Acoustics for someone who knows nothing

S56035

Evening.

I've been give the go ahead to get myself a new acoustic.  I haven't had one in years and the last one I had was a Martin DX1 which was, quite frankly rubbish.

Looking for recommendations in the upto £1000 (new - unless there is something in the classifieds I've missed) range but ideally less.  It's for home use only, no need for a pick-up, mostly strumming with a bit of picking every now and again and ideally I'd like a body on the smaller size.  I have no knowledge of what time of wood, bracing or nut width I want and headstock name is of no importance at all.  Please throw any and all recommendations you have at me and, if it's in stock in the PMT in Portsmouth you get extra points!!

Cheers dudes. 

Winny_Pooh

Smaller than a dreadnought?

S56035

Winny_Pooh said:

Smaller than a dreadnought?

Yeah definitely. 

topdog91

I know it's not what you want to hear and I also know nothing about acoustics but beware. I bought a Simon & Patrick Cedar Folk a long time ago (well actually a gift from my generous late father) because I had convinced myself I was going to learn fingerpicking etc.

Well, it sounds sweet as anything, but when I get strummy it doesn't take much for it to get a little overwhelmed. If you want to strum I'd get a dreadnought if at all possible.

I now hand you over to the experts but wanted to share 

Tannin

Hi @S56035 ;

You are in a bit of an awkward place. Around £1000 new you pretty much get an overpriced, under-speced Big Name instrument (e.g., 2-series Taylor, equivalent products from Martin and Gibson) of which the Taylors would be my pick. Perfectly competent instruments, beautifully finished as Taylors always are, impressive at first strum and certainly serviceable, but lacking the range of subtle tone possibilities all-solid guitars offer. Good enough? Sure. But underwhelming in the long run.

Alternatively, you are looking at Chinese and Indonesian-made guitars, brands like Eastman, Faith, and Sigma. Personally I would not buy one: China is the world's worst forest rapist by quite a margin and the source of their timbers is a real concern. Indonesia is little if any better. On the other hand, in that price range you do get all-solid construction and the few examples I have played have been significantly better than a £1000 Martin or Taylor. 

The really good stuff from the quality makers starts around £1500, give or take. 

To me, all of that says go second-hand, especially in good makes which are not so well-known in the UK and consequently have poor resale value. "Poor resale" is exactly what you want! It means you can afford some genuine class which, if bought new, would be way out of reach. And if you should decide to sell it one day, you won't lose much as the big price drop has already happened. 

A quick trawl round the obvious on-line shops provides an excellent example in this Lakewood jumbo.https://www.coda-music.com/acoustic-guitars/lakewood-j32-secondhand.html You'd pay well over double that to buy it new. Used examples of quality makes like Lakewood, Larivee, and Maton go for a fraction of their new price in the UK. Hunt them down. 

But I haven't mentioned the two stand-out European makers. Both produce very fine instruments at very reasonable prices:  they are of course Furch and Dowina. I haven't had the the pleasure of playing a Dowina and know them only by reputation, but I've played a variety of Furch models and rated them between competent (a Blue dreadnought in spruce and khaya I didn't especially care for) through to quite outstanding (including an inexpensive Blue grand auditorium with a cedar top which I loved).

You'd get a Furch Blue around that £1000 range, and Dowinas seem to start around £1150. You'd have to travel a bit to try one, but it would certainly be worth your while. 

(I looked up PMT in Portsmouth but didn't see anything which appealed. Project Music in Exeter have an excellent range of acoustics but nearly all higher-end ones.)

ditchboy

I have pm’d you. My Larrivee is under budget and takes strumming nicely. 

Tannin

With acoustics it is vital, repeat VITAL to try guitars out for yourself. You can pretty much ignore most of the specifications if you do this: if it feels right and it sounds right, it is right. 

As an electric player you'll probably be more comfortable with a moderate to narrow nut in the 43-45mm range. Scale length you can decide for yourself: some people like short, some long, some don't care. If it feels and sounds right, it is right.

Size-wise, most likely you will be best served by a mid-size instrument - OM, 000, 00, 808, concert, grand auditorium - there are dozens of names, but what we are looking for is something smaller than a dreadnought (for comfort and tonal balance) but bigger than an 0 or a parlour (for tone and volume). Curiously enough, most people find jumbos easier to play than dreadnoughts, even though they are bigger. Anyway, sit down with each guitar and see how comfortable you feel with it.

Essentially, there are two things you need a good acoustic to do: you need it to have a good sound strummed (not as common as you'd expect!) and to work well for single note stuff. Don't get too fussed about sustain, you practically never actually play a note and need it to sustain as long as even a guitar with relatively short sustain can do. Listen to the quality of the note, not how long it goes on for!

DavidR

Yamaha. 

£1K probably their sweet spot. 

FS/LS

Top suggestions FS3 or FS5 or LS16. 

I agree try b4u buy

malcolmkindness

You might get a second hand Lakewood or Furch for £1,000 or else try Eastman. All good guitars for the money.

Stratavarious

Try some Yamahas.. 

guitarjack66

Stratavarious said:

Try some Yamahas.. 

This would be my advice too. They are highly regarded by many.

menamestom

topdog91 said:

I know it's not what you want to hear and I also know nothing about acoustics but beware. I bought a Simon & Patrick Cedar Folk a long time ago (well actually a gift from my generous late father) because I had convinced myself I was going to learn fingerpicking etc.

