Good all-solid acoustic at ~£500-£1000- Furch? Dowina? Something else?

Dave_Mc

richman6100 said:

How do your Audens compare to your Furch?

They're quite different guitars to be honest. The Furch is a Grand Auditorium (cedar/rosewood), the Audens are a parlour (also cedar/rosewood) and a dreadnought (spruce/rosewood). The Furch is the better all-rounder and is a bit more upmarket - it was roughly twice the price of the Audens. I got it to replace a Faith Venus acoustic that I passed on to my son. It's a noticeable step up from the Faith, although a lot more money and the Faith was pretty good at the price point.

I tend to play the Audens more because they do their own thing a bit better somehow. The parlour, a Marlow model, is so easy to play due to its size and it gets the most use. I use it mainly for finger picking as it's not as good as the other two for strumming. The Colton dreadnought, is really good and is very forgiving of my rather crap strumming. I preferred it to a Martin I tried around the same time, which surprised me as I gravitate towards the Martin sound. It's not overly bright and has a very balanced tone across bass/middle/treble. A better player than me might prefer a more complex sounding dreadnought, but I find it a joy to play. It's detailed enough, but mellow at the same time.

If I was to have just one of the three acoustics, it would be the Furch. It's a wonderful all-rounder. You can strum it, finger pick it, flat pick it, play whatever style you want. However, for strumming, I prefer the Auden Dreadnought and for finger picking I prefer the parlour. Ultimately, this is more about the body size/shape than the manufacturer. I've read very good things about Furch dreadnoughts for example, so it's possible I might prefer one to my Auden Colton. That's not a given though. I was talking to a guy who works in my local guitar shop a couple of years ago when he was going to buy himself a dreadnought - he gets a decent discount on their stock - and after trying several dreads (Martin, Taylor, Takamine and others), he ended up getting an Auden.

Not sure if this helps of confuses things further!

Don't worry, it's helping!

I know what you mean about the auditorium shape- that's pretty much what we figured too when we were trying. It's the best all-rounder, but if you know you want one thing, there might be better options. It's a bit like an HSS or HSH superstrat, I guess. (Also we had another thing we were worrying about- as mainly electric players, we were trying to get the biggest body which was still comfortable to play! And the auditorium seemed to be that, too.)

I think I know what you mean about the warmer, more forgiving sound, too- the Gibsons I tried which I really liked were a bit like that. Like you too I wonder if I were a better player if that might not matter so much!

Jez6345789 said:

Masses of choice as said.at this price range.
I was in Warwick last weekend so dived into Richards Guitars for a quick strum on the Dowina and yes they are pretty good for the money if you like you guitars a little on the bright side and sure they will improve for a bit of playing. A guitar I think that sounds good for the money although technically not all solid wood is the Taylor Academy 12 well built simple guitar with a nice tone.

I can’t speak for all Harley bentons but I bought myself a Harley Benton GS mini clone at Christmas really just to see what you got for 1/5th the price of the Taylor equivalent these are a slavish copy of the GS Mini down to key dimensions bracing etc. It’s an ok guitar but the interesting difference to me is almost all the sonic differences are in the fact it’s built 20% heavier so bracing is 20% top 20%  I presume this is to save ever getting something back. So not sure if this belts and braces approach extends to all guitars but it was interesting  and in the final analysis I wished 5ney had spent 50 quidditch more and they could of made a killer guitar for 1/3 of the price hey ho.

Thanks

I know what you mean about the HB- that happens with a lot of cheaper products, not just guitars. To be fair to the manufacturer- to get the interest (especially with stuff you can't try first), they have to get it down to "Wow, how cheap?" pricing. But a lot of the time you end up thinking, "Wow, if you could make something that good for £100, it's a shame you didn't charge £150 and make it amazing..." Although, again to be fair to the manufacturer, the customer (me included) usually only gets there once they've bought it at the cheaper price and seen how good it might have been...

Tannin said:

I'd have a look at these two.

