good ~$750 acoustic??

Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

Did you play any other Taylors? What's the inexpensive 000 model, 214 or something? I remember quite liking those when I've played 'em in stores...

Taylors overall have a 'scooped' sound to them...kinda boomy bottom end, strong top. Not much midrange... not like a Martin D18 anyway. Better for strumming then lead playing IMO.

It's also reaaaaallly hard to compare a $3000 instrument to anything in the sub $1000 range...
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

I'm selling one of my Takamine EF-341SC guitars. It's the model Springsteen plays onstage. They're terrific guitars, especially for onstage use. The new ones have solid cedar tops and maple back and sides but I like the slightly older ones better: solid spruce top and mahogany sides. I have three and I'll be putting one on Ebay today. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150126598417

lew
 
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Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
i'll have to go and try one out. you think stores like gc still have the old version?
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I doubt it. The new ones are cedar and maple and don't sound as good. Rid turned me onto the Takamines and I bought three of them for diferant tunings onstage. But as it turns out I only need two so I'm seliing one. They all play and sound pretty much exactly the same, which is kind of unusual. Lew
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

yeah that is unusual.

anyways, so i went to GC today, but as i told you, i found that taylor, and that completely turned me away from what i was there to do, which was to find a guitar in my pricerange, and i just played along with the martin the whole time.

I did get to play some seagull's, i think it was this one but it really didnt impress me. i just didnt feel right.

so im thinking of going back today, except to a different one which ive found to have a much better selction of electric guitars and amps. hopefully itll be the same for their acoustics.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

well what do you know. i went to GC, looked at different takamines, and the one i liked best, just happened to be the EF341SC. now, i really liked the tone on the one i played, how much different would it be with spruce and mahogany? and how would it be different?

thanks.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

My money would go for a minty/used Taylor 310 or 410. They sound just as good as the highend Taylors, but without all the fancy appointments.

My old Taylor 410 and Martin DR were the 2 best sounding mid-priced guitars I've had. And, they hold their value, which most other brands don't.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

i played the 410 today at GC too, but it didnt play nearly as good as the takamine did. mightve just been that particular one though. Anyways, im not coming to any conclusions until i actually try an Alvarez. ill probably just buy it around my b-day, in mid june.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
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?
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IMHO the best bang for the Buck is a late 70's early 80's Guild. A D35, D40, or D50. The Guilds that were made in Rhode Island (Waverly) are iMHO better than most of the Gibsons of that same Era. The Play good, they sound good and they are reasonable. I just saw a Guild 12 String in GC last week for about $370 and it was better than a brand new Martin 12 String.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
well what do you know. i went to GC, looked at different takamines, and the one i liked best, just happened to be the EF341SC. now, i really liked the tone on the one i played, how much different would it be with spruce and mahogany? and how would it be different?

thanks.
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See? I told ya... LOL!

I think the cedar sounds a little "splashier" compared to spruce.

Spruce, to me, sounds a little deeper and the mids seem "pluckier" and more focused.

Cedar is softer and might initially seem louder when comparing two new guitars...but cedar also wears out faster and spruce keeps improving with age whereas cedar reaches its peak quickly and then declines.

Flamenco guitars are often made from cedar and the really serious players wear out thier guitars in a matter of a few years...from what I've read. I am not a flamenco guitarist so that's just something I've read.

In any case, spruce is where it's at...and having owned some high end cedar topped guitars (Lowden) and many spruce top guitars (Martin, Gibson, Taylor, etc.) that is from personal experience.

I don't really like maple for the back and sides...a little to bright for my tastes.

Mahogany sounds deeper, richer and warmer, IMO. All depends on the guitar though. No doubt here's some maple body acoustics that would outshine some rosewood or mahogany bodied acoustics. But generally, I don't care for maple bodied acoustics.

Lew
 
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Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

i think my carvin and alvarez dealers are failry close to one another, or at least one is on the way to the other, so i'll check those out sometime next week, probably weekend.

Lewguitar - im not sure what you mean by splashier, all i know is that i liked the brightness on the taki. if all that spruce does it take a bit of that away and add it to other stuff, i'd be fine with it, but i still want the brighness and the "clingy" sound do it (if that made sence).
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
i played the 410 today at GC too, but it didnt play nearly as good as the takamine did. mightve just been that particular one though.
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Usually the guitars at GuiTarget aren't setup well if at all...

Bowed necks, rusted & bunged up strings...etc.

Before you buy an acoustic or if it's really coming down to a choice between two instruments I'll have the store set 'em up & restring them with the same brand, type & guage...pay for the strings if I need too.

I've been mislead by slightly worn out strings or 80/20 vs. phospher bronze vs. magik 'voodoo dust' before.

I'll also get someone ELSE to play the guitar for a bit while I stand back & listen...see how it projects into the room.

Totally different thing then when your sitting on top of it.

Peace.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
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?
Click to expand...


Bang for the Buck? Before you settle your mind... you MUST look at BLUERIDGE guitars. They are extremely well made and worth a look.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

I'll sell you my Yamaha DW15 for $420, including OHSC. It's got a solid spruce top, indian rosewood back and sides and ebony fretboard. It's really a sweet guitar, but after I got my Martin I don't play it. Alot of 'bang for the buck' in it for sure.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

ok well, i went to Jim's Music center, a local guitar shop, and checked out their alvarez today.

they didtn have the md90c, but they did have the AD70SC which is the cheaper crappier version of it, and already it was better than a lot of guitars there. Of course it had ****ty rusty strings on it that cut up my fingers and im probably gonna die from :nono: but i bet if it had some good ones on, it would sound KILLEr. if this cheap version sounds this good, i bet the md90c sounds AMAZING!!. so i think its set, im getting it, now i just need to find a cheap place , kind of like this one http://www.turnkey.co.uk/web/produc...spatch=showProduct&SKU=ALVA-MD90C&context=WEB. (550 dollars less than retail!!!, over half off (shh dont tell anyone, i want it to stay that way till i can buy it))

i also tried some of the Yari-alvarez Koa guitars, amazing, great tone, i love koa, but way out of my price range.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

I see red label (made in japan) Yamaha's on Ebay for less then $300 all the time. I know for a fact that these are amazing sounding guitars and given the fact that they are over 20 years old only contributes to their sound. Maybe I should keep quiet and buy them myself.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

metallicaxlxl said:
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
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I love that guitar too. Too bad it's so expensive. I believe that's the model Time McIlrath from Rise Against uses. I love the inlays on that thing.
 
Re: good ~$750 acoustic??

Before you invest in one of the "cheap" Martins, check out some of the Blueridge "Martin" copies. I played a couple at a shop in Nashville and I was really impressed.
 
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