Hi everybody! Next month I'm going to buy a new acoustic guitar. I've been playing acoustic for about 4 or 5 years now and i want something good. I can spend about 800 euros. Can anyone give me some general advice? There's so much information on the internet, that after a while you don't know what you've been reading. Any help is welcome. Thanks!

Taylor makes a good one. Martin type quality.

Up your budget and go for the Gibson J-200......Keith plays a sunburst one on Circus during No Expectations. I've had mine for 10 years and I never regretted the purchase.

You know there are good ones by Takamine. I like them a lot. And the Martins are outstanding. Then there are the oversized Guild. The ones that look like the ones Elvis played. Epiphone of course. What I have found is that with the Fender Accoustics you have to double check because some of them are crap. With the big names you won't go wrong but truth be tols there are SO MANY excellent guitars these days. Best thing ALWAYS!!! is to have it in your hand before you buy it and play it.

Yes, obviously i should try them Chelsea. That's right for sure... but aren't the taylors, martins and gibsons too expensive???

The top of the line ones can be. Play several and decide. There are good ones to fit most budgets. Kind of like cars. Some like Chevys, some like Mercedes.

Elmo is right. There are plenty takamines, Martins, Epiphones all at reasonable prices. And you know with guitars often there isn;'t a thing wrong with second hand. Matter of a fact if it's been taken care of right, it might actually be an asset.

Does anyone have any experience with the Taylor 110 ??

I have a Martin DCME, it's one of their 'road' series and the first in their line (starting from the least expensive) that sounds like a 'real' guitar. I paid around $950.00 for it. (that's right in your price range) I have never regretted the purchase, the sound is great, and, it play's almost like an electric, (thin neck). The electronics are good too. Although I rarely play the thing! LOL

I ain't stupid, I'm just guitarded.

Most important, go to a store and take your time to try out a couple of guitars. Even if one gets very good reviews, you might not like it because it is too big, too small, sounds different, etc.

- Koen.

Nothing much I can add, except if you can buy it in the US! This for many reasons: dollar vs. euro exchange rate is the main one, but also quality of avarage products over there is outstanding if compared to Europe.

Further I would not buy an electrified acoustic, they are mainly crap in the range you are willing to fish.

C

I have a taylor, it is a beautiful instrument and truly my most cherished and valuable belonging, however 800 euros will not buy one i dont think. I dont mean to sound flash or snobby. I think mine was just around $1800 canadian dollars, around 7 years ago, but they are even more over here in england!

It is worth spending and investing as much as you can possibly afford on an acoustic guitar - if you look after it and it can then be inherited by children in years to come - beautiful...

Takamine are also very good. Or those black gibsons, so sexy!!



_____________________________________________________

What's your favourite flavour?...........Cherry Red!!

Martin D1 sounds also great, about 900 dollars.
Check [www.music123.com]

Also, if you are buying a guitar for the stage, check out the electronics in the pick-up. They vary almost as much as the guitars themselves.

I have a Martin D-28, a Guild 512 and an Epiphones ES300. Of the three the Martin is by far the best but if your budget is limited then try an Epiphone. They are generally good guitars for a fraction of Gibson prices.

Thanks everybody for posting!! And Mr. Jimmi... i saw a Taylor 110, probably the cheapest for 800 euro's on www.taylorguitars.com I don't know if it's any good though.

Liddas, your advice on buying a guitar in the USA was very helpfull (intresting mainly because of the price difference). A friend of mine works for KLM (the dutch flight company) and he'll travel to San Francisco next week. He's willing to buy a guitar for me over there... I can't buy it personally, but I can get much better guitars for the same price. As I said before, I can spend around 800 or 900 euro's (so that's +- 1.100 US dollars).

I'm very intrested in two Taylor guitars: the 310 and 410. I'm going to try them out in The Hague tomorrow. Now I'm left with two questions:
1) Is it 'smart' to let my friend buy a guitar for me, which i'm not able to judge myself (although I will try them out over here)?
2) Can anyone tell me what the average prices are for the Taylor 310 and 410? I've been surfing around on many sites (both dealer and review sites), but it's not really clear to me what they actually cost new from the guitar dealer.

I hope that someone can help me on this. Thanks!

Rank O.

Personally, for that amount of money I would not trust anybody to buy a guitar blindly for me, especially so far away. Each guitar, even of the same model, is slightly different. So even if you like the model you tested, the one you eventually end up with could be not what you thought it would be.

Also don't forget the BTW you need to pay when importing the guitar.

- Koen.

Yes, i thought of that too Koen. The thing is that for 800 euro's (1.100 dollars)in Holland I can only buy the Taylor 110 (the cheapest). For the same price i think i can get the 310 in America. The 310 is a better guitar then the 110 for sure. So the slight difference between two 310 models can't be a serious problem right? IF i played one here?

And i don't have to worry about the tax. He's my cousin and works for KLM for about 16 years now. He assured me that the tax is no problem. He brings expensive stuff all the time.

Well Rank Outsider, it's your money.

What you can try is to test different versions of the same model, and see how much they vary. And make sure that your friend/cousin is not overwhelmed by the salesperson to buy another model

Maybe you can do some research to see what is a good guitar store in SF.

succes,

- Koen.

I certainly agree on the coment about Acoustic Fenders, Abuout 7-8 yeras ago, I bought an Acoustic Fender 12 string. At the store, it palyed well, action was good, had a beutiful ring (the reason i just love 12 strings), and now it has dead zones, buzzez, and all in all is a disappointment. Out here ion my island ther si ceratinly no luthier, and I , to be honest, am not happy. I know a lot of this could be fixed. But I had a Gianinni 12 string ( I know they are supposed to be horrible, but mine wasn't) for nearly 20 years until it was stolen that never sounded anything but marvelous with minimal work.

Yes Koen, I know it's tricky... but I won't do it if I ain't sure about the quality of the 310's .