Need acoustic guitar recommendation!

[XxAlbertoxX]

Hi, I mostly play shred/metal/rock with Ibanez and 7strings but I want to get into acoustic after going on a Beatles binge lately.

I have no idea about acoustics but I can spend up to ~$1,000 on it so can anyone recommend some quick features that are must-haves? i.e.

- dreadnaught?
- what brand? only martin vs taylor vs gibson?
- acoustic electric or just acoustic?
- any other special details of the guitar I should consider???

thank you

 

[Joan Maal]

Take a look at this one...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AE325LGS--ibanez-ae325-natural-low-gloss

One of the most beautiful acoustic guitars I have seen for years.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Get a Seagull, Eastman, Yamaha, or Takamine (in that order) for between $500 and $700 and you'll be plenty happy.

Don't bother with Taylor or Martin unless you're looking to spend closer to $1500, or are OK with more of a parlor/travel kinda guitar.

Forget Gibson unless you have even more to spend and absolutely need an SJ or an oddball like the Southern Jumbo.

For the record, John and George used a Gibson J-160. It's a dreadnought with a P90 in the neck (almost literally). Epiphone makes (made?) a Beatles themed reissue and they aren't bad.

 

[Aewrik]

Get a Seagull, Eastman, Yamaha, or Takamine (in that order) for between $500 and $700 and you'll be plenty happy.

Don't bother with Taylor or Martin unless you're looking to spend closer to $1500, or are OK with more of a parlor/travel kinda guitar.

Double the price for the Taylor/Martin guitars if you're buying new. I'm looking for an acoustic guitar as well, and there's a huge jump between the 400-600-800 series. Taylor is apparently very thorough in their wood sourcing and selection, so you are almost guaranteed to not receive a bad apple... or a lucky find.

I'd like to throw in Furch in the list as well. They don't have the same QA as Taylor, so you may get unlucky with their Blue line (the lowest budget with solid woods), but the Green, Yellow and Yellow lines have all sounded great. I've played a bunch of the old models too, but I'm not sure how they translate to the newer lines.

The Yamahas I've played (over $250) have all had a big sound, but a few of them have had weird overtones. Not a problem most of the time, but the one I have at home now resonates very strongly with certain notes. The Yamaha TransAcoustic line is interesting.

One thing to keep in mind with Ibanez and possibly other brands is nut width. You may think that 43 mm is great if you're an electric guitar player, but once you try that clustered fingering in that one song, those two extra millimeters make all the difference. Action has been great on all Ibanez guitars I've tried, and most Yamahas too, so they're quite comfortable to play. Sigma also works, but they're nothing special.

Maybe it's time I reflect a little on what I've learned the past months (tag along if you feel like it)
Dreadnought: Will sound subdued if played softly. If you're playing with a pick or have nails of steel it sounds great with well defined low end.
Grand Auditorium/Concert: A little undefined low end, especially if you have laminate back and sides. High notes sing very nicely.
Smaller bodies sound boxy, whether it's Taylor or Ibanez or whatever. Laminate bodies sound quite weak/soft/round, so unless you're looking for that sound, look for bigger bodies or high end models.
Super jumbo: I've only played two of these, one rosewood/spruce (Seagull) and one walnut/spruce (Furch). I liked the latter better because of the finish, but both were loud and clear.

Back/Sides:
Mahogany: Sounds great on dreadnoughts when played loud, not as nice when played softly. Subjectively the "crunch" of electric mahogany guitars is also there in acoustic guitars (as a kind of depth/feels like there's another layer to the guitar). All mahogany laminates have sounded like crap to my ears.
Rosewood/Walnut: If you're not looking for something special, either of these is what you want for your back and sides. Between the guitars I've played, I haven't felt that there is a huge difference between those two woods.
Maple: I've only played maple laminate, but those guitars had a great high end, but almost dead low end. With a capo maple sounds great, almost angelic.

Top woods:
Spruce: If you're not going for a specific look, you can't go wrong with this for a soundboard.
Cedar: Sounds great when played quietly, but gets noisy/uncontrolled if you play too loudly. Great if you're only going to play at home. It's like if spruce has a volume from 1-10, cedar goes from 1-7, but feels like 3-12.

I've played many other woods, but not as big a selection, so I can't make any generalizations. If you're going to play with built-in microphone, the electronics and processing are more important than the woods.

Same goes for recording in general: the main difference I've found between a $500 and $4000 guitar is how they feel when you play them. You can make any guitar sound expensive with enough work in post, but that Taylor 814 is going to blow your mind when you pick it up the first time.

 

[Adieu]

The Russians have acoustic 7-strings if you're interested.... most are pretty shite tho

 

[budda]

I bought a new martin 00LX1AE, they're under a grand new in USD. Tried the GS Mini, martin dread jr and 000jr (wanted a parlour) and the 00 had the best sound of the bunch.

