Best under the radar brand?

birdo · August 2013

Is thre a sleeper acoustic brand out there. One that either doesn't get the recondition it deserves or just consistently produces quality instruments but does break into the big boys groups. For example in electric guitars I'd list yamaha .

digitalscream · August 2013

Does Faith count?

Andyjr1515 · August 2013

birdo said:

Is thre a sleeper acoustic brand out there. One that either doesn't get the recondition it deserves or just consistently produces quality instruments but does break into the big boys groups. For example in electric guitars I'd list yamaha .

Actually, I'd say Yamaha for acoustics too! Low price, faultless quality, pretty much all of them sound good to great and are easy to play

jaygtr · August 2013

Andyjr1515 said:

birdo said:

Is thre a sleeper acoustic brand out there. One that either doesn't get the recondition it deserves or just consistently produces quality instruments but does break into the big boys groups. For example in electric guitars I'd list yamaha .

Actually, I'd say Yamaha for acoustics too! Low price, faultless quality, pretty much all of them sound good to great and are easy to play

+1 to this

birdo · August 2013

Not sure if faith count as they get nothing but praise and are fairly new in brand terms. How do high end yamahas compare ? I know their budget end stuff is great.

ICBM · August 2013

Larivée.

OK they're not "cheap", but they're as good or better than any of the really big names, and are cheaper new and *much* cheaper secondhand since they don't hold their value that well.

I really don't get the love for Yamaha, sorry. Yes they're well-made, but I've never played one that sounded inspiring and most sound very ordinary.

Fretwired · August 2013

I'd go for the LAG Tramontane range .. cool guitars from about £299. Nice modern logo as well ...

http://uk.lagguitars.com/TRAMONTANE-g510.html

IanSavage · August 2013

The three major Canadian brands (Simon & Patrick, Art et Lutherie and Norman, in decending order of personal preference) - all part of the Godin group, real quality at good prices (STUPIDLY low prices secondhand, quite often).

blueskunk · August 2013

When i was looking for an acoustic i tried a few and for the price this was a belter, i love it.
http://www.alvarezguitars.com/instrument/af60
I want the parlour one next.

barry2tone · August 2013

blueskunk said:

"When i was looking for an acoustic i tried a few and for the price this was a belter, i love it.
http://www.alvarezguitars.com/instrument/af60
I want the parlour one next."

From a bit of reading these sound great, something I'd like to try.

But another manufacturers website that doesn't give scale length, nut width etc?

~X(

VimFuego · August 2013

I'd concur on the larry comment. Brands like Stonebridge, Lakewood seem to give the big names a run for their money as well.

Jalapeno · August 2013

The non-metal stuff from Dean is a well kept secret - acoustics, resonators ....

ICBM · August 2013

IanSavage said:

The three major Canadian brands (Simon & Patrick, Art et Lutherie and Norman, in decending order of personal preference) - all part of the Godin group, real quality at good prices (STUPIDLY low prices secondhand, quite often).

Unfortunately, although they sound great and are very good value for money when they're new, they don't last. They're not very well made and very often have structural problems, or just seem to 'wear out' and go dead-sounding rather than maturing. They also have the highest rate of broken headstocks I know of other than Gibsons. I wish it wasn't so, since when they first came out they seemed to have solved the problem of making good-sounding guitars cheaply by getting rid of all the fancy stuff you don't need.

guitarfishbay · August 2013

BSG.

I went to the shop thinking I was picking between Martin, Taylor, and Gibson. I came out with a BSG which was hands down better than everything else in my price range. I then had to google what I'd bought when I got home.

VimFuego · August 2013

I see blueridge now do a high end line (this is probably old news to most, but I am hopelessly behind the times). I was highly impressed with their low end range, had a very traditional sound, so would be interesting to see what the high end ones are like.

Fretwired · August 2013

Sigma is another brand .. http://www.musicradar.com/reviews/guitars/sigma-s000m-15-572607

MattG · August 2013

Auden guitars make some very nice stuff

guitargeek62 · August 2013

Recording King too, they really surprised me when I played them. I'll be picking up one of their 000's at some point.

bertie · August 2013

Andyjr1515 said:
Actually, I'd say Yamaha for acoustics too! Low price, faultless quality, pretty much all of them sound good to great and are easy to play

not sure Id agree completely. Used to have a Yam back in the 80s and it indeed was a great player and finished well. HOWEVER I played a couple of their £500 ish models (a dread and a OM size) and they left me pretty cold TBH, huge heavy neck on the OM made it very un-balanced.

If we (as per ICBM) are going to get into Larry ££ country, there are 101 great small luthiers out their now that will easily out compete the big names with bang for buck - its just you wont have the resale value.

