Amigos, I am going out to buy a new acoustic guitar up to $3000 I have played a tanglewood for years and i love deep tones that it plays so well. But after hearing it next to a mates maton the other night it sounded a little industrial. I know a lot of you would play the guitar as well so I am after some input with brand and what model that you think is the best. i needitor a long time so it would need to be of a durable construction and sound quality hopefully will improve with age. Another mate purchased a Guild guitar which sounded awesome but fell apart in the central queensland heat.
The sound of the guitar has more to do with the strings and the player. $3000 for an acoustic guitar is a tad excessive.
I guess it's like buying a new board. The one that you enjoy riding is the best. So go and play a heap and buy the one you love the most.
I have a Maton I have had for 30 odd years and it is brilliant. It was quite expensive but not outrageous. I have a Bolero 12 string (korean made from the 70's) I got when I was 16. It was $64 is 1973. It rocks!!!
My current favourite guitar is a Martin Backpacker steel string. It's basically a hollow stick with some strings on it. It has wolf tones all over the place (acoustic version of feedback). Do a string bend on a wolf tone note and it roars! Play some finger style jazz or tune it to D and add a slide and it's a fantastic toy.
I had never heard of a Martin Backpacker steel string until this post it sounds like something i want to have a go at though. I dont need to spend $3000 i just have budgeted that much. Thanks for the advice Gorgo i was always going to fly down to a melboune music store to play a number of guitars as that is how i picked the tanglewood. I must have played six of the exact same make tanglewood and the one I bought just sounded better. I really liked the maton and my mate reckons that they get better with age. I play all types of music so i will try to get a good balance. What model maton do you [play. Gorgo
Hi pueter66. I'm also a Tanglewood lover, have 2x6 strings and 1x12string. The 12 string sounded alot better than Maton when I purchased it, something about Tanglewood resonates a great sound and good harmonics for tapping.
If you want to spend the bucks, maybe a Cole Clark. I have used a mates a few times and very nice just heavy. Also a fan of aria guitars had 2 acoustics also very nice - took a few years for the timber to harden up though and get that nice sound.
I think you can easily spend 3k on a guitar. IMO I would spend 1.5k on guitar 1k on a AER amp or the new Roland acoustic amp ( I have the Trabadour - just doesn't have the punch ) then the $500 left on a stomp box or boss loop station. Go this route and your a 1 man band.
Fortunately I have a very cheap ear so I can hardly tell the difference between a $500 guitar and a $5000 guitar.
I would have to agree with gorgo. I have heard some cheap guitars sound like magic and I have heard some expensive guitars sound like crap.
For the average player an average guitar is more than good enough.
If you're world class stuff then go for a $6000 guitar and then get your money back by selling tickets.
Oh,.. and don't take music advice from your pig. They have notoriously bad taste in music.
I've been playing for about 16 years and I love the Maton acoustics.
If your thinking about amping up, I'd consider that now as you don't want to use a guitar hole pick-up or get one inserted later.
I've got a Washburn acoustic and if you are thinking of playing some progressive stuff, I'd recommend you look at them. Really thin sharp neck (like Jackson electric guitars) that allow for heaps of different actions.
If your simply strumming it out, stick with the Matons.
If your spending 3k, I'm guessing you know all this already.
Youngbull, you do tapping on your acoustic? Metal!
I bought a Fender Sonoran recently and have to say for the price, it's a really cool sounding guitar. Was so suprised at the cost of music equipment like amps, leads and tuners ect. So cheap.
I used to play guitar and sing in a band when I was younger but sold all my gear before my first daughter was born. It had taken me half my life so far to collect all that stuff - seemed like I was always saving for a bit of kit.
When I decided to start playing again a few weeks ago, I went into a guitar store and bought pretty much everything that I used to have, but brand new for about $3500. A Fender tuner was only $30! My last tuner was $150 or so!!
The iRig and iMic is a bit of fun too if you have an iPad - works quite well for recording too.
My neighbour threw out an electric guitar other week,found it lying on the grass while checking my mail.
It's a Equiphorpe Junior,new condition,problem is i'm the most untalented muso in the world.
