[jimbomonkeypie]

I'm after an acoustic guitar that I can go nuts on...I'm using a Cort at the moment, and the strings break too often for my liking, and it also sounds too mellow for me.


For some reason (I have no idea why...) but whenever I get near an acoustic guitar, I cant help but play it with absolute passion. By this I mean, playing blues licks on them, 9th chords and rock songs constantly and loudly. So (as far as I know) I will need something sturdy.

I've heard that Larrivee guitars are very good for this, but I've only ever seen one played once in Australia (i think my local store has some though), but apparently they're awesome so I'll check some of them out.

I dont want to spend anything over $2900 Australian, which is...I dunno, probably around US$1000 or something.

Actually, put it this way...This guitar is the upper limit to how much I would be willing to spend:

C.F.MARTIN OOO16GTE 16 SERIES AUDITORIUM ($2900 or so in Australia, not sure about in the US though)


So yeah, any recommendations would be fantastic. Also, as I dont know too much aboot acoustics, any specific things that I should be looking for (i.e. types of pickups, dreadnaught (not sure what this means...), all solid woods (not sure what this means either), types of woods etc.) would be brilliant.

Cheers,
James

[goldrush]

If you're looking to play aggressively then a dreadnought might be for you. You mentioned a Martin 000. I have a Martin 000-28EC that I absolutely love for my various fingerstyle playing. A dreadnought body is bigger and deeper and produces a louder, more bassy tone. Smaller bodied guitars tend to have better overall balance but are not so loud.

As for woods: most guitars have rosewood back and sides, which produce a warm, bassier tone. Mahogany is also used and can produce brighter tones. Among other woods used for back and sides are maple and sapele. Fingerboard will be either ebony or rosewood (ebony is usually found on the higher priced guitars). Most tops are spruce. A solid wood top (as opposed to a laminate) will age well and sound better as you play it over the years. If you're planning to pay around $1000 then a solid wood top is well within your reach.

I've played Larivee's occasionally. They are well made and a pretty good value for the money. Of course you can't go wrong with any of the big names: Martin, Taylor, Gibson (I would shy away from Fender, Epiphone, etc.). As has been stated by everyone at GTU before, just play as many guitars as you can get your hands on and then choose the one that feels and sounds the best to you. Your opinion, ultimately, is the only one that matters.

[wannalearn01]

Well first off figure out if you want a full body or a cut away.

Full body has fuller sounding notes, an overall fuller sound. The cut-away however, will give you the ability to play notes higgher on the frets...

Next thing you should figure out is if you want a regular or an electric/acoustic. If you want something for gigs...a electric/acoustic might be more your style...but most people agree a mic'd regular will sound better than the pick-ups on a electric/acoustic...but the simple plug-in ability makes the electric/acoustic a lot more convienant(sp?-too early lol)

When looking at an acoustic the type of wood that is used is the most important thing. One major thing that you should want is a solid top(part that has the rosette)...made with real wood. Some of the cheaper guitars use laminated wood on the top, and their tones won't improve over time like the real wood ones will. Also if you can get reall back and sides...that will help it to sound a lot better.

In your price range, you can find some really good all wood guitars.

My two suggestions for guitars, also what I am thinking about getting:

For a electric acoustic...Takamine's have some good electronics...and they play very well. G Series have a built in tuner which helps for live gigs to tune up in between songs.

For just the plain...can't go wrong with a Martin...you can get an all wood Martin for about 800 bucks(US).

T^roy