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Topic: Best Acoustic Guitar |
Lyle Bradford
From:
Gilbert WV USA (deceased)
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 10:15 am |
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| What is the best all around acoustic guitar under $1000? |
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Larry Miller
From:
Dothan AL,USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 10:16 am
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| Blueridge BR-60 |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 1:59 pm
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1/2 of a Martin HD-28!
Erv |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 2:18 pm
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Although I have a 35 year old Guild D35..
(not for sale)
If I were to spend a grand on another acoustic I would probably not buy a new one but rather an older Guitar from a vintage shop or so..the best older Gibson or Guild that I could get for the money. Point is the wood is older and more mature and probably will have much more deeper tone than any new marked up to $1000 guitar out there..and it will probably never be worth less than what you pay for it..
happy hunting
t
[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 22 January 2004 at 02:18 PM.] |
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Rick McDuffie
From:
Benson, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 3:31 pm
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Cool guitar, Tony. I love the old Guilds.
Man, you guys are not gonna believe this but we've got a (gasp) Chinese-made Alvarez dreadnought in the shop here that plays and sounds like a Taylor 710. Solid Engelmann spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back AND sides. I know... it's unbelievable; I didn't believe it either until I heard and played it. And it's gorgeous. Apparently there are some very good luthiers in China, but we never knew it because we were only importing their junk. This thing is amazing. $899 w/ hs case.
Rick
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Rick McDuffieMarlen SD-10, Sho-Bud Professional S-10, '78 Howard Roberts Custom, '72 Les Paul Deluxe, Fender Telecaster Custom
Rick's Music Photo Gallery
www.tarheelmusic.com
[This message was edited by Rick McDuffie on 22 January 2004 at 03:31 PM.] |
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Lincoln Goertzen
From:
Taylor, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 4:44 pm
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Lyle,
Definitely check out Garrison guitars. They run very inexpensively for what they deliver, and they sound simply ALIVE, due to a completely glass-fibre composite bracing system.
Their website is www.garrisonguitars.com .
Lincoln |
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Drew Howard
From:
48854
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 9:25 pm
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| Quote: |
| Apparently there are some very good luthiers in China, but we never knew it because we were only importing their junk. |
Happily, that is changing. At the NAMM show last weekend I saw some VERY impressive Chinese made guitars, and even bought one for myself- a PRS copy with a 24 fret neck and a drop dead gorgeous metalic blue finish. This may be the best looking guitar in my collection. It sounds pretty good too.
Eastman Guitars, which are made in Bejing, are now considered one of the finest jazz guitars in the world. And this year the company intruduced their new line of flat tops.
Personally I prefer smaller guitars, and the Eastmans are all too large for me. The new flat tops are close in size to a J-200.
They sound great, however, they cost more than $1,000.
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Marc Friedland
From:
Fort Collins, CO
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Posted 22 Jan 2004 11:19 pm
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| I bought my guitar for $550, including the case. The year was 1973, and I went into Goldie & Libro's in downtown New Haven, CT, and tried out just about every acoustic guitar in the store. I eventually decided on the one I still own and play today. It's a Martin D35 model, and I still think it plays and sounds great. Of course getting today's retailers to roll back the price clock thirty years will be a most difficult task. Good Luck! -- Marc (I have a funny story about what led up to me deciding to buy a nice acoustic guitar, but it's a long story, and even more off topic than I already have gone) |
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seldomfed
From:
Colorado
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Posted 23 Jan 2004 10:06 am
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Two that have impressed me are;
- Tacoma - they have a nice Koa model for around $800 that's killer. Add a pickup and you have a great instrumet.
- Norman/Seagull/ - etc. - Canadian makers turn out good quality acoustics at reasonable price points. http://www.lasido.com/
Try some Normans, every once in a while there will be one that just stands out as an excellent instrument. Course this is true for most lines in the under $1k range. Most are good - but every once in while something for some reason is just amazing.
Chris
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Chris Kennison
Ft. Collins, Colorado
"There is no spoon"
www.book-em-danno.com
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Jim Peters
From:
St. Louis, Missouri, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 23 Jan 2004 3:19 pm
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| My vote goes to Larivee. i own a D03R that will stand up to any accoustic I have ever played. JP |
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Lyle Bradford
From:
Gilbert WV USA (deceased)
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Posted 23 Jan 2004 7:43 pm
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| Thanks for all the response and i will check them out. |
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Derek Duplessie
From:
La Jolla CA USA
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Posted 23 Jan 2004 8:51 pm
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The best acoustic guitars I've ever tried (and I've
tried them all!!) are the collings acoustic guitars.
