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Hey guys,
It's me again, Mike, having questions again, hehe. So I am moving to Boston on the end of August and since I got all the necessary stuff together (guitar wise), 1 electric, 1 semi and 1 archtop. I think, I need to spend some money and get my first serious acoustic guitar. I only owned once before and it was 7 years ago, just a Cort one, don't even know the model.
As I was searching around, I find myself towards the Martin camp, I guess it's the biggest name out there and I kinda like the vibe of them. I would like to be able to play lots of stuff with it, fingerpicking, picking, strumming, blues, soloing, even some "jazz" if it's possible.
I like a lot the 000-28, 000-18 models even though the later seems a bit too simple, I'd like some shimmer on it, but not too much. Then there is the OM-28 model which has a longer scale. Is it really a big difference regarding the scale? For some reason, I had my mind set on the 000-28 Eric Clapton model since everyone just says the best things about it. Then there is the John Mayer model which is an OM instead of a 000.
Then I saw this 0M-18 1933 Authentic, kinda expensive but is it worth it?
Still the two sig models I noted above are the best options since they got that extra something I am looking from the standard models.
What are your thoughts on those?
Also I was wondering, what you guys own and play? What would you recommend?
Keep in mind I am totally an acoustic dummy, I don't know much. I am willing to spend around 3k euros for one, maybe a bit more if it's totally worth it.
Thank you in advance for your time and replies,
Mike
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07-14-2014 10:31 PM
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I own a Taylor 414ce. I love that guitar...very balanced, chords shimmer, but single notes still snap. Never played a Martin that does that...im not a Martin guy...maybe I need to play one set up properly....they ship em from Nazareth set up so they'll sound loud at the store...nasty to play past the fifth fret or so...imho.
I think Collings makes better Martins than Martin, really. If I had some serious dough to spend, I'd look at a McPherson...I played one a few months ago...I can still taste it.
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What acoustic have you actually played. I just got rid of my Martin and they sound good, but IMO more for traditional styles of music. In fact the person who got it looked at the frets and said he'd never seen an Martin that all the fret wear was from the 5th fret up. I have an old Ovation that for playing all styles of music is better neck and has a cutaway body, but Ovation's aren't everyone’s cup of tea.
What I'm getting at is acoustics are like electric guitars and a big variance in necks and bodies and woods and many are designed for certain styles of music. So you need to play and listen to different models and brands yourself.
Also if you're going to Boston that is not a cheap town to live in, might be worth hanging on to your money.
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I think this is just too open-ended a question. Flattop acoustic guitars are equal or greater than archtops in their variety and idiosyncrasies. Every person will have a different opinion. You really have to establish your own taste by getting out there and trying a lot of them.
Personally, I am a Martin guy. I own a recent 000-18GE and a 1989 HD-28. Both are set up perfectly, which - as noted by others - is necessary with Martins. They can be frustrating out of the box, with high action at the saddle, and sometimes even at the nut. But a setup gets that straight. There is nothing like a great Martin IMHO. The 000-18 is simple? Nah. It's absolutely classic. Is the ES-175 simple too? Same answer.
I also own and love one Gibson, a recent SJ-200 Western Classic. It's totally different from the Martins. They each invite one to play different things, which is kind of the point in owning more than one.
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If you can find one of the older Seagull Artist boxes, I'd give it a try - I haven't tried a new one, but the older guitars they built in that series were amazingly good, in my opinion. The brand has been bashed here a few times by the folks that enjoy spending a lot of money on instruments, but I think they sound much better than the Martins I have had experience with. I've only played a few Taylors and I really liked them, but they were pretty pricey for a second flat top. Discaimer: I have a 15 year old Seagull with a cedar top that "opened up" really well; it is perfect for the style I play on flat top. I can afford to play pretty much anything I would like but I don't need to spend a ton for a name.
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Martins have a long established brand name. If you buy one I would recommend that you go for one of their main line such as 00,000 or OM. If you buy an artist model, you're just spending unnecessary money to have their name on the guitar.
I have friends who own Taylors and every one I've played has sounded good and was easy to play. They have a voice all their own.
I've had two Martins, a D-28 from the late 40s and a D-21 from the early 60s. I sold them long ago and neither could compare to my Collings OM or my Bourgeois JOMC that I've had for the past 20 years.
