Acoustic Guitar Buyer Needs Help

[presh12]

Hey

first time im buying an acoustic/electro acoustic 6 string (ive got a 12 string tanglewood) and was looking for some advice

Ive got about 200 quid to spend and i want a decent sounding acoustic/electroacoustic

Been looking at Takamines on ebay as i hear they are good, but just wondering if anyone had any suggestions.

Apart from sounding good, i want a relatively thin neck (im an electric player really and im used to them)

Any help appreciated

[GuitarZorz]

I was in the same boat as you only like 3 weeks ago. I shopped around a bit and found crafters to have the nicest necks for me and best value.
Then I found a used one on ebay for less than half price.

The new korean Takamines don't really compare to the old japanese ones that they got their name with.

Best bet is to go to a soundcontrol or other big guitar shop and play everything you can get your hands on, then go on ebay etc and look for something based on what you liked best at the shop.

Hope that helped.

[blackswan]

i got a crafter fx series (i think) recently for £199, has a nice neck, an lr baggs pickup and decent amplified sound, which from my experience is hard to find for that money.....not the loudest thing you'll ever hear acoustically though and fibreglass back/sides aren't for everyone. but yeah they do some decent models for that kind of money.

[Twangmonster]

Hi,
I just bought my first electro-acoustic, an Ibanez EW20 (similar to the one reviewed in issue 297 of Guitarist).
I got it for £220 from Proffesional Music Technologes(PMT) in Birmingham. I also tried two Takamini's, a Washbourn, a Yamaha and a couple of other makes I forget the names of.
The EW20 sounds great acoustically, but being a jumbo I find it a little bass light compared to my Dreadnought. Also it only has a laminate top, which has some impact on the tone.
That said, the amplified sound is awsome, and the notch filter (for squashing feedback) is really useful.

I wouldn't by over the net personally. I couldn't have decided without a good hour playing all the guitars in my price range to find the one for me.

[bertie]

I bought a cheap Crafter to use as a travel guitar - cost me about £140.........its nicely finished and really easy to play - the tone is 'acceptable' and all in all Id thoroughly recommend it as a beginners.

Some of the new Vintage models are very good value.......

[Ian B (again)]

At the risk of sounding like a PR man for Richwood guitars (I've just recommended one of their electrics in another thread) I've got to suggest a Richwood CE-18-1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ELECTRO-ACOUST...QQcmdZViewItem

I've got one and I'm seriously impressed, the Fishman Classic 4 gives a great acoustic sound when amplified. I've gotta be honest, while it looked and sounded great, the setup when it arrived wasn't the best, the action was nowhere near as good as it should have been. I ended up having the bridge routed so the saddle sat lower, but while it has a typical acoustic neck, the result is now a action that is on a par with most electrics and not a hint of fret buzz anywhere. It now plays like a dream, and while Dangleberries blurb might be a bit OTT, it's still a mighty fine guitar at the price.

Ian

[frogngerm]

Are we allowed to mention Guitar & Bass mag?! Believe they review 50 lower cost acoustics in the Feb issue. If anyone has it please let me know if it's any good!

[martynq]

Are we allowed to mention Guitar & Bass mag?! Believe they review 50 lower cost acoustics in the Feb issue. If anyone has it please let me know if it's any good!

Yep, I've got it. I'm intending to buy an electro-acoustic in the next month or so, and I found the feature pretty useful for telling me what I'm looking for. (I now know that solid top is good, solid everywhere is better.)

I think they only review acoustics, but it looks a pretty good feature.