Guitar Choice

  • Thread starter Thread starter Minuk21
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Minuk21

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I currently have a Yamaha FG700S that i got for $300(first guitar ever). I've had it for roughly around 3-4 years and it has played very well. I just think that I should upgrade as i'm going to be doing the whole YouTube deal and all that good jazz.

So i decided to get a new guitar. Preferably Acoustic-Electric. I just want to know which brand is the best brand in Sound Quality. Price must be at most 1000. I am open to suggestions.

Random info about my playing style:
I mostly do Strumming (lots o' palm muting) and basic to intermediate plucking.

~Thank you very mucho
 
Taylor guitars are usually very good, and there are some real nice models at under a grand, Ovation, Takamine, and Martin are worth a look, but interestingly enough, I've found a couple of Samick guitars that were really affordable, and sounded great, and I found a Cort guitar that was perfect for me, and didn't cost a lot.

I always shop hard for guitars, there are some expensive models that fall short, and vise versa, play 'em all, even the lower priced units, you just might stumble on to an exceptionally built guitar at a budget price, I've done it several times.
Good luck.
 
Ovation has been the standard "Bar guitar" since forever for playing through a PA without mics. Some people hate them - especially for recording - but start there for a performance instrument. Many others have since joined that game and the choices are wide indeed.


lou
 
According to Yammie's website, the FG700S has a solid spruce top- unless there is something about your guitar that is not doing it for you, I am not sure you can do much better without spending some considerable bucks- I am talking a grand or more.

A personal story: I played a Seagull S6 for several years- also a solid spruce top acoustic guitar- and have been very happy with it. I still own two, in fact- one a dreadnaught, the other a smaller "folk" size. I got lucky enough to acquire a Martin D-16GT-SPD about 10 years ago. Without going into all the details, it's different but does not sound worlds better, it would be hard to justify the higher price tag on tone or sound, alone. Still, I do enjoy the cache' playing a Martin seems to bring- it would be the same with a Taylor, others.

There are Martins that sell for less than $1000 that have marvelous tone- the 15 series, for instance- but they are, IMO, just "plain (and) ugly." For your budget, you can probably get a beautiful Seagull (check out the other lines from LaSiDo, too) with marvelous tone. But I wonder if your Yammie is really not the best guitar for you? You would know better than I, of course, just wondering...
 
My advice (and this is free advice so take it for whatever it may be worth) is whatever money you decide to spend, spend it on an acoustic guitar (not acoustic-electric) and consider adding in an after-market pre-amp/pick-up later. My experience with factory-installed pre-amp/pick-ups has been that they are not always the best quality. (remember the factories buy these from Fishman or whoever in bulk at a discount, so they tend not to contain the highest quality components compared to an after-market system) and really, for live sound, the best sound comes from mic-ing the guitar, not a pick-up.
 
I have found that there are great sounding guitars and stinkers within the same brand family, and you really need to just play a bunch of different ones and see what sounds/feels good to you. I have found Takamine, Alvarez Yairi and Taylor to be consistently good brands.
 
I put a Fishman Piezo under-saddle pickup in my Martin, and frankly, I wish I had not bothered. It's convinient, but the sound is nothing to write home about.
 
Look into OM-sized models and skip the "electro" option and invest in a good mic and preamp. Smaller-body guitars record a bit better than dreadnaughts in that they aren't as boomy in the bass and tend to have a more balanced sound.

For micing check out an SM-58 dynamic. Pair that up with a clean mic pre and you'll have good sound without a lot of fidgeting around.
 
Minuk21 said:
I just want to know which brand is the best brand in Sound Quality. Price must be at most 1000. I am open to suggestions.
Click to expand...

There is no shortcut to playing a bunch of guitars and getting the one that you like the best. There is no such thing as a "best brand in Sound Quality". Sound quality is subjective, so are your preferences about the way a guitar should feel. Forget about brand names and go play some guitars, you may find you like your Yammie as much as many more expensive ones.
 
I play a Martin D-15. It was just under a 1000.00. I like the way it plays and the way it fits me. As others have said, Try em all in your price range and see what fits you.
 
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