Acoustic guitars that are good for both strumming and fingerstyle playing
- Thread starter Wayne27
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PFDarkside
of the Forum
I think the “regular” (14 series) is great, but I also think the Dreadnaught and 000 and 0000 do both well.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
I've never thought of a particular acoustic for fingerstyle vs strumming. I just think of them by their sound / EQ profile. Smaller bodies seem to have loud punchier mids and not much bass. Large bodies have deep bass and some high end and maybe soft in the mids a bit. Dreadnought in between that. A typical dreadnought should be fine for either style, IMO.
This is exactly how I've thought about it. If the guitar makes you want to pick it up for either, then use it. I think it means something different for everyone. A nylon string is better for fingerstyle for me, but in the end, I use my weird hybrid/flatpicking style on whatever guitar is inspiring me at the time. I think acoustic guitar magazines trying to sell high-dollar acoustics would have you believe a fingerstyle guitar is different than a strummed one, but in the end, when someone buys an acoustic, they end up doing both on whatever they have.
PFDarkside
of the Forum
I’ve always thought that little 12 series Taylor (512 or 612) would be a fun little guitar for strumming and fingerstyle.
NegativeEase
New member
It's weird that you mention Taylor 14 series GAs in the OP -as thats' the first guitar that comes to mind for fingerstyle/flatpicking and strummin' to me...
They have a great balance between the sound resonance and harmonic expectation of an acoustic but generally play better than an acoustic -some of them feel like a Gibson SG when playing them
As for other brands... for lower cost -I'm impressed with some of the Breedloves and for not cheaper but good value -the import Epiphones were very impressive last time I was in the store.
They have a great balance between the sound resonance and harmonic expectation of an acoustic but generally play better than an acoustic -some of them feel like a Gibson SG when playing them
As for other brands... for lower cost -I'm impressed with some of the Breedloves and for not cheaper but good value -the import Epiphones were very impressive last time I was in the store.
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
I don't think Taylor 14 series are great for strumming. They aren't bad per se . . . but don't hold up well to a heavy pick attack and sound much better for fingerstyle stuff to me. Usually the physically bigger guitars seem better for strumming to me - full sized dreadnoughts and jumbos. They really hum and respond well to a heavy right hand digging in and whacking the strings. Smaller guitars tend to sound better for fingerstyle stuff - the tops are usually lighter and they response better to nuance.
That said, I'd say you're always going to be trading off between power (strumming) and nuance (fingerpicking). Your standard dread typically does fingerpicking OK and strumming well. Slightly smaller bodied guitars like one of the Taylor 14s do strumming OK and fingerpicking well.
That said, I'd say you're always going to be trading off between power (strumming) and nuance (fingerpicking). Your standard dread typically does fingerpicking OK and strumming well. Slightly smaller bodied guitars like one of the Taylor 14s do strumming OK and fingerpicking well.
NegativeEase
New member
To be clear -my comment was about having a great balance of the 2 properties -Taylor 14s GAs are definitely NOT optimized for strumming -they are a flatpicker/fingerstyle/do the olympics on the fretboard first and good for strummin' also IMO
