Posted: 5/12/2026 5:42:57 PM EDT
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Need some direction from the more seasoned guitar players for a decent acoustic.. First, I'll start with some background: I'm a new beginner.. I'm 54 and decided if I'm ever going to learn, I better get busy.. Mid January of this year, I bought a used, like new (as far as I can tell) PRS SE CE. It seems to be a decent electric, that I've started learning on. I bought a little Mustang LT 25 amp.. it's got various effects on it and what not, but I'm really not there yet. I've got most all my cowboy chords down, and have started working on barre chords. I try and spend 15-30 minutes every evening practicing. The amp has an "acoustic" setting on it, which is, not much like an acoustic sound at all. I've decided I'd like to have an acoustic to strum on.. I'm looking for an acoustic electric, just to have the option if I want. I have a max budget of $1K. My only viable option of stores to walk in and test drive is Guitar Center.. I'll be limited to whatever they have in stock. Well, there is another high end store, but they are all well out of my price range. I've been eyeing the following 2 guitars: Takamine GD30ce Taylor 114ce I'm tending to lean to the Taylor at $800, vs the Tak at 700 bucks. I'd like to "future proof" myself as much as possible, if there's such a thing. I think the taylor would have better resell if I ever did it. Anything else I should look at? Recommendations? I haven't got the chance to go test drive them yet.. Honestly, I don't know what I don't know, and I don't know if me going in there and banging out the same 8 chords with a shitty rhythm is going to matter.. It seems like there are 3 tiers of guitars.. Sub $300, $500-$1K, $1K- stupid. Any suggestions or sage advice from the more experienced?! Thx |
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| Taylor is a good start. I would try to aim for somewhere around $500 - $700. If you do end up liking playing an acoustic, you won't be stuck with what will become a crappy feeling, and sounding guitar by the time you're a mid level player. You'll have room to grow. |
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Edit to add: im a complete ameteur. I just bought an Alvarez ad60 dread, but its kind of a big body guitar. Don't count out Yamaha- the FG820 is about $430 and is really a nice guitar. I kind of wish Id have gotten the Yamaha instead. |
2 legs move our bodies. 4 legs move our souls.
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Read the thread here on Yamaha acoustics. For the money they are the hands down best sounding guitars out there. I have stupid expensive taste in guitars but if I had $1k in my guitar budget it would go for a Yamaha. I’ve owned and played a fair number of Taylors. They are the Chevy Equinox of the guitar world. I have an off catalog all KOA Takamine. It’s my campfire guitar. Buy a Yamaha. |
Pure blood saved by His.
In my defense I was left unsupervised.
In my defense I was left unsupervised.
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There's a lot of good options in the $500-1000 range, especially if you're willing to buy used. If you're willing to stretch your budget a little you may even be able to find a used Taylor 314ce for around $1100-1200, maybe even a $1000 if you find a really good deal. If you like the Taylor sound the 300 series are a big step up from 100 and 200 series. 300 series and above are made in the USA and are all solid wood, the 200 series and below have laminated back and sides and are made in Mexico. Another brand worth checking out is Seagull, specifically the Seagull S6. You can find used ones all day for $250-300 and they are outstanding guitars for the money. Laminated back and sides of course as you would expect at that price point but very nice guitars made in Canada. One of the very few guitars you can find in that price range that are not made somewhere in Asia. |
Harley owner in the Church of J. M. Browning
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Buy the guitar you can barely afford plus $500. I have bought and sold 50-60 guitars. I bought only two of them new. There are only 3 names in “nicer” acoustic guitars for beginners. ( yes I know of many other high end names played by big shot musicians) Taylor- least expensive. Lots of laminate. Sounds good unplugged or plugged. But never sounds great. Every one sounds the same regardless of the model. If you are successful in learning guitar, this one will go under the bed when you buy your Martin. Gibson- under appreciated in the used market (reasonable prices). Sounds great plugged or unplugged. Newer models are imitations of the older better crafted models but made to be trendy. The Dreadnaught models have a unique deep sound. You will never sell it. Martin - a little more expensive. lots of models and lots of trim packages. Focus on the 00 and D models. Avoid the laminated materials of the budget priced models. Always sound great unplugged. Sound great with aftermarket pickups. You will buy three of these. Materials: always look for SPRUCE top, ONE-piece mahogany neck and mahogany or rosewood sides and back. IMO, shiny and pretty doesn’t always sound great. Never buy a guitar with a hole cut in the side for electronics. |
