Decent guitars in the £200/ £300 range

MartinBush · November 2021

Hi all

I may be in a position to buy an acoustic soon and have my eye on an Epiphone Dove Studio.

I find the Epiphone range confusing, but like the look of the Dove, partly due to its Tom Petty links.

Question is, are they any good and is there anything else I should consider? I am keen to go for an Epiphone, Yamaha or similar simply because I trust the brands. £300 is my max.

Martin

sev112 · November 2021

New or second hand ?

BigPaulie · November 2021

In that budget your money will go a lot further in the used market and could get you something decent.

Apart from Tom Petty and the Dove, what sort of music will you be looking to play? How will you be playing mostly? Flatpicking, fingerstyle, strumming with pick/fingers etc.

MartinBush · November 2021

I am thinking new simply because I've had a kind offer to buy me one. I mainly play electric and the acoustic would really be for strumming a few tunes for my own amusement and adding to my own recordings in the background. I am open to second hand too.

My style is along the lines of Daniel Johnston, Jad Fair etc although I can play more conventionally if required

BigPaulie · November 2021

I haven't played the Epiphone, but I have tried the Yamaha FG820. It was s really nice guitar, well worth the £350 or so. You can find them for slightly less; even new.

Although not as "pretty" as the Dove, in Autumn Burst it has a similar look. I always think if you find two similar guitars at a similar price, the "plainer" one will have more money spent on the things that matter.

thomasw88 · November 2021

Have a look at Tanglewood.

If second hand is of use then Seagull/Simon & Patrick's are excellent, and also the posher Tanglewoods are excellent.

BillDL · November 2021

I don't think you can go wrong in terms of build quality and sound buying a new Yamaha from the FG/FS820 price level upwards, but you will pay more for the electro-acoustics and you would have to drop back to the FGX/FSX800 level. My favourite in your price range is the FG830 with the rosewood body and spruce top as opposed to the different sounds of the more expensive 840 maple body/spruce top and 850 mahogany body and top.

Keep your eyes peeled for a used but good condition Tanglewood (Sundance) with TW prefix, because they represent very good value for money.

You don't see too many used Sigma guitars because I suspect most of them bought new are "keepers". They are very well built but very simple in terms of decoration, and the mid-priced ones use a good quality composite material for the fingerboard that feels and looks like ebony. Unfortunately the "Dove type" Sigma is above your budget new.

DavidR · November 2021

Another vote for Yamaha FG830. Bought one earlier in year. Really excellent. (A little bit over your max though).

BillDL · November 2021

Whoops, yes. For some reason I had £300 to £400 in my head rather than £200 to £300.

MartinBush · November 2021

There's some good points here - thanks all.

I suppose I am rather taken with the look and versatility of the built in pickup on the Dove. But its also fair to say that those elements may make for a less good instrument overall. Ideally I'd like to try a few out.

bertie · November 2021

thomasw88 said:

Have a look at Tanglewood.

If second hand is of use then Seagull/Simon & Patrick's are excellent, and also the posher Tanglewoods are excellent.

picked up my TW73 VS at auction for £225 !! its a really nice put together little beasty

MartinBush · November 2021

Just coming back to thing that got me wondering, does anyone have any views on the quality of Epiphone's current range? Are they well built for instance?

I had a Yamaha years ago so know they are well put together, and take on board what's said above about other brands. But I am still curious about the Epis.

monquixote · November 2021

I have a rule that if I'm buying an instrument of a type that I don't really know a lot about I just buy a Yamaha one.

I've done it with Keyboards, Acoustic Guitars and Drums and not been disappointed yet.

CountryDave · November 2021

The Yamaha LL/LS/LJ6 are a lot of guitar for around the 300 quid (used) price. Solid top, simple pickup, good sounds.
I’m very pleased with mine

Kittyfrisk · November 2021

As mentioned, Tanglewood are producing some fine sounding guitars at budget prices & Yamaha are consistently good.
Also the Vintage V300 in Mahogany is definitely worth a try, very 'Martinish' on a budget that holds its own tone wise.
I have heard that the new Epiphone Dove & Hummingbirds are good too, but haven't played any.

