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

earwighoney

I've played/own the majority of brands mentioned on this thread, Yamaha, MIC Guild, Recording King, played a number of Sigma, they are the same quality as RK.

FWIW I think the Adirondack RK could be the best sounding guitar under £500 (no pickup though), with the widest nut of them all, which might not suit everyone.  Thomann have a few all solid RK's around £350, they have pickups too. 

Like ICBM I like the all Mahogany Guilds, I have played a number of them, superb guitars. But, the laminate back Guilds are actually traditional, some of their old American models had arched laminate backs. They have a model which is their take on the GS Mini.

The Yamaha LS6 has the deepest body of the ones mentioned here which could be an issue for playing seated down, but I think it's on paper as good as it gets. It has a 5 piece neck so it should be rock solid for playing gigs. I played a few at the Yamaha shop in London and thought it was an excellent guitar. 

If she's going to be in a student house soon, I'd factor in a good case as well (just go for a Hiscox, expensive in the short term but not in the long run!), tell her to keep the guitar in the case when she's not playing it and it should be ok.

DartmoorHedgehog

earwighoney said:

If she's going to be in a student house soon, I'd factor in a good case as well (just go for a Hiscox, expensive in the short term but not in the long run!), tell her to keep the guitar in the case when she's not playing it and it should be ok.

Case goes without question!  I find it bizarre that new guitars are sold without cases - although I play a lot of guitar these days, I'm originally a wind player, and if a shop sold somebody a clarinet/sax/flute and just handed it to them bare they'd get it straight back! But with a guitar it seems to be OK.

RK is another make that wasn't in my mind, so thanks for adding that to the list.  We'll see what there is available to try when we make a trip to the shops.

Tannin

earwighoney said:

FWIW I think the Adirondack RK would be the best sounding guitar under £500 (no pickup though), with the widest nut of them all, which might not suit everyone. 

This must be a different model - I tried to look it up and it was specced for a 43mm nut, narrow for an acoustic. I probably didn't look hard enough at the different models.

I would be careful about buying a guitar with a Red Spruce ("Adirondack") top, @DartmoorHedgehog ; It can sound great and there is nothing else quite like it, but they tend to be quite a handful and take a lot of control to get a good consistent sound out of. Red Spruce is the 17-hand thoroughbred of top woods - great fun but only if you can stay in the saddle! You will know your daughter's playing and be able to make a judgement. I know it took me the best part of a year to get a proper handle on my Red Spruce Guild - which now that I've finally found the right strings for it and figured out how to drive it, has turned into a blues monster.

DartmoorHedgehog

Tannin said:

I would be careful about buying a guitar with a Red Spruce ("Adirondack") top, @DartmoorHedgehog ; It can sound great and there is nothing else quite like it, but they tend to be quite a handful and take a lot of control to get a good consistent sound out of.

How do you mean? Loud with lots of dynamic range so it's harder to get consistent strumming/picking volume (without cheating and using a compressor live)?

sev112

I was in the same boat (including the non-pale top) as the OP a year ago with daughter’s 18th birthday coming up, and she’d been playing my big old fender f3. So I went to Andertons and spent a couple of hours trying out all sorts.  The one that I got which blew everything away by miles was the Taylor GS mini.  And she loves it, and it is a really good size for her.

the one that I thought was a really good surprise was the Alvarez range, lots of volume , nice non-plain tops, and pickups.  

earwighoney

Tannin said:

This must be a different model - I tried to look it up and it was specced for a 43mm nut, narrow for an acoustic. I probably didn't look hard enough at the different models.

This is the model I had in mind, about £500 or so in the UK.  It sounds great as well.

https://www.recordingking.com/ro318

Website says 1 3/4" (ie 44.5"), but according to a few online it is a touch larger, I think around 45.5mm. My RK has an advertised nut width of 1 11/16" (ie 42.8mm), but in reality it's 43.5mm if my memory serves me right. I'd recommend this model instead (and it's £330 or so from Thomann, even in the budget for a Hiscox case and keep in under £500). also has

I agree with your observations about a Red Spruce/Adirondack soundboard.  I have one guitar with it and I find it handful to manage.

DartmoorHedgehog said:

How do you mean? Loud with lots of dynamic range so it's harder to get consistent strumming/picking volume (without cheating and using a compressor live)?

Yeah exactly, works well for strumming.

DavidR

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Thanks again people.  I realise £500 doesn't get anything posh these days (and is considered cheap by many) 

No not really. £500 is quite a reasonable budget. You should expect to get a very decent student instrument + electrics for that. This is the low end of mid-price. As others have said, the mid-price point market is full of nice guitars.

e.g. I've just bought an all-mahogany unamplified 00 sized guitar for £220 and I'm quite pleased with it! 

