Members markaf19 Posted August 28, 2006 Members Posted August 28, 2006 Ok i am suppose to go shopping today at guitar center with one of my friends who is taking lessons. I play the electric guitar but don't know a great deal about acoustic besides you want all solid wood. Can anybody give me a recommendation in the $100 to $300 dollar range.
Members Stophe88 Posted August 28, 2006 Members Posted August 28, 2006 art & lutherie. btw-i'm no sound expert but from what i hear only the top really matters, so make the top solid. and if the back and sides are laminate, that just makes it stronger in case you drop it or bang it up or w/e
Members ihateyouguys Posted August 28, 2006 Members Posted August 28, 2006 washburn d10s can't get them at GC tho The d100's are on sale at MF for $99 right now.
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 28, 2006 Members Posted August 28, 2006 My suggestion for a new player is playability over tone. It needs to sound OK, sure, but if is is not playable it won't get played. I figure that within a year or so a newbie will know more of what she wants and will be ready to move up, but if she quits because the action is awful, the neck is the wrong profile, it doesn't sit nicely on her lap, or whatever she will give it up totally. Even if she doesn't play very well have your friend strum a few chords on every guitar you can find and get her reaction. Is there any chance of getting your friend's instructor to go with you - that person can tell a whole lot more about what your friend needs and will be helping her work with it. And be sure that a proper setup is included with the price of the guitar - most shops will do this for you.
Members chiro972 Posted August 28, 2006 Members Posted August 28, 2006 Look at the Yamaha's. They have a few in that range that are really decent in both tone and playability
Members blue meany Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 another vote for art and lutherie with a solid cedar top. They go for about 250, nice guitars. I'd love one myself. Music go Round has them new if there is a location near you. They run about 275 there. Washburn D10's are pretty nice to for about 190.
Members guitarist21 Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 +1 on Washburns. Great guitars that play great. I have one, it was my first "real" acoustic, and it is still my main acoustic. I highly recommend it. Also: take a friend who plays guitar with you! If that's your buddy's instructor, perfect. Its probably not a good idea to dive into Guitar Center not knowing anything about guitars. Good luck! Ellen
Members Stackabones Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 Originally posted by chiro972 Look at the Yamaha's. They have a few in that range that are really decent in both tone and playability +1. I've been researching the Yamahas lately and most every one I read about, from low to high end, gets fantastic reviews. Supposedly a better value than anything else in the same price range, low or high!
Members allthumz Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 AT GC check-out the Yamaha 700 series. - Robert
Members Stophe88 Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 before you go shopping i want to point out that there are probly other places besides guitar center to by guitars in your area(unless you want to get your guitar at 2 a.m. in your underwear)the one in boise doesn't have a huge selection and i've also heard some stories, and they aren't good. but its defintitely a good stop to make
Members markaf19 Posted August 29, 2006 Author Members Posted August 29, 2006 Originally posted by guitarist21 +1 on Washburns. Great guitars that play great. I have one, it was my first "real" acoustic, and it is still my main acoustic. I highly recommend it.Also: take a friend who plays guitar with you! If that's your buddy's instructor, perfect. Its probably not a good idea to dive into Guitar Center not knowing anything about guitars. Good luck!Ellen i play guitar, i can test the guitar to see if it is playable, good action blah blah thats not a problem. I know how to search the net for the best prices as well and then maybe attempt to talk them down a little if there asking price is high. I just don't play acoustic guitar, although i do own one but i am not a fan of it. Not because i don't like acoustic guitar music but because its a piece of crap that is highly unplayable that i bought before i knew anything about guitar. A couple of months ago i was messing around with an alvarez and it it was a fairly cheap guitar and i thought it was really playble nice neck profile fairly low action, i am just trying to get some opinons around since i am no expert.
