therage!
Wicked Machine
Taylor 420K, all Koa. 1996 model, rare.
gbdweller
Structural Member
Mine. Loosely based on a D28.
pohaku
New member
Played a 1920s Martin 00-45 the other day at my local guitar shop. Beautiful 45 style inlay and Brazilian rosewood. Fantastic neck and it sounded just wonderful -- very articulate. Of course they go for better than $60,000 -- so it's not likely to be finding its way to my house anytime soon. Played a 1961 Martin 00-28 there as well -- another beautiful guitar and somewhat more reasonable. Not as gaudy (to the extent that any Martin can be called gaudy) as the 45, but smooth playing and great sound.
I find that the longer I've played, the more I appreciate smaller body guitars. I have a couple dreadnought size guitars (1965 Martin D-28 and 1966 Gibson J-45), but I spend more time playing my smaller/parlor guitars (1966 Gibson B-25, 1961 Martin 0-18, 1963 Martin 0-16NY). Each has its own sound and I can't really say that one is really better than another.
While some luthiers have more of a history than others (Martin, Gibson, Guild), there are certainly many terrific newer makers that are turning out fantastic instruments (Larivee, Collings, Olson, Leach, Santa Cruz, etc.) We are just fortunate that we live in a time where there are so many great choices in instruments.
I find that the longer I've played, the more I appreciate smaller body guitars. I have a couple dreadnought size guitars (1965 Martin D-28 and 1966 Gibson J-45), but I spend more time playing my smaller/parlor guitars (1966 Gibson B-25, 1961 Martin 0-18, 1963 Martin 0-16NY). Each has its own sound and I can't really say that one is really better than another.
While some luthiers have more of a history than others (Martin, Gibson, Guild), there are certainly many terrific newer makers that are turning out fantastic instruments (Larivee, Collings, Olson, Leach, Santa Cruz, etc.) We are just fortunate that we live in a time where there are so many great choices in instruments.
S
savageblues
New member
I have a ~20 year old Seagull, and its my favourite guitar. Spruce/Mahogany. Paid $180 for it used in '93. One of the things I like about it is that I'm not afraid to use it (and abuse it). With only a cheap gig-bag, I've taken it around the world. It still sounds/plays great.
On the other hand, vintage Gilbson's have such unique and classy character, that I would personally put them at the top of the list.
On the other hand, vintage Gilbson's have such unique and classy character, that I would personally put them at the top of the list.
U
Unsprung
New member
I voted for Epiphone, and only because I once owned one of their Texan models (1992 - 1998) until it was stolen, along with my Kamen-Montana 12-string acoustic, and my TV and VCR and several limited edition Fossil watches (personally, I hope the druggie got shot in a deal gone bad).
While I had the Texan, I'd experimentet with I don't know how many brands and gauges of strings, until a salesman at a music store suggested bright bronze strings, instead of phospher bronze. So I bought a set of medium guage GHS bright bronze strings, went home and changed strings...oh boy, what a difference that made!
Right now, I'm kinda holding out for entry level Martins (both 6 and 12-string), but I may very well go out and buy me an Indiana Scout, if for no other reason than to satisfy my acoustic fix that I've been missing for the past 8 years. Besides, I've heard from several sources that Indiana Scouts are actually fairly decent, playable guitars, for the price.
Matt in Indiana
While I had the Texan, I'd experimentet with I don't know how many brands and gauges of strings, until a salesman at a music store suggested bright bronze strings, instead of phospher bronze. So I bought a set of medium guage GHS bright bronze strings, went home and changed strings...oh boy, what a difference that made!
Right now, I'm kinda holding out for entry level Martins (both 6 and 12-string), but I may very well go out and buy me an Indiana Scout, if for no other reason than to satisfy my acoustic fix that I've been missing for the past 8 years. Besides, I've heard from several sources that Indiana Scouts are actually fairly decent, playable guitars, for the price.
Matt in Indiana
gvarko
New member
Ummm
No Yamaha on the poll?
No Yamaha on the poll?
B
brandrum
Jesus Loves me.
I like Guilds and Martins.
E
edgarallanpoe
New member
In this order...
1. Collings
2. Goodall
3. Huss and Dalton
4. Breedlove
1. Collings
2. Goodall
3. Huss and Dalton
4. Breedlove
stetto
Left Unattended
savageblues said:
Me too. Looks like shit, plays like butter, sounds indescribeably warm and clear. A little on the phat side, but I have the cedar top, which I believe makes the difference...
