Adventures in acoustic buying

zepp76 · November 2018

I know they're not as expensive or exclusive as the Acoustics you've tried but have you thought about trying the Tanglewood sundance performance pro series? I bought one the other day and have to say it is a fantastic guitar for what I paid (£649 with discount and it came with a hardcase). Solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides, satin neck and Grover tuners. I love it, it's the most I've ever spent on an acoustic but it's well worth it in my humble opinion.

Edit: It's dreadnought sized so don't know if that's of any use?

meltedbuzzbox · November 2018

I might be missing the point here but surely you buy the guitar you like best?
If you are buying with resale in mind why bother?

CMW335 · November 2018

Wazmeister said:

My journey has just reached it's conclusion

Wow that’s cool, I had no idea these existed!!

Moe_Zambeek · November 2018

zepp76 said:

I know they're not as expensive or exclusive as the Acoustics you've tried but have you thought about trying the Tanglewood sundance performance pro series? I bought one the other day and have to say it is a fantastic guitar for what I paid (£649 with discount and it came with a hardcase). Solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides, satin neck and Grover tuners. I love it, it's the most I've ever spent on an acoustic but it's well worth it in my humble opinion.

Edit: It's dreadnought sized so don't know if that's of any use?

Interesting, if I bump into some I’ll try them. I actually have a Tanglewood sapling travel guitar up in the cupboard from my travelling days. Quite a nicely made little thing (though it is 20 years old and so no reflection of now!).

Lewy · November 2018

meltedbuzzbox said:

I might be missing the point here but surely you buy the guitar you like best?
If you are buying with resale in mind why bother?

Plenty of people, myself included, like to change things up every now and then as opposed to treating every instrument like an heirloom. So resale wouldn't be the primary factor - that would be feel, sound, look etc - but it would be a factor because what I want from an instrument could be totally different in a year's time.

jimmyguitar · November 2018

jellyroll said:

I'm glad Atkin are around, building guitars in the UK. But they are essentially Martin copies - nothing inherently wrong with that. But given that Atkin pricing is pretty much the same as the Martin Standard Series, why wouldn't one just buy a Martin and get the "original" with lower depreciation cost? I suppose, British built & hand made carries some weight with some buyers, but for me they need to do either do their "own thing" or lower their prices or make "better" Martins a la Collings & Santa Cruz. IMO, etc.....

I recently bought an Atkin OM37 after A/Bing it with every Martin in Andertons and Guitar Village and it absolutely killed everything else, it made the Martins sound like cheap budget acoustics in comparison. That’s why they’re getting so much attention.

My experience re playing through a PA is that more heavily braced, less lively guitars fitted with an M1A gets a great sound out front. The best amplified sounds i’ve had has been a late 60’s Gibson dread fitted with an M1A. With a livelier guitar you get too much of the airy sound which just doesn’t sit in a mix with vocals.

crunchman · November 2018

jimmyguitar said:

jellyroll said:

I'm glad Atkin are around, building guitars in the UK. But they are essentially Martin copies - nothing inherently wrong with that. But given that Atkin pricing is pretty much the same as the Martin Standard Series, why wouldn't one just buy a Martin and get the "original" with lower depreciation cost? I suppose, British built & hand made carries some weight with some buyers, but for me they need to do either do their "own thing" or lower their prices or make "better" Martins a la Collings & Santa Cruz. IMO, etc.....

I recently bought an Atkin OM37 after A/Bing it with every Martin in Andertons and Guitar Village and it absolutely killed everything else, it made the Martins sound like cheap budget acoustics in comparison. That’s why they’re getting so much attention.

My experience re playing through a PA is that more heavily braced, less lively guitars fitted with an M1A gets a great sound out front. The best amplified sounds i’ve had has been a late 60’s Gibson dread fitted with an M1A. With a livelier guitar you get too much of the airy sound which just doesn’t sit in a mix with vocals.

You raise some good points. What makes a good plugged in guitar doesn't necessarily make the best acoustic.

The Atkins that I've played have been stunning. Guitar Classics in Wandsworth had an all mahogany one a year or two ago that was better than Martins that were 2 or 3 times the price. Some Martins are better than others though. Assuming you get forward shifted bracing, it's very hard to find a bad Martin, but some are great while some are merely good.

Moe_Zambeek · November 2018

I must be the only one who thinks Atkins are completely underwhelming, based on this thread

I tried some more stuff this weekend - Martin OMC28 & 35, GPC 28 and a D18, 000-18 and D28. This kind of reinforced what I knew already - I find 35 series guitars too woofy in the bass and 28 series guitars (generally) not far behind. I prefer the dryness and control of the mahogany 18s. Having said that, the GPC-28 had less of that booming bass and was more controlled all round. Didn't have 'that' Martin sound but was still better than I expected. Too expensive though.All were pretty nicely made and lovely to play, with the more modern neck profile and matte finish on the necks.

I also tried an Eggle Kanuga, which was nice but more or less a generic dread-sounding kind of thing, some Lowdens (I used to love the Lowden sound...I cant stand it now after selling off my O23) and a Collings D2H - which I liked, best guitar I played on the day but I just don't want a dread, and I don't want to spend 3k either.

So once again I left empty-handed.

I went home and was considering a Larrivee OM from peach in their sale, but they couldn't tell me what pickup was in it and i'm still waiting on the callback

Now the BF sale is over it's more than i'd pay for a new one anyway, given how poor the resale is with them.