Both are from the bottom of their manufacturers' all-solid ranges, but they are good manufacturers and even their lower end kit can be very nice.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/215727/yamaha-ll6-electro-acoustic-now-reduced-340
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/223734/fs-maton-s60-dreadnought-550

Thanks, will do

Strangefan said:

I have a dowina, truly exceptional for the price 

Excellent, which one do you have?

BigPaulie said:

Tannin said:

I'd have a look at these two.

Both are from the bottom of their manufacturers' all-solid ranges, but they are good manufacturers and even their lower end kit can be very nice.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/215727/yamaha-ll6-electro-acoustic-now-reduced-340
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/223734/fs-maton-s60-dreadnought-550

The LL6 is indeed a nice guitar, but laminated back and sides I'm afraid.

Thanks for the heads-up  

Tannin said:

^ Ahh. My mistake. I don't know the Yamaha model range properly.

No worries, the names are pretty confusing, they're nearly as bad as Ibanez! I'm still not sure I have the model name of mine correct earlier in the thread 

DavidR

Yeh, don't miss out Yamaha, but then I'm a massive FG fan. But beware, quite a lot of the new L series which has been discussed come with electrics now. A growing trend for acoustics generally.

So why not look at the FG dreadnought or FS OM size. It seems a bit bonkers to be going downmarket to get what you want but at least take a look at the Yamaha FG 8 series models. And FS while you're at it. I have the FG830 and its great. Also an FG5. More difficult to find now but Yamaha will still make you one (I think). 

Yamaha FG Series Acoustic Guitars | Yamaha Music London

Yamaha Red Label | FG5 - Vintage Natural - Peach Guitars

You're spoilt for choice at this price range so all the instruments mentioned in the thread are worth a look. Many of them will ship with high actions and benefit from attention.

Mellish

@Dave_Mc ; I'm a big Martin fan but what they've done with their Re-imagined lineup I just dislike neck-wise. 

If you like the neck profile, great; but if you prefer a low profile, that soft V could really give you hell - if you want to play the whole board without a capo, that is  

woody

secondhand breedlove american series should also fall within your budget..very underrated guitars.

bertie

if you're in OM territory  - there's a Stanford PSOM20. (OM-28 "clone") all solid - on the guitar pages on FB for £600

Jez6345789

I think one thing I might do in your situation is if you can’t  try this stuff in Ireland then I might save up or nick a few quid off the budget to get a day trip to the main land hear all this stuff in context. You could fly to Gatwick and easily cover guitar guitar Anderson and guitar village in a day. It might be a long day but it would give you a lot more experience.
Rather buying blind

rze99

If you consider used the Guild d4 NY is  a proper USA made folk guitar an excellent all rounder and can be had for less than a grand when they come up. 

Strangefan

@Dave_Mc I have a vintage series Ponoma, tap tunes all solid woods, and the nicest feeling neck (open pore) I have eve held, it's totally a keeper, it cost me used 600.... Madness. 
    

Dave_Mc

@DavidR Thanks I've already got a Yamaha FG, lol (a cheaper laminate back and sides one). I'd probably prefer something different, just to see what else is out there. EDIT: Oh I see, the second one you linked to is a Japanese-made all-solid one. I just assumed they'd be way too dear. Good call, I definitely wouldn't be averse to an MIJ one! EDIT #2: Oh and electrics are no problem- I just meant I don't need them. If the guitar comes with them, it's no problem (especially if there's a tuner built-in too, and it doesn't cost too much more!).

That's a very good point about the action, and kind of what I'm worried about a little. I guess it might be worth buying from a store which will do a setup...

@Mellish Thanks for the heads-up

@woody Thanks, good idea. I've never tried them, but I have heard of them! I was under the impression they were meant to be very good.

@bertie Thanks. Not sure about OM... I haven't tried many of them, but I sort of felt they were a bit thin. But I could well change my mind!

@Jez6345789 Thanks. I'd thought of that... the only problem with that is, as you said, it's a long day- when I've tried guitars before (without a big trip like that), by about the 4th guitar they're all sort of starting to meld into one! It definitely helps if you're not too tired, and doing a big trip like that sort of guarantees you'll be tired. But not fitting it all into one day would pretty much blow the entire guitar budget...

