Recommendations in the £1-1.5k range

Acdeezee86 · March 2023

Hi all, a friend of mine is looking to buy himself a proper acoustic after years of playing cheap ones and is willing to spend around the £1k mark new or second hand. Sadly, I have no wisdom to share with him on acoustics so I thought I'd ask here. He plays various genres, primarily at home, and is looking for a versatile instrument.

Any recommendations in terms of brands or models that would be worth looking into? Anything he ought to keep in mind or consider?

bertie · March 2023

wow, this will be the proverbial "how long is a piece of string" and that really isnt a lot of information to go on, considering the options and types available

What does he play now ? make/model - is he after a big loud strummer ? finger picker ? does he need on board electronics ? cut away ? does he have a fav player that may provide some help

When I see "versatile" for me, my first suggestion would be OM size / style or GA, or something *14 in the Taylor sizing

RickLucas · March 2023

Blueridge.

Acdeezee86 · March 2023

hah I was afraid this might be a pandora's box kind of thing!

Soupman · March 2023

Yamaha's seem to be well thought of, in terms of build, quality and value for money?

bertie · March 2023

OK using £1.5 as the limit

Furch / Stonebridge
Lower end Taylor
Eastman

would he consider used ? Where is he based/near - so as to recommend any shops nearby

Acdeezee86 · March 2023

Thanks all, this is helpful so far. He's London based and would consider used too. Recommendations would be great thanks

He's been playing entry-level yamaha type dreadnoughts so far.
I'm not sure he really knows in terms of size - he'll need to see what works.

woody · March 2023

I would always have said furch or eastman at this price range,but the recent purchace of a Bsg dreadnought has changed that. Right up there with higher end usa small shop guitars imho and if you are prepared to take your time,they fo come up occasionally at very good money.

bertie · March 2023

Acdeezee86 said:

Thanks all, this is helpful so far. He's London based and would consider used too. Recommendations would be great thanks

He's been playing entry-level yamaha type dreadnoughts so far.
I'm not sure he really knows in terms of size - he'll need to see what works.

OK - if he was closer to the wild west, I may have a Furch OM33SR for sale -he could come and try

gordiji · March 2023

I just bought a Yamaha LL16D, my first 'proper' acoustic.It's magnificent. Flawless finish. Sounds great no matter what's played on it, loud or quiet. Not boomy. Caveat being i no nothing about acoustics but my eyes and ears deceive me not.

ditchboy · March 2023

Larrivee or Furch.

Winny_Pooh · March 2023

bertie said:

OK using £1.5 as the limit

Furch / Stonebridge
Lower end Taylor
Eastman

would he consider used ? Where is he based/near - so as to recommend any shops nearby

+10

sev112 · March 2023

Dowina - can get hand made and great woods at tha5 price

goldtop · March 2023

gordiji said:

I just bought a Yamaha LL16D, my first 'proper' acoustic.It's magnificent. Flawless finish. Sounds great no matter what's played on it, loud or quiet. Not boomy. Caveat being i no nothing about acoustics but my eyes and ears deceive me not.

Reassuring - I hope to pick up something like the slightly smaller LS16/LS26 on my Japan trip.

ScreamingDave · March 2023

I’d say go to a lot of shops, play a lot of guitars and buy the one you love playing the most, bearing in mind it might not be the one that uses up all your budget. You don’t actually have to spend all you can afford

Mellish · March 2023

OP, I'd echo @ScreamingDave. Get to your local store and try as many in your price range as you can.

Many here do and will do it just this way, trying every brand we can find within our budget.

Good luck!

bertie · March 2023

Acdeezee86 said:

Thanks all, this is helpful so far. He's London based and would consider used too. Recommendations would be great thanks

tell him to get up to Maks Guitars - looks like they have some nice Eastman's (below) and around £1k - £1500, OMs Dreads and others

http://www.maksguitars.co.uk/

Acdeezee86 · March 2023

Thanks all this has been super helpful, I will report back to him.

TheOtherDennis · March 2023

Along with the others, I'd recommend playing as many as possible, and not just for a few chords, either. Give them a good work out.