They're not cheap to say the least. I love gibsons
and taylors, too. You don't see them very often, but Rickenbacker makes a nice acoustic guitar!
-Derek |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 24 Jan 2004 3:54 am
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I think that Collings are easily the most consistently well-made and well-finished, while Martins come very close - both of these hold their value pretty well, too. It should always be acknowledged that Martin were the pioneers in this field, and most of their rivals are replicating (more or less) Martin Guitars' original concepts.
In answer to the question posed, I have to agree with Rick - a friend (who didn't have a fortune to spend) asked me to find him a good guitar and, although I played almost everything out there, I kept coming back to the Alvarez. This was some years ago, and my friend still has it - a DY-seventy-something(?), I think it's called. It's a D28 'clone' that's improved with playing and is a joy to pick up and play. Solid top, lovely neck and fingerboard, and very good finish.
I told him that I wanted first refusal if he ever got rid of it!
RR
PS: I don't recall this being made in China, though - I thought it was Japanese; I could be wrong.
PPS: I have an Alvarez banjo (a 'Denver Belle') for which I paid $800 - I'm no judge of a banjo, and only use it when forced to (I can fool a layman - or a show-producer - into thinking I can play it), but it's a fine-looking thing!
[This message was edited by Roger Rettig on 24 January 2004 at 03:58 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 24 Jan 2004 7:28 am
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I don't want you guys to feel bad but I always wanted a D-18 Martin like Elvis Presley played. So in 1967 I had enough money to buy one. I bought it at Schmidt music in Minneapolis. They had them on order for two years and finally some came it. I paid $295 dollars for it and traded in a trombone for the case. I still have it. Do you think I could get close to what I paid for it if I wanted to sell it?? 
What a deal!
Erv |
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Lyle Bradford
From:
Gilbert WV USA (deceased)
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Posted 24 Jan 2004 12:14 pm
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| Erv I have a 1955 D 18. |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 24 Jan 2004 12:24 pm
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| Lyle, I have a 1955 D-28. |
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Lyle Bradford
From:
Gilbert WV USA (deceased)
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Posted 24 Jan 2004 1:25 pm
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| Now that is a guitar to die for. |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 25 Jan 2004 2:21 pm
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I have a 1947 000-18, and a 1927 0-18!
RR |
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Tony Prior
From:
Charlotte NC
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Posted 25 Jan 2004 3:28 pm
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So much for my '66 Guild D35 NT which I paid Henry at Manny's Music NYC $180 bucks for in 1966..
Who's this Martin anyway ? Any relation to Steve ? Or Dean ? or Austin ?
t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 25 January 2004 at 03:29 PM.] |
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Emmett Roch
From:
Texas Hill Country
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Posted 25 Jan 2004 5:30 pm
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Roger---I had one, I ºthinkº I remember the model being a DY-76. On tape, it sounded identical to a friend's Martin D35 but my Alvarez had a better action.
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___________________
GFI S-12 extended E9
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 25 Jan 2004 9:00 pm
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That's the one, Emmett! A DY-76 - thank you.
A fine guitar by any standards - I hope to get my hands on it again one day.....
RR |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 25 Jan 2004 9:09 pm
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The prettiest guitar I ever had was my Olson SJ - a virtual replica of the instrument James Taylor plays, hand-made by James Olson of Circle Pines, Minnesota.
Mine finally arrived (after a nine-month wait) in Summer, '98 - it was a thing of beauty and sounded perfect, but I just never got comfortable on that very slim and wide neck. It cost me $4700 and I sold it two years later for $7500, so I came out OK. I still have some great photos of it, although it's now been replaced by a Martin 000-28 (yet another Martin!).....
RR |
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CrowBear Schmitt
From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
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Posted 26 Jan 2004 6:27 am
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i bought a new D35 from SamAsh on the Island back in 1971 - sold it and got a Gurian JM
i've had it ever since
Yes this is a plug for Michael Gurian.
Gone but not Forgotten
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Steel what?
[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 26 January 2004 at 06:27 AM.] |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 26 Jan 2004 6:57 am
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Roger,
I have a Larson guitar I will sell you. It's a nice guitar but when Ole made it he polished it with sardine oil and you have to keep kicking the cat out of the way when you play it. Also, he had a hard time with numbers so it is a 7 stringer!
Uff-Da!
The left-handed Norwegian |
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