Help on choosing the right guitar

pauliewallie

I am upgrading my acoustic/electric guitar and I am looking for advice on which make of guitar to go with. I have tried a few tanglewoods that I like and also a few Takamines. My budget is around 1000e and my main requirements are that the guitar can be relied upon to stay in tune and has good playability, ie, playing small lead parts etc ... a built in tuner is a bonus.

any advice appreciated. or if there is a better forum/site people could direct me to.

cheers

Zangetsu

The best advice I think anyone can provide when it comes to acoustic guitars is just go and play all of them, literally every one you can get your hands on!

The fit and finish varies so much between acoustic instruments... You'll play a lot of nice guitars (any excuse really :P ) and eventually stumble across one that just clicks with ya, you'll know the feeling when you pick it up

XMusic have 2 great sections for acoustic guitars with a good range of choice in each. Check out Waltons, Music Maker and Perfect Pitch too. Honestly its the best way to choose.

Just realized I wrote this under the assumption that your from Dublin, ah well, it rings true wherever you are. Play play play, the guitar will find you!

pauliewallie

hey, thanks for the feedback ... I know getting into the shops and playing is the best way to choose but finding the time to sample lots of guitars can be difficult. I guess I am looking for a short cut so when I get to the guitar store I seek out certain guitars.
A guitar that can be depended upon to stay in tune is the most important requirement. any recommendations ?

DelBoycie

A Martin. If you've 1000e to spend,I'd get one.

I picked up a DX1R for 700 but you'd get it online for 500/600.

Lovely guitar. It does need to be tuned every now and again but it holds for a good while.

nickcave

I'd say that any guitar you'd buy around the €1000 mark would certainly stay in tune, and playability is mostly something you can alter to your needs on any guitar by changing string gauge, or adjusting the truss rod etc.

The best way to find what you want is to pick up and play, so it's probably a good idea to set aside some time before you buy. For that budget, you should also try Martin (maybe the DX1) and Taylor (Big Baby or 110) to get a feeling for what your tastes are.

eoghanmcdonnell

+1 for Martin

I would think that you are on the right road with Takamine, Tanglewood and Martin. I also tried a few Corts the other day and they were not bad at all for the price. Play around with a few different models. If you are playing a semi acoustic I would suggest plugging it in (as well as testing it unplugged) and making sure it is the right sound that you want. I guess you are looking for an all rounder so you should be looking for something that sounds really full with clarity on an open chord and that still cuts through with any riffs. Play each string open and judge if their is any major drops in volume, then work up the scales.

It should also be immediately comfortable for you to play, any doubts just put it back on the rack, its not for you.

If there are no semi acoustics that you like but you find a really nice acoustic, there are amazing pickups out there that are easy enough to install on your guitar.

Perhaps you would be better off with a stomp box tuner rather than an in built one, I don't have experience with inbuilt ones but I know that it should not influence your decision, that should be purely on the sound of the guitar.

Enjoy yourself, shopping for a guitar is one of the best things one can do in life!

Fingers Mcginty

You should get a lovely guitar for a grand.
I would stay away from the onboard tuner gimmick and unless you play loads of lead high up the neck get a non-cutaway guitar. Cutaways lack bass. I used to a have a Guild with a cutaway and I definitely noticed and it got more annoying as the years went on. Eventually I sold it and bought a Yamaha APX10 I think it was...sounded OK plugged in but was never really happy with it. In the end I settled with a Gibson Songbird deluxe with a fishman matrix pickup. There are no onboard controls...just plug it in and smile.
Martin's are nice too as are Taylors and Lowdens...the latter are big bucks though. Also Matons are nice. As the lads said try loads of stuff.
Some nice second hand stuff out there at the moment too.
Slán Fingers

68 lost souls

Personally I prefer Taylor to Marting, If you are looking to spend that much I would look at the 110/114 models or the 210/214 models. Those are my top 4 guitars under 1000. THe straight acoustic without a cutaway should be between 800 and 1000. The 10s are dreadnought and the 14s are Grand Audotorium so that is down to personal taste.

pauliewallie

many thanks for all the replies.
I think i know now what I have to do. I will go forth and sample, with the nuggets from this board in my back pocket ....

cheers
p

Kenny_D

Jimi has a used Taylor 414 for €999.

http://www.jimismusicstore.ie/Catalogue.aspx?TabID=1015

Great shop and great guy to deal with. Has a few martins there also that might interest you

Caveat

Martin are the absolute business. No question. Very different sound to your Takamines though - Martins are fairly bassy which is fine if you like that (I much prefer it) but not if you don't I guess. Takamines are quite shrill, trebly/jangly to me - I hate them TBH.

Taylor were mentioned too which I think are great. Larivee & Seagull are also great quality guitars that are off the radar a bit.

Avoid the cheap Martins though as they are not much better than average.

As mentioned, feel means a lot - something can sound great and be expertly crafted but if you don't actually like playing it there's little point. Try as many as you can - take notes even.

pauliewallie

thanks for the link to jimi's, I was not aware of that store ....

he has a Martin DX1E for €800 which I like the look of .....
has anyone played this model?

DelBoycie

I've a DX1R that I bought for 700. Great guitar.

You really have to try them out though. Get yourself to a store and just test them all until you find what you're looking for.

pauliewallie

can i ask, without sounding too ignorant, what do the letters mean on the martin guitars? for example DX1E or DX1R .... do they signify a difference in tone or craft or what ?

DelBoycie

I've no idea. That was the first one the guy in the shop showed me and it just happened to be that.

I was trying Tanglewood ones for 500e or so and they really sounded rubbish. I couldn't believe it. For 500e,you'd expect something decent.

Organeer

Here is a short list of what the letter codes mean on Martin X-series guitars. It may also apply to other Martin models.
D- Dreadnought (Body shape)
X1- Model
R- Rosewood
C- Cutaway
E- Electrics
K- Koa back & sides
S- Slotted headstock

That's probably about it! Now find a shop that has a good selection of Martins & try them. Some of their more reasonably priced guitars have a louder bass response than some more expensive models, so the best thing is to try as many as possible. Best of luck with your new purchase!

pauliewallie

hi all, just to give you an update ... I went and played a load of guitars in jimis and X music over the weekend. I am proud to say I am now the owner of a beautiful, used, and amazing sounding Taylor 414.

thanks for all the advice on here.

Kenny_D

That's great. Glad you went with Jimis as well. Like to see him get a business. Great shop

Enjoy the taylor!