I've become an electric guitar cheap-skate. A partscaster, frankentele enthusiast for all the common reasons: thrifty and like modding stuff with cool parts.

One area I think you get your money's worth is acoustic guitars. I play acoustic guitar almost as often as I play electric. I don't perform on one very often anymore, but I might again, and I definitely record one often.

My acoustic is kind of crap.

I'm thinking about getting a legit acoustic, but the price tag scares me. I've picked up a couple Gibson J45s and I like the design, but I fear Gibson has fallen far in the last 15 years. I also wonder if their acoustic pedigree might still be better than their electrics.

I also like the idea of Martin guitars, but they age in price like Scotch, and the new ones are damned pricey too.

Anyone ever buy a legit acoustic? Obviously play it before you buy it, but are there some gems out there that you don't have to spend $2k on?

I have been playing acoustic nearly but not quite exclusively for decades now.

What sort of stuff do you play? Plectrum or fingerstyle? What size guitar would you like? Pinned bridge or floating? 12 fret or 14? Fan braced or ladder? Brighter or darker tone? Wide or narrow nut? What shape neck do you like? Would an archtop be a consideration?

If you are thinking of going vintage than you can get a great guitar ≥$1000. Buying vintage acoustics is a bit like buying vintage cars. Firstly, it means that you are mad. Secondly, there are a whole bunch of things to look for. Thirdly, you need to stay on top of it, as repairs are more or less constant. Fourthly, if you do it all right it will never depreciate. Fifthly, they are awesome.

A lot, if not all, of the new big-name acoustics that I have played are absolute junk. ~$3000 Martins with fret buzz because the bridge has been filled too low at the factory. Gibsons that sound like the top is made of damp cardboard. And so on.

There are a bunch of great small-yield luthiers out there making wonderful guitars that will last a lifetime and only get better. http://fraulini.com/ for example. Also see if FM Elisha has something wild for sale!

+1 for Elisha

seby wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:41 pm What sort of stuff do you play? Plectrum or fingerstyle? What size guitar would you like? Pinned bridge or floating? 12 fret or 14? Fan braced or ladder? Brighter or darker tone? Wide or narrow nut? What shape neck do you like? Would an archtop be a consideration?

I suppose that's part of the mission. Although I've been playing acoustic guitar for two decades, I haven't learned the finer details of their construction.

Having a pinned bridge has been convenient, but I suppose I don't know the benefit of having a floating one (intonation sounds tough that way, if you mean the bridge is held in place by string tension like some hollow body electrics). I think I've mainly played a 14 fret guitar, which I suppose has been nice for doing occasional overdubs with a capo way up high, but I don't know that it's terribly important to me. I hate cutaways, aesthetically though.

As for fan braced vs ladder? No idea.

I'm pretty adaptable to necks. I don't play incredibly technically so my style has been pretty adaptable. I've played interchangeably on Gibson and Fender necks and different scale lengths in my electric guitar life, so I can adjust to anything that isn't too severe.

As for overall tone. I mainly play with a pick, but I fingerpick on occasion. I use guitar a lot to accompany singing. I've seen the appeal of both ends of the tone spectrum. There's something exciting about little parlor style guitars where the notes just project right out of the body with so much definition, but I've picked up a jumbo and felt the richness of root position chords and alternate/dropped tunings. But then with the parlor guitars I think they might feel a little tinny as a vocal accompaniment, and those big dark tones might be a little harder to capture well in the studio.

I suppose I use an acoustic mainly the way a lot of typical singer songwriters might, so a classic dreadnought approach is probably the best middle ground, but that's probably a terribly broad generalization about even 'classic dreadnoughts'.

My 2 cents. I actually like cheaper Acoustic Guitars more than expensive ones, especially for recording (looking at you early 80's Yamaha!) but, Martins are where it is at as far as just being tonally satisfying. Taylors feel and sound very "guitar center" to me. Kinda 90's soft intro to a hard as fuck NU Metal jam. There is no way the dudes in Incubus don't love these guitars. Plastic Zing comes to mind. Gibsons... I don't like GIbson electrics, and their Acoustics haven't impressed me either. Dull is what I get from them. Like listening through an earplug half pulled out. They are gorgeous to look at. Fender. Every Fender Acoustic I've played feels like it should cost half as much as it does. Just mediocre head to tail.