Hate to say it but its all about shopping!  :-)

earwighoney

DavidR said:

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Thanks again people.  I realise £500 doesn't get anything posh these days (and is considered cheap by many) 

No not really. £500 is quite a reasonable budget. You should expect to get a very decent student instrument + electrics for that. This is the low end of mid-price. As others have said, the mid-price point market is full of nice guitars.

e.g. I've just bought an all-mahogany unamplified 00 sized guitar for £220 and I'm quite pleased with it! 

Hate to say it but its all about shopping!  :-)

What is the 00? Is it one of the new all solid Harley Bentons?

DavidR

Vintage V300MH. I did a review of it which should be here somewhere. Yummy guitar.

Dave_Mc

Tannin said:

As always, you have to play them. But one make I would look at for sure would be Dowina.

Yeah they're bound to be worth a look. I caved and got one. DV247/MusicStore has an exclusive model (I checked this with Dowina) called the Albalonga. It's handmade in Slovakia, an all-solid grand auditorium Cedar top (it's not sunburst or anything like that, but it's not just as pale as brand new spruce) with African Mahogany back, sides and neck for £631 (actually I had a voucher MusicStore emailed out which saved me a tenner, but it's expired now ). The African Mahogany is arguably an upgrade on the Sapele they usually use for their cheapest all-solid model, and it's actually cheaper than their cheapest non-exclusive all-solid model (the Sauvignon; it has a different name in the UK which I'm struggling to find!)- DV247/MusicStore also sells the Sauvignon for £631 as well, but it's the non-cutaway/non-electric model- the cutaway/electric version is £799 so almost £200 more for (arguably!) a worse spec! (Bear in mind, there are cheaper laminate back and sides Dowinas with names like Danubius, Puella, and Marris.)

The cosmetics are a little plainer on the Albalonga (but still look good, at least to my eyes); also mine has a couple of bits which are actually plainer than the pictures on the DV247 site (mine doesn't have the binding line down the middle of the back, and doesn't have the stamped "D" logo on the heel cap). However, that obviously doesn't make it a worse guitar, but more importantly (and also different from the published spec), mine has Grover tuners. The official spec for the Albalonga (and the Sauvignon!) is for Dowina-branded generic tuners, you have to go up to the Chardonnay to get the Grover tuners. Now, whether I got lucky and only mine has Grovers (to be clear, mine is the only Dowina I've tried, I had to buy online without trying), or whether they've upgraded to Grovers across the board, I don't know, but I was very pleasantly surprised! (Of course, the Dowina-branded generic tuners may well have been fine.)

It's really, really nice. The setup on it is killer- there was a certificate with it to say that MusicStore had checked it before it was sent out (to clarify- I bought from DV247 in the UK but it was sent from MusicStore in Germany)- whether they did, whether Dowina did a killer setup on it from the factory, or both, I don't know, but whatever happened, it worked! It was perfect out of the box, and feels genuinely "new" (not a mark on it; it doesn't feel like it's been on a wall at a guitar shop or anything like that). It's got a really nice low action (one of the things I'm worried about with acoustics is the action) and also sounds awesome as well. It sounds really "alive", for want of a better word, and very bright and clear. It's probably more towards the more modern type of tonality like Taylor I would say. To be clear, I'm not that well up on acoustics, I'm an electric player and it's several years since I've tried a Taylor- I'm not saying it sounds "exactly like a Taylor", I'm just saying I think the tonality is more modern.

The only real downside is you're limited to one body shape and one wood combination at that price. But if you're ok with a Grand Auditorium shape- from what you've said, that shape sounds like it might suit your daughter, the GA shape to me (and my sister) seems to be a good all-rounder, not too small, not too big- then that doesn't matter. I think it compares pretty well value/pricewise to things my sister and I were trying about 3 years ago when she was looking for an acoustic, and back then prices were far better! My sister went with a Faith HiGloss Venus (also grand auditorium) with Englemann Spruce top and Rosewood back and sides. I wouldn't say the Dowina is better than that (it's different, really), but we did try a bunch of Faiths and picked the best one. Not all of them were as nice, and also that one is a bit of a higher end model, at current prices it's about £900 (we paid more like £700 about 3-4 years ago, plus you got a 2-piece back back then). I'd definitely take the Dowina over the Faith Naked Series, which is around £400-£500 (bar coming across a really good deal) these days. And I really like Faiths, to be clear. (I was a bit sickened I kind of missed the boat with Furches, as they've gone up about £300 since I originally tried them, but now I've got the Dowina I don't really care so much- I like it as least as much as the Furches I've tried, and I think my sister much prefers it!)

I've seen some comments saying that at your budget you're stuck to the usual far-Eastern factories, and will probably have to factor in a setup and maybe even the expense of adding electronics. And maybe even have to settle for laminate back and sides. I know the Albalonga is about £130 over budget (and you probably can't try it first), but with it (at least if mine were anything to go by) none of those things are true. 