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in that price range you can get a used but great shape Yamaha FGX3 Sitka spruce top and solid Mahogany back and sides. New you will need another $300. It is made in China, but at this price range they all are, but even made in China Yamaha's are very well designed and built. You can also get a Yamaha LL16 new for $1250 new which is Engleman Spruce top and solid Rosewood back and sides. If you want to spend $1500 maybe less, you can get a used Yamaha FGX5 made in Japan. IMO this would be the priorities. 1. Solid Sitka Spruce top or Engleman Spruce top as opposed to just a Spruce top. It makes a big difference. 2. Solid wood back and sides as opposed to laminate. Mahogany would be preferred but any solid wood is better than laminate IMO. The Yamaha LL16 is solid rosewood back and sides. Anything in this price range will have a Urea saddle and nut. In the future you can replace just the saddle ( which is very easy to do, if you are even just a little bit handy doing things. it is a drop in piece after you sand the bottom and maybe the sides to set the action height ) with an inexpensive ( $10-$20 ) compensated bone saddle made for that brand guitar and it will make a world of difference in resonance and sustain especially if you have a Sitka or Engleman Spruce top as opposed to just a Spruce top. When looking at stats and specifications if it doesn't say SOLID wood back and sides, it is because it is laminate. Example. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides means it has mahogany laminate back and sides. If it is solid wood it will say SOLID Mahogany Back and sides. Don't take youtube video reviews as factual in this regard. Sometimes they are dead wrong. Use the manufacturer website specs. For your first acoustic ( and until you are well educated ) buy from a reputable dealer. Many people do not take care of their guitars. How they are stored and the humidity when stored are important. IMO there are a lot of dishonest people selling everything from fakes to guitars that have broken truss rods, warped necks, cracked wood, guitars that need an expensive neck reset, guitars that someone changed the parts on, etc. Buying used look at the fret wear. And the last very important point is play the model guitar before you buy it. Neck shape, scale length, action out of the box all make a difference and are preferences to each person. ETA: if you want to go really cheap, you can look for a nice condition used Yamaha FG700S ( not made anymore, the replacement FG800 series does not have Sitka Spruce ) for between $100 to $200. One of the few laminate back and side Yamaha's that have a Solid Sitka Spruce top but when you put a bone nut on them, the resonance triples ( or so, hard to quantify with a number ) due to the Sitka Spruce top. Most laminate yamahas ( and others ) just have a spruce top, not a sitka spruce top and in my opinion Sitka makes a world of difference compared to spruce. |
Mach
Nobody is coming to save us.
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Nobody is coming to save us.
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Hey, OP here.. Just reporting back... Had a Dr. appt in the big city yesterday.. Got out a bit earlier than expected, and lo and behold, a GC was about 5 minutes away from the dr's office.. I knew what I had to do. After spending about 2.5hrs in the acoustic room, picking up, attempting to play, running numbers in my head, etc.. It came down to 2 guitars. Yamaha A1R Yamaha AC3M DLX I sat there like I was studying quantum physics comparing pros/cons of each... I did grab a GC employee and asked multiple questions about each guitar.. Guy was nice enough, but couldn't sway me why I should buy one over the other. In hindsight, it was a waste of both his and my time. I ended up settling on the A1R in tobacco sunburst. It just sounded a bit better (louder?) and deeper to me. of course it was a dread, so to be expected. My ear is not trained yet to the different woods you guys talk about.. And to be completely honest, since I'm just starting on this journey, I didn't feel like I really deserved the higher priced AC3M.. May sound kinda corny to you guys, but that's how my mind works. At the end of the day, I love the way the guitar sounds, and it's beautiful. I think this guitar will give me plenty of room to grow, and I know one day I'll be looking for bigger, better, nicer anyway. All in all it was a good experience. About my only bitch was the checkout process.. Took over 30 minutes to check out with only 2 people on the register and a line of folks buying stuff. Maybe I was just ready to get the hell out of there. Oh, and the damn thing didn't even come with a case.. Guess I just assumed that it would. Anyways, thanks for all the insight and suggestions! |
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Originally Posted By RickFinsta: Yeah play the Taylors and the Yamahas. |
Proud and grateful Tennessee Squire
flgfish: "Low mileage cars piss me off. You saving your girlfriend for the next guy? Drive the car and enjoy it. A 911 is damn near bulletproof."
