My first acoustic purchase

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sweetpeee

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Hi all,

I've been playing guitar for a few decades now and every acoustic I've ever had was given to me by relatives.My first (a Kay) was stripped to the wood by my brother, who never put it back together.My second (Harmony) has visible wear signs on just about every fret from the 1st to the 12th, and now, the action is so high, it's only good for slide...if that.

So I decided to go to GC and look around at their acoustics.I tried a few used Martins I wasn't all that impressed with.I have two freinds with Taylors,one has a 25th anniversary eddition that costs over $5000.000 (that I accidently put a ding in...long story)the other was about $2000 I think,and for the price, I wasn't impressed with the sound coming from either Taylor.

I tried a Takemine and thought it was okay...I tried two Ibanez's one was as big as Gibson J200 (probably a copy of one)the others were plain dreadnaught acoustics. To me the Ibanez's sounded thin.A lot more high end than I like. There was also an ibanez...an exotic looking thing that was just amazing to look at, but the sound, again, sounded thin to me.It's hard to describe what I mean...maybe they just didn't sound richenough.

Enter the mystery guitar.I gave it a look...no brand I've ever heard of, more on that later.Took it off the wall and started to play it. Cool! I liked the sound.It didn't sound all trebbly and thin.It actually had some...what I would call, mids.I don't know if it was the wood used or the construction, but it captured the sound I like even though the strings were a bit worn on it. I checked out the price and it was around $630.00 or so. I decided I didn't need a guitar that bad at that price at that particular time so I walked out.

That was a week ago. I went to a freind's house for a jam and arrived early...he wasn't there so I went to GC to see if that guitar was still there.Shoot! It's gone...no wait, they put it on the opposite wall!! WHHHAAAAAA??????????$499.00!?!?!?!?!??!?!? Aw man!! I played every note on every strinig up to about the 15th fret...no buzzes at all. I looked down the fretboard both from the headstock and the bridge, looked straight to me, just your normal fretboard (the freind who checked it out said someting aboout a slight dip between two frets on the high E string, his son said, without knowing this "so what negative thing did my dad say?"lol)
I didn' check every inch of it to see if there were any blemeshes,because at that point, I didn't care.If I didn't see any with a quick once over, I was happy.

So what was the name on the headstock??? Parkwood...made by Cort!!


UNREAL!! I mean Cort...you know,$100-200 electric guitars Cort?? I couldn't believe the sound coming out of this guitar. I told myself that if I were ever going to buy and acoustic, it would take all day and I'd wear a blindfold, and have someone bring the guitars to me.This guitar was bought on sound alone and for me, just the fact that it's a Cort proves that. I don't know if they all sound like this one,but it sounded better than the half dozen or so I tried.To be honest,if it said "Cort" on the headstock I might have thought twice about trying it out.Lesson learned.

J.P.
 
Auditioning acoustic guitars can really take some time. Like you, I've sat and played, listened to others playing, and played again. I feel there is much more of a bond between a player and a acoustic than an electirc (no flaming please). Once you get serious, ask the dealer to put on a new set of strings and that you'll be back tomorrow. Give it another try. New strings can make all the difference in the world on a acoustic. If you're still in love with it, go for it.
 
I've got two Corts - both used. One is a resonator and the other is a 335 knockoff with a neck-through build. The resonator is OK and the 335 is astounding for what I payed for it.
 
Just goes to prove how much variation there can be even between different guitars of the exact same model. The particular pieces of wood used, the assembly, everything about it affects the sound. Congrats on getting a sound you like!
 
I have an Olympia by Tacoma that sounds amazing for the $250 my dad paid for it........new. Now for an appropriate but extremely corny catch phrase: "Can't judge a book by its cover." Or a guitar by its brand.




PS: 500th post, whee!!
 
I've got a Washburn J28 I paid a decent penny for, but still got it well below what the average price is.. Wonderful sound.. It's one of those that everytime you're sitting around with a group of folks at least one of 'em is gonna go "WOW.. Look at that thing".. And in a good way too...

Anyroads... I stumbled across another one the other day at the same shop I picked this one up from.. Ya wouldn't have recognized it as the same guitar.. It's a natural finish quilted maple back and sides.. Mine has a lot of golden honey tones and I don't think I've noticed a single blemish anywhere on it.. The one they had hanging on the wall now looked like it had been painted yellow with a dirty brush... If that one had been the one I'd seen first, I'd never picked it up.. And on the chance I had, one strum and it would be back on the shelf.. Not sure how to describe the sound, but if you've ever played a plywood top guitar (like the ones you get at Wal-Mart), that's pretty close to what it sounded like..

Saw the Parkwoods at the local GC the other day... Looked pretty nice.. Every one of 'em I picked up was outta tune though, me not being able to even get close to tuning by ear, just hung 'em back on the wall...

--
Rob

--
Rob
 
I'll have to check out these Cort Parkwoods next time I'm at GC. Funny thing about GC is that they usually do not stock higher end Takamines, Ibanez, and Washburns. Which for the money usually sound great. My friend works in acoustics and he said they don't stock them because they would interfere with the huge rips they make on their Gibsons, Taylors and Martins.
Personally I love the all solid wood dreadnaughts from Washburn, the cedar topped Takamines, and Ibanez's AW500 and up series acoustic electrics. They all range from around $400-800. I own an Ibanez AW500CENT ($650) and a Washburn WD56SW ($450) and love them to death. I really considered getting a $1800 Taylor until I went to a little music shop and played these guitars.
 
See thats what I love about guitars. The little gems that just pop out at you when you least expect it. I think it kind of nullifies the 'is this guitar worth the money' argument.

At the end of the day, you can have a small name guitar, that cost a fortune, and a lot of people wouldn't pay that much for it based on name alone, but someone will pick it up, play it, and fall in love with it. And even though the guitar cost a fortune, they will pay money, cos its worth that much to them.

I think the value of a guitar is pretty much in the eye of the beholder. I love my guitar, its just a strat, it cost me £700, this is many years ago, before responsibilities kicked in, but if i recall, i could have pretty much bought any guitar in the shop at the time, but that was the one I wanted. I paid my £700 for it, and I would have paid more, cos it was worth it to me.

Someone asked me the other day what my dream guitar was. I said 'mine'.

Some people may play my guitar, and may not like, but its all a matter of personal taste, and that is the magic of music. There are no absolutes. Anything goes if its what floats your boat, at whatever price you deem fit to pay for it.

Every guitar is unique and it takes a long time to find one you will want to play for many years, but when you do, its like...erm.. the coolest thing ever.

Anyway, hippy rant over :D
 
Yeah, I used to walk into the shops past all the "budget guitars" and straight to the back wall where the Taylors, Martins and Gibsons hung... Seemed like I was doing this several times a week.. I might go in once a month now just to browse.. I don't get any special buzz by pulling that $2500 Martin off the wall to pick on a few minutes..

Last time I was in they had a Used Seagull in the back room and I was sitting there playing the thing and someone asked me why I was playing that "cheap thing" with all these "better" guitars in the room.. Said because I can... Hell if the others in there were that good they wouldn't still be in there 6 months or better after I'd first played 'em...

--
Rob
 
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