Buying Acoustic Guitar

  • Thread starter Thread starter Monkey Allen
  • Start date Start date
If I were you, I'd get a Seagull. They're better than anything out there for 3-5x the price.

Spend the time researching this to make sure you agree.

They won a few Editor's Choice awards over the years for a reason.

I have one and I love it.

LL
 
louloomis said:
If I were you, I'd get a Seagull. They're better than anything out there for 3-5x the price.
LL
Click to expand...

No they aren't. They are very good guitars for the price. Nothing more.
 
You may disagree with me, for certain, about Seagulls.

I would certainly like to see your list of guitars in the price range I outlined that have the full range response, playability, warmth and definition of a Seagull.

I shopped around a lot and while sound is in the ear of the beholder, I can always use a good learning experience to enhance my knowledge.

Please post your list.

Thanks,
LL
 
One more question for Light...........

I was in the Phoenix area last week and had the opportunity to play several guitars at the Guitar Center in Scottsdale. I now know what Light means when he says he prefers 000, 00, 0 sizes over dreads. I played the 000-28EC and really liked the fit and size. Much more comfortable then a dreadnaught and of course not at all bass boomy. One more question for you Light, what do you think of the OM-28V?

thanks,

rpe
 
rpe said:
I was in the Phoenix area last week and had the opportunity to play several guitars at the Guitar Center in Scottsdale. I now know what Light means when he says he prefers 000, 00, 0 sizes over dreads. I played the 000-28EC and really liked the fit and size. Much more comfortable then a dreadnaught and of course not at all bass boomy. One more question for you Light, what do you think of the OM-28V?

thanks,

rpe
Click to expand...


OM's are fine guitars. They are braced a little differently than a OOO, and the necks are a little wider, which many people (particularly fingerpickers) like. I don't like the new "fake" through saddles Martin is using, but they have many advantages over a real through saddle. Through saddles are just a bad idea, in general, as they weaken the bridge, which is why Martin stopped using them in the first place. They were having way too many bridges cracked thought the saddle slot, and with their warranty, that was something they needed to address. They are also a lot more difficult to set up (you don't ever want to try to do a through saddle yourself. If you fuck up, you’re fucked.) Now, the new ones are better, but they still suck.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Another big difference between OMs and 14-fret 000s are the 000s are usually short scale, so they have a very different feel then the long-scale OMs.

Regarding the Seagull comments, they are decent guitars for the price, but to say they blow anything 5x their price out of the water???? Say a Seagull costs $500. 5x that is $2500, the price of a Santa Cruz OM/PW (best "value" for really high-end guitars, IMHO). To say a Seagull blows a Santa Cruz out of the water, well, perhaps you should play a Santa Cruz, Collings, Goodall, Huss & Dalton, high-end Martin, etc...

I think if you're looking at under 1K USD, Larrivee takes the top prize!
 
Wow - I haven't been here in a while. :)

There are a lot of good suggestions here. My advice is to just play as many guitars as you can and when you find the right one you'll know it. That sounds like a cheesy sentimental plan, but it's absolutely true. Acoustics in particular vary tremendously from individual instrument to the next. One Martin D-28 may be perfect and the next one's a dog. (It's not necessarily a quality control issue, just an individual piece of wood issue.)

Play used guitars, too. The last acoustic I bought was a 1936 Gibson L-00. I wasn't in the market for a guitar and couldn't afford it. It made me pick it up. It made me sell one of my favorite electrics. It made me buy it.

I have no regrets. I would have hated myself if I never bought it. Apart from being very cool, it sounds amazing and is the most lively instrument I've ever played. :D

The only guitar I have played that has come close for me is a friend's mother's Martin D-35. I've played other Martins and never has one sounded as good as that one.

Another brand to check out (though probably in about the same price range as Martin) is Larivee. The last time I played a whole bunch of acoustics all in one day, a $1500 Larivee was far the best, even comparing it with other guitars (Larivee, Martin, Taylor, etc.) $4000 and up. Of course, that wasn't the store where I played the $5000 Goodall, which was mighty fine, too.... :o
 
louloomis said:
You may disagree with me, for certain, about Seagulls.

I would certainly like to see your list of guitars in the price range I outlined that have the full range response, playability, warmth and definition of a Seagull.

I shopped around a lot and while sound is in the ear of the beholder, I can always use a good learning experience to enhance my knowledge.

Please post your list.

Thanks,
LL
Click to expand...

Well...I had written a much longer, detailed response about guitars in general, but I don't want to come off as a know-it-all (because I'm not). I do have quite a bit of hands-on experience with acou guits of all qualities--including high end guits. In addition to the countless hours many of us have spent at GC playing their offerings of acou guits, I have lived a few blocks from Buffalo Brothers for over a decade and have also spent countless hours in their store playing every make BB sells (take a look at their website for a list). I have also purchased six guitars (including three Larrivees and a Webber) from them over the years. I have also played somewhere between 10 - 20 Seagulls during this same period.

I have found Seagulls to be very good (perhaps exceptional) guitars for the price. I happen to own a Godin LG electric (also made by Lasido) which I love. IMO my Godin is a very good (perhaps exceptional) guitar for the price, nothing more. Is my Godin as good as the G&L guits I've played? Close, maybe, but IMO no. But it's also only half the price.

If I am going to use your criteria: guits 3-5 times the price of a Seagull, and if the average Seagull is about $400, then I would be looking at $1,200 - $2,000 guits. I can tell you right away that, in general, any major brand (Taylor, Martin, Larrivee, Santa Cruz, Breedlove, Lowden, Webber, etc.) that sells models in that price range is going to be a sizeable step up from a Seagull IMO. Even an $800 Larrivee 03 series is a worthwhile step up IMO. Is it going to be twice as good? No. But IMO it is worth the extra $400 if you can afford it.
 
I finally opted for a Taylor 110. I got it for $1000 Australian with a hard case and the gig bag and a packet of strings. It sounds great and looks good. I finally got to play the Martin D-15 which I was keen on, but I just didn't like it very much. I'm happy with the Taylor 110, I think the deal was ok really.
 
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