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2 July 2009 - 7:25pm
Hi forlks
I am looking to buy a new acoustic guitar and I wondered if anyone can offer any thoughts to help me narrow down my search. I tried out a Gibson J-200 the other week and was amazed and the sound quaity (and the price tag) of this model. So with the Gibson as my benchmark I am looking for something comparable with a budget of around £700.
I mainly play electric lead in our worship group using my Fender Telecaster so I am looking for something that is great for acoustic lead but will also have the depth of sound that I got out of the Gibson.
Any thoughts?
Alex
http://www.worshipcentral.org/forum/topic/gui...
Here you go, that's the thread. It's quite long, but get towards the back end of it, and there's loads of good advice.
Joe
"One, two, three, here we go..."
I got a 'Wash Burn' and it has a very nice sound to it and is in the price budget. It also can be plugged in so can easily be used.
The Gibson J-200 is a dream acoustic guitar for any guitarist. And yes it is probably the nicest acoustic of them all. - used by noel from oasis too.
maybe look at ebay, you might even get a bargain martin over there.
But i defanitly recommend the wash burn. i have a D 10SCE if that helps. http://www.washburn.com/acoustics/d10-series/
Matt
No offence intended, but the J200s really are quite subjective in terms of their tone. They're not actually that popular these days... a lot of Christian worship leaders are now using the Advanced Jumbo / slope shouldered dreadnought shape guitars. Show me a J200, and for the same money, i'll find you another dozen guitars at least which you'll probably prefer more...
Equally, with £700 to spend, I think there's more bang for buck to be had than a Washburn. The backs look as if they're laminates, and whilst there are a few guitars with laminated backs that sound good, they're not necessarily common. You should be getting all solid woods if you spend £700.
Alex,
Page 8-9 onwards of that thread I linked... please feel very free to ask any other questions you have - I spent years playing just about every guitar in Tin Pan Alley in London, and a load of shops across the South East & Midlands, so i'm pretty well placed to offer advice here.
Joe
"One, two, three, here we go..."
Hey man! I play a breedlove atlas. You should check and see if there's a dealer near you! Theyre a great sound for about $1100 US dollars.
jonathan ray
virb.com/waketoday
So I've been to the store in Reading and taken a look at the various options available there. Pick of the bunch seemed to be the Taylor 114CE which had a nice sound, especially for playing lead parts. Not ideal but certainly impressive. Others that caught my attention were Takamine EG523SC and Farida J-66N.
Having scanned through the other recommended thread here on WC my eyes have now been opened to a whole range of new options and ideas so a big thank you for al the effort folks have put into offereing advice, it is a great help.
So as a rule of thumb, I reckon that I should only be looking at solid wood guitars and avoid the lamintates etc and if possible not to go for a bottom end Taylor/Martin etc but invest in the high end of one of the more peripheral makes/brands. At the end of the day, it is about personal taste/style andI will keep searching on my quest for a cost effective alternative to the J200.
Having read through the other discussion threads a few other options I should be looking at are: Guild, Breedlove, Simon & Patrick, also the Martin D-15 seems to be popular.
…the search continues…
Alex
By the sounds of things you are doing pretty much what I would reccomend, which is decide a budget, then play everything you can get your hands on in that budget.
I have a Cort MR
http://www.cort.co.kr/english/products/acoust...
Lovely full rich sound and a beautiful Fishman blend pick-up. Certianly worth a try.
Richard
Alex
Sounds like a good approach - get your hands on as many acoustic guitars as possible and play them all to get a feel for what you like. Do NOT look at the name on the headstock, just listen to it.
The Taylors are always very well set up, but sound too brash & toppy to me when plugged in, and when strummed.
As I mentioned, J200s are fairly unique sounding, and will sound different plugged in to acoustically, so bear in mind a good pickup system is essential, and you might want to consider getting a guitar without a pickup system, then adding your own aftermarket one - I can recommend various options here too.
Guitars... Guild & Breedlove are nice guitars if you get a good model, might be a bit expensive for your price range though.
Yeah, you should at least get a solid top for £700. If you're looking at guitars from £300 - £450, you'll get a solid top & probably laminate back, but give it a play anyway as it might sound fine for your purposes. Simon & Patrick, Takamine & Faith guitars are always ones to look at. I'd strongly recommend a Faith Venus if you're after a jumbo shaped guitar...
Joe
"One, two, three, here we go..."
I'd love a Guild, but I have two beautiful acoustics that I can't fully justify so I'd have to ditch on of mine before I go that way. Part of that is coz Damon Albarn used to play Guild...
For a British option, check out Freshman... they sound stonkingly good for the £££ and when I was last playing around, they trounced the similarly priced competition. Lovely sounding jumbos in their range.
folks
So i have been out and sampled a number of guitars. Here is the short list.
Breedlove AC25CM+ Black Magic
Taylor 114CE
Freshman 350GA CE
Any final thoughts before I make my choice?
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Hi Alex
There was a thread fairly recently in which MattJF was looking for an acoustic guitar for a similar budget. I'd really recommend you go and read that first as there's a lot of good advice about acoustics in general, but also budgeting for a good pickup & preamp.
Matt went with a Faith Venus guitar in the end, which i've played before & heartily recommend. It's a fair bit less than your budget (which is good), but sounds better than a lot of guitars more expensive than it. I'd rate it better than a J200... although the Gibson J200s are a bit like marmite. They have a distinctive sound, so if you want that, then go for a Gibson jumbo...
Joe
"One, two, three, here we go..."
www.myspace.com/josephhargreaves
Joe
"One, two, three, here we go..."
www.myspace.com/josephhargreaves