@rze99 Thanks. Even some of the satin-finished USA Guilds new are around £1300 on Thomann...

@strangefan That's lovely Which one is that? It sort of has the rosette from the Sauvignon, but I don't think the Sauvignon has the Grover tuners. Also (I could be wrong) are the back and sides mahogany? it looks more like mahogany than sapele (which again the Sauvignon has, I think). Spruce top (Dolomite? Sitka?)

bertie

@Dave_Mc ;;   -  you look at one, and they are - but the sound (of a good one) totally belies this - and (for me and many) much more comfortable to play

if you were closer you'd be more than welcome to come try my Furch...................

WindmillGuitars

@Dave_Mc Eastman E3OMe is worth a look 
https://www.windmillguitars.com/products/eastman-e3ome-electro-acoustic

Strangefan

@strangefan That's lovely Which one is that? It sort of has the rosette from the Sauvignon, but I don't think the Sauvignon has the Grover tuners. Also (I could be wrong) are the back and sides mahogany? it looks more like mahogany than sapele (which again the Sauvignon has, I think). Spruce top (Dolomite? Sitka?)



in the UK the savignion is the vintage ponoma iirc   

Dave_Mc

bertie said:

@Dave_Mc ;;   -  you look at one, and they are - but the sound (of a good one) totally belies this - and (for me and many) much more comfortable to play

if you were closer you'd be more than welcome to come try my Furch...................

Yeah. Sorry, I should have clarified- I think I tried one (and I think it was a Furch!) and I think it felt a little thin. 

WindmillGuitars said:

@Dave_Mc Eastman E3OMe is worth a look 
https://www.windmillguitars.com/products/eastman-e3ome-electro-acoustic

Thanks Unfortunately I'm a fair bit from Bangor, too 

BillDL

For about 6 months I had my eye on a used Tanglewood TW1000N dreadnought that would have been right up at the top of their tiers in their Sundance line when new.  It started out at £499 which was still getting you a very good all solid quality guitar, but it was on their site for a long time until they reduced it to the upper £350s in the past couple of weeks. I was sorely tempted but I have other financial priorities right now.  It has sold since the price was dropped (https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/px210813372619003--tanglewood-tw-1000n-pre-owned).  I don't think it was on their books for that long because of any issues.  I'm sure it was simply because the Tanglewood name isn't a fashionable one that gets bandied around a lot.  That guitar was very much in the adornment style of a Martin D-41.  That particular one I'm sure had the solid rosewood back and sides whereas later versions had (I think) laminated rosewood instead.  It would probably have sold new around 2010 or perhaps even a bit before that for almost £800.  It was discontinued and the equivalent guitar, now in the Tanglewood "Heritage" range, has an RRP of £1,349.  If you see a good condition used Tanglewood from the "Sundance" range, don't immediately dismiss it because it isn't a commonly heard brand name.

I am a big fan of Sigma guitars.  They use composite "Micarta" fingerboards right up to the top of their price range before you get into their special issues.  Some people don't like it because it isn't real wood, but Martin and other big names are using composite materials and I actually quite like the feel and look of the boards on my Sigma acoustics.  The recogniseable shapes are very much modelled on Martin equivalents and use Martin model numbering as part of their model numbers.  Hardly surprising because Sigma was to CF Martin what Epiphone is to Gibson and Squier to Fender.  Martin discontined the brand but it was bought by AMI Musical Instruments, Germany, in 2007 and they have expanded the range while maintaining very good quality and the same kind of homage (or nod) to the Martin designs.  You won't see many used Sigma guitars from the original Japan-made pre-AMI era selling.  I don't know why, but can only think it's because they are worth more to their owners than they would get selling them.  Again don't discount a new Sigma, and don't overlook a used one.

Dave_Mc

@Jez6345789 I meant to ask this earlier, but I forgot- when you said, "was in Warwick last weekend so dived into Richards Guitars for a quick strum on the Dowina and yes they are pretty good for the money if you like you guitars a little on the bright side and sure they will improve for a bit of playing." do you mean bright in the sense of being a bit like Taylors (for example)?

