Acoustic recommendations

[Davgar97]

Hi guys

 

I'm looking for a new acoustic, but I don't really know much about the different features. So I'm looking for some recommendations.

 

I'm looking to spend around

[GCDEF]

I've always found Alvarez to be a good guitar for the money.

[Davgar97]

Those look pretty nice, good prices too.

 

Probably a stupid question, but what do all the different categories mean i.e. dreadnought, folk, lounge, parlour etc?

[Azhrei]

As you're in the UK, don't overlook Vintage. Good guitars for the price.

 

The dreadnought, folk, lounge, parlour, concert, etc categories are guitar shapes, each with a slightly different sound.

 

Dreadnought are the most well known and are your typical "cowboy" guitar. This doesn't mean they are for country/bluegrass only, but are associated with country artists. The Dreadnought, due to it's large yet compact shape and size gives a substantial boomy low end, and the spruce tops add brilliance to the top end. Overall a pretty balanced sound, with a slight bass emphasis.

 

The other shapes each have tonal differences. Smaller body styles (folk, concert, etc) tend to have more mids or mid-highs as a prominent sound. Folk, lounge, parlor, etc are pretty much all the same size with variations based more on manufacturer than specific body dimensions.

 

Dreadnought

 

Parlour

 

You can see how the shapes are different between the two models.

 

As with any new instrument purchase always try them out first to find the one that matches the sound in your head as closely as possible.

[Davgar97]

Cheers for that Azhrei, that makes sense about the different categories now.