Recommendations for medium-bodied acoustic please (up to £500)

Andy79 · June 2022

Vintage are good. As good as many others
The Paul Brett Statesboro Whiskey Sour is unbelievable for £96. Don’t scoff until you try one. The reason it’s good in my opinion is it’s incredibly light. Lots of Chinese guitars are way heavier than they should be. Likely for a reason. If you find a light weight guitar, chances are it will be livelier than a more expensive heavy one.

Dave_Mc · June 2022

DartmoorHedgehog said:

earwighoney said:

If she's going to be in a student house soon, I'd factor in a good case as well (just go for a Hiscox, expensive in the short term but not in the long run!), tell her to keep the guitar in the case when she's not playing it and it should be ok.

Case goes without question! I find it bizarre that new guitars are sold without cases - although I play a lot of guitar these days, I'm originally a wind player, and if a shop sold somebody a clarinet/sax/flute and just handed it to them bare they'd get it straight back! But with a guitar it seems to be OK.

RK is another make that wasn't in my mind, so thanks for adding that to the list. We'll see what there is available to try when we make a trip to the shops.

Ah I just noticed this- the Dowina won't come with a case. I'm not sure if anything will come with a hardcase (new) for under £500 (but I could be wrong), but some things may come with a gigbag at that kind of money. I think the Faiths and (all-solid) Guilds do, at least.

BigPaulie · June 2022

The Yamaha LS6 doesn't come with a hard case, but the gig bag is pretty substantial. One of the best I've seen.

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ls6-are-brown-sunburst-electro-acoustic-with-hard-bag.htm?opt=32976&gclid=CjwKCAjwquWVBhBrEiwAt1KmwhlIF5YPwqRDEsWaVA5XfB5DAvo3VEJkHMspRPtQI6JgxPtArh6tGhoCO-UQAvD_BwE

BigPaulie · June 2022

If your daughter likes the retro look, the Recording King 11 series is all solid and has a pickup.

No case, but you can get it in the UK for about £380 which leaves enough over for a case and setup.

https://www.recordingking.com/ros11fe3tbr

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

@Dave_Mc that Dowina does sound interesting. Slightly more expensive than I had in mind, but possibly worth looking out for (but may be so rare there's no chance of finding a used one).

Price of the case isn't really a deal-breaker - my guitar cases have mostly cost me around £50 to £100 (Gator etc) and have survived piling in vans with heavy amps and being in the "pub corner kit heap" for years. I still stand by my opinion that it's taking the piss to sell a £500+ instrument with no case though (and guitars are relatively cheap - £500 gets you a bottom-of-the-range "cheap and cheerful" Chinese tenor sax, yet you still expect it to come in a functional case).

Jez6345789 · June 2022

Going to 2nd and 3rd a GS mini punch way above their size the mahogany version is excellent if she does not like light wood.

depending on her height size the GS mini is super comfortable and an OM or dread a bit of a handful.

But these days you are spoilt for good acoustics for not much money I also own a vintage 300 mahogany and it knocks a much more expensive Martin ooo into a cocked hat although mine did not come with a pickup but at the price easy to add and stay in budget

Mellish · June 2022

If you're not on a strict budget, Taylor GS Mini - lovely guitar, and Hiscox do a case specifically for that model

EDIT
so it would work out a bit more than £500. You'd get the guitar for that but the Hiscox case would be an extra £177.

TheMadMick · June 2022

My second best guitar is a PRS SE A40E (T40E would be similar I'd guess) and it comes at £500.00 less £1.00 at GuitarGuitar. Fills all the criteria and sounds wonderful once run in. However, you may need to budget a few quid to get it set up just as she likes it.

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

Lots of votes for the Taylor - hopefully one of the local shops may have one of those we can try. Some of the more obscure makes may not be so easy to find.
We might get out at the weekend and see what's around in Exeter/Okehampton shops.

Jez6345789 said:

depending on her height size the GS mini is super comfortable and an OM or dread a bit of a handful.

