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Acoustic guitars

Cort are nice enough guitars made using cheap labour so don’t make my list I’m afraid. If I want to do ths I have the money to do it pretty well, plus I’ve been around the guitar market long enough to realise cheap instruments are a false economy unless you are going to be beating them up on the road. Quality guitars are a good investment, they tend to hold their value or even increase.

It occurred to me last night that Joao Gilberto and Charlie Byrd played nylon string guitars, so certainly a strong jazz context. I’m still very much at the thinking stage here though. The decision between nylon and steel is not an easy one, though nylon is really attractive as it would be a whole new instrument. My Epiphone AJ10 has minimal resale value and likely wouldn’t be that easy to sell so in many ways makes sense to keep that knocking arund as a perfectly playable steel string and do something entirely different with a nylon classical. By saying that a really nice steel-string parlour or 00 size is really tempting and I could drop the Epiphone into a charity shop that would no doubt really welcome it. Decisions...
 
Well really you will need to feed the obsession properly with:

gigging six string
six string for best
les paul
strat
12 string
mandolin
electric bass
acoustic bass
fretless electric bass
status for slapping
uke
buzouki
 
david ellwood said:
Well really you will need to feed the obsession properly with:

gigging six string
six string for best
les paul
strat
12 string
mandolin
electric bass
acoustic bass
fretless electric bass
status for slapping
uke
buzouki
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Ok, got the Les Paul & Strat (Brexit-hedge investments), plus my lovely Yam SC1200 (which I much prefer to either), and a ‘79 Shergold Masquerader, got a Jazz Bass (investment*), my trusty ‘81 fretless and fretted Shergold Marathon basses, and a cheapo Steinberger Spirit for travelling to Liverpool on the very rare occasions my fake Krautrock band decide to make a noise. I’ve no interest in gigging, no interest in slapping, no interest in odd folk things with weird tunings! I’m most of the way there, and what I miss I make up for with a Moog Voyager!


PS *I’d swap the Jazz Bass (a lovely cased 2005 US Vintage Reissue ‘76 in natural) for a bloody good acoustic. I actually stuck it in the classifieds here a month or so ago but got no hits. My spare Gordon Smith GS1 is there too!
 
I had no idea acoustics could get so expensive. Although I suppose it actually makes more sense than electrics being expensive.
 
matthewr said:
I had no idea acoustics could get so expensive. Although I suppose it actually makes more sense than electrics being expensive.
Click to expand...

After having hi-fi as a hobby for most of my life I actually view guitars as surprisingly cheap and amazing value! You can buy a real handcrafted US Strat, Les Paul, Martin, Taylor etc for less than a MDF box with a few off-the-shelf drivers stuck in it or a mass produced amp, DAC or whatever. There are some seriously nice guitars to be had in the £1-2k range, both electric and acoustic. That’s mid-level for say a preamp, and that’s before we get to the audiophile accessory market of tables, cones, cables etc!
 
One question for those here with nice/fancy/expensive acousic guitars, either steel or nylon; do you consider temp/humidity etc? I notice a lot of suggestions online for case humidifiers etc and I’m curious as to whether that is necessary for home use in the UK. Whatever type I get I plan to get a hard case for it or ideally hope it comes with one, so I’d be able to keep it cased when not in use.

I've never given the slightest thought to the Epiphone which has never been cased and has a few minor knocks and scratches, but it has not cracked or anything despite spending the past 15 years just sitting in the landing snd infreqently played. It has kept its setup surprisingly well too, though desperately needs new strings and a fret-polish (strings on order). Obviously I’d take way better care of a serious guitar, but I’m curious if I’d really need to go the humidifier/temp control route in a typical UK climate? All I do with my cased electrics is check tuning every six weeks or so and they seem fine.
 
Tony L said:
One question for those here with nice/fancy/expensive acousic guitars, either steel or nylon; do you consider temp/humidity etc? I notice a lot of suggestions online for case humidifiers etc and I’m curious as to whether that is necessary for home use in the UK. Whatever type I get I plan to get a hard case for it or ideally hope it comes with one, so I’d be able to keep it cased when not in use.
Click to expand...

I keep mine in the case whenever I'm not using it. At this time of year, until it gets cold after Christmas time the relative humidity climbs, and I add some big packs of silica gel, enough to hold the case at 40-45% or so. No need to add humidity (in my house at least)
 
I'm on the lookout for something similar, all be it lefty (poor choice) and I don't have the luxury of a budget to afford something really nice or not made by 8 year old Malaysians.

