help me choose a guitar

[boonie]

So Im looking to buy a new acoustic with no electronics just a nice solid acoustic. Im lookin to pay a little less than a grand and so far i have really liked a LArivee D-o3 and a Breedlove AD20/SR. So if you were me which one would you get. Or am i overlooking any other spectacular instruments in the price range.

[PhishFleck41]

Larivees are nice, check out Alvarez, possibly Blueridge. It also depends alot on your style of play. If I were you, I would buy an Alvarez/Yairi. I own an Alvarez that I bought for $600.00 and plays better than most Taylor or Martin 12 strings. Alvarez is the most bang for your buck. You could also check out some solid used guitars for the $1000.00 range.

I am very partial towards used guitars. If possible, check out a vintage Yamaha FG-345, it plays like a midrange martin and sells for about $100.00. Save you some money.

[PhishFleck41]

http://www.alvarezgtr.com/productpage.htm?CatID=41&ItemID=46

http://www.alvarezgtr.com/productpage.htm?CatID=41&ItemID=40

My Guitar: http://www.alvarezgtr.com/productpage.htm?CatID=38&ItemID=78

[DMBand520]

I never understood why someone would get an acoustic without electronics unless it was a major cost issue. From my experience it doesnt affect the sound much and even if you hardly ever plan on plugging it in it's nice to have that flexibility in case it comes up in the future. Oh well, that's just my opinion.

[chr35919]

takamine

[boonie]

I never understood why someone would get an acoustic without electronics unless it was a major cost issue. From my experience it doesnt affect the sound much and even if you hardly ever plan on plugging it in it's nice to have that flexibility in case it comes up in the future. Oh well, that's just my opinion.

I have an acoustic with electronics. It's an ibanez with a Fishman pickup. I dont need another one of these. I want an acoustic guitar for recording and for open mic type things not for playing with a band. For playing with a band ill use my guitar with the fishman.

[mgeorge]

i agree, look into alvarez.

my alvarez is awesome, althought cost about half of what you said you are looking to spend.

[nakedguydmb]

whatever the case, make sure you actually go to a store and play the models you're interested in. and try playing around with some other brands and styles, too. too often people just buy guitars because they think they look cool or because some other musician plays one. also too often, people buy over the internet without having checked the guitars out in person.

a guitar is a great investment and can last you a long time if you actually know what to look for and make sure it's the right guitar for you beforehand.

[AudreyM]

I don't really know much about guitars, but I spent a few weeks visiting music stores before buying mine. I thought I got a decent deal for a decent guitar. My guitar teacher nearly crapped himself when I brought the guitar in. He said it was an awesome guitar for an awesome price.

I bought it about 2 years ago, and it's a Simon & Patrick S&P 6 Mohogany & Spruce. It may only be available in Canada. I paid about $400 for it and I (and a few friends that know more about guitars than I) think it has great sound...

[AshkaanF]

Get the Larrivee no wuestion. The best guitar you can buy for the money hands down.

[RushianSyrinx]

So, I walked into a guitar shop and this guy was like "man, I can't believe it, Ive got a gig tonite and no guitar"

Another nice guy is standing there and he says "Here, Takamine"

;)
A little guitar humor

[chr35919]

hahaha

[Mr. Vertical]

I would have to agree with trying different styles, woods, price range. Here is good example. My guitar player had a Fender acoustic, nice guitar cost about $450(canadian). I always really liked it. One day a few years ago he showed up with a Washburn Cumberland. There was only 10 in Canada, they are beautiful looking. He went to the store picked it up strummed a D chord and let it ring and bought it $2200 on the spot. Sounded like shit plugged in, he has had nothing but problems since. Cool thing for me was he gave it to my wife (singer/guitar in the band) , who preffered my guitar(Norman by Godin paid $750), and I ended up with the fender which is to me the best acoustic of everyones. When I was buyng the Norman I went to 6 stores and tried alot of guitars in my price range over a 3 week period. Be patient and find the guitar for you.

[Jamo52]

i have a martin oooM and i had electronics put in it, its a great guitar, easy and fun to play thin body and great clear sound and all under a grand

[UPandDOWNstrum]

I have a martin dc 15 e It is great and I would sleep with it if I could. It does have a pick up, but the D 15 model is that same guitar withouth cutaway and pickup. It is probably like 700-800 dollars and they sound great. Just a thought

[onemanguitarban]

Get the Larrivee no wuestion. The best guitar you can buy for the money hands down.

QFT - I'll second that.

[onemanguitarban]

I never understood why someone would get an acoustic without electronics unless it was a major cost issue. From my experience it doesnt affect the sound much and even if you hardly ever plan on plugging it in it's nice to have that flexibility in case it comes up in the future. Oh well, that's just my opinion.

Buying a guitar without electronics (with the exception of the Taylor expression system) is actually a VERY wise thing to do. Other than the ES, all systems that come with a guitar are basically junk. And virtually all of them take a huge chunk out of the side of your guitar. The guitar itself won't go "out of date" the electronics will. There are only a couple acoustic pickup systems that I think are decent and they both cost $500+. The acoustic pickup is one thing that hasn't been perfected yet...so it is wise to buy a guitar without a pickup system if you can....especially if you are getting an investment/high end instrument.

[freebeer]

Wow! Another website I frequent has terrible things to say in regard to Fender acoustics. It's a group of mostly professional players, blues orientation. But, it's interesting to see someone elses opinions.

