Accounstic Guitar for $500?

[Tele Joe]

I want to pick up an accoustic guitar something in the neghborhood of $500 ($500 is the sweet spot but anything $300-600/650 is ok). Can you guys recommend me a good instrument in that price range? I don't know a lot about buying accoustic guitars. I don't need pickups on it and I want a full size guitar maybe a single cutaway but it's not required. I'm going to have to play them before I buy obviously but I just want some recommendations so I know what to try out.

[unclearty]

Go try a Seagull. Well made...good materials...easy to play and they sound great. I have an older Artist Duet w/ built in electronics. My bass player bought a slightly lower model and it sounds just as good as mine.

[Boubou]

Originally Posted by unclearty

Go try a Seagull. Well made...good materials...easy to play and they sound great. .

Have a spruce top S6, love it

[zooyuka]

Originally Posted by unclearty

Go try a Seagull. Well made...good materials...easy to play and they sound great. I have an older Artist Duet w/ built in electronics. My bass player bought a slightly lower model and it sounds just as good as mine.

I am also a Seagull fan. I have a spruce top S6 that I absolutely love. You should definitely check them out.

[FMA]

Another vote for Seagull. I have a 12-string that's just a great guitar.
Also check out the Epiphone Masterbilt series. The ones I have played were nice for the price. I've also played some Blueridge guitars that were pretty nice for few dollars.
A couple of things to look for: Make sure the guitar has a solid top, not a laminate. A solid top sounds livelier. It's always pretty sensible to trade cosmetics for tone. Try to buy at a shop that has its own setup person who knows how to set up an acoustic. A good setup will make the guitar easier to play and also help the tone.

[theraygun]

Epiphone AJ500. All solid wood, rich tone. These can easily be had for $350 on eBay.

[telideli]

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/r...ha/FG720S/10/1

http://www.music123.com/Yamaha-FG730...50361.Music123

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...RWXGB&ZYXSEM=0

Use the extra cash to get a good case and 'quality' clip-on pick-up.

[Guitarzan]

Martin has a D-15 with a spruce top and mahogany and/or rosewood. Unfortunately, I believe that only GC and MF sell it. They were quite a bargain, and then the prices went up $100. I think the one with rosewood went to $700 new.

[studio1087]

The Seagull S6+ will always be a North American best bet under $500

The 100 series Taylors are very nice at $550 - The 110 is a dread and the 114 is a 000.

The Martin DX1 or 000X1 are also $550 each.

I have three Martins and three Taylors so I don't hav ecompetitive skin in the Martin vs. Taylor game but I really like the 100 series taylor guitars and they come with a really good Taylor bag.

Taylor 110 Link

Taylor 114 Link



110 - 114
[/IMG


The best guitar that I know of for $199 is the Yamaha FG700S. Try one. Solid top. Nice guitar.

Yamaha FG700S link

[cwcowell]

You'll get good bang for the buck in that price range with Yamaha, Seagull, and the Guild GAD series.

I enjoy my Guild GAD-50 a lot.

[rangercaster]

Yamaha LS6 incl. case $499.99 at MF

[Strat God]

Also might want to take a look at the Ovation line for acoustic/electric. Great players and the piezo doean't sound that bad through a PA system.

[P Thought]

I think the solid top (have S in the model number) Takamines are great buys on the used market. The old "lawsuit" (c. 1980 and earlier F-series) models with the Martin-like headstock are Japan-built, highly playable, fine sounding instruments. The solid-top ones usually go on e-Bay for $350-500. I'd buy some more for myself but my wife won't let me.

[WallyArms]

Lots of good stuff in that price range as mentioned. I am a Seagull fan so I will recommend that you try one (I have an S-6+ and a Grand). If the standard Seagull neck is too wide for you the have a few "slim neck" models. The Martin D-15's mentioned above are great but more like $950 new.

[brgminicooper]

Another vote for Seagull here. Got one at the end of June and the wide neck has been a huge help to this n00b who is still learning to play cowboy chords and practicing scales. Everything feels faster and sounds cleaner. I think it's mostly due to the wider neck.

[HOBBSTER01]

Go try one of these.
They retail for much more than you are looking to spend, BUT I have seen the bottom dropping out on these as of lately.
I own one and would gladly pay full blown retail for one if mine were gone.
http://www.takamine.com/?fa=detail&mid=130&sid=62

[dqami]

Originally Posted by studio1087

The Seagull S6+ will always be a North American best bet under $500

The 100 series Taylors are very nice at $550 - The 110 is a dread and the 114 is a 000.

