Proudly Sponsored by...

GuitarSite.com
Discussion
Forum

Re: Acoustic Guitar Question?

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Guitarist Discussion Forum ]

Posted by Adrienne (from: ) on April 30, 2001 at 03:27:55:

In Reply to: Acoustic Guitar Question? posted by Richard Pasco on April 27, 2001 at 14:24:08:

Hi Richard,
the best advice with an acoustic guitar, I think, is learn all you can about them, but specifically learn how to check that the intonation is correct, that the neck is straight and that the action is playable without buzzing on any frets. If this is all in order, check the general condition of the instrument and that all the machine heads are working and that it stays in tune after some playing.

The rest is all about tone.
For a good quality sound it is more or less irrefutable that a solid top of good close-grained spruce or cedar (or possibly maple) is unbeatable. To see if the top is solid, make sure the grain is continuous into the soundhole. If it looks scratchy and grainy and you can't see the grain it's probably made of plywood, which almost never sounds very good.

I think that for around Ł200 one can, with care, pick up good second hand guitars. New, Ł200 doesn't buy a very good one these days, though I think there are less utterly terrible instruments around than there used to be.
If you really want to buy new, I think Seagull and Simon and Patrick can be very good value, but many cheaper range guitars may not sustain your enthusiasm if you have a patch of disinterest.

I'm describing here how to look for an instrument which will still feel worth playing in a few years time and not just 'something to learn on', because I don't really believe it's very helpful to learn on a bad instrument. keep borrowing the one you have until you can afford a better one, if the cost sounds high for your budget.
The main thing, I think, is to take a lot of time, make friends with people in guitar shops and with other players and get a real sense of confidence in what you yourself really like about a guitar.
Read about guitars, and play as many as you can and you'll know when you've met the right one.

Good luck.

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail:

Subject:

Comments:
: Hi Richard, : the best advice with an acoustic guitar, I think, is learn all you can about them, but specifically learn how to check that the intonation is correct, that the neck is straight and that the action is playable without buzzing on any frets. If this is all in order, check the general condition of the instrument and that all the machine heads are working and that it stays in tune after some playing. : The rest is all about tone. : For a good quality sound it is more or less irrefutable that a solid top of good close-grained spruce or cedar (or possibly maple) is unbeatable. To see if the top is solid, make sure the grain is continuous into the soundhole. If it looks scratchy and grainy and you can't see the grain it's probably made of plywood, which almost never sounds very good. : I think that for around Ł200 one can, with care, pick up good second hand guitars. New, Ł200 doesn't buy a very good one these days, though I think there are less utterly terrible instruments around than there used to be. : If you really want to buy new, I think Seagull and Simon and Patrick can be very good value, but many cheaper range guitars may not sustain your enthusiasm if you have a patch of disinterest. : I'm describing here how to look for an instrument which will still feel worth playing in a few years time and not just 'something to learn on', because I don't really believe it's very helpful to learn on a bad instrument. keep borrowing the one you have until you can afford a better one, if the cost sounds high for your budget. : The main thing, I think, is to take a lot of time, make friends with people in guitar shops and with other players and get a real sense of confidence in what you yourself really like about a guitar. : Read about guitars, and play as many as you can and you'll know when you've met the right one. : Good luck. :

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ Guitarist Discussion Forum ]