Now i'm back to considering doing nothing - my 0016 has a pickup, with the right pedal it'd probably do everything I need in a live environment, as long as I don't hit it too hard.

earwighoney · November 2018

Moe_Zambeek said:

I must be the only one who thinks Atkins are completely underwhelming, based on this thread

Like yourself, the Atkins I have tried have been underwhelming.

camf · November 2018

Mel, what strings do you have on the 00-16M? I found my Collings C10 was struggling with heavier playing but Collings recommend light gauge strings but I changed to 13-55 Newtone Heritage reduced tension and the guitar just seemed to play much better. The Newtones pretty much felt like light gauge strings and have less pressure on the bridge than a standard light gauge set. Might be worth a try - they're nice strings and not expensive, although they take a week or two to arrive.

Moe_Zambeek · November 2018

Actually now you mention that @camf ; I actually have a set of low tension Newtones I bought for my Lowden but never used. I’ll try them and see how they sound...thanks for the reminder!

camf · November 2018

Are they the 13s? From my limited experience, the Heritage 12s might make things worse.

Moe_Zambeek · November 2018

12s actually

camf · November 2018

Good strings though. I like them a lot. But I still think it might be worth trying the 13s on your 00.

crunchman · November 2018

camf said:

Good strings though. I like them a lot. But I still think it might be worth trying the 13s on your 00.

13s???!!!??

Just get a decent guitar with a responsive top that isn't overbraced.

camf · November 2018

13s???!!!?? Are mediums the new extreme???!!!??

Lewy · November 2018

camf said:

13s???!!!?? Are mediums the new extreme???!!!??

Haha - no. With a proper set up and an “acoustic” approach stylistically mediums don’t have to be a struggle at all. Bends and barres up the neck, different story though.

But I can’t think of many makers who recommend them on small body guitars like a 00. My experience of putting mediums on guitars like that is that it can even be counter productive because you can end up with less bounce on the top and you end up with less sound not more.

earwighoney · November 2018

I've got 13's on my 00. DADGAD or Open C with 12's on a short scale 00 are too floppy!

camf · November 2018

And for context, I was specifically recommending the Newtones Heritage low tension, which have a lower total tension on the bridge than standard lights.

zepp76 · November 2018

zepp76 said:

I know they're not as expensive or exclusive as the Acoustics you've tried but have you thought about trying the Tanglewood sundance performance pro series? I bought one the other day and have to say it is a fantastic guitar for what I paid (£649 with discount and it came with a hardcase). Solid spruce top with mahogany back and sides, satin neck and Grover tuners. I love it, it's the most I've ever spent on an acoustic but it's well worth it in my humble opinion.

Edit: It's dreadnought sized so don't know if that's of any use?

Here's a link to the spec's, quite a lot of guitar for the money.

http://www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk/product/x15ns/

Th4fonz · December 2018

I would go for a furch personally if you can find one. Martins Ive always wanted to own one because there a martin but every 000 i have tried has been terrible to play and sounded bad. A £700 faith sounded better than numerous 2k martins ive tried in the shops.

Davy · December 2018

I went on a similar journey for an acoustic and tried dozens of brands. Martins left me unimpressed overall as well. Played a great Atkin 43 but didn't like the relicing. Other Atkins didn't wow me. I finally ended up with a Brook Taw. Brook are well worth a look if you don't mind slim necks and a flattish radius. They play almost as easy as electrics and imo sound fantastic.

crunchman · December 2018

Davy said:

I went on a similar journey for an acoustic and tried dozens of brands. Martins left me unimpressed overall as well. Played a great Atkin 43 but didn't like the relicing. Other Atkins didn't wow me. I finally ended up with a Brook Taw. Brook are well worth a look if you don't mind slim necks and a flattish radius. They play almost as easy as electrics and imo sound fantastic.

That's why I sold my Brook.

I do think Brook's smaller guitars are better than their dreadnoughts though.

ToneControl · December 2018

For that budget have you tried any used Larrivees? Their top-of-the range ones are very good
Also you should look at the Avalons, as well as making the same Lowden designs (other than the saddle) that they made when they were the Lowden factory for ~15 years, they also now make other designs, including Americana-style, I have one and it's lovely and very different from the celtic Lowden sound.

I wasn't impressed personally with Atkins and Brook. Personal taste, etc. No insult intended.

You occasionally get Bourgeois and Goodall guitars for sale in the UK at stupidly cheap prices on ebay £2.3k to 2.6k), worth keeping an eye open.

Davy · December 2018

crunchman said:

Davy said:

...Brook are well worth a look if you don't mind slim necks and a flattish radius...

That's why I sold my Brook.

I do think Brook's smaller guitars are better than their dreadnoughts though.

Yep, the off the peg necks are definitely not going to be for everyone but I've played solely electric for 30 odd years and for me it played far easier than every other acoustic else I tried. Ive only played Taws, Torridges and smaller and they were all very sweet sounding.

Moe_Zambeek · March 2019

Edit: I’ve tried so many guitars it’s unreal

In the end I *finally* picked up one that whispered ‘take me home’ in my ear..even on the second visit...a spruce topped dread with mahogany back and sides, nice chunky mahogany neck, ebony board, open backed Gotoh tuners. Made by...Takamine. An EF340S-TT. Has the low profile TLD pickup so no controls in the guitar, I’ll probably get a sound hole pickup eventually anyway.

I was surprised by this given how we all know Takamine are has-beens but I just really really liked it, so I bought it. If I was flush I’d have taken their mini maple jumbo too!

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