nice sounding acoustic for under 500USD

[Jaeson Merrill]

the title really says it all, but i need some help here, as i will have the money for it soon

i love my guitar, but its been thrown off porches, bounced down hilly asphalt streets, been gorilla glued together, dried out, soaked up, ran over.. etc..

and frankly, its starting to get a bit out of tune.

the type where the open strings are in tune, but the 4th fret is out...

the way i see it, this guitar will always have issues. I will take it to a guitar person and see if theres any salvaging it, but i need a really nice recording guitar.

Im looking for a full, but crisp tone, one that is very easy to play, stays in tune, not too much buzz, but for under 500 bucks.

nothing tinny, no major frills

(although piezo p/u would be nice, or especially nice looks, though not nessecary)

also, wouldnt mind to get a hard case for it...

yup, all under 500 bucks...likely in the 300-500 range..

possible?

If not, whats the next best thing?

must be a full size guitar, cutaway not nessecary..

also, looking for some really nice strings to put on it for recording.

these were the ones suggested to me

Epiphone EJ-200CE Acoustic-Electric Guitar

and

Taylor Big Baby Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

of course the top one is acoustic elec, and i could go without it, so perhaps one of the lower models could suffice that are on this page :

ac. guitar choices filtered by price, 300-500 range

its an important desicion, as its really my main composition tool, and singing accompaniment..

without an acoustic guitar im lost....

[7XL]

Breedlove.

Without a doubt the best acoustic that you can find for around $500 USD.

www.americanguitarboutique.com carries the complete Breedlove line, including their American made instruments, mandolins and the new Atlas basses.

Another good choice is Whecter, they have an import model, Pathmaker, that contains a killer electronics section. It actually won the editors choice award from Guitar Player magazine. You can find them at AGB also.

[scuzzphut]

I have a Taylor big baby and I love it dearly.
It's easy to play (in fact, it's a joy to play) and the sound is clear, crisp, positively ringing.

For $500 you could get a big baby, a hard case and a piezo pickup, I would imagine.

Bluedad has one, too.

[Sascha Franck]

The Taylors are amazing!
Still on my wish list (I get along somewhat fine with my Takamine, but I wouldn't recommend it to anybody).

[soulata]

a bit OT here but:

Sascha, as far as I remember you play jazz too. Any tracks? demos?

interested in colaboration?

k

[bluedad]

Oh my, I adore my big baby taylor. It's a joy to play, the tone is crisp and clear. Not to mention it records very well; I've had quite a few compliments on the sound.
you can hear it in action:
distant shores
needle and the damage done
love song
I can never thank scuzzphut enough for pointing me toward this gem.

[scuzzphut]

are you listening, Taylor? Don't I get commission or something ????

[The Peu]

Hi,

Last week a good buddy and former bandmate came to NYC from Europe and we spent a couple hours at Guitar Center trying acoustic guitars. In this price range, the guitar that impressed us the most is the Martin 000X1 that retailed for $449.

http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/cho ... =d&m=000X1

So he went back to Europe without buying anything and then he called me saying he wanted me to buy it for him, which I did this weekend.

I have been playing with it since Saturday, and I can confirm it is a really great sounding guitar, but the most impressive part is the neck which is one of the easiest I have eve played.

TP

[Stupid American Pig]

I played an Epi Masterbilt this weekend that cost about 500 US, and really liked it. The fit and finish was nice, though I cant see paying 500 bucks for a chinese made instrument.

I played This ibanez and really liked the fit and finish, the sound was nice too. Its more reasonable at 349.

But I am going to have to recommend the Big Baby Taylor if you want a nice instrument. You really cant beat taylor guitars...

[Scotrick]

I'm probably going to get laughed at here, but I want to suggest you add Yamaha to the list of possibilities... I bought my acoustic in 1988, and it's a Yamaha model with a solid spruce bookmatched top, and in 1988 dollars was around 480.00... in those days, solid top cheap guitars were very rare, but now it seems much more common... and of course, I've heard lousy sounding solid top guitars, and great sounding laminated top guitars, but the real key about my Yamaha is that it has aged very very well... frets are very hard steel and so show little wear, tuners stil hold tune... my guitar was made in Japan and was at the bottom of the line of what Yamaha called their upscale line that topped out with an American Made all solid wood guitar (mine just has a solid top, sides and back are laminated koa)
And make sure you actually play whatever guitar you're getting... so much variation between even same models among same manufacturers

[C00kie]

NEVER ever (!!) buy a guitar solely based on reputation, here-say or whatever comments other people have given. Only trust your own fingers & ears.

Go to a big music shop and try some. Go to another shop and try some more. Repeat that and pick yer poison for the next couple of years.

[bluedad]

NEVER ever (!!) buy a guitar solely based on reputation, here-say or whatever comments other people have given. Only trust your own fingers & ears.

Go to a big music shop and try some. Go to another shop and try some more. Repeat that and pick yer poison for the next couple of years.

I was going to say something like that, but then I thought Jaeson probably knows better than to buy a guitar without playing it. And certainly not on our recommendations alone!

[C00kie]

I was going to say that the subject said a lot except that he was looking for a guitar (could be a acoustic piano also )

But I sure hope Jaeson is going to try it out first.

A side note on strings: I heard there are only two factories producing the whole rack of strings you can buy. The thickness has always made more difference to me than the brand.

[Jaeson Merrill]

w0w

well, first off, thank you for all of your responses!!!

It seems that the big baby wins out here, so i suppose it will be the first thing i try. If i fall in love, it will be mine. I wish the headstock was electric tho, like my old california fender 80's acoustic... but cant really ask for much at that price for a taylor!!! (They are the full size baby's right?)

especially to bluedad for the mp3 links, its just what i wanted.

I wouldnt get a guitar without trying it first, but a local guitar shop only sells crap (within 10 miles) and the further one (within 40 miles) only sells expensive stuff.. If i want to go to guitar center (80 miles) i can, but i figure, ill just order something from musicians friend, try it out, if i dont like it, send it back! They are really good about that, so i have no fears....It will be just like trying it out at the store, but better! since i can record it, play it in my room, see how it sounds in a mix, how it looks on my wall, it gives me a chance to see if i REALLY like it.

its hard out here in rural PA to find a decent music store.. not like long island, where im from, theres one in at least every other town (within 4-6 miles of each other)..

By the way, if i take it back, it will probably be availabe as an open box special at musicians friend, ill let ya know if i do

[Stupid American Pig]

the taylor big baby is a "15/16th scale". so for all intents and purposes its a full size. I think the next acoustic I purchase is gonna be the fender "big tex". I just love the cheesy cowgirl on that one: