Recommendations for medium-bodied acoustic please (up to £500)

DartmoorHedgehog

My almost-17yo daughter has been using my guitars up to now, which works out fine while we're both living in the same house, but it's about time she had her own.  It's her birthday coming up, so we've been talking about getting her an acoustic.

We need to go out and try a few different styles and sizes, but I think she'll be after something bigger-bodied than my parlour but smaller and more comfortable than a dread. She's got quite into doing open mics, so something that suits the solo-singer-with-guitar thing (my parlour works quite well, but sounds better picked and she's more of a strummy player than I am, although she does do some picking as well).  I suppose that would be 00 or OM sizes would it?

Anyway, once she's decided what type of guitar she wants, we'll be on the lookout for one, so looking for any recommendations for what's good. No strict budget in mind, but let's say up to £500, but happy to buy second hand.  My Tanglewood solid mahogany parlour cost me less than £200* new (reduced because supposedly marked in storage but I never found anything) and I think it's a fantastic bargain (that was quite a few years ago now though), and I've heard lots of good things about Faith guitars, but otherwise I don't really know much about acoustics.

Couple more points: needs to have a pickup (but I think pretty much all acoustics do now apart from the very high-end ones) and purely aesthetically she's not keen on the usual acoustic very light top, so would prefer something that's available with a stain or some other colouring (but I always associate painted acoustics with "cheap" so if that's the case I'm sure she could learn to live with anaemic spruce).

So, over to the forum wisdom... what do you think we should be looking at?

* EDIT - looks like my Tanglewood would cost me £350 now

BigPaulie

Peach sell brand new Yamaha LS6 for £479 which is brilliant value. You might get a used LS16 for £500 if you you're lucky.

Mellish

Faith Nexus Neptune
Brunswick Grand Auditorium Tobacco Burst

But whatever make or model, try first if you can  

PD1598

I'm very fond of my Fender CC60, it's on the cheaper side maybe you'll want to spend more. It's marketed towards the beginner intermediate level I think. It's lovely size, pretty loud, looks good, immaculate thin neck, great plugged in (almost like an electric) available in mahogany or black I think. 

munckee

I’ve got a guild 140ce om which go for £450 ish second hand. All solid, semi hard case, decent pickup and mine is sunburst. 

Not selling mine but great guitars for strumming or picking. 

hollywoodrox

Sigma seem good ,  I like their take on the hummingbird but that’s dreadnaught size 

DartmoorHedgehog

Thanks folks - a few there I hadn't considered. For some reason I hadn't been thinking Yamaha at all, but they seem obvious now they've been mentioned.
 
The only guild I've played was a 12-string I borrowed for a recording once - was very nice from what I remember. TBH I would have assumed Guild to be out of my price range, so thanks for the mention @munckee ;

@PD1598 - I'm no price snob so if a less-expensive guitar fits the bill that's a good thing. That £500 was really just an arbitrary figure to give an idea of what I'm prepared to spend and avoid people pointlessly suggesting £3000 Martins and the like.

@hollywoodrox I'd forgotten about Sigma - aren't they Martin's "Epiphone equivalent"?

hollywoodrox

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Thanks folks - a few there I hadn't considered. For some reason I hadn't been thinking Yamaha at all, but they seem obvious now they've been mentioned.
 
The only guild I've played was a 12-string I borrowed for a recording once - was very nice from what I remember. TBH I would have assumed Guild to be out of my price range, so thanks for the mention @munckee ;

@PD1598 - I'm no price snob so if a less-expensive guitar fits the bill that's a good thing. That £500 was really just an arbitrary figure to give an idea of what I'm prepared to spend and avoid people pointlessly suggesting £3000 Martins and the like.

@hollywoodrox I'd forgotten about Sigma - aren't they Martin's "Epiphone equivalent"?

They used to be in the 80s and a small part of the very early 90s but are now Chinese made and no attachment to Martin but they seem to be well thought of 

bertie

used Taylor GS-mini    

you'll pick up a good'un for under £500.   Nice size and fun (easy) to play and sound pretty good

Mellish

A Taylor GS Mini *is* a great guitar @bertie, or the one I tried in PMT was.

Bags more volume than the body size suggested and so easy to play, so a worthy consideration here  

Wazmeister

I cannot recommend the Guild DS 240 enough. £449 new.

I've always had high end expensive acoustics, and was happily going along with my excellent Atkins The 43. My mate bought the Guild, and I couldn't believe how good it played and felt. I ordered one new day.

Straight out the box is was perfectly set up and in tune.

Sold the 43.

Love the Guild still. Great play and feel, and stays in tune for ever. 

DavidR

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Thanks folks - a few there I hadn't considered. For some reason I hadn't been thinking Yamaha at all, but they seem obvious now they've been mentioned.
 
The only guild I've played was a 12-string I borrowed for a recording once - was very nice from what I remember. TBH I would have assumed Guild to be out of my price range, so thanks for the mention @munckee ;

@PD1598 - I'm no price snob so if a less-expensive guitar fits the bill that's a good thing. That £500 was really just an arbitrary figure to give an idea of what I'm prepared to spend and avoid people pointlessly suggesting £3000 Martins and the like.

@hollywoodrox I'd forgotten about Sigma - aren't they Martin's "Epiphone equivalent"?

Yamaha London on Wardour St is a fun visit, although not near to Dartmoor!

The guitars are all downstairs and the staff are jolly people. There are small rooms where they are happy for customers to try out instruments away from other peoples ears. Quite important for student players like your daughter I think. Its easy to get a bit overwhelmed by the buying process when you're young. The LS range has been suggested but the FS guitars might be more in your price range. In Yamaha terminology S equates to Concert size/Martin 0 size instruments so smaller than Yamaha marques with G in which are dreadnought sized and L which are Jumbos - but any shop (and you!) will help with all this and your daughter can try them all out to see which suit. Good Luck.

DartmoorHedgehog

More good suggestions, thanks. I think London's a bit too much of a trek, but Exeter has a few decent music shops left where we can try a few out. Or possibly even Bristol. She's a pretty confident performer so I don't think she'll worry about people being around. 

BigPaulie

Wazmeister said:

I cannot recommend the Guild DS 240 enough. £449 new.

I've always had high end expensive acoustics, and was happily going along with my excellent Atkins The 43. My mate bought the Guild, and I couldn't believe how good it played and felt. I ordered one new day.

Straight out the box is was perfectly set up and in tune.

Sold the 43.

Love the Guild still. Great play and feel, and stays in tune for ever. 

Wish they did a DS-140.

Tannin

DartmoorHedgehog said:

 
The only guild I've played was a 12-string I borrowed for a recording once - was very nice from what I remember. TBH I would have assumed Guild to be out of my price range,

@hollywoodrox I'd forgotten about Sigma - aren't they Martin's "Epiphone equivalent"?

Guilds ain't Guilds these days. There are two completely different sorts of Guild guitar. The ones to have are made in the USA and superb, the best-made (and in my book also the best-sounding) guitars America makes outside of boutique brands like Collings. However, they are priced to match - think £2000 to £4000. The other Guilds are made-in-China cheapies starting around £400. My impression (and it's just an impression, I haven't gone out of my way to try many in the way I have with the US-made ones) is that they are among the better examples of their kind. Guild these days is part of Cordoba, the American-owned, Chinese-operated classical guitar company, and seems to be thriving under their management.

Sigma hasn't had anything to do with Martin for more than 15 years. Sigma started in 1970 as Martin's cheaper offshore brand, but made in Japan where quality is a way of life. The brand rapidly became well respected. However, Martin kept trying to cut costs, eventually shifting production to South Korea, then again to Taiwan, and finally to Indonesia. They couldn't find anywhere even cheaper than Indonesia, so in 2007 they closed it up. 

