Is there such a thing as a very cheap all solid acoustic?

susbemol · November 2023

My son wants an acoustic guitar of his own so I've started looking. The only requirement for me is that is an all solid, steel strung guitar. It doesn't need any electronics and the budget is probably £300 tops.

I've seen the Harley Benton all solid models but I'm not sure about it. I was thinking that, ideally, we'd get an auditorium/parlour body with a spruce top as I think he'll be mostly interested in strumming.

What can you distinguished people recommend?

munckee · November 2023

Second hand guild westerley would set you back £400 ish not sure if that’s in line with your budget. They are great guitars.

susbemol · November 2023

Thanks for that, I'll have a look.

I knew I'd forget to mention something so I've listed budget now, cheers.

DartmoorHedgehog · November 2023

My Tanglewood mahogany parlour guitar is all solid and cost me less than £200 when I bought it. It was sold as marked (I never found the mark) but I think the full price was well under £300. I think they're possibly slightly over £300 now though.

It's a TW133ASM - really good picking guitar IMO, possibly not such a good strummer because of the small body.

susbemol · November 2023

That's a good shout but I am not particularly fond of all mahogany guitars for strumming.

bertie · November 2023

used and/or auctions

I bagged a Tanglewood TW73 (sunburst) for £273 with fees about 3 or 4 years back - new bankrupt stock

Faith Mercury naked (parlor ) could be got for your budget........ possibly even a larger model

DartmoorHedgehog · November 2023

susbemol said:

That's a good shout but I am not particularly fond of all mahogany guitars for strumming.

Yes there are definitely better-sounding guitars for strumming (although I do use it for that a bit, I'm mostly a picker). It really is surprisingly good for an inexpensive guitar though - I wonder if they make a similar spruce-topped model.

My daughter plays a Faith Venus (naked finish) and that's a way nicer strummer than mine, but it also cost twice as much so not really a fair comparison. If a used one could be had within your budget could be worth a look.

rustneversleeps · November 2023

munckee said:

Second hand guild westerley would set you back £400 ish not sure if that’s in line with your budget. They are great guitars.

Correct,nice guitars

SlopeSoarer · November 2023

Just seen this after posting about my Harley Benton acoustic experience... Harley Benton CLP-15ME SolidWood

WBT2079 · November 2023

gAK have the Fender paramount all solid Parlour PS220E, for £299 and comes with a hard case

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-ps-220e-parlor-all-mahogany-ovangkol-fingerboard-aged-cognac-burst/951615

SlopeSoarer · November 2023

That is a great deal! I'd have jumped at it at that price but the 43mm nut was a deal breaker.

Dave_Mc · November 2023

WBT2079 said:

gAK have the Fender paramount all solid Parlour PS220E, for £299 and comes with a hard case

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-ps-220e-parlor-all-mahogany-ovangkol-fingerboard-aged-cognac-burst/951615

I think that's a mahogany top... they have the sitka-topped dreadnought (granted, that's not an auditorium/parlour!) in the slightly crappy-looking (in pics! maybe it's better in real life) sunburst also for £299.

WBT2079 · November 2023

Dave_Mc said:

WBT2079 said:

gAK have the Fender paramount all solid Parlour PS220E, for £299 and comes with a hard case

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-ps-220e-parlor-all-mahogany-ovangkol-fingerboard-aged-cognac-burst/951615

I think that's a mahogany top... they have the sitka-topped dreadnought (granted, that's not an auditorium/parlour!) in the slightly crappy-looking (in pics! maybe it's better in real life) sunburst also for £299.

I just bagged me the parlour version with spruce top in sunburst, it looks better in real life. I was pleasantly surprised that the gloss finish is nice and thin. They havent plastered it on too thick like some brands.

Dave_Mc · November 2023

WBT2079 said:

Dave_Mc said:

WBT2079 said:

gAK have the Fender paramount all solid Parlour PS220E, for £299 and comes with a hard case

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/fender-ps-220e-parlor-all-mahogany-ovangkol-fingerboard-aged-cognac-burst/951615

I think that's a mahogany top... they have the sitka-topped dreadnought (granted, that's not an auditorium/parlour!) in the slightly crappy-looking (in pics! maybe it's better in real life) sunburst also for £299.

I just bagged me the parlour version with spruce top in sunburst, it looks better in real life. I was pleasantly surprised that the gloss finish is nice and thin. They havent plastered it on too thick like some brands.

Ah that's nice about the thin finish. Also about the colour- a lot of times when you see something on a screen (not just guitars, it can apply to clothes, shoes etc. too) it looks a bit weird, but then when you see it in real life it starts to make sense.

Nice score on the guitar!

BillDL · November 2023

I think Yamaha represents very good value for money and their guitars are well and consistently made and finished.

The FS series is the smaller-bodied version of the FG series. The FS800 has solid soundboard and laminate body.

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/200218356035008--yamaha-fs800-ntii-natural

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/210121366305025--yamaha-fs800ii-sand-burst

Sigma:

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/180109320603008--sigma-000m-1ste

DavidR · November 2023

Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the back and sides being laminate at the £300 price point. Most of the tone and volume of an acoustic comes from a good quality top. Good quality there means solid wood, attention to the construction of the top (i.e. thin enough), bracing (positioning and scalloping), and the quality of the 'putting it all together' construction.

Yamaha has to be top imho. I'm impressed with the Vintage brand too. Both have the aim of giving us good quality budget instruments. The source of this for both brands is largely/exclusively China or the Far East. So if you specifically want a guitar from nearer to home you are limiting your choice: a lot.

Epiphone, Eastman, Tanglewood, Ibanez attract good comment. Loads of brands make cheap end guitars but not all sound that great.

At the size and price you're looking at, my choice would be
Yamaha FS830 Acoustic in Natural | PMT Online

There are a lot of cheap end all-mahogany instruments floating about at the moment and they can sound very nice.
Vintage V300MH Folk Guitar- Solid Top- Mahogany Series | guitarguitar

I have both guitars (nearly - I actually have the FG 830)

Good Luck to you both.

Tannin · November 2023

I agree with @DavidR. In this price bracket, all-solid guitars will very likely be rather dodgy.

Kilgore · November 2023

I will echo the points about focusing on the overall quality of the guitar at this price point rather than sticking rigidly to all solid as a requirement.

lovestrat74 · November 2023

Shit... This forum! Now I am looking at unbelievably priced Vintage acoustics and trying to find a reason not to own a sub 200£ sofa guitar!!

DavidR · November 2023

lovestrat74 said:

Shit... This forum! Now I am looking at unbelievably priced Vintage acoustics and trying to find a reason not to own a sub 200£ sofa guitar!!

There are none. Happy Hunting.
:-)

lovestrat74 · November 2023

DavidR said:

lovestrat74 said:

Shit... This forum! Now I am looking at unbelievably priced Vintage acoustics and trying to find a reason not to own a sub 200£ sofa guitar!!

There are none. Happy Hunting.
:-)

https://www.reidys.com/acoustic-guitars-c2/vintage-v180-historic-series-parlour-acoustic-guitar-p9711/s10307?utm_medium=organic&utm_term=vintage-v180-historic-series-parlour-acoustic-guitar-0000000323727&utm_campaign=froogle&cid=GBP&glCurrency=GBP&glCountry=GB

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Is there such a thing as a very cheap all solid acoustic?

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