Can anyone recommend a decent electric acoustic?

PeadarofAodh

i have been playing electric guitar for the past three years but recently realised how much i really enjoy playing acoustic.i know very little about the different makes etc but have heard many recommendations for tanglewoods and taylors.the only problem is i want to spend 500 at the most and all the taylors seem to be much more.can anybody suggest anything?

fitz

Get yourself a Taylor Big Baby from Thomann or Musicstore. Can't go wrong.

PeadarofAodh

fitz wrote:

Get yourself a Taylor Big Baby from Thomann or Musicstore. Can't go wrong.

Yeh iv heard a lot of recommendations for it but Taylor Big Babys don't have pickups do they?Excuse my ignorance if i'm wrong!

daram

Go second hand. Last christmas I bought a Takamine EN10c,five yearsold,grand condition and great sound for 500 bills. Obviously, just make sure that you try before buying. Im sure fitz will take 500 for his lowden,yeah?

PeadarofAodh

I was going to buy second hand or else use Thomann, I was just wondering if there's a make that I can't go wrong with for my budget

daram

Em. Can't say I've played everything but heres my two cents anyway -
Talyor - Generally Good, although the very cheap ones arent great when they're plugged in, even though they're fishman pickups.
Takamine - Never had a problem with one. Great plugged in sound.
Lowden - Great in every sense of the word but probably not cheap
Yamaha - You get what you pay for as a general rule. High end yamahas are underrated
Tanglewood - All the Tanglewoods I've played have been poor acoustically, but I've heard good things from other people so maybe I've just been playing the wrong ones
Gibson - Old ones are good ones. New ones still good, but anything over 25years old will be a winner.
Epiphone - Again, old ones are good. New ones aren't usually up to much. But I've only played the ones in Waltons and all the guitars in there are ****e.
Fender - Im not a fan of fender acoustics. electrics yes, acoustics no. Stay away from atrocities such as the stratacoustic and the telecoustic.
Martins - Generally good. Only played a few. Custom US made ones are great but are shockingly expensive.

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head

Eoin Madsen

Lowden have been rebranded as Avalon, so it might be hard to come by one anyway. As it is, Avalon do the original Lowden ranges as well as doing some newer budget models afaik (made in the Orient somewhere ) that would definately be worth a look. I think Musician Inc stock them. Gibson do nice acoustics but they are overpriced, and you won't find one for near your price range, even second-hand.

I'd recommend you check out Simon & Patrick as well. Electroacoustic, all solid wood, and in your price bracket. They're good value for money, better than Tanglewood, and definately better imo than the Takamines or Taylors that you'll get for the same money (which have laminate wood back and sides). You can try out all three upstairs in MusicMaker anyway.

PeadarofAodh

Thanks for the tips Eoin. One more thing I was wondering about was maybe buying an acoustic and getting an amp installed. Is it possible to get a good acoustic and end up with a much better guitar for the same money by cutting out the price of a pre-installed amp?

daram

Probably better off just buying one premade. If you want a good pickup then you'll end up paying a lot, and getting it installed and whatever. I've heard good things about those avalon deals alright, havent played one yet though. When I mentioned lowden I meant it purely as a second hand thing. Takamines are good. Im only saying it because I own one. But they are. Sound great live through a pa if you put one of those hole plug deals in. The takamine brand pickups are a legend.

PeadarofAodh

I like the sound of the Simon and Patricks.Does anyone know an online store that has a decent stock of them to choose from?

fitz

Can't believe I forgot to mention S&P...they're some of the best value guitars you'll find. Try them out upstairs in MusicMaker.

Avoid Takamine, they're thin sounding, plasticy, and generally yuck. And ridiculously priced.

Avalons get the thumbs up.
You will get a better guitar if you buy one without a pickup which costs the same price.

I'd seriously take Eoin's advice and check out the Simon and Patrick...

buckeejit

i'm getting myself a big baby

does anyone know of a good pickup to fit to this yoke

Niall123

I have a tanglewood sudance with a fishman classic 4 pick-up and I've been pretty satisfied with it.

I got a loan of a takamine for a while, it was good alright but the only thing I did notice was that a few people I know with them said that they went of tune pretty easily.

Whether or not it was just them or that takamines are more prone to such things, I don't know. But I'd recomend tanglewood anyday.

Quattroste

If you are trying out Guitars and you see a Washburn Electro Acoustics then give tham a try. You might be surprised. The higher end all use solid woods and are not that expensive. Usually Korean made but I love the one I have(even though I will get a better one )

youcancallmeal

interesting...

BME

Satisfied Takamine customer here

It wasn't me!

Simon and Patrick are yumtastic. I have one, and I'd probably pay twice what I did for it. I've yet to see better value in any guitar make. The Avalons are gorgeous, and I nearly cried when it was pried from my hands in Musician Inc, but you can't afford one, so don't even try. You'll have sweaty dreams about it for several weeks afterwards. It's not worth the suffering dude.

Niall123

I was suprised to play a Walden (only E219) and find that it was feckin' brillant particularly for the price, if you don't plan to spend louds seriously take this into consideration.

kika_j

I have a Simon and patrick 3/4 size acoustic. I'm more comfortable with the size because a broken wrist when i was younger means uncomfortable times on the higher frets. I installed this in it and it sounds amazing. I will probably upgrade to something like this eventually but i'm really quite pleased with the quality sound I'm getting now for a cumulative price of only €615 after buying the guitar in Ireland. Probably could get the same setup for much cheaper online.

Simon and Patrick are really beautiful

faceman

Not sure of your musical dedication Peader but if u are playing a few years I presume u are pretty in to it. If i was u i wud keep my money and continue saving and invest in a decent accoustic. I have a a Samick and a Tanglewood. I find the tanglewood's a pleasure to play. I prefer Samick for dirty blues tho!

If guitars were women, I would sleep with my Tanglewood every nite and have dirty casual encounters with the Samick!

Rustar

Ewwww! Remind me not to ask about your fingerboard polish! :eek:

Niall123

Rustar wrote:

Ewwww! Remind me not to ask about your fingerboard polish! :eek:

Don't ask about his fingerboard polish.

PonderStibbons

Is €629 a lot to pay for a Taylor Big Baby in Ireland?

I live in Limerick, if anyone knows the name and number of a music shop that has it for sale for less than this ouside of Limerick it would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks!

Ravelleman

€629 is an outrageous price. You can get one at http://www.thomann.de/thoiw6_artikel-145061.html for €425 or so shipped to your door. The store itself has a great reputation. :v:

Jimmy_Jazz

PeadarofAodh wrote:

I like the sound of the Simon and Patricks.Does anyone know an online store that has a decent stock of them to choose from?

www.soundslive.co.uk have a few of them, for reasonable prices. I've bought from them before - they're very good. I ordered an amp on a Sunday night and it arrived on the Wednesday.