Best acoustic under £1000 ??? (updated price limit)

SlopeSoarer · March 2023

Just spotted this on PMT and I'm very tempted but I don't do rush decisions! SALE ENDS TONIGHT, but it sort of fits my brief of what I'm personally looking for... uhmmm!

Fender PS-220e Parlour OV all solid with case £392

Regarding best I haven't got a clue but just read a decent review on it.

tony99 · March 2023

SlopeSoarer said:

Just spotted this on PMT and I'm very tempted but I don't do rush decisions! SALE ENDS TONIGHT, but it sort of fits my brief of what I'm personally looking for... uhmmm!

Fender PS-220e Parlour OV all solid with case £392

Regarding best I haven't got a clue but just read a decent review on it.

sure is a looker, pickguard is ace

theatreanchor · March 2023

Grampa said:

Not particularly big, but very impressive sounding with excellent build quality....Used Taylor GS-Mini?

This.

stimpsonslostson · March 2023

When I was looking for my acoustic I tried everything I could get my hands on that cost under £600.

I ended up with a Faith Naked Mercury- it's a wonderful guitar and plays beautifully.

Rocky1991 · March 2023

Assuming you go new some all solid options

https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/faith/faith-naked-saturn-electro £19 pound over, but you get the electro part
https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/faith/faith-naked-series-neptune-acoustic-guitar well within

Rocky1991 · March 2023

https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/170306308363008-9350173--alvarez-guitars-masterworks-mfa66ceshb-folk-cutaway-wit?gclid=CjwKCAjw5pShBhB_EiwAvmnNVzKXcCVB7bGgrhDpqQE0758X1Ctr1T5udHDuWt9slPznI60nUyS10hoCZAMQAvD_BwE

That is nice for 500 all solid too

tony99 · March 2023

So going off all the great suggestions in here, I might be prepared to push the budget a bit. What do we think of these:

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ll16-are-acoustic-natural-with-hard-gigbag.htm

they look great for the price

SlopeSoarer · March 2023

I just Googled and found this at Peach....

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ll6-are-acoustic-natural-with-hard-gigbag.htm%3Fopt%3D39544?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiZqhBhCJARIsACHHEH8qNF5_wCm0PcGhYHjclY8xAgOkaXHWAZHhC_WgI5IGhwmgco9qkvAaAhs9EALw_wcB

Now in budget as well!

Whitecat · March 2023

tony99 said:

So going off all the great suggestions in here, I might be prepared to push the budget a bit. What do we think of these:

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ll16-are-acoustic-natural-with-hard-gigbag.htm

they look great for the price

Extremely good guitars and that’s a superb price!

tony99 · March 2023

SlopeSoarer said:

I just Googled and found this at Peach....

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ll6-are-acoustic-natural-with-hard-gigbag.htm%3Fopt%3D39544?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiZqhBhCJARIsACHHEH8qNF5_wCm0PcGhYHjclY8xAgOkaXHWAZHhC_WgI5IGhwmgco9qkvAaAhs9EALw_wcB

Now in budget as well!

Yeah I think it came up earlier in the thread if I'm not mistaken (I probably am)

See the link I posted above though? Worth a few hundred more for all solid?

SlopeSoarer · March 2023

tony99 said:

SlopeSoarer said:

I just Googled and found this at Peach....

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ll6-are-acoustic-natural-with-hard-gigbag.htm%3Fopt%3D39544?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiZqhBhCJARIsACHHEH8qNF5_wCm0PcGhYHjclY8xAgOkaXHWAZHhC_WgI5IGhwmgco9qkvAaAhs9EALw_wcB

Now in budget as well!

Yeah I think it came up earlier in the thread if I'm not mistaken (I probably am)

See the link I posted above though? Worth a few hundred more for all solid?

