$600, $1,200, or $2,400 Acoustic?? Need Help! (Page 1 of 2)

Ranger, what a great post.  I started when I was 40 (six years ago), and like you play mostly in our contemporary worship band at church.  I started a band with some of my friends who like a bit more rock in their worship, and we're gigging a little bit now--you are at the begining of a great journey my friend!
There are people a LOT more knowledgable than me on the board, but it seems to me after a certain price, a lot of the price has to to with ornamentation...fancy inlays and the like.  Once you get the best grade wood, etc., what else can you do?  Personally, I'm not a Takamine fan--I know they make some great guitars, but they make some garbage too which clouds my opinion of their whole line (not fair, but what the heck).  I am a HUGE fan of Laravee guitars, hand made up in canada.  Entry point is $900ish, can get over $2,500 easy.  There's a koa wood Taylor that I've been playing that I love too--I think that thing is $2,100 ish.
Whatever I got, I'd grab a Fishman Loudbox acoustic amp to go with it--love those things!

Thank you.  I'm glad you pointed out that you might go form one guitar to another just because it sounds different.  When the salesman played the Martin "woody" is exactly how I would describe it and the Gibson sounded a little brighter to me (more like my Alvarez) so I started thinking "well a Martin is the way to go, listen to that tone" but as you point out it was DIFFERENT but that doesn't make it better.  I do trust the salesmen BUT I will decide which guitar I like based on how it feels and plays.  In fact, when I walked in the store, I had done a lot of research and was ready to buy a Yamaha at about $500.  The slaesman let me try it and I asked him to show me anything else that I may want to consider.  That's when he gave me Alvarez.  At that point I could only do a few chords and could barely change BUT I knew immediately that I like the Alvarez over the Yamaha.  It sounds as if you are saying that there are some GREAT guitars in the mid price range and beyond that the difference may be cosmetics and brand name recogniton?  That is also something that interested me in the Taylors, Martins and Takamines.  They have some beautiful guitars in the mide price point.  I noticed you didn't mention Gibsons.  Is that because they only start at the upper price point?  I've noticed that the vast majority of country musicians are playing Gibsons.  That's why I'm wondering "are they playing them because they are the best" or is Gibson sponsoring them so players like me will buy them just becasue of their stable of artists?  One time I owned a hunting rifle that was so beautiful that I was afraid to use it.  In fact the only time I used I scratched it taking it out of my truck!  I almost barfed!  I used it once and got rid of it!  I swore I would NEVER own a gun again that I was afraid to use.  I guess the same holds true with a guitar.  Most likely the only place my guitar will ever go is my bed room, living room, my front porch, and maybe to church.  Momma may kill me if I buy a new guitar but definitely will kill me if I say I want 2 because I'm afraid to play my new one, so I guess I need to keep that in mind also.

Ok, but let me ask you this (this is the crux of my post) you say that you own 12 acoustics Martins and Gibsons.  Why?  Unless you are fabulously wealthy or secretely a rock/country musician, you have chosen to spend your hard earned on money on premium guitars. So why Gibson and Martins.  What is it about the 2 brands that has made you decide that you are willing to go to that upper price point, not once or twice but 12 times.  Is the sound? the feel? does it relate to recording music?  Is it that they are just recognized as the best (as the man said "I am easily satisfied with the very best" I think it was Churchill).  That is what I'm trying to drill down to.  What do I get when I go up to the $1,200 range (better woods, probably solid sides and back anything else?) what does that translate into in terms of my playing and listening experience? What do I get when I go to $2,400 I know some have said ornamentation and I can see that in some of the Gibsons but heck, Martins are pretty basic even at the high end.

Sorry to ask so many questions but what I'm trying to do is find out from real players why they have chosen to (beyond just financial constraints) to pick a certain price point.  I'm an avid golfer and 2 times I went to Palm Springs,CA for a week courtesy of Golf Magazine and was a club tester for them so I'm familiar with reviews and I'm kind of looking for a breakdown of what players think matters and what doesn't.

