buying a guitar

[Foreman72]

so i have about 400 to drop on a new acoustic (new to me anyway, i don't mind a nice used)

wondering if anyone had any recommendations, i've done a ridiculous amount of research thus far and i'm looking at a few takamine guitars right now...

any thoughts gents?

[lisiecki1]

really depends on what kind of things you're wanting to play, takamine makes some really nice guitars in that price range.....I picked up my ovation *which i love* for under $400, but they had no idea what they had (platinum colored 15th anniversary model-not a scratch on it)....I'm a big fan of ovation......

[Brock Samson]

if you want new look at a Jasmine,.. but 400 bones will buy a really sweet used jem all day long... id just suggest you play as many as you can and one should feel better then the others...

[skip68]

Takamine's are nice.  good sound and feel.   

[69bronzeT5]

I agree with Chuck, Takamine's are pretty nice guitars. I've played a couple at the local music store.

[Brock Samson]

 heard this here track once again and thought I'd park it here for anyone unfamilier with the fire of Richie Blackmore...
you'll prolly go buy a strat after this though,.. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5CoGJevTuo

[69*F5*SE]

Richie Blackmore      

[moparstuart]

heard this here track once again and thought I'd park it here for anyone unfamilier with the fire of Richie Blackmore...
you'll prolly go buy a strat after this though,.. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5CoGJevTuo

one of my favorite bands ever but this is there masterpiece      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-K038-0tF8&feature=related

[Mopar440+6]

I've got a Seagull that I don't really play anymore. When I was playing I loved the thing. Great tone and easy to play but that's just my opinion...

BTW, you have PM...

[chargerrt]

All I play is acoustic guitars and, to tell you the truth, I don't think there is a QUALITY Takamine out there for the price you're wanting to pay.  I've never fallen in love with a Takamine regardless of the price.  In my opinion, if you want to buy new, go with an Alvarez and use up all of your money.  Really and truly, if I had $400 to spend on an acoustic I would drop it on a vintage 1970's Nippon Gakki red label Yamaha acoustic.  They are absolute cannons!  Takamines wouldn't hold a candle to them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/yamaha-FG-140-vintage-1971-acoustic-guitar-red-nippon_W0QQitemZ310149460153QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item48365930b9&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12%7C66%3A2%7C39%3A1%7C72%3A1205%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

[Brock Samson]

I gotta FG75 i paid 150 for it,.. not bad, but it aint my fav either,..  it's an old '70s too,..

[chargerrt]

I've got a '72 model FG-160 that my high school music teacher gave me.  I sold my Taylor 214 within a year because of it.

[Red Ram]

I have a Gretsch Rancher. Gretsch is not really know for their acoustics but they look unique and sound great. Gretsch is the Mopar of guitars!

[Old Moparz]

so i have about 400 to drop on a new acoustic (new to me anyway, i don't mind a nice used)

wondering if anyone had any recommendations, i've done a ridiculous amount of research thus far and i'm looking at a few takamine guitars right now...

any thoughts gents?

Just like Brock said, go look at some used acoustics & play as many as you can before you make a final decision. I bet you can find a nice vintage guitar for $400 with sound that blows away a new one for the same money. My wife plays guitar & found a really nice one for that price once, a small bodied, 1964 Gibson. The sound that comes out of that thing is amazing.

[Foreman72]

well id love a nice vintage guitar if i can find one...i'm going to play some tomorow or thursday...and i plan on looking as everywhere as possible before making my final decsion

[Brock Samson]

 FUN!
  Old vintage guitars are sought after for a reason, they mellow with age and as the sun hits them the colors deepen so they even look better,.. the newer finishes are mandated by the EPA on US made items so they no longer use the same materials in the finishes,.. my Fav. guitar is a '57 Gibson same age as me and it sounds about 20 times better then my four year old ES 335.. even with all it's modern features and super glossy glass like finish i so much prefer my 52 year old Gibson, it's my go to insterment. if you do buy an old one, watch out for fret wear and though you may want to get better tuners cause old ones can stick or be too loose,.. I'm wondering if you want a nylon "classical" or steel string "blues" guitar,  they are very different animals with completly different sonic and playability features,.. I love to bend notes so i prefer steel strings but if Classical or Spanish style is your bag nylon is the correct way to go,... $400 should get you a perfectly fine guitar, there's a glut of items of all sorts on the market, i see amazing things on craigslist all the time from broke musicians... good luck, play all you can. 