flgfish: "Low mileage cars piss me off. You saving your girlfriend for the next guy? Drive the car and enjoy it. A 911 is damn near bulletproof."
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Originally Posted By Skunkape71: Hey, OP here.. Just reporting back... Had a Dr. appt in the big city yesterday.. Got out a bit earlier than expected, and lo and behold, a GC was about 5 minutes away from the dr's office.. I knew what I had to do. After spending about 2.5hrs in the acoustic room, picking up, attempting to play, running numbers in my head, etc.. It came down to 2 guitars. Yamaha A1R Yamaha AC3M DLX I sat there like I was studying quantum physics comparing pros/cons of each... I did grab a GC employee and asked multiple questions about each guitar.. Guy was nice enough, but couldn't sway me why I should buy one over the other. In hindsight, it was a waste of both his and my time. I ended up settling on the A1R in tobacco sunburst. It just sounded a bit better (louder?) and deeper to me. of course it was a dread, so to be expected. My ear is not trained yet to the different woods you guys talk about.. And to be completely honest, since I'm just starting on this journey, I didn't feel like I really deserved the higher priced AC3M.. May sound kinda corny to you guys, but that's how my mind works. At the end of the day, I love the way the guitar sounds, and it's beautiful. I think this guitar will give me plenty of room to grow, and I know one day I'll be looking for bigger, better, nicer anyway. All in all it was a good experience. About my only bitch was the checkout process.. Took over 30 minutes to check out with only 2 people on the register and a line of folks buying stuff. Maybe I was just ready to get the hell out of there. Oh, and the damn thing didn't even come with a case.. Guess I just assumed that it would. Anyways, thanks for all the insight and suggestions! |
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Originally Posted By Skunkape71: Hey, OP here.. Just reporting back... Had a Dr. appt in the big city yesterday.. Got out a bit earlier than expected, and lo and behold, a GC was about 5 minutes away from the dr's office.. I knew what I had to do. After spending about 2.5hrs in the acoustic room, picking up, attempting to play, running numbers in my head, etc.. It came down to 2 guitars. Yamaha A1R Yamaha AC3M DLX I sat there like I was studying quantum physics comparing pros/cons of each... I did grab a GC employee and asked multiple questions about each guitar.. Guy was nice enough, but couldn't sway me why I should buy one over the other. In hindsight, it was a waste of both his and my time. I ended up settling on the A1R in tobacco sunburst. It just sounded a bit better (louder?) and deeper to me. of course it was a dread, so to be expected. My ear is not trained yet to the different woods you guys talk about.. And to be completely honest, since I'm just starting on this journey, I didn't feel like I really deserved the higher priced AC3M.. May sound kinda corny to you guys, but that's how my mind works. At the end of the day, I love the way the guitar sounds, and it's beautiful. I think this guitar will give me plenty of room to grow, and I know one day I'll be looking for bigger, better, nicer anyway. All in all it was a good experience. About my only bitch was the checkout process.. Took over 30 minutes to check out with only 2 people on the register and a line of folks buying stuff. Maybe I was just ready to get the hell out of there. Oh, and the damn thing didn't even come with a case.. Guess I just assumed that it would. Anyways, thanks for all the insight and suggestions! You can buy a case directly from Yamaha off their website or get the model number there and order from Amazon, Sweetwater, GC, etc.. I think the smaller model was like $130. |
2 legs move our bodies. 4 legs move our souls.
