| Author | Message | ||
     Americanmadexb |
Well, I decided that i wanna try and make tone deaf music again. I owned a few electric guitars in my teens and early 20's but i never really tried hard enough to be any good. I could play maybe 5 songs. I had some dumb idea that i would rather play Bass because it was easier....and hey everyone still needs a Bass player.. lol Well that lasted about 2 years and i quit that too. SO, this time i wanna go small budget acoustic and try it again. I wanna stay under $300 and so far the one i like the most is the Seagull S6. Any input and suggestions? Maybe one for sale? BTW, i do know the Seagull is more then $300. But looking online, i can come close to that. (Message edited by americanmadexb on January 01, 2010) | ||
| 4cammer |
Seagull is an excellent choice. made up in Canada of good wood (solid top and laminate sides & back at you price point) thin finish and a great sound. I have had one for maybe 8 years now and besides the cedar top able to be scratched by just looking at it she is an excellent guitar. You might also want to look at Simon & Patrick (Godin is the parent company of both) as they are usually less $$ and have a more traditional headstock and thinner neck if you are used to electrics. Doing it again I'd get a S&P as the headstock on the Seagull has not grown on me and I now like a more narrow nut. http://www.simonandpatrick.com/ This is what I currently have: http://www.seagullguitars.com/productcoastfolk.htm Good location for guitars: http://elderly.com/brand/20N_seagull.html (Message edited by 4Cammer on January 01, 2010) | ||
| Americanmadexb |
Thanks for the input 4cammer. Just found this. I know it may not be no where near the quality of the Seagull, i guess its a good start for now. http://www.wwbw.com/Ibanez-IJV50-JamPack-Quick-Sta rt-519456-i1150606.wwbw | ||
| 4cammer |
Spend another 100.00 if you can and get a solid top and better all around guitar. She will most likely sound better, age better and keep your interest longer. http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/FG700S.ht m | ||
| Imonabuss |
Life is too short to play a poor guitar. Spend up to your budget, and buy discounted. Things that will make you want to quit are cheezy tuners that go out all the time, bad intonation, twisted neck, uneven nut or bridge, badly done frets. Quality of wood is secondary, as are cosmetics. | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
Here is the one I fell in love with. http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ ModelSeriesDetail.html?CNTID=5041461&CTID=5063300 It sounds great, I didnt get a chance to plug it in but any Guitar Center carries them. | ||
| Americanmadexb |
Trust me... i hear ya guys. I don't EVER like to go cheap on anything i get, BUT since i have spent $1,000 on Buell related things in the last 4 weeks, i got to please the wife if this is something i wanna do here soon! Hopefully i can just get back to basics from now till the end of Feb, then upgrade. | ||
| Drkside79 |
I like my Ibenez AW series | ||
| Phelan |
I would check around for a used Yairi Alvarez, but I'm biased. I love the sound of the Yairi acoustics, and the neck is thin like an electric, and has great feel. They sound best IMHO with Elixer strings, but they'll kill your fingers quick and don't have very good action because of their size. Yairi Alvarez guitars are hand-built in Japan (unlike other Alvarez built in Korea) by a small team of people led by Kazuo(sp?) Yairi. They are all inspected by him and have his signature of approval on the tag inside the cutout. I used to have one (back when I played), a DY-38 IIRC, but had pawned it and lost my ID and SS card shortly thereafter, so I lost the $1,100 guitar to a $200 pawn. I still get a little teary eyed sometimes thinking about it... | ||
| Tbenson |
musiciansfriend.com and music123.com have been great to do business with for my needs. They have decent discounts and sales too. I mainly play electric guitars and drums so I can't help much on acoustic models. Takamine, Washburn, Ibanez, Michael Kelly and Alvarez would probably be the brands I myself would consider. | ||
| Theironmaiden22 |
Bass is not easier than a 6 string. Try playing some Steve Harris(primary composer and bassist in Iron Maiden) stuff. We're talking BPMs past the 200 mark. But once you get a hang of playing triplets then you just have to add speed...alot of speed. Not only is it a work out, but once you know the tune, go to your local music store and 'test' a bass out, but play an Iron Maiden tune and you're the talk of the shop. | ||
| Theironmaiden22 |
Oh, and you have to crank it, Steve never plays quietly. | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
For a value for money alternative to the Seagull I'll throw in Alvarez Artist or Professional series (both Korean made I think). I bought one of these a year ago, an AD60SCBK, and with a good setup by the guitar tech who works on my guitars (cost $100) it's a *really* nice guitar to play.  It's from the Artist series and has a solid spruce top, and also mahogany back and sides which have a brighter sound which I like. For under $500 in the U.S. I'm guessing you'd be able to go up to the Professional series. A lot of Alvarez guitar deals used to include a case, not sure if they still do. At the time I looked at Yamahas, budget Martins, budget Matons, and Fenders, and the Alvarez was equal or better (IMHO) to the equivalent price models. (That it came in black clinched the deal for me  ) | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Estaban guitars are really good for the money and you ge a teaching system with it. You don't get the cool hat that Estaban wears however, A friend has one, sounds great good finger board and good action. | ||
