Recommendations for acoustics

guitarmangler · June 2023

Hello to you.

Please could you recommend me some acoustic guitars to look at? I am mostly an electric player , with a little bit of classical, but need a steel string acoustic, with some type of pickup, for a run of gigs I’ve got coming up .

My primary concerns are playability, cost and availability.

I’m thinking, sort of, second hand Taylor 214 type of money, around £700ish? Lower would be better.
I don’t care if it’s got a cutaway or not.

All the Taylor’s I’ve ever played have been pretty slick. Had a go on a students gs mini today and that was fine ( although at 6’2” it might look a little small on me).

I have no idea what’s good, other than the Taylor’s . Thanks in advance.

bertie · June 2023

for the criteria you've mentioned - you cant really do much better that what you've already though of - they (and Yamaha) are pretty much the SM58 of gigging/band acoustics (big assumption in there that you want it for "band" type music )

woody · June 2023

personally,i think you can do much better.. eastman, furch, auden, recording king would be some of brands i think you should check out.

bertie · June 2023

woody said:

personally,i think you can do much better.. eastman, furch, auden, recording king would be some of brands i think you should check out.

Id totally (and normally) agree if it was just "recommend me an acoustic for £700" but with precise regard to the OP's specific criteria ;-

Mainly plays electric
plays in a band
wants it for gigging
widely available

- Id disagree

RickLucas · June 2023

Takamine?

thomasross20 · June 2023

Larrivee (Only joking)

bertie · June 2023

thomasross20 said:

Larrivee (Only joking)

have you tried one ?

randomguitarist · June 2023

Personally I really don't like the taylor pickup system, it never sounds good to me. For the sort of price you are looking at I bought a PRS acoustic. Made to a high standard in China it has all the right bits, ebony board, solid spruce top, slimmish neck and plays really well. The guitar uses a very light bracing system and it's got a good sound plugged in and unplugged.

mgaw · June 2023

Taylor. They have built a brand for people in your position. I have never owned one but have friends who do, they love em as they do exactly what it says on the tin. So to speak
You can always buy one without their pickup system and install an other brand etc etc

woody · June 2023

bertie said:

woody said:

personally,i think you can do much better.. eastman, furch, auden, recording king would be some of brands i think you should check out.

Id totally (and normally) agree if it was just "recommend me an acoustic for £700" but with precise regard to the OP's specific criteria ;-

Mainly plays electric
plays in a band
wants it for gigging
widely available

- Id disagree

Good point.I still think its very worthwhile trying the alternatives though if only for tonal reasons..Only the op can decide on the tonal vs playability factor, assuming the taylor does play better of course.

guitarmangler · June 2023

Thanks, chaps. I'll add PRS to the guitars I'm looking at. This will be a plugged in through the PA, backing other people type of affair, so I'm not massively worried about tone per say, as I'm not under close scrutiny. Within budget and playability is more important. If it's an earner, I'll invest in something else in the future.

BigLicks67 · June 2023

Yamaha LL16are LL6 or LS6ARE. I've had a LL6 and LL16 in the past and they were both as playable as my old Taylor 414ce. The Taylor 110ce would make a good gig guitar. Also, a left field choice would be a used Korean made Epiphone EJ200 and stick a LR Baggs M1 in it, I had one back in the day and the one I had was very easy to play, much like an electric.

richman6100 · June 2023

I've played some nice Taylors and some mediocre ones. They do make some great guitars, but there are others who make better 'bang for your buck' models. I'd definitely consider pre-owned Yamaha, Auden and Eastman. Furch too, if you can push your budget a bit.

bertie · June 2023

Ive been in "normal" cover bands, and we had choons that needed an acoustic, of all the ones Ive owned (Taylor 614, Brook, Furch) its the Taylor Id choose in that scenario

wrinkleygit · June 2023

To throw another brand in the mix, look out for a mid to late 90’s Takemine in the used market places, great value guitars if you can find one.

Tannin · June 2023

As always, with acoustics you absolutely, positively have to play the actual instrument.

You will undoubtedly get a better acoustic instrument from the likes of Furch for the same money - the 2-series Taylors are competent but uninspiring, and (if new) are overpriced to buggery. Way too much for what is after all just a laminated back and sides guitar not in the same class as any half-decent all-solid instrument.

On the other hand, you are not looking for a great acoustic instrument, you simply want something that will do those gigs for you competently and reliably, and perhaps something which will be easy to adjust to as an electric player. Taylor makes very good sense from this point of view.

