Recommend a new acoustic based on these specs

[pmc100]

I'm looking to buy a new acoustic. I have a old Fender Gemini II. It's a cheap Korean made jumbo that Fender made in the 80's. Not a great guitar but after I got it set up properly it plays quite well and has nice tone for strumming and straight forward chord playing. However I am looking for a higher quality acoustic for playing more involved stuff on, basically it will mainly be used for jazz and blues style noodling about on my own.

 

My requirements are

 

 

 

Cutaway body

 

Jumbo or dreadnought

 

Nice heavy wood for the body, I like a fairly full, bassy sound.

 

Rosewood/mahogany/ebony fretboard.

 

Electric stlye neck. I have Les Paul with a 50's neck, that's pretty comfortable for me. The neck is important as I won't just be using it for playing chords.

 

Preferably black with gold tuners. Some sort of burst is fine as well but I don't want another 'plain' yellow acoustic.

 

Electrics a purely optional, as I said it's just for playing around with at home (though a built in tuner would be very sweet).

 

 

Price is upto about

[garthman]

How about this:

 

http://www.sutherlandtrading.com/crafter_detail.asp?ID=44

 

Or this:

 

http://www.sutherlandtrading.com/crafter_detail.asp?ID=46

[Freeman Keller]

Carvin does make almost exactly what you are looking for.

 

http://www.carvin.com/products/single.php?ItemNumber=C980TMW&CID=CBNE

[AugTPD]

check this one out

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Washburn-J28SCEDL-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-Jumbo_W0QQitemZ290166465771QQihZ019QQcategoryZ47064QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[pmc100]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Breedlove looks great but it a little out of my budget.

 

I really like the Carvin. The reviews I've found are all totally in love with this guitar. I'm in the UK though so they simply don't sell them here

 

Keep em coming!

[Freeman Keller]

Thanks for the suggestions. The Breedlove looks great but it a little out of my budget. I really like the Carvin. The reviews I've found are all totally in love with this guitar. I'm in the UK though so they simply don't sell them here Keep em coming!

 

In the US you have to mail order them unless you live in LA. My one experience with a C980 was that it was a nice modern feeling electric, but a little disappointing unplugged. Slim neck, nice (but heavy) finish, a little blingy with the abalone and neck binding. They are laminated back and sides, solid top. A singer/song writer friend bought one but it was almost unplayable, sent it back and it was replaced with one that is very nice. In the US you have 30 days to return it so you would only be out the shipping - not too practical on your side of the pond.

 

A couple of other choices would include some of the Taylor A/E's - the T5 came immediately to mind (but doesn't fit your budget). Some of the T5's are colored, and many of the maple (6xx?) came in different colors - but even used they will be above a grand. There is always the Johnny Cash Martin or the one EC commissioned, but these might be more in your price range

 

http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/guitars.php?p=m&m=000CXEBLACK

 

http://www.martinguitar.com/guitars/choosing/guitars.php?p=m&m=00CXAEBLACK

[guitarist21]

I really like the Carvin. The reviews I've found are all totally in love with this guitar. I'm in the UK though so they simply don't sell them here

 

Freeman's right, they don't sell 'em here either! You have to order them. I know they ship to Canada but I'm not sure about the UK. You should shoot them an email. If you like the guitar, no reason not to pursue it further.

 

Ellen

[garthman]

Pop into a music shop or two down Charing Cross Road and try some Crafter guitars, my friend - I promise you will be impressed and they are readily available in the UK so no shipping worries.

 

And remember also that you will be paying tax at 17.5% plus clearing charges if you import from the US.

 

As a rough guide to quality, if you double (or sometimes even treble) the price of a particular Crafter model, that is approximately the price you would have to pay for a US made guitar of equivalent quality.

[Cripes]

I have to agree with weleetkaoutlaws about the Breedloves. Fast necks and they are very well built. I'd hawk them like no other guitars in their price ranges. I have a Custom Shop concert cutaway model with the Baggs dual source onboards and it's a keeper. I'm going to go out on a limb and say many people don't really know them because their "look" stops them from giving them a true work-out.

[pmc100]

yeah the black Breedlove AC25 looks great, but again seems to be generally unavailable in the UK. That and the Carvin look to be just what I'm after but not in the UK.

 

I'm not really comfortable with buying one online without trying it out. I would maybe buy online something I had tried but not something completely untried. I guess I'll see if I can find the Martins or Crafters in Denmark Street for a play. I also read that the Carvin is exactly the same as a high end Cort, they just have different names on headstcok but are made by the same factory. So I'll keep an eye for one of those as well.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys now I'll just have a even bigger case of buyers regret when I eventually buy the Yamaha

[garthman]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys now I'll just have a even bigger case of buyers regret when I eventually buy the Yamaha

 

Not from me - Yamaha make great quality guitars and if they have a model you like, go for it. (It's just that Yamaha - like many other companies - make in other people's factories and I prefer to go for "own brand" guitars because there is no middleman cut out of the price)

[pmc100]

http://www.breedloveguitars.com/dealers/results_country.php?s_Dealer_Country=United+Kingdom&Button_DoSearch4=Search Breedlove UK dealers.

 

I seen that but one of them only does mandolins and the other is 200 miles away

 

EDIT: Actually I've contacted them to see if they have any London stockists.

[denvertrakker]

 

. I'm not really comfortable with buying one online without trying it out. I would maybe buy online something I had tried but not something completely untried. I guess I'll see if I can find the Martins or Crafters in Denmark Street for a play. I also read that the Carvin is exactly the same as a high end Cort, they just have different names on headstcok but are made by the same factory. So I'll keep an eye for one of those as well.

 

 

All of Carvin's guitars are, indeed, sourced from Cort. In most cases you'll find them to be exactly the same except for the name. Cort should be readily available in the UK, and I'm sure you'll find the exact Carvin you're looking at available under the Cort name. Crafters are a good choice, too. Let us know!

[J45dale]

Except for the cutaway, you are describing a used Guild D55, sunburst Dred.

Rich bass, but balanced, loud volume on demand. Fast playing electric feeling neck, heavy built Rosewood body, with Ebony fretboard and bridge, gold tuners.

They can be found close to your price requirements, I found one. They are a good professional grade guitar.

Dale.

[0rbitz9]

Yup, you can get a Cort guitar very similar to a Carvin C980 in the UK.

Check out the Cort CJ10x or CJ5x.

http://www.drclucks.net/fusemain.cfm?section=xpic&itemnumber=843

[pmc100]

Well in end I decided on the Yamaha. Read all about it here http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1796968

 

I tried the Crafters and Corts mentioned above. Some nice guitars. I also tried a Taylor, Washburn and Takamine in similar price ranges. All pretty similar though I didn't like the Taylor at all. Very weird feeling guitar. I did try a