I find dreadnoughts horribly uncomfortable, and I'm quite tall. And quite boomy, but I think I just prefer a brighter sound (my mahogany parlour suits me very well for my tastes). But I think something slightly bigger-bodied would suit my daughter's playing better.

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

TheMadMick said:

My second best guitar is a PRS SE A40E (T40E would be similar I'd guess) and it comes at £500.00 less £1.00 at GuitarGuitar. Fills all the criteria and sounds wonderful once run in. However, you may need to budget a few quid to get it set up just as she likes it.

I didn't even know PRS made acoustics. To be honest the name puts me off (like I could never bring myself to drive a BMW or Audi, however good the engineering may be!) and those horrible bird inlays... but it's not going to be my guitar so I'll keep an open mind

bertie · June 2022

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Lots of votes for the Taylor - hopefully one of the local shops may have one of those we can try. Some of the more obscure makes may not be so easy to find.
We might get out at the weekend and see what's around in Exeter/Okehampton shops.

not sure there's a music shop in Okey mate - if there is I doubt there's f*ck all worth looking at - I'll ask me "homeys"

bertie · June 2022

double post for some reason ? meh

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

bertie said:

DartmoorHedgehog said:

Lots of votes for the Taylor - hopefully one of the local shops may have one of those we can try. Some of the more obscure makes may not be so easy to find.
We might get out at the weekend and see what's around in Exeter/Okehampton shops.

not sure there's a music shop in Okey mate - if there is I doubt there's f*ck all worth looking at - I'll ask me "homeys"

There's a weird place that sells coffee and music kit - apparently not bad (if I can stand the smell for long enough to look at guitars). Obviously a few more in Exeter, including Mansons, but Okehampton is sort of on the way if we go round that side of the moor. Otherwise it's Hobgoblin in Wadebridge, but obviously that takes quite a bit longer. Plymouth's a bit dead now for music shops - only really Sounds Unlimited left, who are excellent for strings and stuff but he doesn't really keep that many guitars - few Fender and Tanglewood acoustics usually but we'll get more variety in Exeter.

Tannin · June 2022

Might take you a while - and I mean a very long while - to get a particular-size Hiscox case. A chap I know in the trade has been waiting 10 months for his Hiscox case order, and it's not a particularly odd size or anything, just delay after delay.

Taylor? Really? The GS Mini is an astonishingly good guitar for what it is. On the other hand, it is astonishingly dear for what it is. Don't get me wrong, Taylor make a decent guitar, but if you can't find something 30% better for the same money, you're not looking very hard.

bertie · June 2022

DartmoorHedgehog said:

There's a weird place that sells coffee and music kit - apparently not bad (if I can stand the smell for long enough to look at guitars). Obviously a few more in Exeter, including Mansons, but Okehampton is sort of on the way if we go round that side

https://www.facebook.com/Musicandbean/

if you do head north to brizzle, might be worth going an extra 20 miles and checking out Intersound in Dursley

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

Tannin said:

Taylor? Really? The GS Mini is an astonishingly good guitar for what it is. On the other hand, it is astonishingly dear for what it is. Don't get me wrong, Taylor make a decent guitar, but if you can't find something 30% better for the same money, you're not looking very hard.

That's the trouble with asking for opinions on a public forum I suppose - everybody has a different opinion (and all equally valid)
Don't worry, we'll look at as many as we can before we pick something - I was just angling for some ideas to bear in mind while we're out looking.

Frankly my own personal experience of acoustics is really limited to "my Tanglewood does what I want and sounds good to me and wasn't expensive" and "my old Hondo 12-string dread is really uncomfortable to play but useful when I want a 12-string sound" - so anything else to add to that is useful

Tannin · June 2022

No, no, my opinion is more equally valid than any other equally valid opinion which is obviously less valid. Trust me on this.