| Prof_stack |
Estaban guitars are built to a low price point. The Godin guitars mentioned above are really well made. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
It is VERY hard to beat the Seagulls. The parent company uses their own wood that they planted many years ago specifically for making guitars. As mentioned above, don't go cheap as you will fight the guitar instead of yourself while learning. A cheap guitar is always just that, a cheap guitar. Also, I don't recommend buying mail order. Especially as you get more experienced. You need to pick it up, play it, look at it, feel it. Kind of like a fine womam...... As you can see here, there are MANY opinions as to what is best. That's because everyone has different tastes, styles and such. A neck that feels perfect to one person may suck to the next. The action is right for me but too low for my son. He likes big frets, I don't. etc. etc. Your best bet is to take someone who is a decent player along when you make your selection. I'm VERY lucky in my family as there are 3 very good players, then there's me...... Brad | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Oh, On a related "note", if you want to increase the value of any structure you walk into, just carry one of these with you.   This puppy goes for around $35,000. | ||
| Dentguy |
Took a tour of the Martin guitar factory/museum over the summer. Very impressive. Only thing I saw that may be in your price range was the Little Martin. | ||
| Phelan |
The little Martin would be a great conversation piece though . I think for my next guitar, I'm going to look for a Yairi Alvarez 80th anniversary. They were made in 2002 IIRC, the same year I bought my first Yairi. The 80th anniversary models had a beautiful pearl inlay along the neck called the "tree of life". | ||
| Americanmadexb |
Thanks for your input guys. I was going to go to Woodwind and Brasswind today and play around with a few, but with 4 inches of snow i decided to just watch some sports instead.  | ||
| Tbolt_pilot |
+1 on the Martin for an acoustic. The Seagulls are very nice as well. I found that I like most of the Yamaha's that I have played too. Strangely, as good of an electric as they are, I really don't care for Fender acoustics. I also fooled around with a few Rainsong carbon fiber guitars that played very well. Plus, they are almost indestructible... and $1000+! | ||
| Xbmacon |
+1 on Martin. but I like my Yamaha for taking everywhere with me. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Oh man, Bluzm2, that D'Angelico is so beautiful. Don't tell americanmadexb what that sucker is worth - it might scare him off! | ||
| Teddagreek |
Love my seagull.... Did a lot of research......... | ||
| 4cammer |
As a side note, a used lower end Larrivee is an excellent guitar. Sold my OM-03R to help pay for my XB9R in '07. That is a 1700.00 guitar now...sure do miss her. | ||
| Americanmadexb |
I still can't believe nobody has laughed at me for wanting a Bass over a guitar...  | ||
| Theironmaiden22 |
No ones laughed at me neither. I'd go with a Martin, best acoustics made. Why? Neil Young, Steven Stills, David Crosby, and a ton other awesome musicians use them. They're kinda costly but no other guitar will have the tone a Martin has. I had the chance to play a Steven Stills signature D-45. All I'll say is OMG. Fireworks in the pants kind of awesome. I'll leave my opinion on acoustics at that. | ||
| Strato9r |
I'll throw in on the Seagulls and Simon and Patricks; they arent just good guitars for the money, they are good, period. Having the luxury of working on all kinds of guitars, I wont argue for a second that there is NOTHING like a really good D-28, but man, I recently did a clean up and service on a twenty year old Seagull and it was incredibly sweet. With really great intonation that gave chords an almost choir-like feel, and a fast, silky smooth neck, this thing was a dream to play. Garrisons are really cool as well, and can be had at a good price. Check out your local music stores and try out a variety of instruments, you never know what you might really like (or not) until you actually play them. Another thing worth considering is the kind of tone you want out of the instrument; if you are accompanying a vocalist (especially yourself), try to find an instrument that works with your voice. If you are up there in the early Neil Young range, that warm Martin shimmer is gonna work really well, where if your range is more bassy, something with a strong upper midrange and sparkle might be the ticket, a lot of country cats really love those Takamines. Just don't jump on something that is a good deal if you don't really like it, you'll just have to buy another one, and that is the edge of a very slippery slope........ | ||
| Rocketman |
Taylor ? Rocket | ||
| Bcordb3 |
Taylor ? One of the best made. |