If you/she can't stretch to it, or would rather get something you can try first, then I do really like the Faiths, as I said (and they have some non-pale models too). The all-solid Guilds look interesting too, but I haven't tried them.

(Sorry for the massive post, I sort of had to explain what the Dowina was considering it's a non-standard model etc..)

Andy79

Vintage are good. As good as many others 
The Paul Brett Statesboro Whiskey Sour is unbelievable for £96. Don’t scoff until you try one. The reason it’s good in my opinion is it’s incredibly light. Lots of Chinese guitars are way heavier than they should be. Likely for a reason. If you find a light weight guitar, chances are it will be livelier than a more expensive heavy one. 

Dave_Mc

DartmoorHedgehog said:

earwighoney said:

If she's going to be in a student house soon, I'd factor in a good case as well (just go for a Hiscox, expensive in the short term but not in the long run!), tell her to keep the guitar in the case when she's not playing it and it should be ok.

Case goes without question!  I find it bizarre that new guitars are sold without cases - although I play a lot of guitar these days, I'm originally a wind player, and if a shop sold somebody a clarinet/sax/flute and just handed it to them bare they'd get it straight back! But with a guitar it seems to be OK.

RK is another make that wasn't in my mind, so thanks for adding that to the list.  We'll see what there is available to try when we make a trip to the shops.

Ah I just noticed this- the Dowina won't come with a case. I'm not sure if anything will come with a hardcase (new) for under £500 (but I could be wrong),  but some things may come with a gigbag at that kind of money. I think the Faiths and (all-solid) Guilds do, at least.

BigPaulie

The Yamaha LS6 doesn't come with a hard case, but the gig bag is pretty substantial. One of the best I've seen.

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ls6-are-brown-sunburst-electro-acoustic-with-hard-bag.htm?opt=32976&gclid=CjwKCAjwquWVBhBrEiwAt1KmwhlIF5YPwqRDEsWaVA5XfB5DAvo3VEJkHMspRPtQI6JgxPtArh6tGhoCO-UQAvD_BwE

BigPaulie

If your daughter likes the retro look, the Recording King 11 series is all solid and has a pickup.

No case, but you can get it in the UK for about £380 which leaves enough over for a case and setup.

https://www.recordingking.com/ros11fe3tbr

DartmoorHedgehog

@Dave_Mc that Dowina does sound interesting. Slightly more expensive than I had in mind, but possibly worth looking out for (but may be so rare there's no chance of finding a used one).

Price of the case isn't really a deal-breaker - my guitar cases have mostly cost me around £50 to £100 (Gator etc) and have survived piling in vans with heavy amps and being in the "pub corner kit heap" for years.  I still stand by my opinion that it's taking the piss to sell a £500+ instrument with no case though (and guitars are relatively cheap - £500 gets you a bottom-of-the-range "cheap and cheerful" Chinese tenor sax, yet you still expect it to come in a functional case).

Jez6345789

Going to 2nd and 3rd a GS mini punch way above their size the mahogany version is excellent if she does not like light wood.

depending on her height size the GS mini is super comfortable and an OM or dread a bit of a handful. 

But these days you are spoilt for good acoustics for not much money I also own a vintage 300 mahogany and it knocks a much more expensive Martin ooo into a cocked hat although mine did not come with a pickup but at the price easy to add and stay in budget

Mellish

If you're not on a strict budget, Taylor GS Mini - lovely guitar, and Hiscox do a case specifically for that model

EDIT
so it would work out a bit more than £500. You'd get the guitar for that but the Hiscox case would be an extra £177.

 

TheMadMick

My second best guitar is a PRS SE A40E (T40E would be similar I'd guess) and it comes at £500.00 less £1.00 at GuitarGuitar. Fills all the criteria and sounds wonderful once run in. However, you may need to budget a few quid to get it set up just as she likes it.

DartmoorHedgehog

Lots of votes for the Taylor - hopefully one of the local shops may have one of those we can try.  Some of the more obscure makes may not be so easy to find.
We might get out at the weekend and see what's around in Exeter/Okehampton shops.

Jez6345789 said:

depending on her height size the GS mini is super comfortable and an OM or dread a bit of a handful. 

I find dreadnoughts horribly uncomfortable, and I'm quite tall.  And quite boomy, but I think I just prefer a brighter sound (my mahogany parlour suits me very well for my tastes).  But I think something slightly bigger-bodied would suit my daughter's playing better.

DartmoorHedgehog

TheMadMick said:

My second best guitar is a PRS SE A40E (T40E would be similar I'd guess) and it comes at £500.00 less £1.00 at GuitarGuitar. Fills all the criteria and sounds wonderful once run in. However, you may need to budget a few quid to get it set up just as she likes it.

I didn't even know PRS made acoustics. To be honest the name puts me off (like I could never bring myself to drive a BMW or Audi, however good the engineering may be!) and those horrible bird inlays... but it's not going to be my guitar so I'll keep an open mind