Acoustic blues guitar recommendation

[Dana C]

I had a Breedlove Atlas, a superb guitar, which I stupidly sold.  I bought a Kremona Romida classica thinking that I would love to learn how to play that genre.  It takes years to even begin to be proficient and I have recently been told that I don't have "years" left and my heart will  quit sooner than later.  I am soon to be 65.....gettting older is NOT what I was told it would be.

I want to return to what I loved, playing along with blues cds and other stuff as well.  I am not great or even good but I like playing a decent or good guitar.  I have looked at Breedlove Atlas plus dreadnoughts, Ovation Balladeers, Godin 5th avenues, Breedlove C250 COE's, Fender f hole resonators and others including the Epiphone Master built.  

Rather than jump blindly into this once again,  I would really like to know what will work well.  I finger pick, pick and want to learn how to use a slide a little.  I want to keep my purchase under $500 used.  I have been looking on ebay buy the way.

Your thoughts and expertise would be very much appreciated.

[Opa John]

First of all, welcome to our forum, Dana. As for the "gettin' older" thing......I know what you mean. I just turned 70 this past November and getting old ain't for sissies. Beats NOT getting old, though.

Last October I lucked out and found a pratically new (3 months old) Martin D-15M with the Martin hard shell case in absolutely pristine condition for $550 on my local Craig's List. I'd been watching it for a couple of weeks. The seller was motivated by his desire for a different size guitar. He'd never owned a dreadnought before and discovered the size caused him severe shoulder pain. He'd orignally listed it at $750, then he dropped it to $650 and finally, $550. That's when I made my move....bought it and was bringing it home less than two hours after he'd dropped the price to $550. He'd already had it for three months, so his only other option was to trade it in and Guitar Center would only give him $500 for it as a trade-in.

I have to say, I don't think you'd find one at the same price unless you're very lucky, but I think, if you could stretch your budget a little, for about $650 you could find one.

IMO, the Martin D-15M is one of the best all around guitars money can buy and it makes for a VERY nice "blues" guitar. The only drawback would be that it has a 1 11/16" nut and I think most finger style pickers prefer 1 3/4". However, if you could make the 1 11/16" work for you, I think you'd love it. Good luck, whatever you decide to get. Here's a picture of mine, BTW.

 

 

[Freeman Keller]

Another welcome, Dana, from another old fart (68) who loves the blues.    First, we all have a quintessential "blues guitar" in mind (often a small bodied Gibson because of that iconic photo of Robert Johnson) but as this indicates the old blues guys played anything and everything

http://www.earlyblues.com/blues\_singers.htm

However there are some characteristics that make a guitar "bluesier" - I would try to include as many as possible in your searching.   First, most of us like smaller bodies for blues - 000 and OM sizes tend to be better balanced for finger picking than say a dread or jumbo (however, Gary Davis played a jumbo so what can I say).   Many of the old blues boxes were cheaply built - ladder braced guitars have that simple sound that we associate with many blues players (they also tend to blow up so there aren't too many around).   Twelve fret slot heads just have a mojo about them that calls out blues - but they also have two important characteristics that might help - the wide string spacing is easier for finger style and the flatter fretboards are better for slide.   Rosewood is a very complex sounding wood, many people think that the simple woodyness of mahogany is better for old music.    Resonators are nice and many blues players used them, but they are not necessary for either slide or blues (again, RJ never played a reso).  

I would stay away from a lot of the "modern" guitars in your list - Breedlove, Taylor and many others have a wonderful sound, but you want something with some grit to it.   Recording King, the Loar, Blueridge, as well as Martin 000-15 and some small bodied Gibsons, might be better choices.   Be particularly careful buying used, especially with older cheaper guitars - learn about neck angle and other issues.

For what it is worth, here are my three primary blues boxes - all very different.   A metal bodied resonator,  long scale ladder braced twelve string, and a small bodied 12 fret 000.

 

 

[old1]

You may want to check out the Wechter TO-8412. Sweetwater has them for $599, http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TO8418 Although it is over $500, it has a very nice set up done, and a hard shell case is included. I'm primarily an electric guitar player, but own several acoustic guitars as I like playing acoustic blues. I purchased one of these about a month ago, and couldn't be happier. It was set up great, (for my playing style) the sound is beautiful. This is a solid spruce and mahogany guitar. It has a lot of great reviews from acoustic players. It's worth looking into. P.S. I'm also 65. Keep on keeping on!

[BarryG]

I'm only five years behind you and I just started the guitar about ten years ago.  If you're willing to overlook some cosmetic issues, old parlor guitars can be purchased in your price range and they make great acoustic blues players, with their small bodies, wide necks and short scale lengths.  Some of the brands that were popular and, thus, are now available in decent quantities are Regal, Harmony, Kay and Washburn.  With respect to new guitars, you will find some nice guitars in your price range, some with solid tops.  The Wechter that someone else mentioned is appealing, but I have not played one  Someone else mentioned Eastman.  I played an Eastman parlor guitar and an Eastman OM at a local store the other day and both were quite nice, so you should check them out.  The lower end Larrivee guitars are also pretty good and, if you're persisent and lucky, you can probably find a good used one close to your price range. Another manufacturer that makes decent guitars in your price range is Seagull.  Finally, I have a Yamaha FS700 that I bought as a knock around guitar for $200.  It's got a solid spruce top and nato back and sides.  The sound is decent and the playability is very good.  For the money, you probably wont' be able to beat it.  With a soft case that I purchased, it's half of your maximum budget.  

[Pine Apple Slim]

For a really budget blues axe, I'm gassing for one of these cheap little gretsches(kinda a copy of an old Kay or Silvertone. The YouTube vids sound great and from what is said on the Gretsch forums, they come reasonably well set up with a med action great for cowboy chords and slide playing.  $149 bucks and possibly a set up to your liking, maybe a soundhole pickup into a Champ or similar if you wanna go electric. Authentic and cheap blues machine.