Fender/Takamine or other?

podger456

I'm going to take up the guitar again after about 10 years. Had a fender and yamaha acoustic which were stolen and just never got into it again. So essentially I am a beginner again and would appreciate some advice.
Either going for acoustic or electro/acoustic. Like fenders, but for no other reason than I had one and liked that. Also like the look of some of the taks though and leaning towards them tbh. Play mainly folk and blues, privately and mostly unplugged.

So, just wondering if the sound of an electro/acoustic is too compromised compared to a straight acoustic for the same money or is it close enough not to matter? Don't plan to buy again for good while, so the thought of E/A is appealing to me.

Don't want to spend more than EUR500 really. Will buy online from the UK so 500 quid should stretch further than here. But realistically I know you're still looking at a fairly basic guitar. So the question is, is a fender or tak that costs 500 really going to be much better than one that costs 250-300? Say the tak eg330 or eg341 which both seem to be ok and less than 300?

Any thoughts on fender vs takamine for what I will be using it for? Or other suggestions?
thanks in advance

b318isp

The Takamine stuff is just suberb - a step better than the basic Fender acoustics. Even the basic EG330 has a magnificent and uncompromised tone - you can't go wrong with it. Enjoy!

Kenny_D

Take a trip to XMusic and try out a few different guitars to see which models you like best. Guitars in the sub 500 range can sound totally different so its really best to try a few. I love the sound of an acoustic amplified but not all guitars sound great amplified and if its not needed then it adds a good bit onto the price tag which may mean that corners were cut elsewhere on the guitar to keep the price low. If its just for starting out on again I wouldnt worry about the pickup too much and just go for the best sounding acoustic rather than electro-acoustic. If you stick with it you can always sell the guitar on and upgrade

podger456

Thanks for the encouragement on the takamines! Will definitely try a few of them in store somewhere. Is xmusic the one on drury st? Only couple of minutes from me if so, can pop in when no-one there!

Dord

Fender actually own Takamine now, so the difference between similarly priced models is gonna be slim.

Fatloss08

only go to xmusic to try a guitar out

buy it online as all irish stockists are robbing cnuts

spoonbadger

Yes.Yes they are...

But!!.

The same model that you like instore might differ from the one you'd buy online. It doesnt really matter with electric guitars, but acoustics do have variances depending on the quality of the wood. There shouldnt be much difference in terms of neck, frets, (general feel) but the sound might not be the same.

Fatloss08

he's a beginner he wouldnt notice any slight diff