Oh my dyslexia or skim reading missed that relevant point:-)

My gut feeling is it will be worth the extra money and you won't always be questioning whether or not you should have spent that little extra (not played either)!

tony99 · April 2023

Tried a few today (will add in the models in a bit)

Seagull Maritime - pretty nice but didn't really wow me, fit and finish was ok but could've been better

Furch - this was a great sounding guitar, felt really well made too

Fender Paramount - this one did wow me, knocked spots off some more expensive ones, very bright, rang like a bell

Gibson G45 - with soundport hole, sounded utterly fantastic, wasn't keen on the satin feel

Yamaha LL16 - still the front runner for me, yes a few quid more than I intended but seems worth it and I can sell another to fund it

Dave_Mc · April 2023

tony99 said:

Tried a few today (will add in the models in a bit)

Seagull Maritime - pretty nice but didn't really wow me, fit and finish was ok but could've been better

Furch - this was a great sounding guitar, felt really well made too

Fender Paramount - this one did wow me, knocked spots off some more expensive ones, very bright, rang like a bell

Gibson G45 - with soundport hole, sounded utterly fantastic, wasn't keen on the satin feel

Yamaha LL16 - still the front runner for me, yes a few quid more than I intended but seems worth it and I can sell another to fund it

That's very interesting- years ago, when the Fender Paramounts had just been released (2017/8-ish? something like that) I tried a Furch (what would be the Blue now, it had some annoying arcane model number then!) next to a Paramount and the Furch absolutely smoked it. But it could be that the Fenders are better now, or maybe I just tried a bad one etc.. Kind of annoying if they have improved them a lot, as there were some really good deals on them recently that I chickened out of because of not being that keen on the one I tried!

Also very interesting about the Gibson- I haven't managed to try it yet, again some very decent deals on them.

Stratavarious · April 2023

Yamaha… always.. if under £1000

guitarjack66 · April 2023

Stratavarious said:

Yamaha… always.. if under £1000

If you can get on with their neck and fretboard.

tony99 · April 2023

Stratavarious said:

Yamaha… always.. if under £1000

I'm thinking the LL16 is the way I'm gonna go but have now spotted the FG3 and I'd like to give one of those a try if I can find one in a shop close by

BigPaulie · April 2023

guitarjack66 said:

Stratavarious said:

Yamaha… always.. if under £1000

If you can get on with their neck and fretboard.

What did you find to be wrong with the neck and fretboard?

I've got an LL16 ARE and it is a fantastic guitar. The price Peach sell them at cannot be beaten. I have replaced the nut on mine because my preference is for a slightly wider string spacing than the original nut was cut for, but that is purely personal preference. There was absolutely nothing about the neck, nut, fretboard that i could not live with. An eminently agreeable guitar to play.

tony99 · April 2023

BigPaulie said:

guitarjack66 said:

Stratavarious said:

Yamaha… always.. if under £1000

If you can get on with their neck and fretboard.

What did you find to be wrong with the neck and fretboard?

I've got an LL16 ARE and it is a fantastic guitar. The price Peach sell them at cannot be beaten. I have replaced the nut on mine because my preference is for a slightly wider string spacing than the original nut was cut for, but that is purely personal preference. There was absolutely nothing about the neck, nut, fretboard that i could not live with. An eminently agreeable guitar to play.

Well I definitely got on with the one I tried the other day; it felt perfect

Soupman · April 2023

@tony99 said

Well I definitely got on with the one I tried the other day; it felt perfect

What more do you need?

guitarjack66 · April 2023

BigPaulie said:

guitarjack66 said:

Stratavarious said:

Yamaha… always.. if under £1000

If you can get on with their neck and fretboard.

What did you find to be wrong with the neck and fretboard?

I've got an LL16 ARE and it is a fantastic guitar. The price Peach sell them at cannot be beaten. I have replaced the nut on mine because my preference is for a slightly wider string spacing than the original nut was cut for, but that is purely personal preference. There was absolutely nothing about the neck, nut, fretboard that i could not live with. An eminently agreeable guitar to play.

Of the small sample of Yamaha acoustics,and a Pacifica electric,I just found the fretboard and/or string spacing a little too narrow. Maybe even the fretboard was a little too flat also? Like I say,it's a small sample but it just didn't feel comfortable. I desperately want to acquire a reasonable standard Yamaha but early impressions have not been too good.

Tannin · April 2023

I ran into a used Yamaha not so long ago for a ridiculous $999 (about £545) - all-solid, made in Taiwan. Now I don't know much about £300 and £500 guitars and I'm not sure that I'm a good enough player to know the difference between a £4000 instrument and and £8000 one, but I reckon I know that midrange £1000-£3000 segment as well as the next bloke and I'm telling you, that $999 Taiwanese Yamaha was worth $2000 all day long, $2500 (£1400) if you were feeling generous. Very much a straight ahead, middle of the road dreadnought with nothing so very different about it on paper, but executed so very, very well. New, you could sell it alongside Maton Artists ($3500) and Martin D28s ($4500) and it wouldn't be out of place. Just a a lovely instrument.

