Hi all,
Just realized I know next to nothing about acoustics. But when work picks back up I'd quite like to get me a nice one. A proper nice one.
My folks got me a used 80s Fender MIK solid top when I was 12 which sounds great and has served me well over the years and while it plays ok and sounds great on all the recordings I've done, surely there's more to acoustic life?
I had a nice 90s Takamine EF-460(?) which was pretty good. Sold on here.
I had a Korean Epiphone J200 which I picked out from 5 or 6 others in the shop. That was a peach!
And just recently I got a deal on an solid top Epiphone AJ which I am enjoying the volume and sound of, despite it being cheap.
I've also just discovered Rick Beatto's Gibson Country Western. I was only listening on my phone but already I think that may be the best sounding acoustic I've ever heard!
I've looked at Gibson Southern Jumbos, a few Guilds (I like Supertramp and Rog had his big Guild 12 string). I think I like jumbos or AJs with rounded shoulders. I'm not into dreadnoughts and I don't want anything small so I think 00s and all that are out of the question.
I think I'd like to buy used. I don't want something so expensive I won't take it to gigs (though honestly some of the pub gigs I do my £200 Fender is almost too good for!!).
Maybe around £1500? Is that realistic? Can anyone offer any opinions or recommendations? What should I be looking out for as pitfalls for someone who's never entered the serious acoustic market?
I think in truth I'd like a 50s Gibson Country Western but at 6-7k...!
Comments
I owned a late 60s J50 a couple of years back that sounded really good and looked the part... but I couldn’t get on with the skinny pencil neck. Think between ‘65-69 Gibson made all their necks really scrawny... but if that doesn’t bother you then you can pick them up a lot cheaper than 50’s and early 60s models
Collings also do some very fine sloped shouldered ones too but they don’t come cheap.
sonically I think they are pretty similar though as I imagine the bracing and woods are going to be the same... it’ll just be the fretboard inlays and details that are fancier. Someone correct me if I’m wrong here
Pencil necks are probably a bit of a no-no, sadly, as I'm 6"2 with hands to match.
(And yes, the fact that Gibson call their dreadnoughts "jumbos" when everyone else in the known universe calls guitars that size and shape "dreadnoughts" really doesn't help. Gibson people have a rationalisation for sticking to it which I can't remember just at the moment, but was probably something to do with OS/2 or Betamax.)
Back on-topic, one general rule is worth mentioning. For any given budget, you will almost always be able to buy a better guitar if you start by looking at the locally produced ones. By "local" in your case I mean "somewhere in Europe". I suspect that the sort of thing you're after is a bit of an American specialty. Just the same, always look local first.
Left to right: 808 with cutaway, dreadnought with cutaway, grand auditorium, jumbo with cutaway, 12-string dreadnought without cutaway. An 808 is broadly similar to an auditorium, grand auditorium, concert, OM or 000. There are many, many names for these in-between shapes (somewhere between a dreadnought and a parlour) and the names don't really mean much except within the confines of a given manufacturer's range. The Cole Cark "Grand Auditorium" (above centre) is much smaller than Taylor's GAs. Taylor might call it a "concert" and Martin an "OM" or "000". God only knows what Gibson would call it!
Gibson, for reasons best known to themselves, call dreadnoughts "jumbos" (hardly anybody else does) which is why their flagship dreadnought is called a "J-45" - the "J" stands for "jumbo". This means they are a bit stuck when it comes to naming actual jumbos. So they call them "super jumbos", which is where the model number of the SJ-200 comes from.
So yes, they are both dreadnoughts. The round-shouldered ones (of any brand) are often called "slope-shouldered dreadnoughts" to distinguish them from the square-shoulder ones. The theory is that the round-shoulders help to produce a more balanced tone, less boomy than the square-shouldered dreds. In practice, there are so many other factors at work (timbers, bracing, construction method, scale length) that you can pretty much ignore the difference.
PS: there is a long historical explanation for Gibson's intransigence which makes some kind of logical sense ... but I can't remember it. OS/2 and Betamax made sense at the time too.
You're right not to spend megabucks first off. Your budget is mid range and there's a wonderful choice now.
First step - answer yourself some questions. First one you've got - £1500. Then do you really want a jumbo or would a dreadnought do? Marginally smaller but still boomy and certainly more choice. Then electrics or no electrics? If you're not going to use electrics don't buy them. Then bling or no bling? Ornamentation adds considerably to cost but not tone or quality.
Would strongly suggest trying e.g. Eastman or Yamaha at this price range. Best value. US brands good too but more pricey.
The weird thing about buying acoustics is it's a bit like looking at ten different houses. They're all houses but there's always one you fall in love with! And that doesn't always equate with cost. Going to look increases the chance of finding a good match. The good shops know this and will be really helpful.
Have fun and good luck.
Good luck with your quest.
But I've never even looked above the £300 range before and given music is/was/hopefully will be again my job I figured it was about time I considered taking acoustics a little more seriously than before.
Like you I'm no expert with acoustics. After a little bit of reading I kept it simple, and wanted something with all solid woods and that was ideally a nitro finish. I thought this would push me into one of the usual suspects, but went with an Eastman based on a growing reputation (at the time) and seemingly great value. Still no regrets, and much nicer than the Martin I had before it.
But I'm sure you will have a great selection of preowned US brands with that budget anyway. Good luck!
I'm now contemplating whether I am good enough to justify the E6-OM TC in the future.
Good luck.
https://guitarvillage.co.uk/
I actually blew the dust off it today, it plays beautifully, lovely thing.
The E10 is Adirondack Spruce with Mahogany b&s. The E20 I believe is Adirondack Spruce with Rosewood b&s.
Aside from the wonky nut it came with and a couple of very minor finishing issues I cannot fault it.
New they are around £1,300 I think but I've seen them go for as low as £800 used which is stonking value.