What do you NEED in an acoustic guitar?

[Adamixoye]

I actually don't own one. I play bass and have an electric guitar. As you know, the acoustic guitar is a completely different animal. But playing my friends' guitars and playing guitars at music stores, I've come to one conclusion...the only thing I really care about is the neck/action. Maybe this is too obvious and the most important thing for a lot of people, but really, I don't care about the wood in the body, whether or not it has great tone, it just doesn't matter. I want low, fast action with a soft comfortable neck. I can't have a guitar without it; if the guitar has it, the rest is just gravy.

 

Thoughts?

[Mudcat]

Playability, intonation and a body made of wood (I'm not a big fan of Ovation acoustics, although I think I could use one in some very specific applications in recording).

 

I've found that most acoustics that play easily and play in tune usually have a pleasing timbre. They may sound different than each other, but I don't think I have ever played an acoustic meeting the above criteria that I thought sounded bad (even an Ovation ).

[Stratasaurus]

I claim no great expertise, but here are some of the things I look/listen for in an acoustic guitar.

 

I normally know if I like the guitar of not in the first minute of playing it.

 

The first thing I listen for is the sound of the guitar. I use acoustic guitars for a wide variety of things. I might fingerpick folk or classical pieces, or be strumming the heck out of a celtic party tune.

 

I like a very balanced sound that doesn't over emphasize bass or treble response. The open strings have got to be able to ring properly and each string should be able to be distinctly heard.

 

I generally play some chords up and down the neck to see if I can live with the generally fixed intonation of the bridge.

 

The neck and action needs to be playable, but it doesn't necessarily have to be "butta".

 

There are many fine acoustic guitars made by well respected manufacturers that I don't care for. I've found instruments I did like from the "bargain" brands as well. For my taste I generally have liked Taylors and Guilds among the biggies.

[Dak Lander]

Feel (How does the guitar feel in your hands?)

Playability (Is it easy to play, does the neck feel right to your mitts?)

Tone (How does it sound?)

[A String]

This seems like a strange statement to me. You are totally free to feel the way you want, but I think it's just as important that a guitar sound good as it is that a guitar play good.

 

If a guitar has a great sound but a crappy feel, it's no fun to play and I don't want it. If a guitar plays great but sounds tinny and flat, it makes me sound bad and I don't want it.

 

Don't forget to take into consideration the machine heads...a guitar that uses cheap machine heads and won't stay in tune will quickly become your worst enemy.

 

For my money, one of the most important things about an acoustic is the tones. My recommendation to you is to get your hands on a $2000+ acoustic and listen to how it sounds...after that, it's hard to go back.

[Darklava]

Iwould like to find a small 12 string with

a slim tapered neck that plays like budder.

[Blue Strat]

All acoustic guitar are suck.

 

I've only found one type of acoustic guitar that I like, and it's a nylon stringed classical. A Martin or Gibson steel string is a close second.

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

You have to know what you are after. It's like selecting a bass. I bought a mid-1960s Gibson J160e, because after many years of trying to make an acoustic guitar sound like the guitars on Beatle records, I finally bought the same model as used by the Beatles. Guess what? It sounds just like the Beatles, and the peculiarities of the instrument cause me to play in a similar style. I could never get that with any of my other acoustics, no matter what effects I used on them.

 

I bought a Santa Cruz because I wanted that David Crosby sound. Ditto, it got it for me.

 

There are as many flavors of acoustic as there are electrics, and as many reasons to select one over another.

 

Acoustics tend to speak to me, and I know in short order if I like one or not, while electrics sometimes take a while to get through to me... or not. Of course, playablility is important. But other than that, what you need becomes the driver. No point in buying the best sounding nylon stringed guitar in the world if what you need is a twangy steel string for strumming rhythms.

 

Bill

[Adamixoye]

Originally posted by A String:

This seems like a strange statement to me. You are totally free to feel the way you want, but I think it's just as important that a guitar sound good as it is that a guitar play good.

I guess it hit me as I was playing guitars at stores, and I noticed that I was a lot more interested in playing the ones that felt right, as opposed to the ones that supposedly sounded great. Usually, it's the expensive ones that do both. But just recently I was at a GC (*ducks*) and found a $500 Takamine that played better than some of the $1000 instruments in the same room. I'm sure those other instruments have their advantages; I believe that with acoustic guitars in particular, you generally get what you pay for. As I said, I don't have an acoustic guitar. When I get one, I will probably be looking in the $400-600 range, and this Takamine seemed pretty great, at least for what I want. I'm not sure why it was so cheap...but then again, I don't know much about wood types and some of the other details. But it seems I know feel a lot better than I know sound.