But a 42.5mm nut! I'd never get used to that, never learn to play it cleanly and get the sounds out of it that it was capable of producing. I toyed with the idea of buying it as a present for my brother (who is an electric player and wouldn't mind the horrid little nut) but in the end I shrugged and let it go.

Damn shame, it was a corker of a guitar.

Modellista · April 2023

Modellista said:

Yamaha LL6.

/thread

SlopeSoarer said:
I just Googled and found this at Peach....

https://www.peachguitars.com/yamaha-ll6-are-acoustic-natural-with-hard-gigbag.htm%3Fopt%3D39544?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiZqhBhCJARIsACHHEH8qNF5_wCm0PcGhYHjclY8xAgOkaXHWAZHhC_WgI5IGhwmgco9qkvAaAhs9EALw_wcB

Now in budget as well!

Told you so is my favourite phrase

Modellista · April 2023

Winny_Pooh said:

Modellista said:

Yamaha LL6.

/thread

Never played one even remotely as good as a Martin or Gibson but they can be good value for money.

Interesting. My experience is the exact opposite, my Gibson J35 got sold, D18s have never wowed me, the £6k Martins GuitarGuitar get in from time to time are nice but you're paying for cosmetics and branding largely imho. I'm selling an Eastman J45 type because it just isn't as good tonally as a Yamaha LL6. And the LL6 is comparable to the LL26, possibly even slightly better in certain ways because it's a bit louder.

It's all in the eye of the beholder of course.

Modellista · April 2023

Tannin said:

I ran into a used Yamaha not so long ago for a ridiculous $999 (about £545) - all-solid, made in Taiwan. Now I don't know much about £300 and £500 guitars and I'm not sure that I'm a good enough player to know the difference between a £4000 instrument and and £8000 one, but I reckon I know that midrange £1000-£3000 segment as well as the next bloke and I'm telling you, that $999 Taiwanese Yamaha was worth $2000 all day long, $2500 (£1400) if you were feeling generous. Very much a straight ahead, middle of the road dreadnought with nothing so very different about it on paper, but executed so very, very well. New, you could sell it alongside Maton Artists ($3500) and Martin D28s ($4500) and it wouldn't be out of place. Just a a lovely instrument.

But a 42.5mm nut! I'd never get used to that, never learn to play it cleanly and get the sounds out of it that it was capable of producing. I toyed with the idea of buying it as a present for my brother (who is an electric player and wouldn't mind the horrid little nut) but in the end I shrugged and let it go.

Damn shame, it was a corker of a guitar.

Not sure I follow this, please enlighten me. In 25 years of playing I couldn't have told you how wide a nut is supposed to be, so having Googled it, apparently 42.86mm (1" 11/16) is Martin standard width. I don't think anyone describes a Martin nut as "horrid little", so does that 0.36mm really make a difference?

Anyway if we're talking the LL6 they have a 44mm nut so there's plenty of room.

gordiji · April 2023

I got an LL16D (bling) about 2 months ago. It's amost perfect, faultless and sounds excellent. If i was to buy again now it would be the same guitar. I'll put some 11's on and drop the action a tad when the elixir 12's it came with start to dull, then it will be perfect. Good luck.

Tannin · April 2023

Martin standard width is 44.5mm - that's massively wider than 42.5mm. Instantly obvious. 44mm (the most common nut width on modern acoustic guitars) is almost as roomy. Very few guitars made outside Japan go as narrow as 42.5mm. It's not unheard of, but certainly uncommon. (And awful in the hand.)

Creed_Clicks · April 2023

What about the Big Baby Taylor. I always found them very comfortable to play.

tony99 · April 2023

Sorry if this has confused things but thread title updated. Willing to spend a bit more so let's say 1k. It's still the yamaha LL16 isn't it?

bertie · April 2023

can we wait until £2000 ? end of next week ?

tony99 · April 2023

bertie said:

can we wait until £2000 ? end of next week ?

best sell a few of those pasties then Bertram

no I decided to push my limit up given some of the suggestions, but there's a tele going on the chopping block to fund it now

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Best acoustic under £1000 ??? (updated price limit)

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