The brand resurfaced when a German company bought the name and started importing guitars from China under the Sigma brand. They are still doing that. Yes, they are guitars from the usual Chinese factories with the usual opaque timber sourcing and labour practices, but many people regard them as among the better examples of their kind. The ones I've played (only a handful) have been consistent with that view. 

OK, enough obscure detail you don't need to know. What to buy for your daughter? As always, you have to play them. But one make I would look at for sure would be Dowina.

Kilgore

There is a vast choice available at this price point. All the brands mentioned so far are excellent options. 

The majority will be solid top and laminate back and sides. The vast majority will probably be far Eastern made.



A non natural/burst finish, etc will reduce choice somewhat.

Second hand will probably get you an all solid guitar, but beware of over priced used models. 

You could buy an acoustic and have an aftermarket pickup installed. I realise this is complicating the process, but IMO you'll probably end up with a "better" guitar overall. 

If you're not confident about doing it yourself, factor in money for a set up. Nut, saddle, frets, etc.

Youtube is OK for demos/reviews (with the usual caveats). The rule of thumb (if possible) is of course, try before you buy. 

Sorry for not being specific in terms of brands and models, etc but the choice and overall quality at this price point is generally quite consistent. 

equalsql

A used solid wood Walden is definitely worth considering. Incredible guitars for the money with very slim necks which are stabilised with carbon fibre rods. I've owned a Walden Supranatura for 16 years and am very happy with it.
This model on ebay is definitely worth considering:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Walden-Concorda-CG2010-Acoustic-Guitar-Walden-Hard-Case-Immaculate-Cond/134148907008?hash=item1f3be5e000:g:KEIAAOSwa85iaY8O&pageci=b00a9962-e40b-4275-9f10-ea4b4669fa2e&redirect=mobile

bertie

DartmoorHedgehog said:

More good suggestions, thanks. I think London's a bit too much of a trek, but Exeter has a few decent music shops left where we can try a few out. Or possibly even Bristol. She's a pretty confident performer so I don't think she'll worry about people being around. 

Mansons had a reasonably good acoustic room last time I was there,  not sure if Project M are still requiring "pre booking"

ICBM

If she doesn't want a "light" top, I would highly recommend one of the mahogany-top Guilds - they do a small-bodied one with a pickup system that's sort-of within your budget - the M-120E.

I think it may be discontinued now but there are bargains around...

https://www.guitar.co.uk/guild-m120e-electro-acoustic-guitar

They're not as dull-looking in reality as some of the catalogue photos make it look - the mahogany grain figure is quite light-dependent so it has a bit of 'sparkle' to it as you move it around.

DartmoorHedgehog

Thanks again people.  I realise £500 doesn't get anything posh these days (and is considered cheap by many) so perhaps it's true that everything at that price is going to be made in the same few factories and just "badge-engineered". Still good to hear suggestions though - I'm sure some must be better than others.

ICBM said:

If she doesn't want a "light" top, I would highly recommend one of the mahogany-top Guilds - they do a small-bodied one with a pickup system that's sort-of within your budget - the M-120E.

My mahogany Tanglewood looks quite nice IMO (although a bit '70s furniture) - and it's all solid wood and didn't cost me much. I'm sure there's some hope of finding something nice for £500ish. As I said, that's not a strict budget - but, apart from not wanting to spend a fortune, she's likely to be living in a student house in a year or so, so probably best not to have anything too valuable!
I'm sure she could learn to live with a light-coloured top if a guitar she likes doesn't come in any other finish.

bertie

DartmoorHedgehog said:

 she's likely to be living in a student house in a year or so, so probably best not to have anything too valuable!
I'm sure she could learn to live with a light-coloured top if a guitar she likes doesn't come in any other finish.

then get her an old Eko,   it can double up as a table, or should things escalate in eastern europe,  an air-raid shelter