The Martin DX1 or 000X1 are also $550 each.

I have three Martins and three Taylors so I don't hav ecompetitive skin in the Martin vs. Taylor game but I really like the 100 series taylor guitars and they come with a really good Taylor bag.

Taylor 110 Link

Taylor 114 Link



110 - 114
[/IMG


The best guitar that I know of for $199 is the Yamaha FG700S. Try one. Solid top. Nice guitar.

Yamaha FG700S link

I agree w/ the Taylor and Martin. I own a 110 and a DX1 and they are both very surprising guitars. I've owned Epi Masterbilts and they don't compare soundwise to these guitars. I like a bright loud guitar so they both have the the ebony fretboard (Micarta on the Martin). You can hear a big difference b/w rosewood and ebony.

Another good choice would be the early Yamaha red labels. With the right strings and set up, they can sound amazing and for not a lot of $. The newer solid tops still don't sound as good as the older laminate red labels.

[Chris S.]

Another thought: the Recording King RD-27 is a beautifully made guitar with all the right appointments -- solid spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides, etc. -- and it sells for $525 new. Hard to beat, IMO. Best of luck, CS

[david_lewis93]

Gibson and Garrison have some sweet sounding boxes for around 4/600$ .I have a Garrison and she sounds sweet nice deep tone and very good neck.

[williamfriggle]

I would say a Guild Gad50 or a Ovation Legend. I would not go lower than a legend with an ovation. Well maybe a Balladeer. Bellow them seem to loose their quilty sound unplugged. Guild GAD50 is killer for the price.

Bill

[zooyuka]

You should check out today's stupid deal of the day on MF. For a solid top I dont think you can beat the price. At such a bargain price you could sell it later and easily recoup what you paid for it.

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=512728

[randysmojo]

I'm interested in an acoustic in the same price range, but cut away and electric. Something that projects pretty good acoustically so in a group unplugged it can be heard playing single note leads, but pretty good plugged in tones too.

[Colt W. Knight]

You should look at Seagulls, Guilds, Taylors, and Epiphone masterbuilts.

Its getting harder and harder to find a good acoustic for 500$. But remember its all relative, if you ware wanting a 2K $ martin, gibson, or Taylor sound, it aint going to happen. But if you just want something that sounds good plugged in, you will be able to find something.

[randysmojo]

I'm totally open to buying used. I don't know if the OP Tele Joe is, but that could help him find something probably really good. Unfortunately for me, I need a good pickup and decent acoustic qualities with hopefully a cut away, but don't have any bigger of a budget. I'm toying with getting an older Yairi Alvarez that has a passive pickup that is on ebay right now, and if I have to I can buy a preamp/DI later, but if I can find a guitar that will work with an active preamp, that would be better probably.

[curtbob]

Another vote for Seagull. The S-6 is a great guitar. Good materials, well built & A beautiful sound to boot. If you don't like the neck, you can get an S6 Slim-- Slim being a designation for the neck, not the body. For that matter, you can get most any Seagull xxx guitar Slim. The bargain of the store would be the Seagull Entourage. It has a more traditional neck to it.

Did I say another vote for Seagull?

[Joe-Bob]

Try to find an Alvarez AJ60SC. They are a Maple Jumbo. Very nice and in your price range. They are discontinued, but may well still be in store stock.

[randysmojo]

I pulled the trigger on an Alvarez AD62SC and I'm so glad I did! It sounds great acoustically or plugged in and has really great projection acoustically. I found one used with a case for $350. Best $350 I've spent in a long, long time!

[DocG]

I was looking for a similar deal for my son. I tried the Taylor 110, a $500 Yamaha, and I know the Seagull S6 well. IMHO the Yamaha beat the Taylor but was quite neck-heavy, and the Seagull sounds woody and boxy. I agree that the solid top Takamines are pretty good, though not up to the Taylor.

But my ultimate choice was a used, pristine Blueridge BR-143, a solid-top triple-O style, with case for $325. Great sound and playability, excellent build quality. I would gig with this in a heartbeat. Only downside is the rather ornate headstock inlay, but maybe some folks would like this.