Joth Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I'm in the market for a new acoustic. I need it to be an all rounder for most styles of playing and for gigging and studio as I'm gonna be recording, but mainly fingerstyle and even percussive. I've looked into Cole Clark for their interesting tone Woods which are durable for bashing about but mainly for their 3 way pick up system. Not too keen on the Taylor sound if I'm honest and everyone says Martin (d 28 example) is the perfect acoustic and you won't need any other guitar. But for the cost are there other brands half the price out there which sound just as good if not better?! I know it's all subjective to ones ear but I've rarely seen a really good fingerstyle guitarist playing a Martin. Just wondering if anyone had any brands to checkout or suggestions, or advice, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 Without knowing how much you're prepared to spend it's a bit tricky to offer a solution (and in truth I'm not so sure that there's a single model that would fit your requirement anyway). Also, bear in mind that throwing money at the issue may not be the answer as there are guitars costing thousands of pounds that quite frankly I wouldn't have as a gift, and guitars that come in at mid-price levels and are IMHO as good as anything out there. Try to avoid judging instruments by the name on the headstock. This could well become a sequence of posters listing their personal favourites, but in truth you won't know until you sit down with some guitars and try them out. That said... Personally I'm not a big Martin fan. Likewise Gibson. Hard to say why, but from playing several examples of each I don't seem to be able to get on with them. Others swear by them though, so (as with everything you're likely to read on here) don't take what I say as gospel. I get your point about Taylors too: beautifully made guitars but not really my cuppa (I've owned or played a couple of those as well). A few names you might want to have a bit of a look at would be Fylde (very popular with folkies at one time, not sure of the current situation but beautifully made instruments), Takamine (who made their name with the mid-range EN series in the '90s but these days make some really rather expensive instruments: I had an EN10 for many years as my main acoustic instrument and used it for everything from fingerstyle Blues to Oasis covers), and my current favourite, Faith (thought of as mid-priced instruments but TBH I never cease to be amazed at the quality of workmanship on offer at the price). As a final thought... A bit leftfield, but if you have the funds you might want to consider getting one made for you by an acousic specialist luthier. It'll be costly for a good one, but you get to specify want you want it to be able to do. Also likely to be some time before you get it in your hands, so perhaps not the way to go if you're in a hurry to have one. Other posters will have different views of course... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I don’t know much about acoustic guitars really, I tend to buy to my budget and get what sounds best for what I’m trying achieve. For big strummy type things I like my Epi J200, for finger style, my Simon & Patrick Rosewood Folk Pro fits the bill. As you seem to wanting to spend a decent amount, I’m going to throw Lowden into the mix only because I like how Richard Thompson sounds, both finger style and flat picking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardMarlowe Posted March 11, 2021 Share Posted March 11, 2021 Lowdens are beautiful. Wanted one years ago, then got kinda put off by the "buy locally made product!" crowd back in NI (when you're 'from there', people falling all over themselves all the time to puff it up with all that "our wee country" crap gets really old really fast). These days, I'm more intrigued by them again. Big money, though. There is a new line he's doing with Ed Sheeran that are basically a budget Lowden. The one big downside for me is that they say "Sheeran" on the headstock (nothing against the fella personally, he seems a nice guy, but I'm very, very much not a fan of his stuff) instead of Lowden. Not that I would feel the "Lowden" with paying another grand or so for alone, but.... You of course may be less shallow than I am. I'm sure they are very nice guitars. Tanglewood and Simon and Patrick both make nice all-rounders. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alby Guitar Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 You will not be surprised to hear that there is no real "all round" acoustic guitar . My favourite guitar is my Guild DV52 - similar to a Martin HD28 , but a lot cheaper ( £1000 used ) , has more of a low end projection , I have used this for recording ( strumming and fingerpicking) , but for gigging I use a relatively cheap Crafter GAE648 through a Fishman aura using either a Taylor or martin Sound module , and am really happy with that. Plus good crafters can be had for less than £500 . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