 

Hopefully, a $500 instrument will sound at least a few notches above terrible; if an instrument truly sucked in any particular category, I probably wouldn't want it. But what I am saying is that I somewhat willing sacrifice sound for feel, but wouldn't even think of doing it the other way around. On the other hand, when it comes to bass, I have become accustomed to the way most basses feel, and have played a variety of basses, and I would probably place sound at least on par with feel, if not higher--mostly because most basses "feel" right to me, but some of them don't sound right. On the other hand, most acoustic guitars sound right to me, but a lot of them don't feel right. Weird, perhaps. But the more I think about it, the more true I realize it is, at least for my tastes.

[revolead]

For me, it has to be near perfect. I'm very picky about my acoustics, and I didn't buy one for a couple years simply because I can't stand bad acoustics. I want to eventually get a Taylor 414CE, but it's high price ($1500) has steered me clear for awhile.

 

I think a good acoustic has to have VERY good tone unplugged, decent tones plugged in, and plays very well. Aesthetics and finishes are secondary here. I see no reason to spend $3500 on some really good-looking acoustic that sounds wonderful, btu plays like crap.

 

I never thought I'd find anything close to a temporary Taylor subsitute, but then I landed on my Fender (see avatar) in the shop one lucky day.

[Reverse the Curse]

i agree with u adam, the neck and action is the most important for me. I dont own an acoustic but I have played enough to be able to determine a quality instrument from the moment i pick it up. A steel string with low action and the perfect neck just begs to be played.

[Gifthorse]

I think tone is just as important as feel. I am a big fan of Taylors but as I have stated in another post, the Dean Sweetwood acoustic is incredible sounding and playing and it is only $850. Looks sharp too, if that is important to you.

[Bonedog]

It's a great advantage to know a little about (building/repair) when buying an acoustic because some of the little things that can be easily corrected on an electric instrument aren't so easily done on an acoustic. You have to make sure that the neck isn't underset, that the bridge is well seated, etc. Getting a neck reset on an acoustic guitar is a fairly pricey procedure and afterwards the guitar will never be "like new". This is often not a problem on a real acoustic but on more cost effective instruments it's often a thing to watch for.

 

Obviously on a new instrument the bridge should be well seated and there shouldn't be any braces off or anything...but on a used have a look at things, tap the body, etc.

 

Things that are important to me are structural issues, setup and sound...I don't care about cosmetics at all, I NEED an instrument that I can depend on to play AND sound well (and record well).

 

Just my 2 cents.

 

Scott

[Adamixoye]

Let me rephrase my point. Let's say the perfect guitar scores a 15 in 3 different categories: feel/playability, sound/tone, hardware/aesthetics/other, for a total of 45. But I only have 24 "guitar points" to spread around. I would put 13-15 points into the feel, and split the last 9-11 points to the other categories.

[dave251]

Originally posted by Bonedog:

It's a great advantage to know a little about (building/repair) when buying an acoustic because some of the little things that can be easily corrected on an electric instrument aren't so easily done on an acoustic. You have to make sure that the neck isn't underset, that the bridge is well seated, etc. Getting a neck reset on an acoustic guitar is a fairly pricey procedure and afterwards the guitar will never be "like new". This is often not a problem on a real acoustic but on more cost effective instruments it's often a thing to watch for.

Obviously on a new instrument the bridge should be well seated and there shouldn't be any braces off or anything...but on a used have a look at things, tap the body, etc.

Things that are important to me are structural issues, setup and sound...I don't care about cosmetics at all, I NEED an instrument that I can depend on to play AND sound well (and record well). Scott

Good advice....I "grew up" playing acoustic guitar, so what I take for granted when looking at one is pretty much second nature. First, almost ALL acoustic guitars aren't even close to being setup "properly" in the store. It's usually considered part of the deal to have the shop set it up to your playing style/spec. So don't be put off by a guitar that doesn't play easily; almost all can be made to play properly, and if you talking about a "real" acoustic(expensive) the shop should be willing to set it up for you BEFORE you buy it. It usually needs to be done anyway.

Buy an acoustic for TONE, no other reason; all the rest can be fixed, it just depends on how much money you're willing to throw at it, and the basic first time setup should be free, anyway(well, not free, but at least part of the original purchase price)....but be warned....

You really need to understand the basic geometry and setup issues, particularly neck angle, with an acoustic guitar...so do some studying before you buy.

[J J]

I really prefer not having anything at all in any acoustics i use. But sometimes those darn picks just fall right into that damned hole

[Guitarzan]

lots of good info here. remember if you really want to hear how an accoustic sounds get a friend to play it. to really appreciate the tone you need to hear it from a listeners view.

[Gato]

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/src=00633/d=tp?q=li ne%206%20variax%20acoustic%20guitars

[Gato]

I wanna try the Line 6 Variax Acoustic Guitar, new for this year.

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/src=00633/d=tp?q=line%206%20variax%20acoustic%20guitars

[Gabriel E.]

An arched top and two f-holes.