Members markaf19 Posted August 29, 2006 Author Members Posted August 29, 2006 Originally posted by Stophe88 before you go shopping i want to point out that there are probly other places besides guitar center to by guitars in your area(unless you want to get your guitar at 2 a.m. in your underwear)the one in boise doesn't have a huge selection and i've also heard some stories, and they aren't good. but its defintitely a good stop to make Yes this i am aware of, but in the milwaukee area where i live we don't have to many guitar shops around here. Guitar center is the main shop and there are a few mom and pop shops around the city that have little variety and high prices and are rude and snobby.
Members bburch88 Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 For the money a Seagull acoustic is as good as any I have played or heard. You can find a used one on ebay for $200-300 if you shop and are patient. There is probably a shop there in Milwalkee that carries them. Go try one and see for yourself, they will make your day. Also a Garrison is excellent but a little more expensive maybe $300-400 used. Both are made in Canada. Just mho! seagullguitars.com garrisonguitars.com
Members markaf19 Posted August 29, 2006 Author Members Posted August 29, 2006 i've tried the seagull guitars and i have to say the ones i tried i was impressed with. I know of one place in milwaukee that carries the seagull guitars actually the shop is five minutes down the road from me where i use to take lessons at. i am thinking i will go to GC tommrow first just to see what they have and if all else fails i'll go to the shop by my house and recommend him either an alvarez or one of the nice seagulls they have there.
Members GothicLlama Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 I'm coming in late here, but just in case you're still trying to figure out what to purchase... I cast my vote for Art & Lutherie. I picked up a fresh-out-of-the-box one for $280 with a "like new" HSC. It's the Folk model with the solid cedar top. Great hand-made guitar, worth much more than they go for. Very playable, very good sounding. Great for fingerstyle, does fine for average strumming, holds up alright if you beat the crap out of it while strumming. Enjoy your quest!
Members markaf19 Posted August 29, 2006 Author Members Posted August 29, 2006 Originally posted by Freeman Keller My suggestion for a new player is playability over tone. It needs to sound OK, sure, but if is is not playable it won't get played. I figure that within a year or so a newbie will know more of what she wants and will be ready to move up, but if she quits because the action is awful, the neck is the wrong profile, it doesn't sit nicely on her lap, or whatever she will give it up totally. Even if she doesn't play very well have your friend strum a few chords on every guitar you can find and get her reaction.Is there any chance of getting your friend's instructor to go with you - that person can tell a whole lot more about what your friend needs and will be helping her work with it. And be sure that a proper setup is included with the price of the guitar - most shops will do this for you. Thanks for the very helpful advice, hopefully i will be able to find him a good player at an affordable price. Actually the more i think about it the less money he spends the better as long as the guitar plays easily, because to be honest my friend is kind of lazy and i doubt he will actually stick with it. Now if I was scandlous i would try to get him to buy something expensive i wouldn't mind buying off him when he quits after the semester is over. But i'm no jerk so inexpensive and easily playble it is.
Members ihateyouguys Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 Originally posted by markaf19 Yes this i am aware of, but in the milwaukee area where i live we don't have to many guitar shops around here. Guitar center is the main shop and there are a few mom and pop shops around the city that have little variety and high prices and are rude and snobby. If you're in milwaukee, you're in luck. Go to cream city music (warp drive music) and check out their guitars. Great prices and a nice selection from cheapo guitars to collector items. Check out their ebay site at http://stores.ebay.com/Warpdrive-Music - if you're interested in a guitar, call their 800# and ask for the price - it generally will be lower than the price on the tags in the store, and they'll give you the phone / ebay price at the store.
Members GothicLlama Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 Originally posted by ihateyouguys Check out their ebay site at http://stores.ebay.com/Warpdrive-Music - if you're interested in a guitar, call their 800# and ask for the price - it generally will be lower than the price on the tags in the store, and they'll give you the phone / ebay price at the store. Thats scary, I'm browsing through their eBay store in another tab in firefox...
Members tm1951 Posted August 29, 2006 Members Posted August 29, 2006 I'd second cream city music (warp drive music). Bought a Seagull there last month. They seem to have a lot more then what's hanging on the walls so ask.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.