Gilet Guitars
Hand made Australian guitars for many top guitarists - Eric Bibb etc
giletguitars.com.au/
Think re-sale when it comes to bying a guitfiddle.
I just sold my Maton at the same price i bought it 2 years ago.
Cant go better than a Aussie Maton. Slim used one ;)
The right strings do make your guitfiddle sound better. Exilir (anti rust)for the slack guitarist.
Just had a muck around with a cole clark, very impressive. Another one to add to the list. I had a look on the maton website and the construction of the solid guitars looks good. I like the look of the guitar in the blackwood but i will be interested which timber will give the best tone.
its a great site for beginner guitarists, it got me up and going real fast, at a very low cost, just a lot of hours.
The jester was from the custom shop, I think the messiah is more std. and bigger body for more strumming and deeper tones.
I'm on a 2nd hand bottom end washburn for acoustic, ok sound and good for my purposes. i prefer the range of sounds from the electric guitar and modelling amp with a tube in it (vox VT40).
Thanks, pueter66, for the awesome topic.
Worth mentioning that one of the major music shop franchises, Allans, is having a bankrupcy/closing down sale right now, with discounts ranging between 25% and 50%. After reading all the replies to this topic, I went there, twice in 2 days, to buy a nice discounted Maton.. or Martin... or Cole Clark... But after playing all the guitars on their racks, I'd say that the Martins had the best overall sound by far, but there is no way I'm getting one, because their traditional nitrocellulose finish disagrees with my skin chemistry, and gets very sticky around the neck. It's a familiar problem I have with Gibsons. Apparently, 30% of people have this issue. The Maton I would have liked most would be from the BG808xxx series, or the perhaps one of the jumbo shapes. But they were not that impressive, because the Yamahas SG730xxx, and the Yamaha APX series on the adjacent rack outperformed them easily, at 1/4 of the price. The really weird thing is, the best non-Martin guitar on the racks was a $230 Breedlove, apparently US design, but made in Korea. I'm very confused now. Didn't buy anything. Good luck to you! Please try before you buy :)
Oh, almost forgot to mention, Washburn D10xxx series - I have one from the 90's, but it's unfortunately a dog. However, apparently the current ones are really good ... might be worthwhile trying one.
Watched this the other night. Awesome.
A different way to look at that is how to get out of a rut and how to avoid getting into a rut. The guitar heroes that own heaps of guitar mainly buy them because a new guitar inspires you to play new things or play the same old things in a new way.
New strings are good for inspiration and energy.
Playing in a different place is good. I get a lift playing up in the bush or sitting on a friend's catamaran.
Alternate tunings can be fun. I love open D. You can go all bluesy with a slide or all country or even get quite orchestral sounds.
Open string chords are fun and sort of my specialty. Identify the main notes in a chord then see how few strings you can hold down to get those notes. All the extra droning strings are going to be a 9th or 11th or 13th or 6th or something cool. Throw in some cross picking on the treble strings to get a really singing sound.
I have checked out the Alans sale and there were no bargains to tempt me. The last two guitars I bought were from ebay. The Acoustic Guitar centre in South Melbourne has lots of stock. I don't know if they're cheap but the Bass Centre (in the same building) has some stuff at very competitive prices.
Has anyone tried the ESP acoustics?
Some ESP electrics are awesome, but I have never even seen an acoustic around.
Have to do a +1 for the Cole Clark fat lady2. I own have a Maton fantastic guitar really punch's the sound out (good for PJ!). My brother has the fat lady 2, he never gets near it when I'm around. Absolutely love it.
Best bet is to go to the biggest instrument store you can find and play everything you can get your hands on. $3000 is a fair investment so try them all a few times and see what suits you.
PS don't pick up a $10000 guitar, you wont go back to the $3000 guitar
Thanks for all your input guys, i was sorely tempted by a number of brands and guitars. but the one at the end that stood out with my budget constraints was the Cole Clark Fat lady 3 it is a beautiful guitar to play and even surprised me I was pretty set on a Maton. So once again thanks for the assist
Great choice I've got the fat lady #2 had it for a couple of years and its just getting better with age they have a great action and there aussie made have fun