Solved Played another guitar

[danny.guitar]

48 hour approval period sounds good.

I've decided to just save my money for something decent because I don't want to get a junk guitar and have it sound too shitty to bother recording.

I'm getting a hefty check in the mail soon and I plan on using that plus whatever little I have saved up by then for a real 2nd guitar. I've been playing the same one since I started (6+ years?) and I think it's time for an upgrade!

I'm just not good at saving and I'm not patient.

Anyway, I hope to have about $800 in the next few weeks or so. It depends, it might end up being less than that in which case I'll have to (force) myself to save. Regardless, I'll probably only have an $800 budget.

$800 is a good chunk of change there's gotta be something out there that's good. The expensive ones at the shops looked real nice but sounded dull, and there was nothing about them other than looks that warranted the price.

Anyone have any clips of their acoustics that might give me some ideas?

 

[faderbug]

go with tdukex' suggestion and try a taylor big baby.

 

[danny.guitar]

go with tdukex' suggestion and try a taylor big baby.

I don't know if the shops had that Taylor model. They had a D-18 or something if I remember right and about 10 others that just didn't sound worth their price. I think they were overcharging a lot too because most of them were $1500+.

With tdukex's advice I posted on the acousticguitar.com forums and a guy pointed out the Blueridge BR-163. I've never heard of Blueridge before but it sounds really nice (a lot better than any guitars in the shops I go to).

Here's the video if anyone is interested. It's played in comparison to a Martin OM-28V which is more than twice the price. The Martin sounds better but for $700 I don't think I can go wrong with this one. What do you think?

Video:
http://www.maurysmusic.com/i/u/1530927/f/163_vs_28v.wmv

Info:
http://www.maurysmusic.com/inc/sdetail/35940

None of the guitars in the shops sounded that good. Especially the ones in that price range.

Maybe I can get some opinions from people who've owned/played these kinds of guitars and what they think of the build quality. The sound is good enough but I want it to last.

Which also brings me to another point, if/when I order this guitar, should I just string it with 12's instead of 13's to be on the safe side?
Should I replace the saddle with a bone one or something else?
What kind of case should I get for it? (They have them listed in the drop-down box on the description page).
Should I also get some kind of humidifier/de-humidifier for my room/closet where I'll be keeping it? I'll just use it for recording so it won't be leaving my room.

I just want my next guitar to last and prevent any kind of problems from happening because apparently there aren't any qualified repair people near me.

 

[tdukex]

I may be a broken record, but for my $700-800 it would be a Larrivee 03 series. //www.buffalobrosguitars.com/images23000-23999/ngb23812-larriveel03sp/index.html

Both Buff Bros and Elderly instruments sell both the Larrivee and the Blueridge instruments. You may want to call both shops and ask them to compare/contrast the two builders. Not just questions like how do they sound and play, but also where are they made, how are they made, what is the resale value, etc. All of this may or may not make a difference to you, but more knowledge IMO is always preferrable to less knowledge.

Also, as someone suggested over at the Acou Guit forum, the Breedlove Atlas series is in that price range as well. I would look into those as well.

 

[danny.guitar]

I may be a broken record, but for my $700-800 it would be a Larrivee 03 series. //www.buffalobrosguitars.com/images23000-23999/ngb23812-larriveel03sp/index.html

Both Buff Bros and Elderly instruments sell both the Larrivee and the Blueridge instruments. You may want to call both shops and ask them to compare/contrast the two builders. Not just questions like how do they sound and play, but also where are they made, how are they made, what is the resale value, etc. All of this may or may not make a difference to you, but more knowledge IMO is always preferrable to less knowledge.

Also, as someone suggested over at the Acou Guit forum, the Breedlove Atlas series is in that price range as well. I would look into those as well.

Thanks tduex I'm going to look into that.

Oh, and to the person who neg repped me:

ummmm, $1500 for a MARTIN D-18 is not overcharging. Do you even know about Martins? Someone named "Danny.Guitar" sure doesn't know alot about them...

I wasn't talking about a Martin D-18. I was talking about Taylor models that were being sold for $1500+ that cost about $1100 and less in most other shops and even less online.

And no, ironically enough, I don't know that much about guitars. I know how to play though, I would say that's the most important.

 

[jfrog]

Thanks tduex I'm going to look into that.

I second the Breedlove Atlas series....the ones I've played were good, especially if you don't want to cough up the $3K for the MIA ones.

 

[danny.guitar]

$150

I went to another shop to try out more guitars. I thought while I was there I might as well ask their repair man about fixing mine.

He took a look at the bridge and said it needs to be replaced. He said I was lucky to have a solid-wood guitar otherwise he wouldn't be able to do that. He showed me a block of wood he had and said he'd have to make a new one out of that.

I think the crack has gotten a little worse, maybe because of humidity or something. I haven't touched it, it's been sitting in my living room for awhile now.

Anyway, he said the total would be $150 for a new bridge/saddle. That seems okay to me. It will be awhile before I can afford one of the new ones, so at least I'll have something to play until I do get one.

At that shop they had a whole room full of Martin guitars. I guess some of them were budget ones...I saw one for $535. Wasn't that great though. The other dreadnought there that was for $835 sounded really nice. They even had some $4,000+ ones. I liked the D-15 and the D-18.

Anyway, I'm glad I finally found someone who seems to know what they're talking about and is willing to fix my guitar. It's my opinion that while it is not the greatest sounding guitar, it was well built and has taken all the abuse I have probably put it through over the course of 6 years.