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Post by misterpaul on Feb 9, 2021 20:57:35 GMT
Hi
I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice (please).
Acoustic guitarist of 30 years. Currently have a lovely Tanglewood and a solid Taylor dreadnought. Big birthday coming up so I'm looking at possibly buying a new acoustic. Looking at Taylor or Martin but open to anything really. As I said, top budget £1500. Mainly strumming, occasional picking.
What's good at the moment?
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mandovark
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Post by mandovark on Feb 9, 2021 22:23:52 GMT
Hi misterpaul and welcome to the forum. There's a lot of choice around that price range. You could be looking at some of the higher-end builders who also do some more affordable models. Furch/Stonebridge are worth checking out (they sell under both brand names, but it's the same builders). I've also played some Breedloves that I've liked. Eastman get a lot of good reviews too, though I can't speak from personal experience with those. With your budget, you might also find second-hand guitars by some higher-end builders. It's worth checking out online shops like Glenn's Guitars, as they might have some things in your price range. Happy searching!
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 9, 2021 23:10:47 GMT
Hi misterpaul, and a v warm welcome to you. Hope you'll have fun here. £1500 is a decent budget! You already have a Taylor dread and a (what size?) Tanglewood. My question is are you simply after something that does what your current guitars do, or do you want something that sounds different and may be used for different things/in different situations. I'd second mandovark's suggestion of looking at used guitars - you have 30 years of experience and so would be unlikely to chose a bad 'un, and perhaps could set up your purchase to your requirements? If you are looking at buying untried online thyen do ensure that the vendor has a good returns policy just in case it turns out not to be love at first sight! Good luck with your search - do let us know how you get on! Keith
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Post by bellyshere on Feb 10, 2021 11:45:33 GMT
If I had £1500 burning away in my pocket I would head over to Glenn’s guitars and there’s a nice Brook Teign or that Rob Armstrong.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2021 11:50:39 GMT
Hi misterpaul Do you want/need a pickup? Do you play at home or do you play out? Do you play alone or in with friends or in a band or at church? Is there a particular sound or record or artist that you like and want to imitate? Do you mostly play standing up or on a stool or on the sofa? The more specific can be, the easier it is to find the right guitar for you. And conversely if you're not bothered about those things you only need to find one that feels comfortable and sounds nice, which also makes life easier. £1,500 is a very nice budget to have, especially if you're happy to buy used, but you can only spend it once. So take it bit of time to listen and to try some guitars out. I've bought and sold quite a few guitars in a relatively short time. The one thing I'm sure of is that if you have a guitar you like then you'll want to play it, and if you don't like it then you won't play it. So it's worth taking a bit of time to make sure you get one that you like. Dave
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Post by borborygmus on Feb 10, 2021 13:17:50 GMT
A new guitar is the perfect birthday present! Just to throw some ideas at you, have you thought about a 12 string (interesting for a good strummer)? Or a parlour for curling up with? Or a resonator to get your blues out? Sounds like you have two nice instruments already, why not try something a little different.
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 10, 2021 13:46:02 GMT
Hi borborygmus and a welcome to you too! What a great name - I have spoiled many a recording because of that! Looking forward to hearing more from you. (posts, not gurgles!) Keith
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Post by borborygmus on Feb 10, 2021 13:54:02 GMT
Thanks, Keith. I don't normally have the time to get too heavily involved in these forums, as enjoyable and informative as they are.
BR, Peter
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 11, 2021 14:15:02 GMT
Good suggestions here. But you have a lot of choice. The one thing I would say is to wait a bit until the stores are open again!
This is where the lower end guitars rise up to meet the lower end of the prestiege makers. The Mexican made Martins can surprise. The lower end Gibson are their most consistent guitars.You know all about Taylor. Takermine, Faith and Yamaha can yield good results. Larrivee should never be overlooked as they frequently out perform more expensive guitars in both sound and playability. The new USA built Guilds are certainly worth a look as they have consistentluy surprised me — grat designs and quality control thatthe big boys should be embrassing.
