What guitar?

[AdamH]

Hey guys im buying another accoustic guitar and I want a cut away, but im trying to decide on which 1 for under $200.00? Thanks guys

[Bounty]

Here are 96 of them. I would look at a name brand Alvarez, Fender, Takamine, or Washburn. Yamaha makes a nice acoustic too but, I didn't see any with a cut away in that price range. Ibanez makes good guitar also. I don't know anything about their acoustics though.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar/navigation/acoustic-guitars?N=100001+304276+8&page=1

I can offer some words of wisdom on purchasing a guitar. Here are some things you may want to consider before making a purchase.

1. When buying an instrument I believe the three most important factors are playability, craftsmanship/quality, and tone –

2. With instruments you get what you pay for.

3. Always buy the best instrument that you can afford at the time – remember, it will be bringing you joy for many, many years to come so it pays for itself a thousand times over.

4. You want an instrument that stays in tune

I would suggest sticking to a name brand acoustic instrument like FENDER, GIBSON, OVATION, IBANEZ, TAYLOR, MARTIN, TAKAMINE, YAMAHA. WASHBURN, BREEDLOVE etc. Stick with the name brand guitars and not the smaller knock-off companies offering acoustic guitars for $250 and under. With stringed instruments there is a lot of tension on the neck of the guitar from the strings pulling, so you need quality parts and quality wood holding them together. I have seen cheaper instruments crack and break at the stress joints. I also don’t recommend the “starter” guitars or “started guitar packs”. I have seen many of the starter guitars and the problem with these guitars is that the quality is just not that great, they don’t stay in tune all that well, and the electronics are not good quality. Even though these starter kits are priced at a good value – you wont be happy in the end. If you are going to be playing guitar for a long time then get something of better quality and you will be much happier in the long run.


The differences between guitar manufactures are vast. Some use heavier woods, some lighter - some have thick necks and some thin necks, some have solid tops and backs, some have laminate tops and sides - so they feel different, play different, and sound different. On some guitars the action is low and they play really well right from the store. Others have to be set up and the action adjusted. Some guitars just play better than others. Again, it’s a feel thing. Playability does vary widely by manufacturer. The other consideration is tone. Guitar tone not only varies widely between manufacturers, but also between models in the lines of the same manufacturer. So you need to play lots of guitars to see what feels the best in your hands and sounds the best to your ears. I like big thick, chunky necks with big jumbo frets and full, lush sounding guitars with not too much treble or high end. Others like thin necks with medium frets. It all is up to the individual player and what they like.

I think the best thing to do is go to a music store that has a BIG selection and play lots of guitars and see what feels and sounds best to you. Or talk to a reputable sales person who works in a music store. With acoustic instruments, generally, the more solid woods the better tone of the guitar. Most of the sound of the acoustic comes from the top and back of the guitar resonating. So the instruments with solid tops and backs generally sound better – and they are also more expensive. So you need to have a budget in mind when shopping for a guitar. Every time I take a student to the guitar store it keeps coming up that the TAYLOR and MARTIN acoustics sound and play the best of all. In my opinion that is. Between $550 - $1500, man – those TAYLORS and MARTINS sure do sound sweet! They are also two of the more expensive manufacturers. I believe the Taylor and Martin both have a model that starts around $599. I would recommend trying one of each and compare to some of the other name brands mentioned above and see what feels best and sounds best to you. I put a $900 Martin against everything they had in that range and it came out on top for the best sounding and playing in that price range and the $600 Taylor came out on top in that price range – nothing could touch those two – of what they had in stock – and at guitar center they always have tons. Yamaha makes a very good acoustic electric for under $500 as does OVATION. They don’t sound as good as the Taylor or Martin – but they are much less money wise and a good value. Breedlove also makes some real high quality instruments with some new bracing system technology and as a new company breaking into the market they offer cheaper prices.

So remember – tone, craftsmanship, and playability – go to a big music store and try them ALL – and listen them to one against another and compare…. and have fun while doing it – it is so much fun playing all those guitars.