[Old Moparz]

I gotta FG75 i paid 150 for it,.. not bad, but it aint my fav either,..  it's an old '70s too,..

Dave, I just showed my wife this thread & she said her first guitar was also the FG75. We found one at a yard sale once with brand new strings on it for $10.00 (Yes, that's ten I typed) Sold it in a consignment shop for $125.00 later on.

[Brock Samson]

 I was thinking about your search Forman, and if you buy used,.. or new for that matter pay special attention for cracks especially around the neck and the headstock area,.. i have sometimes come across seemingly perfect guitars that have had damage repaired that wasn't apparent without close scrutiny,.. take the axe to good light, sunlight is best and look carefully for hairline cracks,.. the insterment may actually play quite nicely, but you you can get the price down for any blemishes or damages, the seller often wont know or never realized  the neck was cracked or the headstock was glued back togeather,.. it's alot like buying an old car,.. let the buyer beware... good luck and happy hunting! 

[Foreman72]

well i went to a daddys and a guitar center today and struck out..picked up two of the takamines i was looking at and they were both too tinny, didn't have enough warmth to them...there was one maybe but we'll have to see how it goes...there are 3 other stores and a friend who is a baden guitar dealer and he said h could get me a deal so we'll see what happens 

[73chgrSE]

I played a $400 Alvarez recently that was suprising good for that price range.

[jaak]

Morgan Monroe makes good quality instruments at good prices, there guitars are Martin knock-offs...pretty good sounding guitars. They have several models.
I haven't ever heard of Morgan Monroe until I was looking for a new Banjo....The model I bought had a curly-maple back and neck, all gold plated hardware, with a nice inlay, pretty much a knock-off of a Gibson Granada, a Granada retails for like 5500, and I bought the MM for 850. Been playing it for nearly 2 years now, love it.

Jason

[Foreman72]

went to another daddy's today and found 2 that i love, one was a seagull entourage that was very very nice and the other was an art of lutherie cedar antique...i loved them both. bot right @ 3 bills...so its between those and bryans seagull...all three of these guitars are handmade by the same company in canada...so...i have a new appreciation for cedar top guitars

[bearbqd]

Wow, didn't know there were so many guitar players here, very cool. I'd suggest knowing what you like and then checking out as many pawn shops as you can. You'd be amazed at some of the deals there. I got a used Hamer electric one time that had one little blemish for $150. Beautiful finish other than the one spot. Here's my current horde: The Hamer is the maroon one in the middle rear, behind the seven string Schecter.

[oldrock]

my son and I are both serious guitar fans. Between those two, I'd take the seagull. They make some solid guitars for the money. Tak makes some very decent guitars in that price range too and red label Yamahas are excellent. You should have no problem finding a decent playing acoustic for $300. Good luck!

[Brock Samson]

 Hey, bear you sure like the Humbucker on the bottom huh?... sometime try a Symour Duncan "Jeff Beck" down there,.. It's a dual H.B. and even comes in standard Strat single coil sizes,..
Consistantly in the blind ear test everyone likes that one when mixed with the Middle pickup on my Strats for the out of phase thing.
Nice throng... 

[oldrock]

If you decide to go electric instead of acoustic, my son is selling his Gibson SG special right now on craigs list for $550. Might be over your price range a bit but if you get a Gibson they hold their value forever as long as you take care of them. Oh and his SG special is a serious playing guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILNkAKxJecw

[tricky lugnuts]

I've had a couple Art & Lutherie acoustic guitars - one with a solid spruce top and the other with a laminated wild cherry top. I have to say, the solid spruce top guitar sounded much nicer in my opinion.

Art & Lutherie makes pretty good guitars - as you said, handmade in Canada. Seagull, I believe, is owned by the same company. I think they're all in the Godin family of guitars. My understanding is that the Seagull guitars are higher end products than the Art & Lutherie guitars. I've heard a couple of them played that sounded fantastic. (Of course, a lot of it is also the player!!!)