Well, it sounds sweet as anything, but when I get strummy it doesn't take much for it to get a little overwhelmed. If you want to strum I'd get a dreadnought if at all possible.

I now hand you over to the experts but wanted to share 

I have a spruce top S&P Dred and my father-in-law has a S&P cedar dred.  Mine is noticeably better for strumming and his runs out of steam.  I’d say the wood is just as or more important as the size and spruce seems to have more headroom.

bertie

sub £1k ?   

Faith
lower end Eastman

Smellyfingers

For me, when I was buying new, the Yamaha FG5, dreadnought was the best sounding  acoustic Icould find at approximately this price point, without having to spend around £3,000.

Some may find it’s strumming tone a little too boomy though, so best to try first.

TimmyO

bertie said:

sub £1k ?   

Faith
lower end Eastman

Agree with those from when I was out trying things with/for my lad. 

More recently played a couple of decent Audens 

Stratavarious

Smellyfingers said:

For me, when I was buying new, the Yamaha FG5, dreadnought was the best sounding  acoustic Icould find at approximately this price point, without having to spend around £3,000.

Some may find it’s strumming tone a little too boomy though, so best to try first.

The smaller bodied FS / LS is a sweet spot tone and size wise.  But TRY anything.

LS16

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-ls16-are-electro-acoustic-guitar?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2203_PMT_BAU_Search_Google+Ads_Shopping_Infrequent+Sales&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJYckupxvDcxHFlxzh2S7BnzOhGIARENCpumTBq9tcihFZb-vv2DACMaAjuNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


LS6 ARE
https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-ls6-are-electro-acoustic-guitar-natural?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2203_PMT_BAU_Search_Google+Ads_Performance+Max_Product_Zero+Sales&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJazoUEBs6U1DH4PEKEOovtSvjqQMRYUDwmtcnmtjaVd_Our4V7BZZcaAtEZEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Cheaper FS
https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-fs820-mkii-acoustic-guitar-natural?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2203_PMT_BAU_Search_Google+Ads_Shopping_Infrequent+Sales&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJbwwir8yZBU-vOisIc2Qe55YQAbyZKejqCoYTYADLXWsclVzeqHpwUaAvFJEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


  I also like the Taylor GS mini as it’s so easy to pick up.

If you find one you can’t put down, get a decent luthier to set the action with the change.. most acoustics come with quite a high action.

topdog91

menamestom said:

topdog91 said:

I know it's not what you want to hear and I also know nothing about acoustics but beware. I bought a Simon & Patrick Cedar Folk a long time ago (well actually a gift from my generous late father) because I had convinced myself I was going to learn fingerpicking etc.

Well, it sounds sweet as anything, but when I get strummy it doesn't take much for it to get a little overwhelmed. If you want to strum I'd get a dreadnought if at all possible.

I now hand you over to the experts but wanted to share 

I have a spruce top S&P Dred and my father-in-law has a S&P cedar dred.  Mine is noticeably better for strumming and his runs out of steam.  I’d say the wood is just as or more important as the size and spruce seems to have more headroom.

Very interesting, thank you for sharing.

Smellyfingers

Stratavarious said:

Smellyfingers said:

For me, when I was buying new, the Yamaha FG5, dreadnought was the best sounding  acoustic Icould find at approximately this price point, without having to spend around £3,000.

Some may find it’s strumming tone a little too boomy though, so best to try first.

The smaller bodied FS / LS is a sweet spot tone and size wise.  But TRY anything.

LS16

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-ls16-are-electro-acoustic-guitar?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2203_PMT_BAU_Search_Google+Ads_Shopping_Infrequent+Sales&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJYckupxvDcxHFlxzh2S7BnzOhGIARENCpumTBq9tcihFZb-vv2DACMaAjuNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


LS6 ARE
https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-ls6-are-electro-acoustic-guitar-natural?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2203_PMT_BAU_Search_Google+Ads_Performance+Max_Product_Zero+Sales&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJazoUEBs6U1DH4PEKEOovtSvjqQMRYUDwmtcnmtjaVd_Our4V7BZZcaAtEZEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Cheaper FS
https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-fs820-mkii-acoustic-guitar-natural?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2203_PMT_BAU_Search_Google+Ads_Shopping_Infrequent+Sales&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1rSsBhDHARIsANB4EJbwwir8yZBU-vOisIc2Qe55YQAbyZKejqCoYTYADLXWsclVzeqHpwUaAvFJEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds


  I also like the Taylor GS mini as it’s so easy to pick up.

If you find one you can’t put down, get a decent luthier to set the action with the change.. most acoustics come with quite a high action.

Good point about smaller bodies but regarding Yamahas, I think with the LS/Ll6/16, you are paying extra for both the electronics and bling.

Really having tried them all, I think  the all solid Red label series has a better tone and feel,  that is if he actually wants to spend 1k, it’s the plainer looking no electronics FG/FS3 or 5. 

fnpt

I've just bought a Yamaha LL16D. Great sounding, fantastically built, great for strumming and fingerpicking. No regrets whatsoever.

https://i.imgur.com/pxH8nTp.jpeg

 

PC008

Another vote for yamaha FS3 Red Label - I got the FS3X - holds it's own against my Martin and Lowden

Stratavarious

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/yamaha-fs3-red-label-acoustic-guitar