But jokes aside, trust your ears. The cheap Taylors (1 Series, 2 Series, Baby Taylor, and etc.) are very competently and reliably put together. You won't get a lemon and you will get something very playable with a decent sound. However, they are very dear for what they are. Pick a cheap Taylor model (2 Series or below). Now, pick up four or five other guitars in the same price bracket. Play them all and let your ears make the judgement. The Taylor probably won't be the worst one you try (Taylor's production quality control is outstanding, they don't make duds) but it certainly won't be the best one. Trust your ears.

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

bertie said:

DartmoorHedgehog said:

There's a weird place that sells coffee and music kit - apparently not bad (if I can stand the smell for long enough to look at guitars). Obviously a few more in Exeter, including Mansons, but Okehampton is sort of on the way if we go round that side

https://www.facebook.com/Musicandbean/

if you do head north to brizzle, might be worth going an extra 20 miles and checking out Intersound in Dursley

That's the one - apparently it's not a bad music shop despite the hipster coffee gimmick. I'd quite like to have a look anyway while we're out.

Exeter's definitely on the cards obviously, could go as far as Bristol (my home town but I haven't been there for years - probably wouldn't recognise most of the town centre now). Still got family in Brighton as well, which is a fantastic area for music shops, but clearly not a "nip out for the afternoon" option - due a visit that way though, so that's always a possibility later.

The danger with the "if we're going to Bristol then might as well go to Dursley" is getting drawn into "then it's only a bit further to Birmingham, London, etc". Similarly "budget was £500 but instrument x can be had for £650, which is only a bit over - but then instrument y is only a bit more than that at £750", then before we know it we've spent £1000 (spending money on musical instruments is never a bad thing in my opinion, but it's easy to get carried away with the "just a bit more gets me this"). But I get your point

bertie · June 2022

@DartmoorHedgehog ;

I getcha.................

at the end of the day, for all "we" recommend with what ever reasoning is behind it

a) your daughter's got to bond with it
b) got to be available and in budget

Mellish · June 2022

All we can really do is point out models that fit the OP's budget.

It's his daughter who will decide. But good luck mate, hope she finds one she likes. And let us know what happens

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

bertie said:

@DartmoorHedgehog ;

I getcha.................

at the end of the day, for all "we" recommend with what ever reasoning is behind it

a) your daughter's got to bond with it
b) got to be available and in budget

Yes, I think the most important things are that she likes it (both for comfort and less importantly looks) and that it can be had for what I feel is sensible money. And "sensible money" isn't purely based on what I can afford to give her - even if we were seriously wealthy it would be silly to have a really valuable guitar when she'll soon be off living the student life (and when it's plugged in at an open mic in a pub full of people will there really be any benefit?)

So yes, we'll have a few trips out to whatever shops we can find over the next few weeks/months and see what we can find around that loose £500 mark, bearing in mind any comments people have made on here - we may find we disagree with all of you when we try a few, but it's a place to start. If an unknown-branded cheapie ticks all our boxes and she prefers it to another £500 instrument then bonus!

Her birthday is next month, but there's no rush - we get on really well and have a lot in common so the time we spend together looking will be part of the present really.

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

Mellish said:

But good luck mate, hope she finds one she likes. And let us know what happens

Thanks, and I will update the thread when we buy something (or possibly before if something interesting comes up while we're looking). As I said though, there's no rush so it may be a few weeks before anything much happens

bertie · June 2022

@DartmoorHedgehog ;well if you do find yourself in your motherland, and think about heading north, give me a shout, always good to have an excuse to go up to Dursel

Kilgore · June 2022

Tannin said:

Taylor? Really? The GS Mini is an astonishingly good guitar for what it is. On the other hand, it is astonishingly dear for what it is. Don't get me wrong, Taylor make a decent guitar, but if you can't find something 30% better for the same money, you're not looking very hard.

There are a heck of a lot people worldwide who weren't looking very hard.