My Yam dread is way too loud and too big to pick up and play around on when sat in the arm chair etc so was looking at something like a Taylor GS mini or something from Sigma even cheaper.

There isn't many lefty options TBH, there is a 000 L/H Martin but I think even that is a touch too big for what I'm after, aside from the £1600 price tag. They do a gorgeous looking Mahogany 00-15M in L/H but nobody seems to have one in the UK without ordering one, still about £1500 though.
 
Some nice looking ones here Tony;

Start off with maurice Gibb's J45, a steal at £10 -15k!

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-5c2aef94-0e0d-4748-9e7b-a94400b26a2c

Lovely Lowden, mentioned upthread, beautiful guitars, but it loks like a concert/jumbo

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-b5f4a5f1-30c8-4c88-9a37-a94400b26a2c

Another J45

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-61b4d948-0ec9-49b8-8197-a94400b26a2d

Nice looking Clapton Commemoration LE Martin

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-5dbe6ff3-2788-48f4-8869-a94400b26a2d

More Lowdens

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-317becfe-fd5a-4a27-81ac-a94400b26a2d

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-3ce42043-fb49-4163-a6e9-a94400b26a2f

This one is interesting, restored by brooks in devon (also upthread)

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0095/lot-75ba7739-0a86-4c91-b1dd-a94400b26a2f
Could spend all day in there!
 
I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Larrivee guitars. They still make some of them in Canada (and the others in California, I think) and the workmanship and care that goes into them is tremendous for very reasonable money. On the parlour vs 00 issue I think you need to be aware that (as Cheese pointed out earlier on this thread) standard bodies guitars have a great deal more in the way of harmonic complexity than a parlour. I have owned both types - both by Larrivee, so very comparable in terms of build quality etc - and whilst the parlour is initially a blast because of its easy, woody, pleasing simplicity, you might soon come to hanker after something that is capable of a more nuanced sound and that bit of harmonic magic.
ML
 
Any views on the matt finishes that seem so popular these days? It seems like any Martin, Taylor, Hanika or whatever below about £1600 is matt or ‘satin’ and I’m rather skeptical as to how it would wear, i.e. do you end up with shiny areas where your arm or hand touches the body when playing after a year or two?

Larrivee are on my radar, and as a cheaper option Simon & Patrick (part of Godin like Seagull IIRC, and similarly made in Canada) do what looks like a nice well reviewed parlour model for £800 or so.

I’m not ruling anything out at this point, i.e. 00 size steel string is still on the table as well as parlour and classical. My only concern with classical/nylon strung guitars is I really will have to learn my right hand right from scratch as I’ve only previously approached guitars with a pick and in a fairly strummy way (I play bass with my fingers ok). In a way that could be quite a good thing as theoretically I’m not too old to learn something new and it would likely be quite rewarding, and may even translate back to the bass in some way, but it is a little scary. The wider string spacing would be a real bonus here as I really struggle picking on an electric.
 
I also own a La Patrie Concert classical guitar and it's the guitar I've had the longest: I think I bought it back in 1999 or 2000. It has a slightly smaller neck for increased playability and it sounds pretty good as well. Fwiw, La Patrie is owned by the same Canadian company that owns Seagull, Simon & Patrick etc. This particular model might have changed slightly over the years, I couldn't say for sure, but click here to see it at Guitar Guitar all the same.
 
My boss has a Collings that he raves about. Although I think they are £££ even by the standards of expensive guitars.
 
Tony L said:
La Patrie look really nice and seem very good value. One to add to the contenders list.
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I meant to say, I think the price drop as advertised by Guitar Guitar is real as I bought mine new for £330 and I doubt they could keep prices down for so long as they're not a big company like Yamaha that can produce lots of guitars for lowish prices. I think the normal price of £500 is about right all things considered.
 
La Patrie website here. Their top traditional classical model (no pickup, no cutaway) seems to be the Collection, and that can be had for about £600 which seems remarkably cheap for a handcrafted all solid wood guitar without any laminates.
 
After a couple of hours in a local music shop trying out a range of acoustics in the c£500 price range last year I ended up buying an ArtandLutherie. Distinctive resonance and projection, very playable, looks great and made from sustainable sourced wood.
http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/intro/
 
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