Q:The BEST Acoustic/Electric for $1000 ??????

B

Bradley Tanogna

New member
Hi all,

I've been playing guitar off and on for a while, but now I'm starting to get into it more seriously. I hope to start performing at open mics in the near future, so I need a guitar I can plug in. At the same time, I just set up a basic home studio (Omni pre-amp, delta-66 soundcard, studio projects C1 large condenser, MXL 603s, etc.) so I need an acoustic/electric that sounds great unplugged as well. I am currently selling my Takamine FD360SC in order to upgrade to a better guitar, and I want to know:

What is the BEST acoustic/electric guitar I can get for around $1000?​

I don't really care about pre-sets and reverb, I just need solid basic EQ. Also, should I look into used guitars, or only stick to brand new ones? Does one normally sacrifice the quality of the acoustic sound when a pick-up is on board? What kind of pick-ups are the best?
 
You should look into a larivee.

I'm not sure of any model numbers, but I know I've seen an acoustic/electric of thiers for around 1000. I've got a Takamine FD-360sc (I don't think they make it any more, but they have a model that replaced that seems to be very similar) and it's a sweet guitar. I don't know which I like better between mine and the larivee's I've played.

Other than that, I can't offer too much experience. By the way, I think the larivee's are better than the taylor's (surely somebody will suggest a taylor in that price range). Just my opinion - Taylor has too much hype and not enough to back it all up.
 
Used. For sure used. You can get so much more for your $.

Used Larivees are a particularly good deal cause their resale is generally not as good as a Taylor or Gibson. Because of that you can get even more for your money on the used market.

The big dif between Taylor and Larivee is the construction, especially neck joint. The Larivee is the traditional dovetail glued joint where Taylor uses their "NT" neck technology which is a bolted on neck which is adjustable and nakes future adjustments very easy and inexpensive. Both are great for me and I would proudly own either one. At your price point, the Larivee is going to give you more.

H2H
 
I agree with the Larrivee (have owned two) / Taylor (have played many) comparison. Either of these guitars would be great, although Larrivee is a greater value IMO. You really need to just play a few (plugged and unplugged) and see which one likes you.
 
Find yourself a nice, used Lowden.

They're hand-made in Ireland and the tone sounds like God himself made these guitars. Don't worry if it doesn't have electronics in it, you can always add it on later and make your own choice as to which system you want.

You'll be blissful for the rest of your life with a Lowden acoustic, I guarantee it.
 
Aren't most Lowdens out of that price range? The ones I have experienced were. The people of Lowden are very very nice people. They approached me about an artist deal a couple years ago and I liked them very much. All very kind people and I can't say enough good things about them.

H2H
 
Hard2Hear said:
Aren't most Lowdens out of that price range? The ones I have experienced were.
Click to expand...

New... yes.

Used?... no, you can find 'em at a decent price if you're patient and/or lucky.
 
BJW said:
By the way, I think the larivee's are better than the taylor's (surely somebody will suggest a taylor in that price range). Just my opinion - Taylor has too much hype and not enough to back it all up.
Click to expand...
All depends on the price point :D . I'll take my Taylor 614ce over any other guitar I've ever played....of course it's more in the $2600 range, but you get my point. I've played other guitars in the same range as my 614 and even much higher, and they just don't have the clarity, projection and dynamic sensitivity of mine. Of course, YMMV.
 
Dude. If you paid $2600 for a 614ce you paid too much.

I love Taylors, too. I'm on #2 now. But for $1k even, the Lavivee is more bang for the buck. You're looking only at 300 or 400 series Taylors at that point.

H2H
 
Actually it was $2400...forgot that I got an extra 10% off list. Maybe things are different over on the other side of the pond, but over here $2600 is the going price for 614ce's.
 
I agree on the Larrivee. I got a DV-05E for $1100 out the door at GC with a hardshell archtop case. Looked at my guitar when I got home and noticed a crack in the body. I took it back to GC, and they had the factory make me a new one. Took a couple of months, but this is the best guitar that I've played for under $2k.
 
My bad, I was mistaking all of you darn people with the southpark avatars and thinking you were noisedude....he's from the UK (i believe), so all of us are on the other side of the pond from him.

Everywhere I've seen, the 6xx series is significantly more costly than the 5xx or 4xx. I got a limited edition rosewood 410ce with ES for right at $1600, at the same discount off list that I got my 614 at. The 614's are just that much more expensive. They list for almost $3800, and I got 40% off, which brought it down to $2200, and then sales tax.
 
I don't know what a $1000 Larivee sounds like, but the one I played with a list of ~$1600 was sweeeeet....unbelievable tone, well balanced volume across the strings and played like a dream.

Definitely a brand to consider.
 
If it lists new at $1600, you should be able to get it used for under a grand. Typical used prices for guitars are 50% of new list. But if you're a good shopper, or know some people, you can beat that.

H2H
 
I'd take my Martin HD 28V with the Fishman under-saddle pickup over any Taylor any day. Taylor has an issue with their pickup system. You can get hot strings on some guitars. I went through 3 guitars. Usually it's the B string. I finally give up with Taylor and purchased the Martin. Absolutely a sweet balanced sound. Martins will go up in value vs. the Taylors as well. Don't mean to knock you Taylor owners but it was just my experience.
 
Yeah, let's stop the silly comparisons of our favorite $2500 - $3000 guitars to a $1000 guit. And you won't find any Lowden, etc. under $1000 unless either it (or the owner) is completely trashed.

Also, I haven't played a single Martin < $1000 that I thought was worth a shit. And I've tried a lot of them because I only live 5 minutes from Buffalo Bros.
 
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