Eric
Q
quackzed
New member
beat that mule
My friend has a baby taylor that sounds sweet.. very crisp bright but full...
but it don't sound near as good as his beat up 1980's ....
YAMAHA!!!
it's an fg-331 and its deeper and fuller and it doesn't give up when you lean into it!!!
i'm gonna get me one too
My friend has a baby taylor that sounds sweet.. very crisp bright but full...
but it don't sound near as good as his beat up 1980's ....
YAMAHA!!!
it's an fg-331 and its deeper and fuller and it doesn't give up when you lean into it!!!
i'm gonna get me one too
Light
New member
Well, if I HAD to play a factory guitar ... it all depends on the individual guitar. And also, what year was it built.
Because you see, if I could have a guitar from the 1930's, I'd probably go with a Gibson. The `30's Gibsons always seem to have something to them. If you get a great 1930's Martin, they are damn fine guitars, but I've also played some really lousy ones. But a 1930's Gibson - I've never seen one I didn't DESPERATLY want to own. The usually need a ton of work. We have one old friend who has a early `30's Jumbo - more or less a J-45 - that has such a small bridge that it needs to be reglued every few years; and another old friend of ours has one on which the scale length was so badly executed in the factory that we had to replace the fingerboard (it is a beat to shit players guitar, and putting on the new fingerboard had little effect on the market value of the instrument, but made it into a very, VERY nice players guitar). Unlike the current ones, those old Gibsons were consistent as hell, and absolutely fantastic.
But if it was a 1950's or 1960's guitar, it would have to be a Martin. Sure, they made some guitars which were better in the `30's and `40's, but they are so hit or miss. In the `50's and `60's, they were making fantastic guitars, were as Gibson was starting to use those awful plastic bridges (the worst idea Gibson every had, followed closely by those adjustable ceramic saddles).
In the seventies, the top prize probably goes to Guild. That was there golden age, hands down. Gibson was spiraling down the path of mediocrity, and Martin was making so many damn guitars that it took them ten years to notice that they were putting the bridges IN THE WRONG PLACE!!!!!!! Guild, on the other had, was putting out some really fine stuff, and some of the nicest production 12-strings you will EVER play, hands down.
The eighties is a bit of a waste land for acoustic guitars. Martin went from building over 19,000 guitars in 1972 to just about 3,000 in 1982. (Though they did it without firing anyone, which I think is pretty cool of them). Gibson in the eighties, well, the less said the better. Taylor was just starting to get rolling, and Guild was pretty iffy. Still making nice guitars, but past the golden era.
Thank god for Eric Clapton.
The Eric Clapton: Unplugged episode was a BIG FUCKING DEAL in the acoustic guitar world. The guys who managed to stay in business until that happened were rewarded for their tenacity (or some would say stubbornness). Most of the acoustic guitar store owners spent the early eighties running up credit card debts just to stay alive, or they went out of business. I have one friend who had a business consultant tell him that if he didn't close his store, he would be bankrupt within the year (but he just didn't know what else to do, and now his store is one of the most important acoustic music stores in the world).
But then Eric happened. (Big sigh of relief as the heart monitor on Martin Guitars starts to flutter again)
In the nineties, it became possible to get a great guitar from just about anyone, and that continues until today.
So, if I was looking for a NEW guitar today, it would be about price range. In the under $1,000 range, you will not find a better made or sounding guitar than a Martin D-15 (or a OOO-15 or a OM-15, or really any of the style -15 guitars). I can all but guaranty that if I had that little to spend, that is what I would get. Above that, I wouldn't even look at the name on the headstock. I'd just go into a great store (Gryphon Music in Palo Alto, The Podium in Minneapolis, Gruhn's in Nashville, etc.), put on a blindfold, and have the sales staff hand me guitars until I found The One. There are just too damn many nicely made guitars out there, and I can't see any reason to pick on anything but the purely subjective terms of what I like.
Which is, I suppose, a really long non-answer to a fairly simple question.
But the real answer is my favorite acoustic guitars are made by my dad, and what kind of an answer is that when I won't even tell you his name.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Because you see, if I could have a guitar from the 1930's, I'd probably go with a Gibson. The `30's Gibsons always seem to have something to them. If you get a great 1930's Martin, they are damn fine guitars, but I've also played some really lousy ones. But a 1930's Gibson - I've never seen one I didn't DESPERATLY want to own. The usually need a ton of work. We have one old friend who has a early `30's Jumbo - more or less a J-45 - that has such a small bridge that it needs to be reglued every few years; and another old friend of ours has one on which the scale length was so badly executed in the factory that we had to replace the fingerboard (it is a beat to shit players guitar, and putting on the new fingerboard had little effect on the market value of the instrument, but made it into a very, VERY nice players guitar). Unlike the current ones, those old Gibsons were consistent as hell, and absolutely fantastic.
