Buying advice needed for acoustic noob

Creed_Clicks

I would be curious to try out Guilds in the future. 

TheMadMick

Pepsi's not that bad especially with a large dose of white rum in it. Jameson (I think) used to distill a white rum branded Kiskidee. I've drunk quite a bit of it in the dim and distant past with Pepsi.

CharlieShaw

What have the poor luthiers at Eastman done to deserve a boycott? Think I’ll boycott Taylor, Fender, Martin and Gibson if Trump gets in again.

Dave_Mc

Smellyfingers said:

TTony said:

The best recommendation is really to forget the name on the headstock, and just play as many as you can.

If you can play lots in the same shop, that'll help with the A/B comparison.  If they're in different shops, then the environment variables can affect your impression of the instrument.  With that sort of budget, the shop should take you seriously too and give you the time/space to decide.

It's so much harder to "mod" an acoustic compared to an electric.  Yes, a set-up can address the action, but other aspects of feel and sound are really a fixed and not-moddable part of the instrument (although sound will change as you play it in and the woods mature a bit).  Hence the need to play it and feel it.

This gels with my experience. The only thing I would add is any try out of multiple guitars maybe should include a Martin. Rightly or wrongly it is still viewed as such as a standard, that if I hadn’t tried out my guitar, a Furch, next to a Martin I would have been left thinking I might have bought something fakery like Pepsi instead of Coca Cola or something. 

Yeah agreed (this applies to electrics and probably basses as well). A lot of people say (and I'd tend to agree) that if you've got your heart set on one of the big names, that the only thing that will scratch that itch is getting the big name. Actually, there's one other thing which will, too- what you said, trying out the big name against one of its competitors and preferring the competitor! But you do kind of have to get there yourself, because I agree that listening to someone else's opinion won't really do it (and it shouldn't, because it's your guitar, not theirs!).

I'd also agree that acoustics are a lot harder to mod. There's a lot more you can do to an electric.

chris_john

Well, I ended up buying a Furch Blue OMC-CM. I am really pleased with it. It looks and feels very well-constructed, and has a surprisingly big sound for a smaller guitar. Now, I am just getting used to the technique side of acoustic playing, after years of electric guitar. Thanks for the tips, though!

Tannin

Smellyfingers said:

This gels with my experience. The only thing I would add is any try out of multiple guitars maybe should include a Martin. Rightly or wrongly it is still viewed as such as a standard, that if I hadn’t tried out my guitar, a Furch, next to a Martin I would have been left thinking I might have bought something fakery like Pepsi instead of Coca Cola or something. 

I agree with this. I don't think Martin guitars are special (other than insofar as they are very good instruments with their own sound, which is equally true of many other makes), but they are so revered in many circles that you'll always be looking over your shoulder and wondering. 

I used to make a point of trying out Martins (and Gibsons too) when guitar shopping for this very reason.

I don't anymore simply because I have played enough of them (and enough other makes) to know what I like about them and know how they compare with other popular makes. I could buy a Furch or a Yamaha tomorrow and not need to try a Martin (or a Gibson) in order to make my own judgement. But unless you are an old recidivist serial guitar-buyer like me, checking out Martin is good advice.

Shadow

chris_john said:

Well, I ended up buying a Furch Blue OMC-CM. I am really pleased with it. It looks and feels very well-constructed, and has a surprisingly big sound for a smaller guitar. Now, I am just getting used to the technique side of acoustic playing, after years of electric guitar. Thanks for the tips, though!

That's a great choice. I bought one myself about three months ago. I tried a few other similar sized guitars in the same woods but the full sound of the Furch really stood out.