@BillDL Thanks, I'll take a look at Sigma and Tanglewood

DavidR

Info only.

The FG5 is probably born in China unfinished and then sent to Yamaha's factory in Hamamatsu, Japan to be finished off. That's why
1. It looks very like the FG3 - they're identical at birth! 
2. Is expensive in comparison with other FGs.
3. Is such a good guitar.

You won't find this on Yamaha's website. Like many business models in the guitar world it's complicated!

My FG5, which I bought after trying out a damaged one in Yamaha's London store, shipped directly from Hamamatsu and took about 3 months to arrive. It's very nice.

Dave_Mc

DavidR said:

Info only.

The FG5 is probably born in China unfinished and then sent to Yamaha's factory in Hamamatsu, Japan to be finished off. That's why
1. It looks very like the FG3 - they're identical at birth! 
2. Is expensive in comparison with other FGs.
3. Is such a good guitar.

You won't find this on Yamaha's website. Like many business models in the guitar world it's complicated!

My FG5, which I bought after trying out a damaged one in Yamaha's London store, shipped directly from Hamamatsu and took about 3 months to arrive. It's very nice.

Thanks, that's very useful to know. I think Edwards (electrics) do that, or at least did that for a while. 

BigPaulie

DavidR said:

Info only.

The FG5 is probably born in China unfinished and then sent to Yamaha's factory in Hamamatsu, Japan to be finished off. That's why
1. It looks very like the FG3 - they're identical at birth! 
2. Is expensive in comparison with other FGs.
3. Is such a good guitar.

You won't find this on Yamaha's website. Like many business models in the guitar world it's complicated!

My FG5, which I bought after trying out a damaged one in Yamaha's London store, shipped directly from Hamamatsu and took about 3 months to arrive. It's very nice.

Is that definitely the case? Everything I can see about the FG5 says "made in Japan".

Shadow

Another vote for Dowina. I have a Chardonnay GA (Sol) in the UK) which has a cedar top and walnut back and sides. It's a very sweet sounding instrument and very nice to play. Ironically I'm thinking of letting it go due to longstanding shoulder issues which means long sessions cause discomfort. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it though.

I actually got mine from Moloney Music in Galway. I don't know how far that is from you but they usually have a few Dowinas in stock.

Dave_Mc

BigPaulie said:

DavidR said:

Info only.

The FG5 is probably born in China unfinished and then sent to Yamaha's factory in Hamamatsu, Japan to be finished off. That's why
1. It looks very like the FG3 - they're identical at birth! 
2. Is expensive in comparison with other FGs.
3. Is such a good guitar.

You won't find this on Yamaha's website. Like many business models in the guitar world it's complicated!

My FG5, which I bought after trying out a damaged one in Yamaha's London store, shipped directly from Hamamatsu and took about 3 months to arrive. It's very nice.

Is that definitely the case? Everything I can see about the FG5 says "made in Japan".

Yeah I'd be interested to know either way, too.

Shadow said:

Another vote for Dowina. I have a Chardonnay GA (Sol) in the UK) which has a cedar top and walnut back and sides. It's a very sweet sounding instrument and very nice to play. Ironically I'm thinking of letting it go due to longstanding shoulder issues which means long sessions cause discomfort. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it though.

I actually got mine from Moloney Music in Galway. I don't know how far that is from you but they usually have a few Dowinas in stock.

Thanks. How does the walnut sound with the cedar? I think I've tried walnut with spruce when I was trying Furches- I don't really remember much about it, lol. IIRC I expected to like it better than the cedar/mahogany Furch as it was more expensive, but I've got a feeling I actually preferred the cedar/mahogany one! But obviously walnut would sound a bit different with cedar... EDIT: Also walnut looks killer 

It's an absolute pain to get to Galway from here, lol. I haven't been in years, so the roads may be a little better, but I remember going on holiday a couple of times years ago and I seem to remember the journey taking the guts of a day, and being exhausted at the end of it! I wouldn't be averse to buying from them online, though, how did your purchase with them go?