Or maybe it's something to do with:

1 Small, comfortable and portable.

2 Consistently excellent finish.

3 Easy playability.

4 Volume and tone that belies it's size.

5 Sustainable and ethical timber sourcing.

6 Employee owned company with fair labour practises.

(I mentioned 5 & 6 because you bring them up quite a bit in relation to Asian guitar manufacturers)

Under £500 here in the UK.

"Something 30% better for the same money"

Is there a formula for working that out?

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

Oi, no fighting on my thread

A few people suggested the Taylor, somebody said "yes they're good but possibly more expensive than some other equally good guitars", somebody else says "yes but the price is justified because they're nice people and aren't doing anything underhand to cut costs".

All valid opinions, and aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

bertie · June 2022

new they're a tad under £500

just looked on FB Marketplace.............. used they're all well under £500, most with the "hard foam" case......... some are under £400 (as is one in Newquay.................)

there's a 614 in Brizzle for £650

just sayin like

Mellish · June 2022

And if your daughter liked a GS Mini enough to want it, and all that - well, I got a Hiscox case through a dealer within two weeks about three months ago.

The situation is obviously different where @Tannin's friend is based. I read an earlier post about this somewhere. He's having a heck of a problem getting a Hiscox case.

Dave_Mc · June 2022

DartmoorHedgehog said:

@Dave_Mc that Dowina does sound interesting. Slightly more expensive than I had in mind, but possibly worth looking out for (but may be so rare there's no chance of finding a used one).

Price of the case isn't really a deal-breaker - my guitar cases have mostly cost me around £50 to £100 (Gator etc) and have survived piling in vans with heavy amps and being in the "pub corner kit heap" for years. I still stand by my opinion that it's taking the piss to sell a £500+ instrument with no case though (and guitars are relatively cheap - £500 gets you a bottom-of-the-range "cheap and cheerful" Chinese tenor sax, yet you still expect it to come in a functional case).

Yeah. I had to buy mine online without trying first, I admit I was a bit iffy about that! Was super-relieved when it turned up and had a really good setup and in really good condition- but there's no guarantee that the next one would be the same! You're probably right about used ones, too (I haven't looked, to be clear)- I imagine they're not that common, plus the one I have is an exclusive model for a shop in Germany (with a branch in London, admittedly, but they don't seem to have any in stock here). Add that to the fact that MusicStore/DV247's prices on them are quite a bit better than prices here (in the region of about £200 cheaper I think!), and even if you did find one second-hand here, it may not be much cheaper than a new one from DV247/MusicStore!

That's true about the case- I suppose looked at the other way you could argue that you're getting really pretty decent guitars for very little money compared to most other instruments, and the one downside you have with that is that you might have to buy a case separately. Also, some people actively don't want a case (me for one, at least for electric guitars) since they take up so much room. But for acoustics I think having some kind of case is probably more useful for keeping them in a decent climate etc. so I would tend to agree with you there

elkay · June 2022

I see a lot of love here for the GS Mini. I used to have one, and yes, they're nice enough. However, these have an ultra-short 23.5" scale length, and getting established on this could make transitioning to full scale length guitars sometime in the future somewhat problematic. I believe your daughter would be better off with a more standard 25.5" scale length OM, or perhaps a slightly shorter scale length 000.

Speaking of 000's, just a couple of weeks ago I picked up a virtually new Martin 0002Xe for £390, which turned out to be surprisingly good. I have a 000-18 which costs more than four times as much, but the 0002Xe is no slouch and holds up well against the 000-18. I am also enjoying this 0002Xe more than I did the GS Mini.

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

elkay said:

I see a lot of love here for the GS Mini. I used to have one, and yes, they're nice enough. However, these have an ultra-short 23.5" scale length, and getting established on this could make transitioning to full scale length guitars sometime in the future somewhat problematic. I believe your daughter would be better off with a more standard 25.5" scale length OM, or perhaps a slightly shorter scale length 000.

That is pretty short - I think the scale length even on my little Tanglewood parlour (which is what she usually borrows) is about 25.5", so that may well be a black mark against the Taylor.

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Recommendations for medium-bodied acoustic please (up to £500)

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