good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl

metallicaxlxl

New member
im in the $750 range for a dreadnought acoustic. ive been mostly looking at known "bang for the buck" brands like alvarez, seagull, breadlove etc... tell me if im wrong in doing so, because i havnt even considered other brands.

now, one model ive become particularly fond of, the Alvarez md90c. call me stupid, i havnt actually ever played it, nor have i gone to any store to try and buy an acoustic, its all been online stat looking. but the md90c really stood out, and i got myself a deal for it just in my price range instead of the 930 bucks it sells everywhere else.

so, would you say go for it? anyone have experience with the guitar? any other guitar i absolutely should take into consideration?
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

Check out some washburn acoustics, I got an 80's american made EA18 for like $350 on ebay. Washburn acoustics are the best for the money in my opinion. Seagull would be another great choice. I've never checked out the alvarez's.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

thanks, will look into them.

forgot one of the primary rules of posting requested gear posts...

im looking for a tone found in british bands like the verve, coldplay, oasis, etc.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

I have an Alvarez PD100S (couldn't remember the model, had to look it up! http://www.alvarezgtr.com/prod_page.html?SeriesID=3&ItemID=61 ) that's an absolutly great instrument and wasn't terribly expensive either...I think it was around $700 inc. case from the local shop.

Spent about a year looking for THE acoustic, some kind of '60s/70s Martin that sounds like Neil Youngs guitar or Grahm Nash and never found it. They were either thrashed from playing, WAAAY expensive/overpriced, were totally dead or some combination of the three.

The Alverez sounds like a 2-dimensional version of what I wanted and since it wasn't super expensive I don't have too worry or coddle it like I would with an old Martin or Santa Cruz.

Good materials. Solid workmanship, nice clean build...plays great & it's already sounding better then it did 2 or 3 years ago when it was brand new.

Don't think I've ever had to adjust the truss-rod either... Maybe once.

The only downside is that the neck is kinda small for me but it DOES play great and everyone that's knocked it around seems to dig it.

I'd buy another Alverez in a flash.

Seagulls are kinda nice. The necks are VERY wide & flat, almost like a classical guitar. Good for fingerpicking (for me!) but not terribly comfertable for anything else.

I've played a few Tacomas that I really dig...

Guild makes GREAT guitars...KILLER deals can be found on used ones, but 'ya know...I played a $700 made in China one a few weeks back that kicked my ass. Thought it was USA until I looked at the label inside.

Sometimes you can find 'player' Gibsons in the under $1000 range...
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

j moose - totally agree with you, i love width for fingerpicking, but not so much for everything else. ill still have my classical with me to satisfy all my fingerpicking needs, so the neck width doesnt matter all that much.

everyones been talking guild lately, ive only been hearing good things about them, but im not too fond of them cosmetics-wise, you know how that is...

smilemon - any particular reasons why you recommend them?
 
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Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
tell me if im wrong in doing so, because i havnt even considered other brands.
Click to expand...

The biggest mistake anyone can make when acoustic guitar shopping is buying into brands. Pay no attention to the name on the headstock. If you've got a budget, get your hands on as many pieces under that amount and let your ears and hands make the decisions.

I'll share with you a little story... When I was shopping last fall for a acoustic I told myself I had a budget of ~$1500. I more or less locked myself in an acoustic room and played everything that fit what I was looking for and was within my price range. Admittedly I was too brand savvy at first, and concentrated heavily on Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, etc... all in the neighborhood of my budget. I eventually picked up some other guitars that were well under my price range and found one that blew just about every other guitar I had picked up out of the water. It was a Takamine, and it saved me $500, and was exactly what I was looking for in an acoustic guitar.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

yeah takamine make some fantastic guitars at really good prices. alvarez is also one of my favorite guitar makers.

in the 750 range i would stay clear of all the cheaper martins because most of them dont even have a solid top and you are really just paying for the name.

what mikeS said is dead on though, ignore brands, play everything you can and you'll find the one you want. make sure it has a solid top though.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

Don't forget used either. I picked up an old Alvarez 5047 (OM style spruce on rosewood) for $150. It's all solid and, IMHO, sounds better than a lot of guitars costing over $3000 that I've played back to back with it.

Cruise your local pawn shops. ;)
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

then i guess im gonna have to go to guitar center and check them out. problem with gc is that they dont have seagull nor alvarez.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

The seagulls are worth making a trip for, you might really like them. They make some cedar top models too. Check out Yamaha, too. I would recommend a top of the line affordable brand than an entry level high end brand (ie Martin, Taylor). I have a weird looking gretsch acoustic which I love, you might look into those if you want something distinctive.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
then i guess im gonna have to go to guitar center and check them out. problem with gc is that they dont have seagull nor alvarez.
Click to expand...

I think they do have Seagull. Play those and the cheaper Martins. With the Martin you are getting the Martin construction and materials, with no cosmetics. I think I'd rather have that than a fancied up import. BUT, play a ton, you never know what acoustic is going to jump out at you, my buddy bought a $300 Takamine on clearance for $100. It's one of the best sounding acoustics I've heard and plays very nice too.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

you might find an entry level Larrivée for about that much. i've got one from about 5 years ago that I bought for about that much, very pretty sound, I shopped around a lot.

i'd be cautious about buying an acoustic without having played it. i strongly recommend playing a bunch, including far more expensive ones so you understand what makes a great guitar.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

I got a chance to play a few carvins when I was in los angeles less than a year ago, and those are absolutely stellar as far as playability is concerned. However, my favorite acoustic of all time was a 12-string taylor jumbo that I played at a guitar center in Matthews, NC, but unfortunately, it was $1200 and I didn't have the coin. But yeah, carvin is worth a shot if you ever get a chance to play one.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

the low amound of cosmetics is what got me interested in the alvarez. they are very simple in design, and you know your not paying extra for usless stuff they throw on there because there isnt any, just simple, clean, and i just love the look of their cutaways.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

your local guitar center must simply be out of seagulls at this time. they do carry them. i see them all the time at mine, both 6 and 12 string version. i'm a big fan of the seagulls. they're very well made, sound great, and low $$$. i think i paid something like $299 for mine about 7 or 8 years ago.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

The Seagull is a great guitar if...you play a bunch and pick the best of them.

I actually bought a factory returned Artist Mosaic CW because it sounded better than the brand new one next to it. I did a setup on it and I have had Martin and Taylor players remark on how nice a guitar it is, after them played it.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

omg, just fell upon the guitar of my dreams today at GC. some prety young kid, probalby around my age, was playing amazingly well, so i made aquaintance, and he showed me a guitar, the most amazing acoustic i have every laid hands upon, the Taylor 814-CE

that was the most clarity ive had out of any guitar ive ever played in my wooping 3 years!!! :argh: as a guitar player. no but seriously, the pricetag of 3000 dollars seemed a bit low for the sound i was getting out of it. made every single other guitar in the room sound like a mad cow!

so yeah, thats the exact sound im aming for, if that helps in cutting down the list of guitars i could get in my price range...
 
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