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UNPLANNED DOWNTIME: 12th Oct 23:45

What acoustic next?

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VinylfanVinylfan Frets: 33
edited July 2021 in Acoustics
Hi

Pondering getting another acoustic and thought I’d ask for some recommendations and opinions. 
Currently have a Yamaha APX500iii and a Yamaha FG700 on the acoustic side. 
The FG700 I hardly ever play - partly as it seems to spend most of its time in my daughter’s room. It also feels a little big compared to the APX500. 
The APX500 fits well and is comfortable and sounds really good plugged in but not so great unplugged.  Seems a little thin and lacking in overall volume and size. Could do with a change of strings so will do that and see if it makes any difference. 
Looked at a few recently in person and quite liked a Faith Venus and a Seagull Maritime. 
This is just for playing in the house etc. 
Looking to learn more fingerstyle but will also use for general strumming etc. So needs to be a bit of an all-rounder. 
I have pretty large hands which may be why I liked the Seagull as I think it has wider string spacing?
Crucial question of budget - around £500. 
Happy to go used if the right thing comes up. 
PS I can get to places like Guitar Village to look in person - any other shops that have a decent choice?

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Comments

  • WhistlerWhistler Frets: 270
    Especially for an acoustic guitar you will need to go and try a handful in Guitar Village or elsewhere and just listen to what your ears and hands are telling with each one. I promise you that you will be surprised at what you discover.
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  • JetfireJetfire Frets: 1583
    I have the very same Yamaha Apx as you and it was great to play bit the acoustic element of of it wasn't so great. I went to a Faith Venus Naked which is very good (the updated model has a new pick up system so steer clear of the Shadow system!). Sounds fuller unplugged and has nicer materials used. 
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 4394
    Seagull stands almost alone in that price range: pretty much everything else comes out of sweat shops in China (by far the world's biggest importer of illegally logged, unsustainable timber) or Indonesia (where a lot of it comes from). I understand that Yamaha, despite doing almost all of their manufacturing in China, is serious about supervising timber suppliers and  doing the right thing, and the quality of their instruments speaks for itself. The Seagull/Godin group is a world-leading pioneer in the use of sustainable local timbers to make good instruments. They are rare in my neck of the woods and I've never seen one, let alone played one, but I always hear nice things about them.

    Oh, and I agree with the posters above: nothing substitutes for actually playing the instrument. 
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  • fastonebazfastonebaz Frets: 3775
    An ibanez EP9 euphoria.
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  • meltedbuzzboxmeltedbuzzbox Frets: 10333
    Another +1 for going to a shop or 5 and playing everything you can in your budget. 
    It's the only way. 
    The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.
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  • DavidRDavidR Frets: 595
    Try FG830. Brilliant.
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  • J.PJ.P Frets: 37
    How about Takamine? My first one was an EG cutaway dreadnaught years ago and it was rad. Sigma ain’t bad either… 
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  • VinylfanVinylfan Frets: 33
    Thanks all. I did try a Tanglewood TW40SOVE electro acoustic parlour guitar recently. Really like it but wasn’t sure I’d get on with the short scale. 
    Really shows the value of getting to a shop and trying a few. 
    Will try a few more as and when as not in a rush. 
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