A second hand Brook would also be worth searching for.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2021 14:01:40 GMT
I wonder if we'll ever hear from him again....
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2021 17:08:32 GMT
Good suggestions here. But you have a lot of choice. The one thing I would say is to wait a bit until the stores are open again! This is where the lower end guitars rise up to meet the lower end of the prestiege makers. The Mexican made Martins can surprise. The lower end Gibson are their most consistent guitars.You know all about Taylor. Takermine, Faith and Yamaha can yield good results. Larrivee should never be overlooked as they frequently out perform more expensive guitars in both sound and playability. The new USA built Guilds are certainly worth a look as they have consistentluy surprised me — grat designs and quality control thatthe big boys should be embrassing. A second hand Brook would also be worth searching for. Larrivee look like they've put their new guitar prices up. They're still great guitars though. However I have heard that they need to be played in a fair bit before they give their best and they can go to sleep easily - and that tallies with my experience. My OM3 is a wonderful guitar but it's taken a year to really start to sing. It was nice from the start but the tone it has now is gorgeous and it's really responsive. My LV10 was bought for a studio project and then passed on to someone who didn't like it and didn't play it much. I bought it from him. It's a 2007 guitar but it's not been played much at all (apart from a tiny blemish on the lacquer it's pretty much mint) and (in my inexperienced opinion) is still being played in. It has a lovely tone but it still seems a long way from right or "easy" - if you know what I mean.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 13, 2021 10:28:53 GMT
@lakewoodlad I suspect that simply reflects the quality of Larrivee. Each of the finest guitars I have owned have that quality — they open up and after soem time in the case they need to get going a bit. 'Lesser' guitars may be more stable or more bland depending on your point of view — but guitars like this always strike me as being living things!
I've always thought a Larrivee knocks Martin out of the park for comparitively priced and designed models. There is something in that heritage and sound that is different and I don't think the try and emulate Martin.
The new Guilds strike me as being similar. These have more of a classic American sound but if that is what you want ... For a country blues guitar you would be hard pressed to find anything much better at a comparative price. The range has been overhauled by Ron Ferguson who overhauled Gibson a few years ago. Ferguson created the budget end Gibsons — the modern J35 and J15 which I am always wowed by — far more consistent that the big name models. He seems to have taken that talent into the Guild range. I'd recommend veyrone tries one of the USA built heritage Guilds — when you can of course !!!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2021 12:01:12 GMT
andyhowell That's exactly right. It is a lovely guitar but it does take a bit of getting going. The luthier / restorer who set my guitars up looked at it, said he didn't want to do anything with it because it was fine and solemnly said "do not sell that guitar". I guess that's what he meant. I try not to anthropomorphise my instruments but living thing sometimes doesn't seem like too much of a stretch. And yeah - price wise they are still great value. The entry level 03 series compared with the Taylor / Martin equivalents are simply a cut above. But when I see £2.4k for an 03 special edition then my eyebrows get raised. At least with the 50th anniversary guitars you got a premium (10 series) top (I guess they saved money by using silver oak instead of rosewood). But these have the standard 03 top and you can get hog (instead of Bhiwara) for about £1k less. Funny you should say that about Guilds. I've been looking at Guilds recently (only online). But I can't justify another guitar. I'm lucky enough to have some great instruments already. I do love the country sound though. (I know he's not playing a Guild - I just love this song - especially the bit about all you're really given is the sunshine and your name and then it starts raining)
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 16, 2021 9:19:58 GMT
I've never been a great fan of inlay work but those Larrivées have always seemed good to me. But when it comes to sound and playability they are up there with guitars of a far higher price.
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Post by forestdweller on Feb 16, 2021 9:31:48 GMT
Anyone had any experience of Dowina guitars? Look up rguitars.co.uk- they seem very good value for money for hand made guitars. I particularly like the nylon strung hybrid.
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