I was fine with the pickup as it means I can record easily.

 

[XxAlbertoxX]

Get a Seagull, Eastman, Yamaha, or Takamine (in that order) for between $500 and $700 and you'll be plenty happy.

Don't bother with Taylor or Martin unless you're looking to spend closer to $1500, or are OK with more of a parlor/travel kinda guitar.

Forget Gibson unless you have even more to spend and absolutely need an SJ or an oddball like the Southern Jumbo.

For the record, John and George used a Gibson J-160. It's a dreadnought with a P90 in the neck (almost literally). Epiphone makes (made?) a Beatles themed reissue and they aren't bad.

Damn, so all the sub <$1500 taylors are martins are that bad? I reckon you just get better guitar from other brands then?

 

[XxAlbertoxX]

Take a look at this one...

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AE325LGS--ibanez-ae325-natural-low-gloss

One of the most beautiful acoustic guitars I have seen for years.

That is really good looking. This is my first acoustic - shouldn't I be going for a dreadnaught? is that the "de -facto" acoustic guitar shape?

also , all the videos/demos of that 325 have people finger picking - is that guitar made for finger picking or something?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Damn, so all the sub <$1500 taylors are martins are that bad? I reckon you just get better guitar from other brands then?

They're not objectively bad, you're just paying more for name at that point, or for something that's more of a purpose-built travel guitar, like the GS Mini.

 

[Adieu]

Buy an old Japanese made acoustic for $200-300 imho.... Takamine Yamaha etc

 

[budda]

Buy an old Japanese made acoustic for $200-300 imho.... Takamine Yamaha etc

I did that, got it set up, then went and bought the martin because it is objectively a better guitar in every regard.

OP, sub-$1k martins and taylors are not bad.

 

[Aewrik]

No, it's just that the wallet-gouging models are just that much better. A Taylor for $1k is as good as any "budget" guitar could ever be.

 

[budda]

No, it's just that the wallet-gouging models are just that much better. A Taylor for $1k is as good as any "budget" guitar could ever be.

I mean I guess. I did a/b with a $2500 larrivee just to see what the next bracket is like tonally, and it wasn't some magical revelation. Law of diminishing returns and all that.

Are we recommending $1500 first electrics too?

Start with the $500-$750 models, learn what you do and dont want, then splash some cash.

OP I highly recommend sitting down and trying as many acoustics as you can.

 

[XxAlbertoxX]

Can anyone comment 0n this one @Joan Maal posted?
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AE325LGS--ibanez-ae325-natural-low-gloss

it looks goddamn sexy and I'm about to pull the trigger...

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Can anyone comment 0n this one @Joan Maal posted?
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AE325LGS--ibanez-ae325-natural-low-gloss

it looks goddamn sexy and I'm about to pull the trigger...

Great specs, decent build usually. I've never been blown away by Ibanez acoustics, but these are probably the best they make as far as traditional sounding and playing examples.

 

[Hollowway]

I’ve got an old A&L that I LOVE. Check them out. If they’re still build the way they used to be, they’re an incredible value. You can also get a really nice non-traditional shape from Andrew White.

 

[conorreich]

I just got a Seagull s6 an it's perfect for me. It was cheap and made in Canada.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Best thing to do is go to a store and play as many guitars as you can. Martins, Taylors, Seagull, Larivee (if you can find a used one), Godin, Takamine, Ibanez are all great in that price point. The low mid tier martins and taylors are still very good but you get a very barebones guitar at that price point compared to other brands.
Acoustics are not something I could ever recommend buying sight unseen since they can sound wildly different with the same woods. Back when I bought my cordoba GK I played about 10 of the same model at multiples stores to find the one that sounded best to me.

 

[gnoll]

A bunch of factors influence what an acoustic sounds like. Not only types and quality of wood and body shapes, but also construction things like the bracing, neck joint and scale length make a big difference in how the guitar sounds.

It's a good idea to try the guitars you're considering because otherwise it can be hard to know what you like. Acoustic guitars can look pretty similar but sound pretty different.

I think the recommendations on brands here sound pretty reasonable (not that I've tried them all). Personally, I realized I liked the sound of Martins, but I also realized that that sound I had in mind wasn't really present in the cheaper Martins. Not that they're bad, but they sound different, and I needed to go to a D-18 to get what I wanted. I would have rather looked at brands doing the D-18 thing (mahogany dread with scalloped forward-shifted bracing etc.) at a lower price than go to a cheaper Martin, because those are just different guitars.

 

[fps]

I’m not sure on pricing but I think the Yamaha AC3R I have is one of the best value guitars in the world. The electrics are miles better than guitars that would have cost double the price when I bought it about eight years ago, it has a lovely ringing tone and sustain, solid wood, excellent. I tried a couple and this one was special. Trying a few of the same and different models is even more important with acoustics than electrics I feel.