To those brands already mentioned, I'd add Faith. Well made, good looks in a variety of finishes, and very well made.

And as it happens, I have a used L'Arrivee OM-02 potentially available, that's smack in the middle of the budget available...[whistles innocently]

bertie · March 2023

TheOtherDennis said:

.

And as it happens, I have a used L'Arrivee OM-02 potentially available, that's smack in the middle of the budget available...[whistles innocently]

hey you get off, Ive got my Furch up there first

Tannin · March 2023

Used Furch or used Larivee, both from forum members .... that's a couple of great options to look at.

gordiji · March 2023

goldtop said:

gordiji said:

I just bought a Yamaha LL16D, my first 'proper' acoustic.It's magnificent. Flawless finish. Sounds great no matter what's played on it, loud or quiet. Not boomy. Caveat being i no nothing about acoustics but my eyes and ears deceive me not.

Reassuring - I hope to pick up something like the slightly smaller LS16/LS26 on my Japan trip.

Check out JP Cormiers youtubes on the LS26 (he reviews 3, 26 36 56)), he raves about the whole series and is a joy to listen to. You're lucky to go to Japan where you can try Yamaha's until the cows come home. I bought from thomann and have enough confidence in Yamaha to buy blind knowing i could return. Loved it the moment i un-boxed it. Good luck.

richman6100 · March 2023

Second hand, he should be able to get something decent from any of the following:

Yamaha
Eastman
Auden
Furch
Larrivee

Body size is probably the first thing to decide (OM, GA, Dreadnought etc). Then he can see which of the models from various brands suit him and his playing style best. Tone woods will make quite a difference with acoustics, so worth trying different combinations too if he gets the chance.

Ultimately, there's no right or wrong, just what he prefers.

Devil#20 · March 2023

bertie said:

OK using £1.5 as the limit

Furch / Stonebridge
Lower end Taylor
Eastman

would he consider used ? Where is he based/near - so as to recommend any shops nearby

This. You need to decide whether you want something for finger picking or strumming. Dreads are usually electro acoustic and OM or 000 are better for finger picking and acoustic only. If you want something inbetween then a Grand Auditorium probably your best bet. If you prefer the couch potato guitar then a parlour or 00 or whatever the Taylor equivalent is; like what that rich ginger bloke plays. Something or other Taylor Mini or Baby Taylor or Big Baby Taylor. Taylor's are great but it's a law of diminishing returns and those abalone sound hole inlays won't make it sound better and you're better off with 2 kidneys. Eastman I suspect are most bang for your buck. Superbly hand crafted guitars and proving that not everything made in China is bobbins. Put many of the bigger names to shame.

DavidR · March 2023

If your friend has spent a while playing cheap acoustics, they must already be pretty well versed. If I had never played a decent acoustic and had £1K to spend , I would start with Yamaha and go from there. A trip to Yamaha London on Wardour Street would introduce them to what's achievable.

You have to ask, might they already have got a decent instrument? 'Cheap' these days frequently does not equate with 'bad'. And 'paying more' does not always equate with 'better'. Shop around. Try out lots. Avoid the big brands where, at the mid price point, name is exaggerated over quality.

There's some gold amongst cheap acoustics. Yamaha, Eastman, Vintage, Epiphone, Sigma, Ibanez...........

Happy hunting. :-)

Yamaha L Series | LL16 ARE - Natural - Peach Guitars
Eastman E6OM-TC Guitar with Thermo Cured Top Hard Case (projectmusic.net)
Vintage V300MH Mahogany Acoustic Guitar | Bax Music (bax-shop.co.uk)
Epiphone Inspired By Gibson Hummingbird Aged Cherry Sunburst (pmtonline.co.uk)
Sigma SG Series SDM-SG5 All Solid Electro Acoustic | PMT Online
Ibanez AE295LTD Natural High Gloss Electro-Acoustic Guitar | Bax Music (bax-shop.co.uk)

........and many more!!

Acdeezee86 · March 2023

Thank you everyone this is a treasure trove of information, I've relayed all the messages over to my pal. Might get in touch with those of you that have a guitar for sale too. thanks again!

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Recommendations in the £1-1.5k range

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