Guitar finder?

[telesteve]

Does anyone know if there's a "guitar finder" application anywhere into which you can feed your criteria (style, materials, price, etc.) and have it suggest models that fit your needs? I know there are applications like that for other items.

I did notice in a "$500 acoustic" thread here (which is about my situation) that a lot of people suggested the Epiphone Masterbuilt series. This may be an omen since I have started looking closely at these the last few days. I'll read the rest of that thread for other suggestions, but if anyone knows of a site like I described, please let me know.

Even if you don't know of such a site, give me your suggestions for an acoustic or non-cutaway acoustic-electric in the $500 -- $700 range (I prefer a dreadnought).

Thanks!

[Colt W. Knight]

Sounds like you are a canidate for a used Martin D-15 or D-16 or a Taylor 210 or 110.
I'm sure a lot of people will disagree but I would stay away from Epiphone acoustics.
New guitars in that pricerange would be Martin DX series, Seagulls, Gretsch, and Takamines, and a bunch of others. These are guitars you really need to play before purchase to see if they are going to do "it" for you. Personally, Id rather buy a great used guitar than a new "so,so" guitar

[Dennis68]

Ditto on what Colt said!

[telesteve]

Our local shop has a new 210 for $600. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. I haven't thought that much about Taylors simply because I'm totally unfamiliar with them. I see that they're very popular and well-thought-of, so I'll probably love it.

I am confused about one thing, some sources list the 210 as having rosewood laminate back and sides, and others list it as having solid sapele back and sides.

[Colt W. Knight]

Originally Posted by telesteve

Our local shop has a new 210 for $600. I'm going to check it out tomorrow. I haven't thought that much about Taylors simply because I'm totally unfamiliar with them. I see that they're very popular and well-thought-of, so I'll probably love it.

I am confused about one thing, some sources list the 210 as having rosewood laminate back and sides, and others list it as having solid sapele back and sides.

Taylor has went through some changes on their woods over the years, so depending on what year you are talking about wood may very. Taylors are built very well, and are machined to insane tolerance with sophisticated equipment. Most of them are heat treated somehow to avoid cracking in severe temperature and humidity changes. They have a thin wide neck compared to a Martin in my opinion. They are a good sounding guitar, and most models are made with aesthetics in mind. I personally think the Taylor sound is too "pretty", so I prefer Martin guitars. Taylors dreadnought line starts with the Taylor Big Baby. This guitar is Taylors equivalent to the Martin DX series. I really detest the Big Baby because its has 2 great big ole philip head screws visible on the fret board where they use them to help secure the neck and fret board to the body. Also, at one point the back on those big babies was an arched laminate wood. NO BRACING! But they sound better than most other brands in the same price range, they are well built, and they come with a pretty darn nice gig bag. Then it goes 110, 210, 310 and etc. The higher the leading number, the higher quality woods and adornments are on the guitar. Taylor 810 are rosewood back and sides with lots pretty inlays and bindings. The 10 denotes dreadnought, and I think 14 is auditorium. Then letters following the numbers denote cut away, acoustic electric, etc etc. Taylors are usually pretty pricey, but they are probably worth it in the long run.

[J. Hayes]

bogus opinion. I happen to have a very nice Masterbilt acoustic which I'll put up against the higher priced guitars any time!

I got mine shortly after they came out. I was at Guitar Center one day in the acoustic room checking out what they had and there were a couple of others in there looking at the instruments. One guy was setting in the corner picking out some very nice things with a great tone. I thought he was playing a high dollar Taylor or Martin. I tried a couple of guitars with no real excitement but when he hung the guitar up I went and took it down and to my surprise it was an Epiphone Masterbilt acoustic. The minute I started playing it I knew I'd found a friend. It had great tone, action, and a very nice response. I took it home for under $500 including the rigid gig bag they come with. I've since added a Martin thinline pickup to it to make it more versatile and really love this guitar.

There's a lot of bluegrass going on in this area and a couple of Friday night outdoor jams going on during the summer that I attend if I don't have a gig and the Epi holds it's own right along with the "big boys".

The Masterbilts are starting to show up on the concert stages with acts like Big & Rich, Gretchen Wilson, and others........JH in Va.