New acoustic acquisition - decision time

Christeafur · January 2022

So I am in the fortunate position of having some cash for a new guitar.

I have a brook tavy at the moment - it’s my forever guitar so something to complement.
I have looked at a few and the main ones standing out are

larrivee 00040r
auden Chester sunburst maple back and sides
jwj om

I have a ceiling of £2000. Are there any other ideas or thoughts on the ones above.

not a big fan of martins and Taylor’s

Tannin · January 2022

Take your time and play lots. Make a pest of yourself visiting every shop you possibly can and trying out everything they have which is faintly possible. Plan on spending months doing that, at very least one month. There is no hurry!

Most guitars you can eliminate very quickly. Sometimes all you need to do is strum it and pick a few open string notes without even picking it up off the stand. Plink, plink, nope. Don't waste time on non-starters.

As you go along, take note of the ones that really stand out for you. Make a list. (It will be too long. That's OK.) Little by little, you will feel forced to add yet more instruments to the list of possibles. That's OK too.

Every so often, go through the list and cross out the least attractive ones. They will be nice guitars, but you can only buy one. With some it's very hard to make a decision and you agonise over the red pencil. With others, there can be no question, there is no way you are going to cross them off. You will know which is which. Cross of the former group - in reality you are always going to buy one of the few in the latter group.

Get it down to a short list, just the very cream of the crop. This should have about six guitars on it (give or take).

Back to the shops: revisit those six taking your Brook with you.* Play the candidate, play the Brook. Play the candidate again. You are looking for a guitar which is different but equal, a guitar which doesn't do what the Brook does, but does what it does do so well that you would from time to time put the Brook down to play the other one.

One by one, ever so reluctantly, you will find yourself able to cross another one out. Eventually, you get down to your best two, or at most three. Revisit those two, compare them to the Brook once again. Try to play them only a few minutes apart if you can. (Or side-by-side, of course, if you are lucky and they both happen to be in the same shop.)

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* Taking a known, familiar guitar is a must when shopping. It is so very easy to decide that Guitar X is a beauty when you have no point of reference. You are in an unfamiliar room, with unfamiliar acoustics, guessing at what the thing might sound like on a stage or at home in your music room. Put Guitar X down for a minute and play your own familiar instrument for a moment: you are no longer lost, you can tell exactly where Guitar X fits into the sonic landscape.

If you can't take your own guitar with you for some reason (perhaps you are just having a first quick look at a few guitars in a shop on the other side of town), at least cleanse your aural palate now and then by playing something they have in stock which is roughly familiar. (A J-45, say, if you know Gibsons, or whatever they have that you know the sound of.)

EreforGuitarGear · January 2022

I took a plunge into an emerald (or two), I personally am a fan of their x-30. My Taylor (‘03 414Ce Ltd) sits unplayed now as do a number of my other acoustics. I appreciate that carbon fibre isn’t for everyone but I’m happy I found the x-30 and now seem to be selling off my other acoustics.

Christeafur · January 2022

Thanks for the thoughts. I have tried my own against the others - so I have a frame of reference. Just wondered if there were some others that people thought would be worth throwing into the mix

bertie · January 2022

I think the main "differential" with the 3 you've listed (apart from Id never heard of JWJ) - is that the Larry is a 12 fretter and the other two being OMs (I assume) will be 14.

Like you, apart from their imminent playability, no longer a fan of Taylor (ex 612 and 614 owner)

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New acoustic acquisition - decision time

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