Strummers.

Mellish

@Cryptid ; that D-18 - is it an ex demo? There's one floating around between GG branches, £100 off RRP  

hollywoodrox

I used to be a rabid fan of The Eagles & still enjoy playing their stuff 
  Takamine Dreadnaughts or Santa Fe models were played by them you can see them in hell freezes ove video . Also there are some beautiful Martin and Gibson lookalike dreadnaughts by Sigma which are supposed to be very good ( sigma used to be a Martin product but has been bought by another company for manufacture in Asia )

Cryptid

Mellish said:

@Cryptid ; that D-18 - is it an ex demo? There's one floating around between GG branches, £100 off RRP  

Not sure mate, it was a while ago. I just remember preferring the Eastman for strumming over the other hog dreads they had in stock at time which included Martin and Atkin models. Perhaps it was the Adi top? 

Mellish

@Cryptid ; possibly mate.

When you try guitars one will stand out, for whatever reason  

guitarjack66

hollywoodrox said:

I used to be a rabid fan of The Eagles & still enjoy playing their stuff 
  Takamine Dreadnaughts or Santa Fe models were played by them you can see them in hell freezes ove video . Also there are some beautiful Martin and Gibson lookalike dreadnaughts by Sigma which are supposed to be very good ( sigma used to be a Martin product but has been bought by another company for manufacture in Asia )

My regular guitar,and best of my small collection of three,is a Sigma Grand Auditorium sized guitar. I think it is superb value for money at around £300 ish. While Sigma have not been under Martin's umbrella for a long time their design is very similar and they sound excellent.

Teyeplayer

Secondhand American made Guilds are worth a look. Recently picked up a mahogany d20 for a really good price, plays as well as the Martin I used to have, outplays the Eastman, is better than my Maton, was the second cheapest of all of the above.

Teyeplayer

Teyeplayer said:

Secondhand American made Guilds are worth a look. Recently picked up a mahogany d20 for a really good price, plays as well as the Martin I used to have, outplays the Eastman, is better than my Maton, was the second cheapest of all of the above.

And I should add I do a lot of west coast inspired blurring between finger style and strumming -it nails it.

Tannin

I agree with @Teyeplayer American Guilds are awesomely good. They are also incredibly expensive. New, they have almost priced themselves out of the market, they now cost quite a lot more than the (madly overpriced) mainstream Gibsons and Martins. On the other hand, I reckon they are clearly better instruments.

Used ones still cost a bit, but they can be affordable if you find the right one. My US-made Guild is not the equal of several of my other guitars, but it was easily the cheapest of them and it is by no means disgraced: I play it nearly every day and reckon it's a damn good instrument. I'd buy another one for sure.

Vinny

Another Guild fan here. D40 (or D40 bluegrass jubilee) is their equivalent to Martin D18, which will give you the Laurel Canyon sound. D50 or D55 are the rosewood (Martin D28) options.
Chinese made Guild D140 or D150 great value alternatives.

guitarjack66

Tannin said:

I agree with @Teyeplayer American Guilds are awesomely good. They are also incredibly expensive. New, they have almost priced themselves out of the market, they now cost quite a lot more than the (madly overpriced) mainstream Gibsons and Martins. On the other hand, I reckon they are clearly better instruments.

Used ones still cost a bit, but they can be affordable if you find the right one. My US-made Guild is not the equal of several of my other guitars, but it was easily the cheapest of them and it is by no means disgraced: I play it nearly every day and reckon it's a damn good instrument. I'd buy another one for sure.

How are Guild as a brand from an ethical standpoint my friend? I know both you,and I care about these things as well as many others nowadays.

Vinny

Re Guild, there are great quality secondhand examples from the various Guild production facilities, but In my opinion, the New Hartford factory guitars are the best option.

Tannin

I don't really know for sure, @guitarjack66 but they are owned by Cordoba, and I believe that they are pretty decent. (I should look into that further. I really just remember hearing an interview with the head man and he seemed to have his heart in the right place. Can't remember any details now.) 

As for their lower end Chinese products ... well, who can say? How deeply do they dig into the sourcing of their timbers? Is it even really possible to do that in China? (Probably not - once logs are sawn into billets, even Interpol can't tell whether they were legally felled or not.)

guitarjack66

Tannin said:

I don't really know for sure, @guitarjack66 but they are owned by Cordoba, and I believe that they are pretty decent. (I should look into that further. I really just remember hearing an interview with the head man and he seemed to have his heart in the right place. Can't remember any details now.) 

As for their lower end Chinese products ... well, who can say? How deeply do they dig into the sourcing of their timbers? Is it even really possible to do that in China? (Probably not - once logs are sawn into billets, even Interpol can't tell whether they were legally felled or not.)

Yes it's a sad state of affairs at the moment. I do wonder though that given this is perceived 'golden age' for guitar buyers if this resource problem is relatively recent? It seems guitars have only became extremely popular very recently,from an historic point of view? I certainly couldnt have seen somebody like myself getting involved in playing 20 years ago and the covid newcomers havent helped stop the mass production of the instrument either. I think that a good thing about guitarists and musicians in general is that our instruments are often passed on or stripped for parts and this helps wastage be kept to a minimum. I am not sure I can see that continuing with the proliferation of very cheap models though,I hope so.