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Author Topic: Cheap Acoustic Guitar  (Read 4456 times)

willo

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Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« on: April 30, 2009, 09:15:58 PM »
Yo!

Maybe not the place, cheap AND acoustic ;) but yep, I'm looking for one.

And I honestly have NO clue, I've been so far out of the guitar gear loop for so long now.

Any pointers?

Price wise between £200-400; the cheaper the better. I'm looking for something that will record OK for some home demos. I'm going through a lo-fi ascetic life phase, I need an acoustic.
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ToneMonkey

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #1 on: April 30, 2009, 10:29:40 PM »
I bought a tanglewood TW-155 when I was after a cheap acoustic.  They seem good value for the money. Picked one up for about £125 brand new.
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Dr. Vic

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2009, 10:37:06 PM »
If you are talking steel strings I would advise you to go for a canadian one like Seagull, Norman, Simon & Patrick...dreadnought shaped. Some of these brand are linked to Godin who is a serious guitar maker

The woods are especially good quality for the price. You can find one for your money I think.

The most important thing is the top of the guitar, make sure to choose a plain wood top (instead of a laminated one)

A model like the Norman B20 is a good start.

I advise you not to go for the first price in the most famous brand ala Martin : you'll pay the logo but a cr@pyy sound as well.

And of course if you have time listen before buying and enjoy !

 :good:
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Bradock PI

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2009, 10:41:16 PM »
Total guitar had an acoustic guitar guide in this month - The ones with 5 stars and best buy were

Freshman Appollo 2 OCB - Best buy £399
Freshman FA250 - Best buy £349
Washburn WD32SCE Best Buy £329 (as low as £229 they think)

I bought my wife an Alvarez MD 350 and that is amazing (solid engleman spuce, laminated neck (2 ebony 3 mahogony solid rosewood back and sides) but probably above £400 a friend bought a great MD80 and that was £279 but you need to find some where with a few out of four,  two were a notch or two better and the one he chose edged it.

The other one I recently looked at was a martin 0001x which is made of HPL (similar to formica back and sides) solid top and a laminated copressed wood neck. Amazingly it sounds like a good Martin and is tough list of £500 ish but you may find one for closer to £400. It is actually an aweful lot better than most of their cheap wood ones and closer to their classics like the DM1 and OM21 than they would probably like. (unless the one I heard was just a particularly good example)
« Last Edit: April 30, 2009, 10:43:48 PM by Bradock PI »
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Keven

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2009, 03:01:31 AM »
I can only recommend godin's brands, honestly. the Norman B20 is a serious bang for the buck, nice spruce solid top. B18 is for cedar lovers. as far as Simon and Patrick go, the Songsmith is very nice, slim neck, spruce top, and a nice vintage sunburst. not too expensive either, we retail them like 350 CAD in my store.. so that's around 199 GBP, but i don't know how much the distributors work for britain...

seagulls are nice but have a bit more cosmetics, so you might not get what you pay for.

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WezV

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #5 on: May 01, 2009, 07:56:40 AM »
Build one!!!  ;)

http://www.stewmac.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=SERVE&G=1&sku=5295&ITEM=catalog/sku.html&CURRENCY=GBP


thats how i got a great sounding acoustic for very little money
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Johnny Mac

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #6 on: May 01, 2009, 08:13:28 AM »
The Taylor model that Mr 38th recently acquired is supposed to be really good for the price.
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Twinfan

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #7 on: May 01, 2009, 08:33:19 AM »
If you've got a Dawsons music anywhere near you, check their Farida range of acoustics.  They've been getting really good reviews of late  :)
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Ratrod

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #8 on: May 01, 2009, 09:59:31 AM »
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AndyR

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #9 on: May 01, 2009, 01:14:13 PM »
Quote from: Bradock PI on April 30, 2009, 10:41:16 PM
Total guitar had an acoustic guitar guide in this month - The ones with 5 stars and best buy were

Freshman Appollo 2 OCB - Best buy £399
Freshman FA250 - Best buy £349
Washburn WD32SCE Best Buy £329 (as low as £229 they think)

:D
I've got a 3 or 4 year old Freshman, the models have changed a bit, but mine looks like the FA350D. Mines got a (very thin) gloss finish, spruce top. The neck is very slim (slimmer than most of my electrics!). Joy to play...

I'd never heard of them, but it cost around your budget, and for the tone and feel I was after, every Freshman I played that day beat the Takamines etc that were in the shop. I picked mine out of 3 identical models, it just sang to me (and the missus who was sat there patiently)

It's bedded in nicely since then.

I'd check out the Freshmans (Freshmen? :lol:)
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ToneMonkey

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #10 on: May 01, 2009, 02:36:13 PM »
I read a review a couple of months ago of a Freshman.  They were very impressed.

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Bob Johnson

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2009, 08:06:14 PM »
I've recently done setups and minor tweaks to a number of Martin & Co. 0001X Acoustic Guitars (the action is quite high ex-factory). I have to say that the laminated neck and synthetic body back and sides really put me off; "what the hell are Martin doing" one thinks (what a hypocrite; I play an ovation Elite) But they really do sound and play great. Guys around here, maybe it's the PMT effect, are picking them up for about £350. A steal at the price.
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willo

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2009, 04:45:52 PM »
Cheers chaps, I really like the look of those Normans - although I don't think I can pick one up in Newcastle. I may trip to Manchester to try one out; they do look awesome.
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_tom_

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #13 on: May 02, 2009, 04:49:40 PM »
I have a Crafter D6 which sounds ok and feels nice. Was only £100 but I really like it. Its quite a bright sound though, I'd prefer a warmer/woodier sound.

Heres a clip I did with mine recently - http://hc.bloodyvelvet.com/files/254/newdj_me2v5.mp3
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Dr. Vic

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Re: Cheap Acoustic Guitar
« Reply #14 on: May 02, 2009, 05:12:15 PM »
Quote from: willo on May 02, 2009, 04:45:52 PM
Cheers chaps, I really like the look of those Normans - although I don't think I can pick one up in Newcastle. I may trip to Manchester to try one out; they do look awesome.

Yeah, at that price range, all the guys I know who have choosen a Norman were delighted, really. 

Cheers

 :good:
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