The lesser known acoustic brands thread

Polochlainn

Hello all,
For the past fortnight I have been searching the interweb for ideas on purchasing a mid level acoustic maybe 400-600 yoyos-(no qualms about second hand as i believe thats the true way to find the real hidden gems) .

I have unearthed a world of blueridges/seagulls/alvarez/avalons(czech built-gold series) etc. that my simple brain never knew existed and these bad boys seem very close to my price range and have some rave views online.
I would love to hear what you guys in the know think of these brands and if you know of any others that you would like to add.

I have always just been restricted to my musicstore mag and thomann but i feel as if those sneaky germans had the wool pulled over my eyes for the last 7/8 years.

Cheers

martinedwards

seagulls are excellent bang for buck.

I have a pal with an astonishing stable of guitars..... McPherson, Larivee, McIlroy, Takimene, A Lowden worth £20,000, and a stack of others in the same realm....

and a seagull.

says it all really!!

ANY acoustic guitar needs to be played before purchase though and humidity changes and all sorts of other variables will mean that one guitar of a particular brand could be wonderful, while the one you buy online could be worse than firewood.

another brand worth a look is Turner. VERY like Taylors (especially before the court case!)

Polochlainn

Cheers for the response martin the seagulls look great alright.
I found an avalon gold series d100 online for about 720e.
So i rang up avalon guitars and they said its made in the czech republic by furch
and he would highly recommend at this price as they sold them four years ago for about 1400.
Am a bit nervous though as wont get the chance to play.
Was playing a lowden last night it was beautiful( a friend of mine has two, I keep telling him he only needs one!) but a bit outside of my price bracket and ability level!
I also saw an alvarez yauri dyk75p (ltd edition) for a decent price on line but for the life of me dont know what the p stands for! any ideas?
i never knew shopping for a guitar could be this exciting!

wild turkey

I picked up a Recording king Ro 126 recently for around €350 on Thomann & its an excellent guitar, Built very close to Martin specs,all solid 000 style i would say its as good as any Martin under €1000.
I had my heart set on a 00015m but I'm very happy to let this replace it.

http://www.thomann.de/ie/recording_king_ro_126_na_b_stock.htm

Rented Mule

My brother-in-law picked up a second hand mid-range Seagull about 10 years. I have been lusting after it since the first time that I got my hands on it.

Strings.ie

Another plug for Seagull. Actually Seagull, Simon & Patrick, Norman, Art & Lutherie are all part of the Canadian Godin factory. They make some great instruments. Unfortunately the Irish distribution went tits up so you don't see them so much these days.

Maybe look at some of the Martin budget composite Guitars. Also you might just pick up something really special 2nd hand.
Don't buy it online though. Go try it in a shop, let it sing to you even if it costs a bit more. Acoustic instruments are organic, you might have 10 of the same model but one will just shine above the rest.

Ravelleman

I agree, a lot of the stuff Godin are putting out under various names looks fantastic for the price. I've been meaning to get an acoustic for a long time but have never felt able to justify one - it's tough having such expensive taste. I think that when I do get something it will be a nice, simple Simon & Patrick or an Art & Lutherie.

Sergio

Another good brand are freshman guitars the more expensive models that is that would be in your price range. I remember a guitar teacher i had years ago bought one and it was an amazing sounding guitar for the price.