Acoustic Guitar

UnknownSpecies

Hey, just said I'd throw a question to the people most likely to know, I'm looking for a new acoustic guitar. I have been playing for two years with an awful guitar that was found very very cheap, I think it might be slowing my progress.

Anyway, I am just wondering what models and brands should I be looking for? I just want something that is easy to play and that will help me get better, my budget is between €200-€250. I don't mind if it's second hand or otherwise, just want to know if anyone has any suggestions, thanks in advance

Blackhorse Slim

For your first decent guitar, you're really better off going to a shop and trying as many as possible. I could tell you that in your price range, Yamaha make very good, no-frills instruments, and brands like Epiphone, Takamine, Tanglewood all make good entry-level acoustic guitars. But what matters most is how a guitar feels and sounds to you. Try every guitar you can afford, and if one speaks to you, buy it!

The only technical advice I would give you is to stay away from all-laminate guitars. A solid top is pretty essential, it will sound better and improve with age. Solid back and sides are a plus, but not essential, and might be very hard to find in your price range.

Also, think a little about what size guitar would suit you, a small parlour guitar? A dreadnought (the most common)? A Jumbo?

That's it really, good luck and happy hunting

Dublin Guitar

Agree with the above, head into Cork to Pro Musica, Russell's or Crowleys, or over to John Palmer in Waterford. Between those four shops I'm sure you'll find a great guitar for that kind of money.

Blackhorse Slim is correct, a solid top is essential and you'll easily get one on a guitar over €200. 80% of the sound comes from the soundboard, so remember, even on a really expensive instrument, the top is doing most of the work.

Best of luck with your guitar hunt

Edit: Also worth calling into Tony Ryan at The Guitar Shop on McCurtain St. near Crowley's. He's always got something nice in there for decent money, usually some second hand stuff too.

Dublin Guitar Centre

UnknownSpecies

Cheers lads, I went down to Pro Musica in Cork and had a play with a few guitars down there and eventually decided on a Tanglewood acoustic for €300 so I was happy out! It has the solid wood top ye advised, the sound off it is gorgeous, loved it as soon as I played it!

There is such a difference between playing with the shite old guitar and this new one, I definitely see myself getting a lot better

Hayte

I've liked most of the sub €500 Tanglewoods I played - maybe 3 or 4 of them. I played a great one at x music that cost like 250 squid. Really nice neck, nice frets, held tuning well, nice low action without fret rattle (so it was setup good from the factory by the looks of things). I rated that guitar higher than quite alot of the acoustics they had in the high end room. Wish I'd taken the serial number now.

Glad to see you try before you buy. Its the only way to get a guitar you are really happy with.

Sevenspeed

I would go with a tanglewood also. Got a loan of one recently - can't remember the model, but it was very good, considering the price they are selling for.

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

I got a new tanglewood tw155 a few months ago. sounds great, and feels great. the main reason i bought it was to improve my acoustic playing, and to force myself to play more acoustic, but i hardly have a change to play it!

just realised, for the first time ever, tonight i will have all my guitars in the one room at the same time. must take a pic!

decies

Just wondering has anybody got a tanglewood parlour and what do they think of them? My other half has this one and loves it http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/products/acoustic/sundance/tw73/TW73VSB.html

Blackhorse Slim

decies wrote: »

Just wondering has anybody got a tanglewood parlour and what do they think of them? My other half has this one and loves it http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/products/acoustic/sundance/tw73/TW73VSB.html

I really like the look of this one - very similar model

http://www.perfectpitch.ie/index.php?page=product&action=view&product_id=177

millser19

I had a bad experience with a Tanglewood that I bought to move on from playing the spanish guitar out of Lidl! It warped quite badly and the pickup (was a electro-acoustic) circuitboard failed.
I could never understand it as they were stored pretty well. However, i suppose that was one of the lower end models and cant really generalize.

I'd personally recommend Takamine. I got mine from Thomann, set me back about 350e but had a few extra features. 3 years on, no complaints, very happy with it. You should maybe check some of them out, you should have no trouble finding cheaper models if you just wanted the basic dreadnought acoustic guitar. .

martinedwards

I've had several Tanglewoods and Takamines through my hands over the years.

The tanglewoods I'VE owned have been solid dependable and pretty decent guitars, but clearly from the lower half (certainly not lower 5%!) of the market.

Taks?

harder to generalise.

the electronics are SUPERB. even the cheapest Tak will sound wonderful plugged into an amp. this is what built thier reputation. in the 80s when rock bands were using Ovations for that acoustic intro, people who wanted an acoustic to sound more like an acoustic used Takamines.

but

unplugged, you get what you pay for.

I've played a few top end Takamines and they were sublime. beautiful and complex, a joy to play.

I've played a few from the budget end too.

and they were just poor acoustically.

just ICK

plugged in? they were a LOT better, but unplugged?

yuck

IMHO of course!!

JCJCJC

Agree with earlier posts - a Yamaha at any money is always great value for the money. My fav lower-end guitar is Ibanez. I have a Martin D16RGT and an Ibanez AEL2012ETK. The Martin is four times more expensive, but not four times as nice - the Ibanez is a brilliant guitar and fantastic value for the price. Try one. Seeing as you are going for a mid-size instrument it seems, I'd go for Ibanez's exotic wood series. Alternatively, Chinese-made Arias are nice, but uncommon. Beware of Chinese Blueridges, some horror stories on US-side boards.

Edit - another piece of advice - take along a buddy to play it and stand away from it to judge the tonal quality. Some guitars sound fine to the player, but are somehow thinner to listeners. Just a personal opinion.