First acoustic wanted - help?

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

As per title really!

I fancy doing fingerpicking and guess I'd like a nice warm tone with enough clarity, probably tuned to DADGAD or similar.

Tough enough for me to have a go at percussive stuff too!

Any ideas? Used would be good considering the budget of £200 or so.

Yeah... Not a lot of dollar.

I'm a small guy (5 foot 5, at a push) and find acoustics quite hard to get on with - I also have small hands, so a rounded neck shape and smaller body is a good thing I think.

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

A cursory look at the hilarious-to-navigate GAK show-all-acoustics page gets me these.

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/faith-naked-series-mercury-parlour-sized-acoustic/105707

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/faith-naked-series-neptune-baby-jumbo-acoustic/105706

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/martin-lxm-little-martin/72471

stimpsonslostson · December 2014

Vintage brand V300 would be my suggestion. maybe push the boat out and go for the mahogany one (v300mh).

Small bodied, relatively inexpensive AND they sound and play great.

A new one will cost £150ish, second hand considerably less than that!

Failing that, a Sigma 00m-15s is LOVELY, but would push your budget (£300 new IIRC).

Phil_aka_Pip · December 2014

nothing wrong with above suggestions but consider also the Gretsch Jim Dandy, parlour sized so ok for a small chap, punches above its price for £150

ICBM · December 2014

Avoid the Little Martin unless you want to be Ed Sheeran.

I'd suggest something like a Faith, Tanglewood, Vintage or cheaper Yamaha (not APX). There's plenty in that price range which should be OK. Seagull/Simon & Patrick usually sound good if you want a warmer tone, but are not very robustly built and can have problems in the longer term.

Try to get a solid top, and avoid electronics - they put the cost up at the expense of the guitar, and generally sound worse than an aftermarket soundhole pickup if you do later want to amplify it anyway.

Alnico · December 2014

I have owned a Vintage V300 and yes, they are stunning little guitars, well worth buying.

I have also owned an 'Art & Lutherie' CLD 30 and it was incredible. I mean i properly fell in love with it. IT was £230 when it was new but most UK stockists discontinued them last year. Now Woodbrass are the only place stocking them and they are around £300 however they do come up on ebay for around £150.

If you can find one of these it is incredible. Solid Cedar (Or Spruce if you buy the SLD 30) Top, Wild Cherry back and sides, maple neck satin finish and a tone i swear was one of the best had ever heard.

Mine got sold to pay rent years ago when i wasn't doing so well for myself and i still kick myself about it.

Another worthy option for a full size dreadnought is a Sigma DR28 - basically a poor mans Martin D28 except there is nothing poor about it, it's gorgeous and VERY well built indeed.

£300 gets you a gloss finished, solid top, rosewood back and sides traditional looking acoustic that you would still be proud of 20 years later. Find one used for £200 or less and you're absolutely winning.

Bidley · December 2014

Going with the Vintage recommendations, they do a parlour, which I'd be looking at.

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vintage-v880n/20515?gclid=CKHjqNqCvMICFarKtAodNDkASw

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

Nice, lots of good recommendations. I need a day out in a big shop after Christmas methinks

Or, you know, tomorrow...

xSkarloey · December 2014

I'm sorted for acoustics unfortunately, since the two I have leave me with no GAS feelings whatsoever.

But if I were shopping for one like you, I'm a real sucker for the great all rounder that is the slope shouldered dreadnought a la the Gibson J45.

A cheaper alternative is the Epiphone Texan which you might find cheaper used. I've only had a brief play on one, but while it's not exact in the J-45/ 35 league (being £1000 notes cheaper) it's a really nice all rounder and something a bit different.

I also love 000 shaped guitars and had a little tonk around on a Sigma 000 M a few months ago. It's a mahogany bodied take on the more expensive Martin and goes for about £230 I think. Lovely guitar.

