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Post by jim on Feb 18, 2017 18:26:15 GMT
Good afternoon all,
I've just been with a mate to look for a New Acoustic guitar for him and his son to use, and whilst looking for something in the sub 300 quid mark I was blown away by how well some of these cheap far eastern guitars actually sound. He bought a brand which was previously unknown to me, but manufacture acoustics for several brands, Fender & Guild being just two of their clients. Anyway he walked away with a solid top grand auditorium model for around 280 something, madness. Just goes to show that things have indeed moved on, I was thinking of the old Kay guitars and Hondo type guitars with actions that were more akin to cheese graters than instruments! I stand corrected however.
I promised my wife that I wouldn't come back with (another) guitar and I didn't break that promise, but was again impressed with a Yamaha 12 string I played (a FG820-12) and again the action and sound was fairly impressive. I think I may now be in the market for a cheap 12 string!
Jim
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Feb 18, 2017 22:35:51 GMT
Nice one jimLooking for a decent cheap 12-er myself, but need an extra room in the house first!
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Post by jim on Feb 19, 2017 8:16:34 GMT
Just read up the specs on the Yam FG820 range, the tops are solid spruce, with the backs and sides being laminated (as you would expect at this price) but the braces are fully scalloped, hence why I was so impressed, the projection and tone was very good, no wonder! How can they do this at this kind of money is unreal! For a cheap jamming / gigging guitar I think this will take some beating
Jim
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 19, 2017 8:58:38 GMT
If you can find a Waldon you are in for a real shock
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Post by vikingblues on Feb 19, 2017 10:35:59 GMT
You're so right Jim. "Blown away by how well some of these cheap far eastern guitars actually sound" sums it all up very well.
Laminated backs and sides aren't necessarily a bad thing if it allows the mass manufacturer to take a few more risks with making the tops thin enough to be more responsive. The best guitar I ever played in the £1k to £2k level had laminate back and sides.
Comparing the quality of entry level guitars today and the on-line resources for learning how to play with the cheese wire horrible action entry level guitars of the 60s and 70s with just the odd book to be found as a guide it's a wonder we could learn to play at all back then.
Two of my three steel string acoustics cost under £350, the other (the now sadly discontinued Tanglewood TW73) around £550. I no longer feel the need to look higher up the cost scale for guitars as at their quality level they're more than good enough for me. Risky saying that sort of thing I know - a sure-fire way to tempt my GAS flare up!
Mark
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Post by jim on Feb 20, 2017 9:50:37 GMT
Well I don't think my next 12 string is going to cost that much, I was looking at a used Guild similar to one I had years back, but that now isn't going to be on the cards! I'm glad that things have progressed where the beginner no longer needs to struggle to play a cheap instrument. Progress is indeed good!
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Post by bellyshere on Feb 21, 2017 10:14:55 GMT
My first acoustic was dreadful. New players today are lucky. You needed pliers to fret my first acoustic.
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Post by pender on Feb 21, 2017 12:57:07 GMT
Hello,
Do you know about Sigma guitars? I think you will find them easily in the UK but I'm not sure about the prices. They have the following 12 strings models:
DR12-28 JR12-1STE DM12-1ST DM12E
I'm a happy owner of a Sigma S000M-15E.
Best, Pedro
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2017 10:26:15 GMT
Did someone mention Yamaha. I've just realised that the F310's have a slightly smaller scalelength than the 'usual' scalelength which could be great for my little arthritic fingers. Any F310 owners here who could advise?
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Post by slasher on Feb 22, 2017 14:00:24 GMT
Is this a "Golden Age" for lower priced guitars? I don't like to use the word "cheap" as there is an implication of low quality that goes with it but many lower priced intruments really are very good these days. 40/50 years ago if you bought a cheap guitar you very often got a poor instrument. Great quality improvements seem to have been made at the lower end of the market
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