Either brand would be a good choice for a beginner, mid-level player - of sufficient quality for gigs and I presume recording.

I'd go with a solid top guitar - spruce has more boom to it, cedar is supposed to be mellower. The solid tops "age" and their sound is said to improve with time, as long as you can keep the guitar from being damaged by humidity/dryness. They take more care and are more prone to warpage, cracking, etc.

Right now - aside from my Gretsch Electromatic - I've got a Martin DM, a laminated mahogany dreadnought with a solid spruce top. I love it. Paid $700 for it a year and a half ago with a tour grade hard case included. You can find them on eBay for less. It's a good entry-level Martin... and I can't see paying more than $1,000 for a guitar until I'm good enough to start earning some coin back with it. 

Previous comments make sense: Play guitars until you find one you really like in terms of sound and playability.

[Foreman72]

Good works tricky...yeah i've really liked the sound of both of them...and i like the size of the neck...i've also been offered an s6 cw which was a wider neck...but i think the 1.72 is big enough as opposed to the 1.8...of course both of these two i'm looking at (i still hav some more stores to look at) currently hav old junky strings on them so that doesn't help...i'm gonna try and do some wheeling and dealing with the guys at the store and see if i can get a case and a pair of strings thrown in...as they say money in hand makes salesmen change they're plan...so we'll see...

[Musicman]

About the only mainstream models I like out there today are Martins, other than that some of the old Gibsons and Guilds sound well. Of course older guitars always sound better with age anyway. Hell, I even have an old Hohner Contessa from the early 70's kicking around that sounds better than most

[Foreman72]

yeah i played a crazy nice 30 yr old guild the other day that sounded flawless...martins sound good but they're very fussy...i know this as a gear nut, a player and a soundman...if they aren't kept in the best of conditions they loose some sound quality...thats just been my experience...other than that i think they're really nice...

[73chgrSE]

i agree, i work in a recording studio and this idiot came in recently and recorded an acoustic guitar part on his martin, went home that day and left his guitar in the back seat of his car in 100+ temps. the next time he came in his guitar sounded terrible. in the same room, preamps and mics. the sound was cooked right out of it. new strings did not help!

[Musicman]

i agree, i work in a recording studio and this idiot came in recently and recorded an acoustic guitar part on his martin, went home that day and left his guitar in the back seat of his car in 100+ temps. the next time he came in his guitar sounded terrible. in the same room, preamps and mics. the sound was cooked right out of it. new strings did not help!

Yeah... That's always a good way to treat an instrument..Idiot doesn't quite cover it there.
I like the Martins because they have a nice full tonal range, unlike most others which play out rather thin. If you like that sound... more power to ya, it's just not my cup of tea.

[Ghoste]

I was taught a long time ago to never leave your guitar anyplace you wouldn't sleep.  I've tried to treat mine a little better than that.

[Foreman72]

i agree, i work in a recording studio and this idiot came in recently and recorded an acoustic guitar part on his martin, went home that day and left his guitar in the back seat of his car in 100+ temps. the next time he came in his guitar sounded terrible. in the same room, preamps and mics. the sound was cooked right out of it. new strings did not help!

Yeah... That's always a good way to treat an instrument..Idiot doesn't quite cover it there.
I like the Martins because they have a nice full tonal range, unlike most others which play out rather thin. If you like that sound... more power to ya, it's just not my cup of tea.

clapton's got one, mayer's got one...they sound fantastic but they're high maintenance...one of the nicest guitars i've played was a 000M...very basic martin but it was well taken care of...i've also played a very old D-28 that sounded amazing...

[oldrock]

Another brand acoustic that is pretty cool is Larrivee. I had an OM-03R and it was a fantastic guitar. New, it was about $800 but used they can occasionally be found for about half that. I've also played the seagull S6 and it was a really good sounding guitar so i wouldn't rule that out. Course if money wasn't a big object, my favorite very favorite acoustics are the Gibsons. Here is a shot of mine

[Musicman]

Nice Gibson 

[Foreman72]

if money was no object i'd get one of the new BTO taylors, a baden or a larrivee...rock, i have heard of them and they're awesomeness...they are very very nice guitars...