If you want volume and tone w/o amps, you might try a resonator. There are a lot of new companies making them. They are extremely responsive and very loud. Some of the better brands play as well as the top line guitars.
Just a thought. I have 2, and am extremely happy with them. They also catch some interested looks as well. And they even come chrome plated.

[justinlsmith]

alvarez fo sho...i have rf8 and its amazing for 200 dollars brand new. crystal clear and punchy bass. i love em

[sparty on]

larrivee hands down as stated before. you can't beat it for the price. alvarez is a decent option, but the larrivee blows it away.

[Stuntcheeks]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--WASD10SCE

All you need to know. It sounds as good as guitars 5 times it's price. Find a dealer and go play one.

[onemanguitarban]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--WASD10SCE

All you need to know. It sounds as good as guitars 5 times it's price. Find a dealer and go play one.

I agree they are decent for the price...but Larrive blows them away. And even washburn has better guitars than the one you listed at the price point of that one as well, FYI.

(That guitar you will want to upgrade down the road....a Larrivee you will want to keep....even if you do get a more ostentatious guitar at some point).

[Stuntcheeks]

Thanks for the update. I upgraded it about 2 years ago w/a Taylor 814ce. I still love that washburn, though. I keep it in an alt tuning.

Never played a Larivee.

[1suitewhirled]

I have a martin dc 15 e It is great and I would sleep with it if I could. It does have a pick up, but the D 15 model is that same guitar withouth cutaway and pickup. It is probably like 700-800 dollars and they sound great. Just a thought

i have had a d-15 for 2 or 3 years now and have never had a problem with it. it plays great, sounds great and is as dependable as it gets. i highly recommend this model.:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup

[pkpro1]

i got a brownsville. no complaints at all after 1.5 years

[navajow]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--WASD10SCE

All you need to know. It sounds as good as guitars 5 times it's price. Find a dealer and go play one.

i have this guitar but in left-handed form and i love it. it buzzes sometimes down on the lower frets but its prolly because of my funky style. sounds great unplugged and decent when its plugged in

[Carbon Copy]

i have this guitar but in left-handed form and i love it. it buzzes sometimes down on the lower frets but its prolly because of my funky style. sounds great unplugged and decent when its plugged in

i have that guitar and i dont like it that much. its ok as a starting one, but if your spending a grand i wouldnt buy it

[LittleDreamer]

http://www.zzounds.com/item--WASD10SCE

All you need to know. It sounds as good as guitars 5 times it's price. Find a dealer and go play one.
:thumbsup :thumbsup :thumbsup :D

I have that guitar and I sounds sooooo sweet. I would high recomend it!!!

[navajow]

oh ya definatly -- im sure theyres somthing better. the prob for me is my lefthandedness -- its either cheap or fuckin expsinsive

[F-A89]

instead of starting a new thread...

I want to buy an acoustic electric, between $200-$250. The owner of my local guitar store sells washburns; how good are they?

[krbarrett77]

for the thread starter: i bought a Martin DM Dreadnought to take with me to school instead of my outrageously expensive Taylor 814ce. I go back and forth, but i might actually like the martin better. It has such character, where the taylor is just too damn pure and perfect. Maybe it's because i play the martin 9/12 of the year, but i really like it. It was $800 ish i think, no electronics.

^for the person who posted right above me: If you plan on really getting into guitar, but already own one to keep you busy, i would wait and not get a 200-300 dollar electric acoustic. The sound will be just awful. Instead, if this is something you can see yourself doing still in 10 years, save up and get something nice. You'll thank yourself for not throwing away the 300 bucks. If you do still get the 200-300 electric acoustic, i have no suggestions, just go play them in the store, there is no better substitute.

[dmb66]

So Im looking to buy a new acoustic with no electronics just a nice solid acoustic. Im lookin to pay a little less than a grand and so far i have really liked a LArivee D-o3 and a Breedlove AD20/SR. So if you were me which one would you get. Or am i overlooking any other spectacular instruments in the price range.

I wasn't going to respond, but I just bought a Larrivee D-03E a few weeks ago, and I played the Breedlove AD20/SR while searching for what ended up being the Larrivee. With my personal experience, the Larrivee made the Breedlove sound like a plastic toy. But, this is simply my opinion. You really need to play each and see which sounds better to you. I know you don't want to go with electronics, but I paid slightly under 1000 for the Lari with electronics, so they might still be in your price range and useful down the road. As mentioned earlier in this thread, you really can't go wrong with an alvarez at that price either (even cheaper really). Good luck, and if you have specific questions about the Larrivee, shoot them my way, I love that guitar.

-Nick

[krbarrett77]

Good luck, and if you have specific questions about the Larrivee, shoot them my way, I love that guitar.

-Nick


Larrivee makes a fine guitar. And they are damn sexy to look at as well.

[TjMarnell]

I never see anyone mention Tacoma. I have a Tacoma DM9 that's been a great guitar for 5 years. 700 dollars or something.

[jimibadfish]

I never see anyone mention Tacoma. I have a Tacoma DM9 that's been a great guitar for 5 years. 700 dollars or something.

Ditto:thumbsup

[onemanguitarban]

I never see anyone mention Tacoma. I have a Tacoma DM9 that's been a great guitar for 5 years. 700 dollars or something.

For about 700 you can get a much better guitar.

[TjMarnell]

Not true. More known brand...maybe. Better...I think not.

:thumbsup Agreed. Tacoma was the best brand i found for the money. i liked it much better than the guitars of a similar price including Martin/Taylor. I wouldn't part with mine.

[jimibadfish]

For about 700 you can get a much better guitar.

Not true. More known brand...maybe. Better...I think not.