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Ya done good OP. Now play it til your fingers bleed.  No wait… don’t do that. I talked with a guy couple months ago who told me his kid ruined his body learning to play—seriously-and an acoustic guitar can do that to you especially if you play 12 hours a day. Have fun instead-and post pics. |
Pure blood saved by His.
In my defense I was left unsupervised.
In my defense I was left unsupervised.
|
Nice. No gig or bag? That's odd. But I've noticed many doing it to a higher price point now. Mine I got post or pre covid time frame can't recall. Came with a thick padded backpack style bag. It's a 3/4. Mini folk/dread deal. Super loud and deep, with basic piezo pick up. Which i didnt notice till i got it home and saw the strap point was hollow. I really need to do a string change, truss adjustment on it. Just been lazy.pics of bag. Enjoy it...get it set up and should be a great player.. Attached File Attached File Attached File |
i dont want my final jig in the belly of a squid.
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Originally Posted By Skunkape71: Here she is! I've been learning on an electric, so it's taking some getting use to playing with the size, but I'm sure enjoying it! https://i.ibb.co/jv19dbV3/1.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/ymyhG0Yb/3.jpg https://i.ibb.co/YFW1gm02/4.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/kY7PxvC/5.jpg https://i.ibb.co/KcbBJTF8/11.jpg 
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Proud and grateful Tennessee Squire
flgfish: "Low mileage cars piss me off. You saving your girlfriend for the next guy? Drive the car and enjoy it. A 911 is damn near bulletproof."
flgfish: "Low mileage cars piss me off. You saving your girlfriend for the next guy? Drive the car and enjoy it. A 911 is damn near bulletproof."
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I’m going to piggyback on this thread for my 11 yr old daughter. She has been playing the piano for 4 or 5 years, but is getting an itch to play guitar. She also has been playing the ukulele at school for a year or two. Would suggestions for a kid be different? |
Let us disappoint the Men who are raising themselves upon the ruin of this Country.
~John Adams
~John Adams
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Originally Posted By dcs12345: I’m going to piggyback on this thread for my 11 yr old daughter. She has been playing the piano for 4 or 5 years, but is getting an itch to play guitar. She also has been playing the ukulele at school for a year or two. Would suggestions for a kid be different? Not really. The only caveat would be whether or not a full size guitar might be a little big for her to play comfortably. There are different body shapes that vary in size and scale lengths of guitars, you just need to find whatever fits her and is comfortable. If she's tall for her age she'll probably be fine with most guitars, most kids are big enough by 12 or 13 to play a full sized guitar comfortably. |
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Originally Posted By Averagebear: Buy the guitar you can barely afford plus $500. I have bought and sold 50-60 guitars. I bought only two of them new. There are only 3 names in “nicer” acoustic guitars for beginners. ( yes I know of many other high end names played by big shot musicians) Taylor- least expensive. Lots of laminate. Sounds good unplugged or plugged. But never sounds great. Every one sounds the same regardless of the model. If you are successful in learning guitar, this one will go under the bed when you buy your Martin. Gibson- under appreciated in the used market (reasonable prices). Sounds great plugged or unplugged. Newer models are imitations of the older better crafted models but made to be trendy. The Dreadnaught models have a unique deep sound. You will never sell it. Martin - a little more expensive. lots of models and lots of trim packages. Focus on the 00 and D models. Avoid the laminated materials of the budget priced models. Always sound great unplugged. Sound great with aftermarket pickups. You will buy three of these. Materials: always look for SPRUCE top, ONE-piece mahogany neck and mahogany or rosewood sides and back. IMO, shiny and pretty doesn’t always sound great. Never buy a guitar with a hole cut in the side for electronics. Whatever. I've bought both Martin and Taylor guitars. I kept the Taylor. |
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Originally Posted By mak0: Not really. The only caveat would be whether or not a full size guitar might be a little big for her to play comfortably. There are different body shapes that vary in size and scale lengths of guitars, you just need to find whatever fits her and is comfortable. If she's tall for her age she'll probably be fine with most guitars, most kids are big enough by 12 or 13 to play a full sized guitar comfortably. She is around 5’3” already. |
Let us disappoint the Men who are raising themselves upon the ruin of this Country.
~John Adams
~John Adams
