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| Good Affordable Guitar - Beginner Questions - Guitar - Guitar - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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DB30513 Approved
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Hi there this is my first post here so go easy on me I have been teaching myself for guitar the past few months and now i'm looking for a new guitar. my current guitar is a cheap no-name that I bought at a yard sale for $100. It looks pretty but the action is so high its hard to play a note. I got $400 saved up right now so I need a good acoustic guitar for around that. Any suggestions?
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Will Approved 
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DB30513 wrote: Hi there this is my first post here so go easy on me You will want to get a guitar with a solid wood top, rather than a laminated wood top; solid wood sounds better and improves its tone with greater playing time. Two guitar brands that I own and can recommend in that price range are Blueridge and Seagull. Both brands are known for good-sounding, easy-to-play instruments, excellent workmanship, and value for your money. For $400 or so, you will be able to get a good sounding, playable, solid wood top (spruce or cedar), which will improve its tone the more you play the guitar. What type of music you play (rock, country, bluegrass, folk, etc.) , style (flatpicking vs. fingerpicking) may influence the style and size of guitar you may ultimately decide upon. The most common size is the dreadnought, which is a good all-around size of guitar, although it may be too large to be played comfortably for smaller players. If you strum hard with a flatpick on rhythm guitar, you'll probably want a Blueridge spruce top guitar which will give you the volume you want. If you strum less aggressively, or you play fingerstyle without a pick, you might like the cedar top Seagull guitar, which is more responsive to a gentler playing style. The Blueridge BR-40 is their entry-level solid spruce top dreadnought, which comes with a hard case, selling for $450: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Blueridge-BR40-Contemporary-Series-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=515098  The Seagull S6 solid cedar top guitar is a dreadnought with a slightly wider than normal fingerboard, that costs about $400, but without a hard case: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Seagull-The-Original-S6-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=512120  There is a brand sold by Musician's Friend called Silver Creek, which are made entirely of solid wood (generally the most expensive guitars are solid wood), but are priced at $300 to $400. I do not own a Silver Creek, so I can't personally vouch for them, but here are links to them: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=silver+creek+guitar&st= Musician's Friend, Music123, and Woodwind & Brasswind are on-line stores that are all owned by Guitar Center. Your local Guitar Center may have these brands right in the store for you to try. Seeing that you hail from Blue Ridge, Georgia, it may be fitting to be the future owner of a Blueridge Guitar.  In any case, whether you buy your guitar on-line or at a local shop, have it professionally set up ($20 to $30 usually), so that the string action is optimized to make it easier to play. Also, get a good hard case to protect your guitar and an all leather strap. http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Musicians-Gear-Deluxe-Dreadnought-Case?sku=540945 http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Perris-2.5-Leather-Strap-w-Embossing-Design-?sku=360479 Good luck with your search. Last edited on Wed Oct 8th, 2008 03:46 am by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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DB30513 Approved
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thanks will, for your advice. I don't play a specific genre of music, I'm mostly experamenting right now. I have thought of getting a Blue Ridge guitar, mainly for the name. What about a Washburn, my local guitar store some Washburn guitars for under $400, would they be good?
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Will Approved
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DB30513 wrote: thanks will, for your advice. I don't play a specific genre of music, I'm mostly experamenting right now. I have thought of getting a Blue Ridge guitar, mainly for the name. What about a Washburn, my local guitar store some Washburn guitars for under $400, would they be good? I've tried Washburn guitars along side with Blueridge, and I think the Blueridge guitars sound better for the same money spent. Just my opinion.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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DB30513 Approved
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Update: I am now the proud owner of an Eipihone DR-100NA. http://www.wwbw.com/Epiphone-DR-100_Acoustic_Guitar-i130491.music?cm_mmc=GoogleBase-_-Epiphone-_-Acoustic%20Guitar_Acoustic%20Guitar_6%20String-_-DR-100%20Acoustic%20Guitar&mr:trackingCode=A4708735-B09C-DD11-B7E2-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA I was a little skeptical about the price but I love this guitar. It has a very deep mellow sound, and it is very easy for me to play.
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UkeForever Approved 
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That's great that you like your guitar, but there is no mystery about the price. It has a laminate top (marketed as "select" spruce), which means the sound won't really get any richer over the years. The budget instruments that Will has suggested are excellent because they are solid-topped instruments, crafted/braced for great sound over the long haul. The DR-100 is pretty, but at some point in your evolution as a player it will not satisfy you any longer. My first guitar was an Alvarez Yairi solid-spruce top, and it took me 22 years to want something new! The sound just got better and better as the years rolled by. Something else I didn't understand back then (heck, I was an eighth grader!) was that the narrow dreadnaught fretboard actually made styles other than strumming a bit more difficult to play. That Seagull has the additional advantage of being North American made, which is a way to feed the local labor, if that's your sort of bag. The Blueridge importers do seem to be very exacting as to what they have made, though on a couple of parlors I played, the fretboard work left a little bit to be desired.
____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs 
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Will Approved
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Yes, John (UkeForever) is right... beware of guitar specification and descriptions such as the notorious phrase, "select spruce." If the top is made of solid spruce, it should read "solid spruce." The back and sides do not have as great an effect on the tone as the top wood, so a properly braced solid top guitar with laminated back and sides can sound better than some all solid wood (solid top, back and sides) guitars.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Speas59 Approved
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Very honestly you could answer this question yourself better than any one else. Put aside a few hours and head down to your local guitar dealer, or dealers(you should check all the available dealers). Play each and every guitar in your price range, and ignore everything like names, and looks. Once you've given them all a go you shold feel a guitar or two that stand out to you amongst the others. It could be the ease of playing, or that vibrant sound that does it for you. What I'm trying to say is that the best guitar is the one that feels the best when you play it, and once you find tha baby you should know. After you've done this begin getting the information of the specs of the guitar. Put into thought all the things that Will has reccomended, as they are also important and should be the final deciding factors. Just remember that you are going to be the one playing it.
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| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > Beginner Questions - Guitar > Good Affordable Guitar | |