I have a Jumbo Takamine acoustic/electric that I paid $650.00 for about a year ago. The other night a group of us were playing when one of the guy's asked ne if he could play my guitar. We swaped for a while, him with my Takamine and me with his MARTIN. Later that night when we were kinda taking a break he questioned me about how good my guitar sounded and how he wished he could get the same sound outta his MARTIN. As we were discussing the qualities of both guitars we got into what kinda amp we were using. He was using a 90 watt PEAVEY electric guitar amp and mine was a ROLAND AC-60 acoustic amp. When we went back to playing he plugged into my amp and the difference in sound quality was amazing. What we finally figured out was the acoustic amp was making the difference. BUT his last comment to me was that he had over $2000.00 invested in his MARTIN and if he had known how good the Takamime sounded he would have saved himself a lotta $$$$$$$. I guess the basis of this story is that big dollars spent does not necessarly mean you done got better quality. Always buy the best product you can afford but do your homework first. Aslo, check out what amp works best with the electric / asoustic guitar you buy. There are several makes and models out there, try them as well. No need to amp up a high dollar guitar to a cardboard box and expect to put a smile on your face.

Nela

Great posts here. It all comes down to this; Don't buy the hype, buy what feels and sounds right. Too many times people pay way too much money for the writing that's on the headstock of a guitar. Go to music stores and play every guitar in the dang store. Use the same amp to ensure a consistent sound source. Many times when I'm playing out people will come up to the front of the stage, squinty-eyed, looking at the headstock of my guitar. If I know for sure that I'll not be trading a guitar  in the future, I'll black-out or tape the logo on the headstock. It's all about sound and feel, not heritage and prestige. My personal rule of thumb, so to speak, it once a year I'll allow myself my average weeks pay, from playing music, to purchase a guitar. Only once have I spent the full amount. I can't stress this point enough, it's all about comfort and feel for the specific individual, Hands on, ears open, preconceived notions left at the door, select what best suits you and you alone.

I've "decided" (many of my decisions are temporary, lol) that I just can't justify a $2,400 guitar now.  Dads of 3 teens sometimes need to comprimise and for a new player that should be PLENTY of guitar.  Who knows, get the kids through school and maybe buy a second acoustic to add to the one I'm about to get.  So now my quest is the "BEST" guitar for less than $1,500-ish.  I know that there are some Martins, Takamines, Yaris, and Taylors in that range but it eliminates Gibsons.  I have my eye on a Taylor 310ce.  I'm making a trip to Lousville in 2 weeks and there are a few biggger music stores there so I hope to get to sample a few of each mfg.  One thing I know, I do like a little brighter sound, so that may lead towards or away from one mfg or another.  Of course my Alvarez was a surprise to me when I bought it so I'm not necessarily eliminating any mfg. but I would aleast like to have heard of it, KWIM?

BTW-the $1,500 max doesn't mean that I will go that high, it just means that I will eliminate anything more than that from the running.

If you are looking for an electric / acoustic do not overlook the amp you need for your high $$$$ guitar. You can spend all the $$$$$ you want on a guitar then play it thru a "POS" amp and all you have is a low quality sound. Many quality amps out there for the chosing but there are a equal amount of low end amps, as well. Look for a acoustic amp with chorus, I think you will be happy. No need to buy the "JACK" if you don't have the "DANIEL'S" to go with it.

Nela

WOW looking at the replies here i see i am not the only one that has picked up the guitar around the 40 mark. I have just started learning about 18 months ago with my kids.
I too learnt that there is ahuge difference in guitars. Basically i jus started on a very cheap guitar (Ashton) and when my family wanted to buy me a neat xmas gift we went to our favorite music store. The lesson i learnt was to first ignore the price tags and the brands. Wander through the shop and pick up every guitar that catches your eye and sit down and play them.
The sounds differs drastically from one to the other, gradually you will end up with a few guitars that you like, that is when you look at the price tags and see what fits into your budget. The important thing is the "what you like" for sound.
Dont forget also that a simple change of strings to a good quality set can also make a huge difference to the sound of the guitar.

I actually found that some of the $1,000 plus guitars actually sounded worse (to me) than my $90 cheapy. I ended up settling on a fender for $400. I put a set of high end classical nylon strings on it and it has the perfect sound for me.

Oh and if you are buying an electric / accoustic fdont forget to ask them to plug it in at the shop and this will give you nad idea of the sound through the pickups as this can make a big difference also.

