[nem2k]

what makes an acoustic guitar good? cos some of them cost well over £1000

i can understand why some electric guitars are good cos theres a lot of electronics in it, you have to create cavitys in the body etc, but what makes an acoustic good?

[wannalearn01]

The wood it is made of and the construction of it.

Mainly the wood. Solid real wood tops are way more expensive, and play a lot better, but they also age better etc etc

Oh and some are hand made, some entirely hand made...which is more labor intensive. Bending wood is a lot harder than jsut routing somethings out...I mean any guitar is going to be good but I would say that acosutics are harder to build than electric...but usually eletric has more expensive parts(pick-ups etc)

T^roy

This post has been edited by wannalearn01: 09 August 2004 - 09:29 AM

[B.B. Hudson]

Materials and build quality.

Having a guitar built from brazilian rosewood will make it bloody expensive, though not necessarily good. Cheap acoustics are made from plywood instead of solid wood, which means they have crap tone and sustain. Most materials are good providing it is solid wood. Infact, provided you have a solid top, the sides and back don't matter too much. There was a famous luthier who proved this point by making a guitar with top quality materials for the top then paper mache for the back and sides. Players all over were apparently amazed by its tone. This is probably more legend than truth, but ah well.

As for build quality - just check out some really cheap stuff like £40 Johnsons and compare it to stuff a few hundred quid more. On the cheap side you get bad intonation, high action, rough edges, horrible finish etc. Remember on an electric you have snazzy bridges that let you fine tune things like action and intonation, but on an acoustic such high-tech contraptions would reduce the flow of the sound from the bridge to the body meaning a loss in tone, so manufacturers like to keep it as simple as possible. The result is that you need to find something that sounds great and plays great straight off the shelf.

[nem2k]

so what would be an example of a cheap or expensive wood?

ooh an also, what kinda sounds so different woods have?

EDIT: just read BB Hudsons post, whats solid top?

This post has been edited by nem2k: 09 August 2004 - 09:31 AM

[B.B. Hudson]

Solid top just means it's a real piece of wood instead of chip-board.

As with electrics, darker woods give a more mellow sound and light woods give a brighter sound. This affects an acoustic a lot more than an electric though, since with electrics you have the pickups and amplyfier affecting the tone far more than the other materials.

There are tons of different wood types: spruce, ceder, mahogony, maple, rosewood et. al.

[nem2k]

hmm yeah i never really understood how woods affect the sound of electrics but oh well

well atm im thinking of *maybe* buying an acoustic, but i guess i have some specific criteria in mind

how much would something like this set me back:
solid top acoustic (not sure what wood yet)
single cutaway (although i would still consider one without a cutaway)
body binding (front and maybe back)
neck binding
lowish action (somewhere between electric and those really heavy string acoustics)
natural wood glossy finish body, dark fretboard and head
gold machine heads and pegs
and a nice warm sound

can u get anything specific like that? and how much would it cost roughly?

This post has been edited by nem2k: 09 August 2004 - 09:53 AM

[B.B. Hudson]

The guitar I just bought is a Yamaha FG433S, it cost £279 and it has everything on that list except for the cutaway. You don't have to pay as much as you would with an electric to get a good workhorse instrument.

[nem2k]

oh is that you in your sig?? i always imagined you to be a lot shorter for some reason

ill take a look at that yamaha any other recommendations? i have a budget of under £500 by the way

This post has been edited by nem2k: 09 August 2004 - 11:27 AM

[HurleySurf]

I would head to any guitar store and try out some Ibanez acoustic guitars. They are incredible for the value. Absolutely incredible. I don't personally own one, but I'm very familiar with them. They are great quality guitars. Check them out before you decide. ~N8

[krypton57]

What makes an acoustic guitar good?
Well, being an acoustic man, I would say several things:
1. Rich and deep tone.
2. Look and finish.
3. Makers' reputation.
4. Price (usually).
5. Whether it's an electro-acoustic or not. Having recently bought an electro-acoustic guitar after many years of playing non-electro guitars, I wouldn't go back.
6. Solid spruce top.
7. Balanced weight - not too heavy.
8. Must have a truss rod - good ones normally do.
9. Robust, good-quality bridge pins.
10. Robust tuning heads.
11. I'm in the UK, so I think you need to spend at least £500-£750 or more to get a good one.
There are probably more factors too long to list here!

[RellDaSlasher]

Fender makes a pretty good acoustic.

Just dont get one with the ugly head

and....hey, I think this is my 100th post

[wannalearn01]

Fender makes a pretty good acoustic.

Just dont get one with the ugly head 

and....hey, I think this is my 100th post

I was pleasently surprised when I played a '71 Fender acoustic...had very good sound to it!

I think the guy would have almost traded me for my pile...maybe I should put some nice strings on it and try and sell it to him. j/k


T^roy

[epearson]

Fender makes a pretty good acoustic.

Just dont get one with the ugly head 

and....hey, I think this is my 100th post

Ehhh...Fender isn't the best choice for acoustics, most of their affordable models are laminate woods, the better ones cost waaaay too much, but it's true that they do have some good stuff, but their product quality has dropped in general in these last few years. I recommend Seagull, Takamine or Samick. Each of these make quality solid tops under $500. I have a Samick CT5-CE with a solid cedar top and a fishman pickup, it's great and it only cost me $342. Seagull is just as good and Takamine makes the BEST acoustics available for a better price and higher quality electronics than Martin or Taylor can offer.

[nem2k]

the problem is trying to find takamine guitars in the uk because i havent seen any in the local store

has anyone tried a guitar like this:
http://www.ibanez.co...20TBS-12-02.jpg

im not talking about the particular model, i mean the shape....how is it different from the normal acoustics tonally? and is it much bigger than the normal ones?

[B.B. Hudson]

Sound Control are a Takamine dealer. I know they have a store in Manchester and Birmingham, though I've no idea about elsewhere.

[nem2k]

hmm i think im gunna lower my budget way down as i dont want to spend taht much on an acoustic atm, and takamines are a bit on the expensive side

ibanez look nice tho, which out of these 2 do you reckon are better? in terms of looks and features...

http://www.imuso.co....ockCode=AG00052

or

http://www.imuso.co....ockCode=AG00044

[RellDaSlasher]

Fender DG-11 is what I have

and there it is.

if only it had a cut out so I could reach the high notes.

This post has been edited by RellDaSlasher: 10 August 2004 - 03:45 AM

[acousticblues]

i personally would get the Ibanez AW10CE NT even though it is more expensive.

-it has a solid sitka spruce top which will (supposedly) age well
-it has grover tuners
-i like the natural wood color over the darkish redish burnt one
-the body shape of those kinds of guitars to me sounds better than the more rounded one and just feels better
-my guitar teacher has one like it and it sounds great

well both have fishman pickups and those are pretty good but i dont anything about each one's electronics. i suggest you try it out before you buy it and thats one thing about buying over the internet or through a catalog, you cant play the guitar before you buy it. if you can, then you should try each one and find out which you like best. it all really comes down to your opinion.
Paul

[nem2k]

im guessing that both guitars have truss rods right? cos my brothers guitar is a cheapo acoustic and has no truss rod...snapped at the neck after about a month

[acousticblues]

i'm pretty sure each one has a truss rod, most guitars of that kind and price should but it doesnt say in the webpage so you cant be so sure.........oh yeah and i dont think they could save a guitar neck from cracking and snapping off