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I prefer the Larrivee L series. Since you said you're looking for something that handles all playing styles well, this would be my recommendation, since that is what they are designed for.
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Think a lot more about the wood and a lot less about the brand name. The soundboard, the body, and the bracing matter far more for acoustics than for any other type of guitar.
I suggest you decide what music you'll mostly play, work out sizes and woods based on that, pick a budget, and then go hunting.
An extended visit to the acoustic guitar forum might be in order. Larrivee, Eastman, Fylde, Yamaha, Ibanez, Guild, Seagull, Takamine, Selmer, Collings, Tanglewood and a zillion others all do fine instruments with very different tones and wildly different price points.
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Why a flat top? Would you consider an acoustic archtop, or nylon string guitar?
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Are you going to Boston to go to school? If you wait, you may just find that there is great advice to be given by people playing those instruments- students and teachers. Many of them have their own take on what makes a good acoustic guitar and they're there because they love playing their instruments. You can hear them, try them, discuss them, make friends. That's what being in school is.
If you want to wait and try a huge selection, then wait 'til you're in Boston and then go to the Music Emporium in Lexington, you can get there on bus. Their selection runs from vintage Martin to new shiny D'Angelico. And they're nice. You can learn a lot by leaving other people's advice at the door and listening to your hands in a place like that.
Don't be hasty to fill a "niche" in your collection. You can wait until you have a real need in your musical identity and you may find yourself closer to finding the guitar you'll stay with.
Just something to consider.
David
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I did some shopping last fall for an acoustic and played a bunch of guitars. I'd suggest you play a rosewood OM/000 and then a mahogany guitar(s) (probably a few if you can) to see which way you lean if any. Also figure if the difference in scale matters (doesn't to me).
I played a 000-18 authentic, its very, very good guitar! I played a Collings rosewood OM which haunted me for weeks, almost threw down $3k for it. Some Gibsons small bodies were really cool too. I ended up with an OM-21 which I really dig, mostly playing finger picking, country blues on it, which its perfect for. As for versatility, tt does big jazz chords okay, but I think a Collings for example, would articulate a 13th chord much better. It sounds great though on jump blues type progressions with 6th chords. Have fun shopping.
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i would also suggest you wait until you get to america, land of cheap gear. no sense in buying it now and dragging it over, then finding it cheaper here.
second, you don't need to spend 3000 euros (or $4069 as of today) to get an awesome guitar. because that is a crazy assload of money. you could spend that much and more (and that's fine), but you don't have to. important thing to note.
third, i'd familiarize myself with the strengths and weaknesses of each guitar shape and see how that applies to what you want to do with it. obviously, anything can do everything, but certain shapes are geared or "intended" toward certain uses and styles.
then, i'd decide whether i was ok with used guitars, because you can open up a lot of options all along your price range with used guitars, especially from itty bitty luthiers.
here's a helpful video from acoustic letter, who have many high quality demos and comparisons that you should check out:
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One thing that hasn't been mentioned is, are you planning on plugging it into an amp?
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I have a Larrivee L03R in rosewood. Highly recommend it.
Originally Posted by RyanM
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I love my Martin 00-15M. It is set up well so it plays better than any other Martin I personally have played and it sounds great for jazz. Kind of dark with the mahogany body, but it can get some zing on the high notes if you hit it right. The small body makes it well-balanced. I buy and sell guitars all the time, but this little classic is a lifelong keeper.
Whatever you get, if you need to plug in, I can recommend the K&K Pure Mini.
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Hands down the best Acoustics for the money in my opinion is the Furch/Stonebridge models.
My friend has a Martin (over £2,500) and has been in for its second neck reset. The guitar is only a few years old (literally).
The problem with any big name productions is price seems high whilst quality not always. I played my Furch against all the best names and for half the price it played and sounded just as good and in many cases better, in some case far better then ones from names like Taylor and Martin who models were £2500 and up. Mine was £1,000 new and they go for about £500 second hand.
However I'm not sure how popular they are in America yet.
If you try one second hand before you can buy, you laugh yourself all the way home at the deal you just got.