AuldReekie · August 2013

bertie said:

Andyjr1515 said:
Actually, I'd say Yamaha for acoustics too! Low price, faultless quality, pretty much all of them sound good to great and are easy to play

not sure Id agree completely. Used to have a Yam back in the 80s and it indeed was a great player and finished well. HOWEVER I played a couple of their £500 ish models (a dread and a OM size) and they left me pretty cold TBH, huge heavy neck on the OM made it very un-balanced.

If we (as per ICBM) are going to get into Larry ££ country, there are 101 great small luthiers out their now that will easily out compete the big names with bang for buck - its just you wont have the resale value.

AuldReekie · August 2013

Larrivee owner here - have three OM9, SD50 TSB and C09 and totally agree with ICBM, would choose Larrivee over Martin or Taylor anyday and this is based on having owned both of these brands in the past, In fact sold my Santa Cruz D to finance the SD50 (12 fret dreadnought). I have had a tour of their factory in Vancouver and I have never come across such a happy working environment, which no doubt reflects the pride their employees go about their work.
Whilst still a relative bargain, Larrys are beginning to climb in price, certainly compared with around 10 years ago when you could pick up a second hand Larry for a a ridiculously cheap price.
Re the above comment on small builders, in my experience, Larrys are consderably cheaper than most small builders guitars. I also have a MciLroy and a Forster and both of these were considerably dearer than my Larrys

crunchman · August 2013

VimFuego said:

I'd concur on the larry comment. Brands like Stonebridge, Lakewood seem to give the big names a run for their money as well.

Definitely Stonebridge (Furch) are seriously good. Until you get up to the Vintage Series stuff (which is much more expensive) I'd take them over a Martin.

VimFuego · August 2013

the problem with some of these smaller brands is finding someone who has a decent selection to try. Unless you're in the smoke or somewhere similar it can mean a drive or so (not that I'm feeling GASSY, oh no...).

birdo · August 2013

Didn't stonebridge/ furch also go under the Stanford name? Great guitars as are the larry .I ve not tried the sigma or recording king but they look good.

bertie · August 2013

oh, good call on the Stonebridge -

OK - Ive held back so far...(mostly cos I assumed we were wanting to keep this at 'lower end budget'.) but if you're going to hit the Larry and alike marks (£2k ish) then I have to mention Brook. Yeah Im biased of course......but they are phenomenal, in sound, playability and value

Deadman · August 2013

Freshman. My FA400 was awesome,it sounds cliche but it really did sound like something worth 3 times the price. I picked it up from gash converters for £200 and regrettably sold it on for £400. They retail for something like £700 now. Their base models are well worth a look.

thermionic · August 2013

I have to give a mention here to The Loar. Part of the Recording King empire but focussing on mandolins and archtops (as the name suggests). Not very available in the UK but a big hit in the USA: Acoustic Guitar of the Year 2010. Justin Townes Earle plays one of their LO-16s.

I was thinking of an Epiphone EL-00 but it seems that upgrading the nut and saddle to bone is almost mandatory to get that guitar up to scratch, the Loar LH-200 has a bone nut and saddle (perfectly crafted I might add) as standard and it sustains like a bastard. Recording Kings seem to be reasonably available here but not The Loar, so I bought one from Thomann for £200 as a "leave it around the living room guitar" and I haven't touched my Taylor in 6 months.

Skipped · August 2013

IanSavage said:

The three major Canadian brands (Simon & Patrick, Art et Lutherie and Norman, in decending order of personal preference) - all part of the Godin group, real quality at good prices (STUPIDLY low prices secondhand, quite often).

I also have a soft spot for the Canadian brands, especially the Spruce topped Normans. I have this one:
http://www.musiciansbuy.com/Norman-B20-Spruce-High-Gloss-Natural-01019.html

I want to emphasise that this is from the point of view of an electric player looking a for a loud strummer with a great neck (after an expert fret dress). I was a bit alarmed to learn that ICBM has seen so many with broken headstocks but as a lifelong Gibson player I guess I factor in that risk without even realising it.

daveyh · September 2013

I'll vote for Crafter. I have a GA-7 and it's f***ing glorious.

equalsql · September 2013

Walden is definitely a brand worth looking at. I've had one of their supranatural G2070s for a number of years and have never failed to be impressed by it.

http://www.waldenguitars.com/G2070.html

Wolftone · September 2013

As I commented in a previous thread, try the Farida range at Dawsons. I tried their £699 top of the heap jobbie and it fairly sung and was very easy to bond with.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Become a Subscriber!

Best under the radar brand?

Comments