Taylor pickups are not very well regarded, but make your own mind up about that. Look also at Furch, Yamaha, Takamine, and anything else that crops up in the price range,.

stickyfiddle · June 2023

I don’t love them as pure acoustic guitars but my old Taylor 214 was a great gigging guitar. Mine was an early solid-wood “Non-e” model with a Baggs M1A fitted

bertie · June 2023

stickyfiddle said:

I don’t love them as pure acoustic guitars but my old Taylor 214 was a great gigging guitar.

and that my friend, is the crux of all that has come before

Cranky · June 2023

Epiphone “inspired by Gibson” stuff is pretty good, widely available and should be around that budget.

And I like the aforementioned Yamaha recommendations.

For electronics specifically, I think Takamine is known for that specialty

Stratavarious · July 2023

Yamaha APX 600 or 700 or an FGX.

Loads of them around, Reliable gigging guitars. Try a few to find the keeper.

Some guitars (inc. Yamaha LL/LS) have pickups but no onboard controls.. so you might want to get one you can adjust live or you will need some pedals/floor box.

Pjon · July 2023

Having played guitars for decades but never been in a band, or gigged, what makes a good gigging guitar? Simply it's sound in the mix of other instruments, or is there more to it?

bertie · July 2023

Pjon said:

Having played guitars for decades but never been in a band, or gigged, what makes a good gigging guitar? Simply it's sound in the mix of other instruments, or is there more to it?

there's "gigging" and theres "gigging"

strapped round yer neck, for "half a dozen" songs in a bands setlist

or

sat down, doing a proper acoustic thing (genre of choice)

for me, that's two separate criteria to meet, and two different type of acoustic

guitarmangler · July 2023

Thanks for the advice, chaps. I went down to coda music during the week and tried out a fair few, but ended up buying a secondhand Taylor 314ce. I’ll be using it in a mostly plugged in fashion for gigs. It plays very well.

thomasross20 · July 2023

Solid sapele, right? Good choice imo

guitarmangler · July 2023

thomasross20 said:

Solid sapele, right? Good choice imo

Um, like the heathen that I am, I have no idea! Sorry ! I remember something about mahogany? But , then again , I played through a lot of guitars that day.

Tannin · July 2023

Taylor 314 is an excellent choice, especially used as new they are a bit pricey. And yes, Sapele under Sitka..

thomasross20 · July 2023

You did it the right way then, with your ears and fingers. Thanks Tannin.
Sapele is great and vastly underrated imo.

ICBM · July 2023

I had an earlier 312CE a long time ago - great guitar, which I shouldn’t have sold but got talked out of by a friend who then traded it away without giving me the option of buying it back. (Grrrr...) Mine had the Fishman electrics which I added a Rare Earth soundhole pickup to.

Sapele is often considered a ‘mahogany substitute’ because it looks similar, but is in no way inferior. There’s far too much snobbery about only using the traditional mahogany and rosewood.

thomasross20 · July 2023

ICBM said:

I had an earlier 312CE a long time ago - great guitar, which I shouldn’t have sold but got talked out of by a friend who then traded it away without giving me the option of buying it back. (Grrrr...) Mine had the Fishman electrics which I added a Rare Earth soundhole pickup to.

Sapele is often considered a ‘mahogany substitute’ because it looks similar, but is in no way inferior. There’s far too much snobbery about only using the traditional mahogany and rosewood.

I find mahogany is really rich in the mids, maybe more so than sapele. But sapele is VERY well balanced from bass to miss to trebles. And it has a sparkle in the trebles. It's probably my favourite to tonewood tbh and totally agree with you

BillDL · July 2023

ICBM said:

Sapele is often considered a ‘mahogany substitute’ because it looks similar, but is in no way inferior. There’s far too much snobbery about only using the traditional mahogany and rosewood.

Absolutely agree. When I think about all the nicely grained wide boards of Sapele that were used to face the plywood for all those cardboard honeycombed lightweight internal doors back through the 70s, 80s, 90s and probably up to the present day it's a shame that it wasn't used much more readily as a mahogany substitute in acoustic and electric guitar builds. Had it been used so readily for guitars, however, perhaps we would have already seen Sapele stocks almost depleted.

Timcito · July 2023

I'm pretty much sold on Eastman and have three. I've owned Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, and Larrivees at twice or even three times the price, and I just can't see much point in even looking at them now. Eastman seems to do what they all do as well as if not better.

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