no comparable guitar...it is a work of art not just a musical instrument...



here is a comment by someone who baught this instrument...

"This is by far the best sounding guitar I have ever owned (playing since 1980). I love the warm, balanced tone. Whether I'm strumming furiously, or delicately fingerpicking, this guitar always blesses me. The volume is great too. I can fill up a small church with out any amplification. I will say the non-traditional look had to grow on me at first, but the sound more than made up for it. Now I find that I really like how it looks. Sort of an humble yet instant vintage look to it. I played a D15 yesterday and thought to myself "where's the rest of it". The sound was good, but not as good as my J15 and nowhere near the volume. So far I have only heard one D35 that I liked the sound of as well as my J15. Over the years I have played everything Japanese as well as several Guilds and Taylors. Even my old Guild F50 doesn't do it for me like my J15. I expect to get a second one for open tunings some day, I can't imagine using anything else. I wish Martin offered a J15E without an unsightly cutaway. Since they don't, I put a LRBaggs Ibeam in mine. That too sounds great, but nothing's better than just acoustic in the living room or church. Now hush, we don't want them catching on and raising the price on us do we?"

[cleofus1]

19. on the lower end go the way of so many other immortals

the epiphone...the sound booms out...solid top...it sounds like the guitar you've heard on legendary songs becouse it is the guitar you've heard...