Who makes the best budget acoustic guitar?
 

By the word budget, I mean a guitar that would be under the £400 ($750) Mark.

Thanks. (I've been asked to recommend a few makes to a friend so any help would be welcomed).

Michael.

i'd say seagull makes the top of my budget list, along with yamaha, blueridge and recording king. taks at this price are well built, but tonally they don't do it for me. if your budget includes guild, that and seagull would be the two at the top of my list.

Crafter make the best budget (and mid and top level) guitars.

i don't have one now but i have in the past i like takamine for that price range.

Seagulls are the first thing I think of when this sort of question is asked. They sound good, and play really really well. (I was just in a shop the other day and I also tried out a Seagull 12 string and was quite impressed.)

I've not played Simon and Patric, or Art and Luthrie guitars, but these are made by the same company that makes the Seagulls (Godin), so they would probably be worth checking out too.

I've also played some Blueridge that were surprisingly nice.

I have no experience with Crafter, Voyage Air, or Recording King, so I can't say anything about them.

I've played some Takamine guitars in your price range that were pretty nice. But I agree with patticake in probably liking the average Seagull in that price range better.

In the event that classical guitars might be being considered as well, then I would look at LaPatrie - made by same company as Seagull, and really are quite nice.

Also, in this price range one can sometimes find used Martin 000-15 (or possibly 00-15, or D-15) guitars. The Martin 000-15, in its various forms, is a seriously nice guitar. Not a loud guitar, at first at least (though the old all mahogany Martins have been very loud), but with a really wonderful tone that can compete with a lot of much more expensive guitars. Mine competes for my time really successfully, and I also play a very nice Goodall and a nice classical.

Also, used higher end (or at least mid range) guitars with big scratches and such sometimes have big price cuts - I'd keep my eyes open for things like this. Scratches and dings are often just cosmetic, but can sometimes make nice higher end guitars more affordable.

Epiphone Masterbilt range would fit the bill perfectly.

I think Seagulls are the best budget guitars.

There are so many good ones it would be impossible for me to name one brand and be 100% right. Of course that's pretty much the way it is with me all the time.

Yamaha, Seagull, Blueridge, Epiphone, Alvarez, and I'm sure I'll miss more than a few others. It all boils down to what you want. We are living in a Golden Era of Cheap Guitars.

used Larrivee D series, or Martin D15
Dave

I've had great success, and been very pleased with all of the following with your said price as a ceiling:

Taylor 100 series
Voyage-Air
Seagull
Takamine G series
Blueridge
Cort (Earth series)

I second this. Can't go wrong with a Seagull either.

for that Price range...
I Like (in no particular order):
- Yamaha L series
- Blueridge
- Epiphone Masterbilt
- Seagull

They make some really great sounding instruments at a very reasonable price...

seagull is always in the bang-for-the-buck discussion, and for good reason. great sounding laminates and build quality are their specialty and reputation. however, at your price point don't overlook their solid woods. some people will argue that they are not much better than the lams, but my artist studio is a very definite jump up from my old S6+spruce (possibly the best sounding lam b&s i ever played). it was a craigslist find - $650 in absolute pristine condition, and can play with the big boys. they have not a great resale value, which is a good thing when you're the buyer - even more bang-for-the-buck!

I agree, the higher end Seagulls are definitely worth looking at.

I'm repeating myself here, but every time I pick up a Seagull in a store and play it I'm always impressed. Then I look at the price, and I'm doubly impressed. They usually have wonderful playability, comparable to the best guitars I have played, and they have a sound that would warrant keeping them even if you eventually add some higher end guitars to your collection. Even for a person with a collection of really high end guitars, a Seagull would make a seriously nice, satisfying beater guitar.

And for a beginner, it seems there is no excuse/need to be struggling to play guitar shaped objects that don't deserve to be called instruments (there are so many of these sold!) when there are guitars like Seagulls (and Blueridge, etc) on the market.