My wife inherited her fathers 68 Martin and it, aside from having the highest string tension of any guitar I've ever played, sounds fucking amazing. It hangs on the wall in out living room and it sings the notes of every sound from the television back at us all day. Resonance is everything when buying an acoustic. Is it a beast that rips the flesh from your fingers on impact? Yeah! Is it worth it? Yeah. I don't think it is vintage voodoo either, when I go to a guitar shop and pick up any Martin off the wall, they almost always sound pretty great.

Again, my favorite acoustics are the cardboard Silvertones and Kays (or an old Yammy for a solid playability and results) but if I really needed to spend some money, Martin all the way.

seby wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:41 pm
Pinned bridge or floating?....

Fan braced or ladder?

Can anyone give a quick precis of benefits/drawbacks/key factors in these two areas?

I've never had a floating bridge - am/was actually kind of scared of them - but now that I'm way better at/more comfortable with intonating guitars, I'm kind of curious.

The bracing variants? No idea. Zip. Nada. Bupkiss. I couldn't begin to tell you how my acoustics are braced.

Dudley wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:03 am

seby wrote: Sun Oct 24, 2021 4:41 pm
Pinned bridge or floating?....

Fan braced or ladder?

Can anyone give a quick precis of benefits/drawbacks/key factors in these two areas?

I've never had a floating bridge - am/was actually kind of scared of them - but now that I'm way better at/more comfortable with intonating guitars, I'm kind of curious.

The bracing variants? No idea. Zip. Nada. Bupkiss. I couldn't begin to tell you how my acoustics are braced.

Pros for floating bridge:

sounds a lot less like a typical singer/songwriter/rock/indieband guitar

a floating bridge lets you play behind the bridge, and playing behind the bridge is awesome, so there is that.

a floating bridge lets you adjust the intonation for various string gauges and tunings and string types in just a couple of seconds.

no bridge pins to loose and changing strings is nice and easy.

give you a woody viola-meets-cello kind of tone. more top-of-body resonance as opposed to soundwaves bouncing around inside and coming out the soundhole.


Cons for floating bridge:

sounds a lot less like a typical singer/songwriter/rock/indieband guitar

bridge drops off when there are no strings. can be tricky to get into exact spot.

if a brace comes loose inside, then you might have to take the entire back off to get at it and fix it if you have an archtop with f-holes. not always, but...a lot of the time.

less rich deep and shimmery sounding than a typical flattop with a pinned bridge


Pros for pinned bridge:

sounds a lot like a typical singer/songwriter/rock/indieband guitar

easy to fix loose braces or just about anything else.

bridge does not fall off when you change strings.

intonation is stable.


Cons for pinned bridge:

sounds a lot like a typical singer/songwriter/rock/indieband guitar

bridge pins blow goats.

if the guitar is not made really really well, then you will get bridge (and top of lower bout) lift before too long.

changing string types, tunings, and gauges? hows your intonation now?


As for fan vs ladder bracing...the former usually lends itself to harmonically rich and complex, integrated, piano sounding guitars, whereas the latter usually lends itself to guitars where the strings sound more independent and articulate, and the expense of some harmonic richness and complexity. Both are great.

Ta! I done learned sumthin.

Dudley wrote: Mon Oct 25, 2021 7:05 am Ta! I done learned sumthin.

Same.

So I suppose (perhaps obviously) a floating bridge means having a tail piece just like on an electric.

I tried a bunch out at a store a few years ago just to gauge different price points. I still ended up going with a '70s Alvarez Yairi dreadnought for $400 which is good enough for my needs, but I did like several of the Eastmans I tried in the low 1k range. They're made in China by legit luthiers with good woods, and while they were new models they didn't feel or sound 'modern' (I've long hated Ovations and the like.) If I ever get more serious about acoustics that's probably as fancy as I'd go unless I won the lottery.

And yeah.. don't underestimate '70s MIJ guitars: Alvarez, Yamahas (worked for Elliott Smith..), etc. It's worth a proper tune up, and they may even stick it in a humidor for a week.