Moominpapa · November 2021

A second-hand Yamaha FG830 should be within your budget. I have one and I really like it.

Redlester · November 2021

If I were you, I'd head to my nearest guitar shop with as big an acoustic range as possible (taking a mate or relative if poss- always god to have someone to give a second opinion on sound), and just try everything they have within your budget.

Not only will you stand a better chance of getting something that ticks all the boxes, you'll have a nice morning/ afternoon out as well.

artiebear · November 2021

Another vote for a Yamaha. A brilliant track record of "getting it right" which in some of the cool brands would lead to a price point way up the scale.

MartinBush · November 2021

Cheers chaps. I appreciate the feedback.

I hope to go to PMT in Oxford or somewhere similar to try some out. I have to admit that I like the idea of the Epiphone Dove still, and that's purely for cosmetic reasons

Being realistic I reckon, given my level of playing, I'd be fine with something at the lower end of any decent band range and that may well be one of the Yamahas. I presume there's no dogs in their range?

One other question. What do people think of the Gretsch Jim Dandy model?

artiebear · November 2021

MartinBush said:

Cheers chaps. I appreciate the feedback.

I hope to go to PMT in Oxford or somewhere similar to try some out. I have to admit that I like the idea of the Epiphone Dove still, and that's purely for cosmetic reasons

Being realistic I reckon, given my level of playing, I'd be fine with something at the lower end of any decent band range and that may well be one of the Yamahas. I presume there's no dogs in their range?

One other question. What do people think of the Gretsch Jim Dandy model?

As far as Yamaha goes, at the upper end of your price range, it's all about punching above it's weight. If it's aesthetics, their sunbursts are lovely. Good luck with the search and have a lot of fun finding the right one.

Mellish · November 2021

@MartinBush if PMT Oxford is as good as PMT Manchester, you'll have a great time. Walls of acoustic guitars. But don't be surprised if the guitar you leave with is not a brand you have in mind. Guitars have a way of doing that!

MartinBush · November 2021

Cheers @Mellish it does have a rather well stocked acoustic area from what I recall of the few minutes I spent there last year (or maybe the year before!). This was before I fancied an acoustic and at a time when I wasn't in a position to buy anything

jaymenon · November 2021

I hear that 'Faith' make some excellent acoustic guitars too...

MartinBush · November 2021

So, in the end I went for a Yamaha F310 from PMT in Oxford.

My budget was up to £200 and I tried a few, including a few above that price. In the end I found that the Yamaha sounded best and was the best made one.

They had a Gretsch Jim Dandy in which I asked about earlier in this thread and, sadly, it was pretty poor. I know the idea is that it's like a guitar you'd have bought from a catalogue in the 50s, but it just didn't look, feel or play good.

There was a Tanglewood at £200 as well as a Brunswick. The Brunswick looked good but really not worth the money.

They didn't have an Epiphone Dove in, but I did take a look at another from that range. The inlays looked cheap so I didn't even bother playing it. My partner did, however, get an Epiphone Starling which is a pretty good instrument for the money.

The Yamaha came in at something like £135 after the chap did a quick price check.

Mellish · November 2021

@MartinBush glad you're sorted

. Plays well? Intonation OK? You'll need a gig bag now for the little fella to live in

MartinBush · November 2021

Plays well with no fret buzz (one of the others I mentioned had buzz, can't recall which).

Intonation I need to look into, but it sounds fine to me. This is my first acoustic in decades so I guess I am, in some ways, a beginner and this instrument suits me fine.

I'm glad I went to look at the guitars in person and would commend the staff at PMT Oxford to anyone thinking of going in. Checking the prices against their online stock was a good touch too.

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Decent guitars in the £200/ £300 range

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