Other than that, I'd recommend going shopping with a pal if you can. You know how it is: if you stand in front of the guitar while someone else plays it to you, you get a different take on its sound than if you're playing it.

birdo · December 2014

I ve got a Taylor big baby up for grabs if you re interested. It's a really good guitar with some nice touches like ebony fingerboard. Inside your budget to. Let me know if you re interested.

xHymnal · December 2014

The budget Taylor's aren't all solid, which does make a noticeable difference to the tone. I'm not clued up on budget acoustics much but I've played some seriously good sigmas and I know some of them are all solid and they're cheap! Go for an OOO size or OM given your fingerpicking preference and short stature

richardhomer · December 2014

Hymnal said:

The budget Taylor's aren't all solid, which does make a noticeable difference to the tone. I'm not clued up on budget acoustics much but I've played some seriously good sigmas and I know some of them are all solid and they're cheap! Go for an OOO size or OM given your fingerpicking preference and short stature

I'm not convinced Sigmas are 'all solid' woods. If you look on their website, they describe tops as 'solid Sitka spruce' and backs and sides as 'mahogany'. The lack of the word 'solid' suggests they're not. At this price point, even getting a solid top is impressive - every Sigma I've played has been a very good guitar for very little money. That said, a used Taylor Big Baby would tempt me. Their playability is explemplary and any compromises involved in meeting the price point haven't compromised their sound.

steamabacus · December 2014

I've heard good reports of the Vintage Gordon Giltrap sig. A bit over budget brand new (£3xx-ish if I remember) but something a little different from the norm if the aesthetics appeal to you.

birdo · December 2014

I ve tried one of the Gordon giltraps , they ve got a nice sound but the neck felt huge. Probably great for finger style but is was too much for me and I ve got quite big hands.

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

Cheers for the tips.

There is a moderate to high chance I'll be the owner of a vintage v300 with a solid mahogany top by Friday...

Small bodied, cheap, looks nice and is apparently quite well set up. Chuck it in dadgad and bob's your uncle.

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

Okay, it's here!

Spent a couple of hours playing it and I'm damn impressed. It's one of these

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vintage-v300mh-mahogany-folk/31255

It's good looking, plays nicely and the sound is really rather nice! I've put it into DADGAD and I'm slowly working my way through the book I have.

It's like relearning from scratch - lots of open strings means left hand positioning is more important than my usual lazy chord work.

But I'm really liking it. It's a nice little guitar, full scale length but it doesn't feel overwhelming, the body is more manageable than my mates big ol dread. It's also surprisingly loud!

I'll try to get a wee recording, once I can play something.

steamabacus · December 2014

Glad you're enjoying it.

I love the sound of DADGAD (or 'D Modal' as I originally learned it). Have you come across Pierre Bensusan? If you haven't, do so immediately! One of the best gigs I ever attended was Pierre Bensusan and Didier Malherbe doing an intimate duet gig back in the early 90s. That was also my first experience of anyone using live looping with a guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PpMg2IypX8

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

steamabacus said:

Glad you're enjoying it.

I love the sound of DADGAD (or 'D Modal' as I originally learned it). Have you come across Pierre Bensusan? If you haven't, do so immediately! One of the best gigs I ever attended was Pierre Bensusan and Didier Malherbe doing an intimate duet gig back in the early 90s. That was also my first experience of anyone using live looping with a guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PpMg2IypX8

He's a few weeks ahead of my skill.

Or decades.

I'm going to stick with DADGAD until I can do this...

Or you know, maybe not.

A song I'd love to be able to play is glimmer of hope by Antoine Dufour - it's in eFlat ADGBe, with a partial capo on third fret, and looks attainable, but I want to spend some time with DADGAD first. There are quite a few dadgad song books out there, so it's saving me a lot of hassle tuning and retuning between different pieces

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

Also, I've seen Andy Mckee live and he's probably one of the most gifted players I've seen.

ThePrettyDamned · December 2014

In all seriousness, I'd like to get this down:

I learnt some of it a while back, but on a jazzmaster in DADGAD. Now I can do it properly

xSkarloey · December 2014

I've seen Pierre Bensusan a few times live. He is an incredible musician.

A nice place to start with DADGAD is with its originator, Davey Graham. Loads of stuff on Youtube.

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First acoustic wanted - help?

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