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Shops are open again. I'd say that the tried and tested advice is still the best: go play some.
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules. You have to try them to find out.
Yep. It's been a while since I went acoustic guitar shopping, but the last time I did I spent a lot of time trying out solid top acoustics in the ~£400 range. The laminate Martins for a few hundred quid more sounded significantly better.
That said, I don't think the OP is going to encounter that sort of dilemma in the hunt for a £200 parlour guitar. If I was forced to buy blind I'd probably steer towards the solid tops for the same reason you gave, but I'd much rather get my hands on some actual guitars.
Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.
However, if you want a smaller-size guitar for fingerpicking blues, I would [caution: stuck record ] recommend the Vintage V300M - it's a solid mahogany-topped small-bodied guitar, roughly midway between a parlour and a 000, sounds great, and is under £200 new. They do a spruce-topped model as well, but the mahogany has more character in my opinion.
I actually play mine more than my Gibson Dove...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Funny I like the boxy sounding blues sound, yet I'm worrying about quality of wood
For me it splits the difference perfectly - it's got that barky midrangy bluesy tone, but with enough inherent quality that it doesn't just sound rough.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I've heard it said that a solid top will improve with age whereas a laminate top won't. What it sounds like now is how it will always sound.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Ah OK. I'd have thought the glue would make a difference there but maybe not.
I've never noticed.
Old ply guitars don't sound like new ply guitars, they sound 'old' - which is difficult to define, but you know it when you hear it .
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Recording King have a number of parlours with either laminate or solid spruce tops for under £200.
Sigma have some "parlours" actually 00s around the £300 mark that might be worth a look.
If you're looking for a solid top "blues box" I would spend some time deciding whether you prefer the sound of mahogany or spruce.
Cool then I look forward to hearing it when my son is actually old enough to play it properly (he's only 4). Atm it's tuned to open e and he lies it across his lap and strums. Often with a slide, like that Healey chap
I suppose it could depend on how much glue has soaked into the wood. Plus it's not a given that it will sound *better* with age I presume?
Was going to say for £200 there isn't much point deciding between solid and laminate, its better to just find a guitar that fits the bill. Blues sounds great on laminate guitars... unless you want a more sophisticated tone (think Clapton unplugged)... but for some delta stuff, the cheaper the better most of the time, you just want them to be playable
Recording King do their Dirty 30 range which are really great for that depression era blues sound and seriously cheap. Would probably fit the bill nicely
https://www.coda-music.com/catalogsearch/result/?cat=0&q=recording+king&order=relevance&dir=desc