Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

M

Mike M.

New member
Played a Gibson Songwriter acoustic about two weeks ago. Absolutely beautiful, rich tone. Not to much or two little of anything, flawless workmanship and the neck and action felt like it was custom made for me. Effortless playing. But the price was near the $2,000.00 mark. :smack: I'm sure it's worth it, but wow!

I'm also sure there are some good "sleepers" out there that sound and play just as good as the Songwriter but don't cost as much.

I know some acoustics are best for finger picking while others are best suited for use with a pick. Forget straight ahead finger picking as I'm pretty useless at it. I play with a pick or a combination of a pick, middle and ring fingers.

Suggestions, please?
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Epiphone masterbilt w/rosewood sides and back. Those things sound unfreakin believable for the price.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Alverez & Alverez-Yari.

MIK or MIJ, really great guitars for the most part. My $600 Alv slayed anything that was around $1000 or so... including the budget Martins & Taylors to say little of the Washburns & whatnot... and it wasn't just mine. Each one that I played was good in it's own right.

Just gotta play a bunch of guitars until one speaks up...
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Here's my Magic Acoustic combo: Ovation Celebrity 257, into Zoom A2 Acoustic processor, through a 30 watt Crate Acoustic amp.

The Ovation plays like an electric, and the zoom just crafts some excellent tones out of it!
 
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Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

J Moose said:
Alverez & Alverez-Yari.

MIK or MIJ, really great guitars for the most part. My $600 Alv slayed anything that was around $1000 or so... including the budget Martins & Taylors to say little of the Washburns & whatnot... and it wasn't just mine. Each one that I played was good in it's own right.

Just gotta play a bunch of guitars until one speaks up...
Click to expand...

+1

Alvarez makes a great guitar for the money. I have a Jumbo (AJ60) that I absolutely love. I think I paid $460 new with a hardcase.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Almost forgot! Guitar Player just did an under $300 shootout on those...
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

I love my Alvarez 5047. I got it used for $125. It's a spruce and rosewood copy of a Martin OM style.

I've played it back to back with guitars in the $1,000-$2,000 and to my ears, my brother's ears, and everyone who heard it that day, it killed them all.


Alvarez is definately worth looking into.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm going to my sons on Sunday for dinner and there's a Guitar Center right along the way. Think I'll leave early, stop in and stum on a few.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Definatly the Epi Masterbuilt line, best bang for the buck on the market if you ask me

Good quality solid tonewoods for the back and sides which is pretty rare in the price range, a very cool satin finish that really lets the wood breath, great feeling neck, and a really huge ton. I've got the Advanced Jumbo and it sounds really big and full.

Every luthier I've had check it out has always been impressed with it and amazed at the price. I paid around $500 and its every bit on par with a $1500 guitar.

I mean its not the end all of end all acoustics by any means but still, for $500 you can't do any better
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

I still think the midline Martins and Taylors have the tone, although Alvarez Yairi is up there as well.

The best budget Martin D-28 clone is the DR (Dreadnaught Rosewood), which can sometimes be found around $800 used. The DM is one step below it, but also a good midpriced Martin.
Here's the one I'd get.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Like-New-Martin...ryZ33028QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The Taylor 310, 314, 410, or 414 are all punchy and toneful guitars at a reasonable price.
http://cgi.ebay.com/TAYLOR-310-2006...ryZ33031QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

In general, I find that midline Martins and Taylors sound as good or better than other companies top of the line.
 
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Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Mike M. said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm going to my sons on Sunday for dinner and there's a Guitar Center right along the way. Think I'll leave early, stop in and stum on a few.
Click to expand...
+1 the Takamine's.
I'm still *very* tempted by their jumbo cutaways, 6 and 12 string.
That said, I'd put my Cort... er, Carvin 980 up against anything under 2k.

MM
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

I hate to come in this late to the thread and add yet another name to the consideration, but I've played some Seagulls in the $400 range that blew me away. I was especially fond of the S6+ Spruce model.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Seagulls are nice guitars... after a lot of searching for a nice $1500-ish guitar and not finding anything that blew me away it was coming down to a 000 size Seagull or the Alverez rosewood dreadnaught for about half of what I was looking to spend.

One of the things that turned me off to the Seagulls are those huge necks. Wide & flat like a classical.

A few years down the road & I still dig the Alv. Sounds decent, plays really really well... records great. My tonal benchmark is/was the '70s Crosby Stills & Nash records... couldn't find anything that sounded exactly like that but this Alv is close. Like a 2-dimensional version. It's got the midrange & top, but not as open... certainly doesn't have the bottom of those tones but it's easy to make up with some EQ.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

Martin D-15, it's all you'll need. Perfect for strumming & fingerpicking.
 
Re: Any good "sleeper" acoustics out there?

I really dig Simon and Patrick guitars for acoustic. They're one of the Godin brands. Their top of the line stuff is usually priced below $1k, and I find them comparable to Taylors and Martins worth twice as much.

Mine is the Pro Flame Maple, and like all great instruments it has gotten better with age.
 
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