Guitarists! I need your advice!

billy092

billy092

Active member
Hello, im looking to buy a new acousitc guitar for myself. I have been playing for 3-4 years and am not a beginner so a higher end investment would be well worth it. I play pretty laid back music, not a lot of classic or anything to radical on the other sid eof the spectrum. I play a lot of jack johnson and music similar to this. I was just wondering what kind of guitar you would recomend, maybe not even a specific model, but a company, any advice that you have to contribute will be greatly appreciated. Looking for a price range of under 1500. Thanks alot.
 
my history teacher has a martin. its pretty sweet. i forget where he got it but it was from the blem store at their factory or something like that. he said he saved like 800 bucks on it.
 
It depends on what you are looking for... if you want a loud, bassy guitar that will project over other instruments, check out a rosewood martin (d-28 is an amazing guitar, right around $1500), mahogany guitars have a well blended tone that sounds very warm, maple is bright, too much for my liking anyways, but if you're into that kind of thing. My personal favorite is Koa, warm sounding like mahogany but with amazing colors and figure. Larrivee makes some good guitars, martin has been mentioned, gibson acoustics are really spendy but worth it, alvarez guitars are nice if you get an all solid wood model. If you have any other questions, pm me, I went to school for guitar repair and guitar construction.
 
totally get a martin i have like a 60 y/o martin and it sounds soooooo good even with crazy bad out of tune strings
 
i play a Martin D 16 RGT. this basically means a dreadnought size guitar with rosewood back and sides and a spruce top. This is a pretty large guitar, and as a result the sound has a lot of depth. The rosewood produces a much warmer sound then mahogony. My buddy has a DM, which is mahogony and I play it quite a bit. I do like mine more though. It is better IMO if you are playing by yourself, but the mahogony tends to project more when playing with others. I would recommend you go to a good music store and they will hopefully sit you down and just start handing you all sorts of guitars based on your wants and needs and you just play until you come up with the right one. I have no bias towards Martin, I just think its a classic US company that consistently produces fine products that last. Despite the fact that my martin was a lot of money, it is a purchase that will last my life time. And it sounds better and plays better the more you play it. I cant wait to play that guitar when its 30 years old. If i were you I would also look into Taylor, Gibson (these are actually made where I live here in Bozeman, MT,) maybe Guild (i believe this is Fenders acoustic line) and Collings (if you have a lot of money to spend.) Collings are supposedly great guitars, but I have yet to play one. They are in the several thousand dollar price range. Check out www.elderly.com. This is my local music shop where I grew up in Michigan. They are one of the best guitar shops in the country imo. I hope this helps!
 
Make sure you fulfill your basic requirement first. If you play lead get a cutaway. If you plan on playing out anywhere you might want a built in pre-amp. Avoid any flashy decorations like extravagant fretboard inlay and binding material. This removes quality from construction and applies it towards vanity, similar to putting spinners on Hyundai. It's ok if the wood is decorative just make sure it's solid and not veneer. Koa is one of the loudest with the thickest tone.

As far as brands go Martin has been in business for over 100 years so they probably have a good idea how to build an ax. I like the sound of Taylor, very bright and a crisp. If you can find them Breedlove is a more contemporary luthier.

Don't let a brand name decide what you buy. Get to a shop with a lot to choose from(Guitar Center) and play them all including some you don't think you'll like. You never know where you'll find solace in a guitar.

Don't forget to barter. If you can't work the price down you can always get some freebies thrown in.
 
Oh yeah, if your looking for investment grade you probably don't want a blem. The cleaner it is the more value it holds.
 
Thanks for the advice, but from a little analyzing of what ur saying, im going to do what iw as planning on, just go to the shop, talk to the reps and people their cuz they know waht tehy are talkinga bout and they can really point me in the right direction.
 
Good call. Go play as many guitars as you possibly can as well. I have a Taylor and love it, though my dad doesn't at all, so even if you just buy a good guitar, that doesn't matter. Martins and Taylors sound completely different, also, so ya, as said before, go play as many as you can.
 
i've got an ovation and i love it, im thinking of picking up a larrivee for graduation, very nice guitars, but yeah the best thing you can do is go to the guitar store and play as many as you can and base it on which one you like best. even acoustic guitars that they make stock, all sound and play a little differently, no two acoustic guitars are the same because there's so many different factors, personal preference, and is everybody in this thread in the guitarist cult???
 
if it's a big investment and you've got the money check out G Johnson guitars. They're out of australia, and their acoustics are amazing.
 
i really like seagulls. they have such a nice, warm, mellow tone. seems like that would work for the kind of playing you do.
 
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