But if it was a 1950's or 1960's guitar, it would have to be a Martin. Sure, they made some guitars which were better in the `30's and `40's, but they are so hit or miss. In the `50's and `60's, they were making fantastic guitars, were as Gibson was starting to use those awful plastic bridges (the worst idea Gibson every had, followed closely by those adjustable ceramic saddles).
In the seventies, the top prize probably goes to Guild. That was there golden age, hands down. Gibson was spiraling down the path of mediocrity, and Martin was making so many damn guitars that it took them ten years to notice that they were putting the bridges IN THE WRONG PLACE!!!!!!! Guild, on the other had, was putting out some really fine stuff, and some of the nicest production 12-strings you will EVER play, hands down.
The eighties is a bit of a waste land for acoustic guitars. Martin went from building over 19,000 guitars in 1972 to just about 3,000 in 1982. (Though they did it without firing anyone, which I think is pretty cool of them). Gibson in the eighties, well, the less said the better. Taylor was just starting to get rolling, and Guild was pretty iffy. Still making nice guitars, but past the golden era.
Thank god for Eric Clapton.
The Eric Clapton: Unplugged episode was a BIG FUCKING DEAL in the acoustic guitar world. The guys who managed to stay in business until that happened were rewarded for their tenacity (or some would say stubbornness). Most of the acoustic guitar store owners spent the early eighties running up credit card debts just to stay alive, or they went out of business. I have one friend who had a business consultant tell him that if he didn't close his store, he would be bankrupt within the year (but he just didn't know what else to do, and now his store is one of the most important acoustic music stores in the world).
But then Eric happened. (Big sigh of relief as the heart monitor on Martin Guitars starts to flutter again)
In the nineties, it became possible to get a great guitar from just about anyone, and that continues until today.
So, if I was looking for a NEW guitar today, it would be about price range. In the under $1,000 range, you will not find a better made or sounding guitar than a Martin D-15 (or a OOO-15 or a OM-15, or really any of the style -15 guitars). I can all but guaranty that if I had that little to spend, that is what I would get. Above that, I wouldn't even look at the name on the headstock. I'd just go into a great store (Gryphon Music in Palo Alto, The Podium in Minneapolis, Gruhn's in Nashville, etc.), put on a blindfold, and have the sales staff hand me guitars until I found The One. There are just too damn many nicely made guitars out there, and I can't see any reason to pick on anything but the purely subjective terms of what I like.
Which is, I suppose, a really long non-answer to a fairly simple question.
But the real answer is my favorite acoustic guitars are made by my dad, and what kind of an answer is that when I won't even tell you his name.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
stetto
Left Unattended
Light said:
Heh heh heh heh....I'm getting this picture of some guy with a blindfold sitting in a music store, a huge crowd standing around him, salesman handing him guitars one after the other---But it's the same guitar!! And after about six or seven times the guy with the blindfold sez; "THAT'S THE ONE!!!
Eric
true-eurt
Maneater
I have a Crafter I like really well and I played on a Guild I loved. I would like to own a Guild.
Cyrokk
Farce of Nature
Guild is by far my favorite. I prefer it over my vintage Martin.
Gorty
New member
I have a Fender 12 string that I have had since new, it is 16 years old, it is really nice to play but not as nice as my mates Ibanez!
V
Vangilder
New member
I have a Guild D4-E(guild factory put a fishman pickup system in it) and I love the thing to death! Made in the USA too
My dad has a Breedlove, and that thing is super nice.. Breedlove should definetly be on the list..
My dad has a Breedlove, and that thing is super nice.. Breedlove should definetly be on the list..
0
0018G
New member
It's hard to beat the consistency of build quality and tone you get with a new Martin. Unless it's an old Martin . Give me a D-28 and I'm happy-there is nothing you can't do with one.
. Give me a D-28 and I'm happy-there is nothing you can't do with one.
F
flamin-gitaur
New member
Depending on the mood I'm in, It's a toss up between Taylor and Martin 
J
Jahn
New member
I agree with many of the above - I wonder why Guild isn't on the poll. At the very least it carved out the right to be up there for their 12 strings and jumbos. I owned a D4-12 and still own a beauty of a black JF30, and that cannon made this strummer far more happy than the Taylor 810 I had. But the best guitar I own is a beater Guild F30 from the 60's that just has that Willie Nelson-type mojo. And it looks just as messed up!