Tomorrow I'm off to try Martin's, Taylor's, Yari, and Gibson's at 2 music stores about an hour from here.  I've decided to pick the guitar I like without regard to the electronics as I may NEVER plug it in.  (If I fall for an accoustic/electric great).  If I ever need to plug one in I can always use my wifey's Ovation (which needs a serious neck adjustment.  The action is WAY too high)

I have a Martin GTE ... the OM size and absolutely love it. It does not have near the acoustic volume of the others, D-18, Taylor, Hd, etc., but plugged in it sounds great and is well balanced. It's also a thinner body which contributes to the lower acoustic volume, but also less "boomy" and much easier (for me) to play with a strap while standing...

RANGER, All I tied to write is meant as information. Didn't I add other guitars as Epiphone, Takamine?
WHY SO MANY GUITARS, I COULD SAY THAT IT'S MY BUSINESS, BUT I AM NOT A PERSON WHO REACTS SO. I PREFER TO BE HONEST.  ABOUT MY ACOUSTICS:
It started with a junk coming since years to my consult. He needed money. THIS IS SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW. If I write that I helped a lot of people by charging them what they got back from our social security, like 20$ in stead of 30$. Adding all the 10$ I didn't ask, I could buy a house. Why? THIS IS ME. There are people who needed the money a lot more than I did. Some more? I GAVE ( not asking back that money) A LOT. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU HAVE A HOUSE CALL, AND YOU ENTER AN ICECOLD HOME, LIGHT COMING FROM CANDLES, electricity cut of, AND THEY HAD 5 KIDS, AND NO MONEY TO BUY FOOD? I GAVE 500$. To come again on that Junkie: he gave me his guitar, a MARTIN-HD28 like you bought, and you won't regret it. I invested by giving 8000$ to friends who wanted to take over a music store. Getting back the money = difficult, so we agreed that they paid me back with guitars. Before you know, you have 10 guitars.
WHY MARTINS AND GIBSONS? EVERY MUSIC STORE HAD, HERE IN BELGIUM, 75%OF THEIR STOCK were these guitars. TAYLOR, TAKAMINE unknown.
I ADORE THE SOUND, AND BECAUSE OF THE BRANDS ALL MY GUITARS ARE 2 to 3 TIMES MORE IN VALUE.
WEALTHY:  YES even this question deserves an answer. I took some big financial risks by buying a laser, a device to treat cellulitis with success. I worked 80 hours a week to be called "wealthy". How many hours do most people work?
I AM DISABLED DUE TO A CAR ACCIDENT I STARTED AGAIN BUT I HAD TO STOP, BECAUSE OF TOO SEVERE PHYSICAL PROBLEMS. AND A SECOND YES ABOUT BEING WEALTHY: I WAS AND STILL AM OVERINSURED RESULTING IN HAVING MORE THAN ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY 2 GUITARS IN NASHVILLE IN GRUHN'S STORE.
IT'S BY TAKING RISKS IN MY JOB, THAT I WAS "WEALTHY"AND BY BEING OVERINSURED. HERE THE MUSIC STORES changed a lot, having 60% more different brands, compared to 8 years. I DO WITH MY MONEY WHAT I WANT, and a lot of people told me that I could play on 1 guitar.
ALL MY ACOUSTICS ARE TWICE AS MUCH WORTH NOW.
So: I worked for free (if you go to a doctor here, they give you a receipt, send it to your company, and they pay you back as told. 30$ was the price, I asked 20$, and they got 25$ back. I AM TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE AND NOT ABOUT A BREAD. BEFORE YOU REALISE YOU HAVE MORE AND MORE GUITARS. Why do people collect stamps? is this so different or difficult to understand that I collect and play. You can take a guess: HOW MANY ELECTRIC GUITARS I OWN.
My only intention was to answer and offer my help, seeing that the guitars you mentioned were MARTINS and GIBSONS TOO. To give advise.
PLEASE DON'T JUDGE ME BECAUSE I AM BLESSED TO BUILD A NICE COLLECTION, see it as investment, to end: the value has tripled and I AM UNABLE TO LIVE A NORMAL LIFE, SO PLEASE RESPECT MY HOBBY, MY PASSION itis one of the few things that I can do: playing guitar.