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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

Best small body acoustic 1 3/4 nut £1-2k?

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TINMAN82TINMAN82 Frets: 1844
edited September 2018 in Acoustics
Ideally wider string spacing at bridge, mabye 2 3/16 plus....

Gibson l-00 (I know it’s marginally smaller than 1 3/4)? Martin 00 something? Taylor?

Something with a solid top ideally, for fingerpicking and blues.

edit- I realise asking for the “best” is subjective and so on, I’m just looking for a few perspectives so that I have a handful of models to try out.
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  • jrc2806jrc2806 Frets: 64
    edited September 2018
    Used to have a Keb Mo Gibson 00 which was a great guitar (slightly wider nut - recall it being 1.8”). Have you looked at the Waterloo WL-14 by collings? Available in either 12 or 14 fret versions with a choice of ladder or x bracing - great blues box. New they are a little over £2k but I have seen a few come up second hand. In terms of which is best it really will need you to play a few. I was set on a Martin CEO-7 but just did not get on with it when I visited the store and purchased the Gibson instead. Hope this helps......
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 69426
    edited September 2018
    Martin OM-21.

    If only I'd been able to get on with the wide neck and string spacing I would still have mine! The best-sounding small-body guitar I've ever played.

    (Second hand at your budget, they're over £2K new unfortunately.)

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1300
    Have you looked at Waterloo? They look really nice, some cool artists are playing them, but they ain't cheap
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  • barry2tonebarry2tone Frets: 212
    edited September 2018
    Avian Dove?  The Deluxe is even nicerer.

    My mahogany Songbird has  wonderful sustain.  Had a Dove on trial, but the rosewoods had already gone from the sale.

    November or New Year are your best horizons now.
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  • KKJaleKKJale Frets: 967
    Maybe take a look at some of the Eastmans. I don't know if you ever travel down to the Smoke but Mairants have a couple of parlours that are very nice bluesy fingerpickers, and they're well under £1k.

    If you do ever go there, be sure to try the Atkin LG47. It's miles over your budget but it'll knock your socks off and instantly rematerialise them somewhere else, possibly Kansas. That good. 
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  • BigLicks67BigLicks67 Frets: 763
    If you are looking at the Gibson L00 then also have a go on a LG2. It has similar dimensions, but is slightly bigger and is also a lot cheaper regards new prices. : 


    A 00018 or 00028 would probably be more versatile outside of straight blues fingerpicking though.

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  • TINMAN82TINMAN82 Frets: 1844
    BigLicks67 said:
    If you are looking at the Gibson L00 then also have a go on a LG2. It has similar dimensions, but is slightly bigger and is also a lot cheaper regards new prices. : 


    A 00018 or 00028 would probably be more versatile outside of straight blues fingerpicking though.

    Great playing! I’ll check that out too.
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  • ToneControlToneControl Frets: 11438
    Phone up Avalon, they may still have an ex-demo S300A in stock
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  • StrangefanStrangefan Frets: 5820
    Guild USA f 20 my all time favourite guitar 
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  • McSwaggertyMcSwaggerty Frets: 650
    Eastman E10P.... Spruce /Mahogany.....12 Fretter. .... 1 13/16 at Nut..... 2 3/8 string spacing at bridge.  Around £1,100 new.  Parlour size... Huge sound..... Great Guitar.... 
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1087
    edited September 2018
    I've bought a sigma 00R-28vse, I was looking at buying a Martin 00-28vs. The sigma was £500 the martin was £3000. The sigma is amazing.

    I also have a Martin vintage series 00-18 and the sigma sounds and plays better which is surprising to say the least.

    Another guitar I was looking at was the headway h2-am. Great little acoustic, but expensive and quite hard to find.

    Try the sigma you'll be surprised. Mine is the VSE version so I can plug it in, which I never do. I can honestly say this was one of the best purchases I've done this year. Extremely satisfying to play.

    Here you have a used one for £275: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acoustic-guitar-Sigma-000r28vs-very-good-condition/183343387359?hash=item2ab01e12df:g:s2gAAOSwg2FbWJgE

    By the way this is what the sigma looks like:


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  • dangriffithsdangriffiths Frets: 535
    edited September 2018
    Second hand Martin CEO-7 could be a good shout. I really like mine
    Feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1583333
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  • TINMAN82TINMAN82 Frets: 1844
    dangriffiths said:
    Second hand Martin CEO-7 could be a good shout. I really like mine
    Now that looks like a lovely guitar. Hadn’t heard of it before but the spec looks perfect for fingerstyle.
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  • jrc2806jrc2806 Frets: 64
    There are some great YouTube clips of the CEO-7. My favourite is by onemanzguitar (believe guitar is being played by Spoon Phillips). Could also look at a used 00-18v!
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1087
    Here's a video of the Sigma 00R-28VS


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  • teradaterada Frets: 5113
    Martin OM15?
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  • TINMAN82TINMAN82 Frets: 1844
    edited September 2018
    Update: Returning a Gibson LG-2 American Eagle to the retailer, mainly due to a couple of quality control issues that I don't think I can live with.

    Pros: 
    -Nice, comfortable small body shape.
    -Big voice and volume for a small body.
    -Very "Gibson" tone, like a more focussed version of my Hummingbird actually. Definitely in the same tonal ballpark.
    -Lovely top (at this price range Martin seem to produce a lot of bear claw).

    Cons:
    -Poorly cut high E at saddle- noticeably off line/ wider string spacing B to high E than between other strings. This gave an artificially wide e-e spacing (2/32 larger than my hummingbird in fact). That would be ok if the strings were evenly spaced.
    -Bass side tuning machines mounted off line, noticeably to the naked eye, the low e machine closer into the middle of the headstock.

    A shame as it is otherwise a nice instrument. I think in the interests of variety I'll look at other brands as the tone wasn't a massive departure from my hummingbird. 

    Its also a lesson to try before you buy, although that wasn't possible in this case as its an end of line model and there were none within about 200miles of where I live. When I bought my hummingbird I went into the shop 3 days in a row to play it.
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  • wrinkleygitwrinkleygit Frets: 226
    Search out a Brook
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  • BasherBasher Frets: 1071
    edited September 2018
    It might be worth "czeching" out a Furch. Forgive the crap pun but they're made in the Czech Republic to a very high standard.

    I've got their Stanford-branded "OM5-Vintage" model from a few years back and I prefer it the other OM-sized guitars I've owned, a Larrivee OM and a Brook. It's in the same ballpark as the few Martins I've played but a lot cheaper.

    I've also heard that Stonebridge guitars are also Furch-made and have read some great reviews of those.

    Anyway, here's mine. The 1 3/4" nut feels wider (not sure why - shallow neck? - no binding?). If anything it's a bit too wide for me. String spacing at the bridge is (I think) a bit over 2 3/16".
    Slot-heads aren't for everyone but I love the look.



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  • TINMAN82TINMAN82 Frets: 1844
    So....after a few false starts I sacked the budget and went for this:

    https://i.imgur.com/UzYtyIa.jpg

    Might be the best guitar I've ever played, hence this NGD post is about a month out of date!


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