Just amazingly lively guitars that really sing before you even start playing them. The fit and finish inside mine is flawless.
can
Last edited by GoergeBenson; 07-15-2014 at 09:49 PM.
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I think you have to go out a play a bunch of them. Listening to people talk about the various woods is like listening to people go on about wine; there is a huge variety of shapes and sizes. I have Eastman jumbo arch-back that I love, they make some nice flattops. Recording King makes some nice guitars as well, the smaller bodied RP1 626 and RP2 626 look really interesting.
Dreadnoughts are probably the most common size out there, but they do not always have the best string balance. I love them too, who doesn't love Neill Young, but there is that to consider.
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For myself, if I wanted a high-end flattop, I'd go with a Santa Cruz Eric Skye model. Expensive, but I'd only need one! It's got the sound I want out of a flattop, i.e. a very balanced sound with good mids highs and lows, 12 frets to the body and loud enough to keep up with gypsy guitars. But then, I have a nice gypsy guitar and a nice archtop and a little Larrivee parlor guitar so what do I want with a flattop anyway?? YMMV
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If you are moving to Boston USA, (there are Bostons elsewhere, including the original in the UK!
) why not wait till you get there, no huge VAT/import duty, many more used ones available, and try a variety of Martin, Collings guitars. I have a Collings 0002H which is superb, UK price £3500, USA price $3000ish almost a third to a half less, and more, if used. A Martin I like the spec and looks of, (and the Y-tube vids for what its worth,) is the 00-DB Jeff Tweedy model which isn't available in the UK till after September. It'll be around £2000 in UK, nearly half that in the US.
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First of all, I would like to thank everyone for your responses and help. So I guess, I have to explain myself a bit further.
So this Fall I am starting my first semester at Berklee, so I decided as I said to get one guitar of every trade or so to speak. My 59 Reissue Rusty Anderson 335 as my semi, a 1957 ES-125 as my archtop (I bought one from a guy in the US, he will ship it when I'll get in Boston, MA), an a PRS 513 for all the other electric stuff, since that guitar is like a swiss army knife, it can pull almost everything with really good results, but you never know when GAS is going to strike and I might end up buying another CC Les Paul or CS Tele from there. Since there's going to be this gig or assemble group where I am going to have to play, funk, blues, rock or whatever. Amp wise, I am regarding buying a small tube combo, probably will contact Headstrong amps to build me Princeton sized 20W amp with basic EQing (bass, mid, treble) no reverb or tremolo or whatever and of course, 12" Neo speaker.
In any case, back to our subject, as I said I am a dummy with acoustics, I have no experience with them and I rarely play one, but suddenly the urge to finally get one hit me. Since, I believe every guitarist should have one and it might be needed for a duet with a vocalist or record an acoustic track.
I don't favor that much dreadnoughts or jumbo shapes or parlors that much, in the given time at least. I just fell in love with the 000 and the OM 14 shape. I just love the vintage vibe and the cutaway won't matter to me, really.
What I will be playing with it? I can't really tell you, cause I don't know, but I know I am going to try my luck with finger picking acoustic blues with it for sure. Also, flat picking and strumming, it's a yes. As jazz and stuff, it might be a yes since that's what I play every day. As far as, plugging it or not, I think even if you buy a non electric one you can still buy a pickup for it. But those Retro models by Martin seem pretty stellar with the Fishman Aura system.
I gave it some thought and I am definitely going to wait until I get there, since prices are much better and the ability to try different stuff that are not even close to me at the moment. The Greek market is so limited, it's not even possible to get a Martin 000-18 without ordering blindly one. It's depressing. I got a friend in Germany that works in a big chain of stores and he does demos for me and he can tell which guitars are good or not, I got quite a lot of choices but still can't tell how the guitars feel.
So guys, I gave you as many information as possible. Up to you to tell me what you think it should suit me the best.
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I think you're gonna be too damn busy studying and practicing your ass off to worry about having a "guitar for all seasons!" (Congrats on the Berklee opportunity though.)
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Thank you very much! I know, I am going to be but I think I will need an acoustic for sure. Originally Posted by rpguitar
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I have this Martin Concept Gold II that has the advantage of a solid spruce top and solid maple rims and back:
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+1 on The Music Emporium in Lexington - amazing selection of acoustics and great people.
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