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Post by ianh on Sept 1, 2018 20:44:35 GMT
I'm after help from the knowledgeable amongst you (that'll be most, then....) I'm on the lookout for an acoustic guitar for my son's birthday. I know very little about guitars (I'm a mandolin player), but I do know that he wants a smaller body (not a dreadnought, basically). He's a moderate player, bit of strumming, bit of picking. I'm after a step up from his very cheap Squier dread - something easier to pick up and play In the £200-300 range, and going on guitar brands which I know offer good value, I'm looking at these: Eastman PCH1 OM body here for £265
Freshman Apollo 10 or 20 (150-220 on ebay) Faith Venus (£320 on ebay) Tanglewood DBT range - there's a couple on ebay around £170 Any comments or suggestions would be very welcome thanks Ian
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Post by oustudent on Sept 1, 2018 21:07:54 GMT
There are probably plenty of good secondhand deals that will enable you to get a £600.00 guitar for £300.00, and in that price bracket, there is a strong possibility that you could get one as new from someone who thought they would give it a go and gave up. I have always thought Yamaha was good quality and playable guitars. A 00 size would be more comfortable than a dread.
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Post by dreadnought28 on Sept 2, 2018 0:59:12 GMT
Have you tried a Taylor Big Baby?
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Post by ukpacker on Sept 2, 2018 10:52:38 GMT
The Eastman looks fine, if your son picks with fingers and thumb then personally I would recommend a guitar with 2&1/4 inch string spacing at the saddle the Eastmans are slightly narrower than this , Sigma make guitars at the same price point with this spacing, certainly the OM size is a great one size fits all sort of guitar.
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Post by Mike Floorstand on Sept 2, 2018 11:09:45 GMT
Have a look at Yamaha, APX series I think. I bought one of these for my son a few years ago, both the playabiity/setup and sound were noticeably better than the others (such as Ibanez) I tried in the local shop. It's still going strong - actually I think my son's school music department also had a bunch of them, they seem to be able to withstand a bit of wear and tear.
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Post by grayn on Sept 2, 2018 15:40:31 GMT
Tanglewood do some fine, smaller bodied guitars.
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Post by pjld86 on Sept 2, 2018 16:15:03 GMT
As first choice recommend the Faith guitars - they are great guitars for the money. Tanglewood make some nice guitars too in that price range, but I've found them a bit hit & miss - so make sure to try the actual guitar you're buying. The Takamine G series guitars a also great beginner guitars - lots of options of shapes & sizes, and a great playability and sound. It would be worth visiting a guitar shop to try things out, as what you expect to like, in reality may turn out different. People here may be able to recommend some good and helpful shops, depending on where you're based?
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Post by Craig on Sept 2, 2018 17:14:11 GMT
Someone asked me the same question recently and I ended up recommending them a Yamaha FS830 which they seemed very happy with.
I've tried so many Tanglewoods with sharp fret ends that I couldn't recommend them at all.
I bought my daughter a Faith Venus which is a very nice guitar but about double your budget I'm afraid.
Craig
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Post by ocarolan on Sept 2, 2018 21:01:58 GMT
Some of the medium price Vintage guitars are pretty good too.
Keith
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Post by vikingblues on Sept 4, 2018 18:31:16 GMT
If you're buying new at this price level I'd recommend buying from a shop that either sets up the guitars properly when they take delivery, or can set them up as part of the service when you buy.
The two obvious brands for me that have models in this price range are Tanglewood and Vintage (my steel string collection is 2 of each). Vintage factory set up is more variable than Tanglewood in my experience, but properly set up they can be excellent guitars.
With smaller body guitars it's not a bad thing to be able to try them - apart from the fact that the sound quality is variable due to applying fixed measurements in building something made out of variable raw materials, there is also the danger the guitar might sound a bit too boxy.
Mark
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Post by mandovark on Sept 4, 2018 20:34:14 GMT
I’m a big fan of Tanglewood’s guitars in that price range - I used to work opposite a shop that stocked a lot of them and I thought they were great value for money. I’d also suggest checking out the Breedlove Discovery range. They’re a little over your price range, but you will sometimes find them discounted. I played an OM from that range a while back and in terms of sound and playability it had everything you could reasonably ask for at that price.
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Post by andyhowell on Sept 4, 2018 21:16:02 GMT
I’m a big fan of Tanglewood’s guitars in that price range - I used to work opposite a shop that stocked a lot of them and I thought they were great value for money. I’d also suggest checking out the Breedlove Discovery range. They’re a little over your price range, but you will sometimes find them discounted. I played an OM from that range a while back and in terms of sound and playability it had everything you could reasonably ask for at that price. So am I. The current range has some excellent guitars !
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Post by dreadnought28 on Sept 4, 2018 22:00:12 GMT
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Post by ianh on Sept 5, 2018 7:51:26 GMT
Thanks to all of you for really helpful suggestions and some good insights.
Turns out that son is keen on a cutaway, which helps to limit the field. I haven't settled on one yet, but I think it's narrowed down to one of the Tanglewood 'discovery' range (some gorgeous woods there) or Eastman's low-price PCH models
I appreciate the time and thought you've taken in posting ideas.
Ian
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