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Considerations when buying acoustic guitar? brands? styles? costs?

post #1 of 35
3/9/10 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
Looking to buy an acoustic guitar for my nephew as a graduation present, but I have no idea what brands I should be looking at?
whether I should be looking new or used?
how much to spend for something good?
if there are different style acoustic guitars?

any suggestions/info? I dont want to go to the music store and get fleeced! plus I also dont want to get something he is not going to like.
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post #2 of 35
3/10/10 at 12:16am
You can get an acoustic guitar anywhere from $100 to $3000 in your local guitar center. You've got to set a budget first.

When I was looking at acoustics, the best price/value was the Epiphone Masterbilt series - all solid wood. ~$500 new. There are good options from Epiphone, Yamaha and a few other brands for less, which will be a solid wood top and plywood/veneer sides.
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post #3 of 35
3/10/10 at 12:43am
How much are you looking to spend? I know a fair bit about acoustic guitars, as I'm a musician myself.
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post #4 of 35
3/10/10 at 12:52am
Where's a place online that I can get a decently cheap one (<$300) for practice? Any recommendations for a particular model? Much prefer new over used (hygiene really, though I could just swap out the strings). I prefer a fuller sound, dreadnought, steel string. Have played an electric for 7+ years on and off now so I just want something I can strum/finger pick every so often. Not looking for anything fancy as a suggestion, but wouldn't want junk either - the Levi's of guitars I guess.
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post #5 of 35
3/10/10 at 12:58am
If he's never played, you get him a relatively inexpensive one. That way if he never takes it up, not much is lost. If he likes it, he can upgrade (or you can) down the line.
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post #6 of 35
3/10/10 at 12:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by svelten View Post
Where's a place online that I can get a decently cheap one (<$300) for practice? Any recommendations for a particular model? Much prefer new over used (hygiene really, though I could just swap out the strings). I prefer a fuller sound, dreadnought, steel string. Have played an electric for 7+ years on and off now so I just want something I can strum/finger pick every so often. Not looking for anything fancy as a suggestion, but wouldn't want junk either - the Levi's of guitars I guess.

Anything by Yamaha < $300 is a sure bet. Try Musiciansfriend or Sweetwater or Guitarcenter online. Or better yet, visit your local shop and try a few out.
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post #7 of 35
3/10/10 at 2:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sherman90 View Post
How much are you looking to spend?

I know a fair bit about acoustic guitars, as I'm a musician myself.

I would like to be under or around say $300-$500 tops. (can you really tell the sound difference between one at that price and one at $1000-$3000 or is it just basically the materials used?)

Quote:
Originally Posted by fredfred View Post
If he's never played, you get him a relatively inexpensive one. That way if he never takes it up, not much is lost. If he likes it, he can upgrade (or you can) down the line.

He has played, I dont know how I would categorize him tho, maybe intermediate. Been playing for about a year, picked it up very fast.
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post #8 of 35
3/10/10 at 9:50am
+1 on the Yamaha recommendation at that price point. They tend to be well made, decent-sounding and comfortable to play.

Bear in mind that there are a lot of electro-acoustic guitars around nowadays - you'll recognise them as they'll almost always have a little control panel somewhere on the edge of the body. These might be worth bearing in mind if you think your nephew will want it, as they make amplified playing very convenient. On the other hand, I'm not a big fan of the sound; I find you get a much purer, fuller and more realistic tone by mic'ing up a normal acoustic guitar. You may also pay a few $ more for an electro - there may be a version of the same guitar without the extra stuff, and some purists might argue that a guitar sounds better without chunks of plastic cut into the wood.

Another option you may be faced with is steel vs nylon strings. Steel tend to be louder and brighter sounding, and are more suited to modern music styles.
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post #9 of 35
3/10/10 at 10:39am
If he doesn't know how to play, get him a nylon string acoustic because they're easier to learn on. Otherwise I'd go with an electric acoustic in the $300-500 range.
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post #10 of 35
3/10/10 at 11:58am
At the low end of your range, you might want to consider something like: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=519049 and at the top end: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=514814 or: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ase?sku=518511 And yes. There are differences between a $200 and a $2000 acoustic guitar.
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post #11 of 35
3/10/10 at 12:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sherman90 View Post
At the low end of your range, you might want to consider something like:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=519049

and at the top end:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...tar?sku=514814

or:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/p...ase?sku=518511

And yes. There are differences between a $200 and a $2000 acoustic guitar.

Thanks for pointing those out, after reading alot of the reviews, the Yamaha FG730S seems like it cant be beat for the price.
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post #12 of 35
3/10/10 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pg600rr View Post
Thanks for pointing those out, after reading alot of the reviews, the Yamaha FG730S seems like it cant be beat for the price.

I have two guitars: a $3000 Gibson and a $200 Yammie. Yammies are great!
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post #13 of 35
3/10/10 at 7:45pm
Does anyone have any experience with Walden guitars? I'm looking for something for something under $300 as well. I was thinking about this one.
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post #14 of 35
3/10/10 at 8:00pm
I have a $200 Cort which sounded about as good as a $350 Alvarez. I'm a fan of alvarez at that price point.
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post #15 of 35
3/10/10 at 8:43pm
Try and buy something used and in good shape, your money will go farther. I can't remember the last time I actually bought a new guitar.
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