Members jcbakz Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 I've been having this Gear Acquisition Syndrome on an acoustic for a couple of months now. i live in a small city and all instruments i owned are purchased online since we dont have good stuff here. i have been playing guitars for over 14 years (mostly electric) and had owned a few acoustics but I was not serious on having a quality acoustic before. now that im near 30 years old music to me has change and im more dragged into the acoustic music. my friend to whom I buy gears from him (online) has some acoustics but i cant decide which one to pick since both brands are great. im not familiar on acoustic guitars so my decision will be based on the responses in this thread. the acoustics he has for sale are: morris w15 morris md512 morris md505 morris f12II yamaha fg425tbs yamaha f360tbs yamaha fg250 yamaha apx-4 all are imported in japan in pristine condition and only in that list i will purchase. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 It's really hard to go wrong w/ Yamaha...that's a company that really has got the acoustic-guitar-at-a-modest-price thing sewed up! Even their lam. topped models sound as good as many solid-topped instruments. Morris can make nice examples, but I wouldn't buy one w/o playing it, first...Yammy, I'd have no reservations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 I'll be honest with ya.......I've never heard of a Morris guitar. I see Terry has, but that means nothing to me because Terry has heard of just about every guitar maker out there. Besides, if I've never heard of Morris, I gotta believe a lot of others have never heard of one either. Might be difficult to sell if the day ever came. I'd buy one of the Yamahas. I own an FG730S and, for the money, it's one of the best guitars I've ever had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 I had never heard of Morris guitars either. Google turned up a bunch of stuff on them. It seems that back in the seventies or so, Morris was just one of several companies that produced laminate guitars in Japan or SE Asia. Morris is evidently still the same people, but now they don't do the cheapies any more, but instead focus on higher end stuff... from Japan. Could be pretty good. You'd have to decide for yourself. IDK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 Originally Posted by Opa John I'll be honest with ya.......I've never heard of a Morris guitar. . . . Me neither. But some info here:http://morris-guitars.com/about-morris/I think I'd go with Yamaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DCS Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 The Morris models you listed are not current production models. I have owned a Morris S-107 for seven years. It lists for $3400 (or there about) but no one pays that much. Morris made very so-so low end instruments for many years and then they kicked into high gear around 10 years ago and started making "hand made" (you decide what that means) high end guitars. These hand made models are all solid woods and are impeccably crafted in Japan. Gorgeous inlay work and a double X scalloped top bracing system. They are without a doubt in the American Martin and Taylor quality category. Stephen Bennett and Muriel Anderson play and endorse the current Morris line. Stephen Bennett has a signature model. BUT - as I said, the models you listed are not these guitars. I personally would not buy a Morris guitar that was manufactured more than 10 years ago (approximate time frame - not exact) unless I could closely examine the construction and also play it. There may be a few out there that are a good buy, but make no mistake about the older ones being in a different universe from the new ones - price and quality. If you are close enough to the sellers to go play them, then that is always the best way to decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jcbakz Posted December 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 well that's wierd.. maybe morris is not that much known there in the states? im in asia btw. here, morris is pretty much known that's the old morris acoustics where they used to copy martins. my mentor has a 70's morris and he also owned a couple of yamaha's, asami and some other old japanese acoustics and he prefers the morris more. sadly i didnt get to play his other guitars before he sold it. at that time i was not that interested into acoustics so i cant compare. but i have made up my mind that i will be getting the yamaha fg425tbs i love the sunburst look.. thanks anyways for the help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acousticdepot Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 The FG250 is an older guitar and I would carefully inspect the neck and the saddle as the repair would cost you more than the guitar is worth. However laminate yamahas from this time period are keepers if you find a good one. I also checked out a pic of the fg425tbs ... sweet looking guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poppytater Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 Can't speak for Morris-Yamaha's always good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jcbakz Posted December 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 @DCS thanks for the infos and tips. i really wish i have someone near that i can play the guitar first before i buy but sadly they wont let go of their guitars as well i will have to put my trust on the seller who i have bought gears from him over the years anyways he is pretty much accurate in his descriptions.at my budget i cannot afford a brand new yamaha that has a higher number. the fg425tbs that i will be buying is $210 converted from our currency and thats the cutoff of my budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted December 4, 2012 Members Share Posted December 4, 2012 I own a Morris electric that I purchased in 1980. They had bargain basement and really, really nice high-end stuff these days. The fact that I still own that particular guitar says enough. I've rarely seen Morris acoustics, but what I've seen basically falls into those two categories: bargainbasement or high-end. Nothing in between. Can't tell anything about the guitars you mentioned, I forgot model names and numbers, but should they not be from the better lines, they most probably are not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted December 6, 2012 Members Share Posted December 6, 2012 I can speak for Morris...own two...both very nice...one is an M-2000 all solid wood, the other is an S-61...solid top and back, laminated sides. They made very high ends way back when they were making the low ends that are mentioned in the list above, like many makers here in Japan, they covered all the bases...from beginner to pro. The Local Rock Inn has a Morris reissue of one of those old high end models from decades ago, they were certainly on par with Yamaha in their day and the newer high end stuff is outstanding and by the way, they still make low ends too just not in Japan anymore. That Rock Inn model was ordered by the chain and sold exclusively by them and costs as much as a Martin or Gibson in the shop so yeah, Morris is capable of building extremely high end guitars and have been for decades...just that most of the old stuff seen, and that applies to Japan too, is low end older models, possibly because owners of the good ones aren`t selling and the low ends are not rare here. Did have a 1975 all laminated Morris for a short time but got rid of it...the two I own now are keepers, the M-2000 is one remarkable guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted December 6, 2012 Members Share Posted December 6, 2012 here it is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted December 6, 2012 Members Share Posted December 6, 2012 old Yamahas I have too many to post pics of though they are all nylon strings and none are part of your list. Not sure what you mean by imported in Japan, could you clarify? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wkendhacker Posted December 6, 2012 Members Share Posted December 6, 2012 I wonder if we, ever as a group, have ever recommended anything else when compared to a Yamaha...I mean at the sub $500 level.I think not.Oh, by the way. get the Yamaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted December 6, 2012 Members Share Posted December 6, 2012 Originally Posted by wkendhacker I wonder if we, ever as a group, have ever recommended anything else when compared to a Yamaha...I mean at the sub $500 level.I think not.Oh, by the way. get the Yamaha. I have recommended a Sigma at least once. The new Sigmas are hard to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zenbu Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 Maybe because, as a group, people really don`t know what was made in Japan unless you come here and see. Yamahas were exported so people know them though, it hasn`t been all that long that people outside Japan started seeing just how good some Yamahas can be, and having said that, doesn`t mean they`re all great, but there were a lot of Japanese builders that I didn`t know about until I got here. Morris is a name thats been around a long time in Japan and some models garner the same respect as Americans have for their famous name brands. Japan may have exported a lot of low end stuff in decades past, but that wasn`t all they made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tinfish Posted December 10, 2012 Members Share Posted December 10, 2012 I play a 90's attitude bass, and a fairly current compass acoustic on gigs all the time. the cpx is classic yamaha working man's decent guitar, and the bass is the best p-bass I've ever owned. it's my opinion that yamaha has never made a bad product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members westerbaan Posted March 22, 2017 Members Share Posted March 22, 2017 Hi, a newbie here.... ever heard of a Morris Hurricane Laura? There seem to be a few girl names out there in the Hurricane model. Just bought one (not at my place yet....) came with original case and all. Looks un-played as well but am told it's a 60's model? Sounds a bit too old but cannot find anything yet on the net. Many thanks already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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