Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitar Slim II
All of the brands you mention make quality, playable instruments. An experienced classical player could make even an entry-level instrument from any of those makers sound great. Almost any model you get will be playable and suitable for home and practice.
But the fact is, you're going to have to learn a little bit about this beast before you can really judge what's best for you in a guitar.
So my advice is, get the best-quality instrument you can for a few hundred $$$, judge it by tangibles like intonation and projection, and then live with it for a while. Don't spend a fortune now. Spend a fortune when you're ready to trade up, and know what you want.
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This is exactly what I ended up doing. I bought an Almansa for just $400 CDN and I think I got lucky. The intonation is good, best in the store actually. There is enough room on the saddle to adjust it some more. Action was also okay, 4mm at low E & 3mm at high E. Lots of saddle height left for adjustments there too.
What really blew me away was the volume. Very loud but not brash at all. I actually
FEEL the low E string rumbling as I play. The trebles are not buried as I play, but I do feel that I dig in harder on the trebles. Solid Cedar top but laminated Mahogany back and sides. Quite light, made in Spain. I can play for over an hour at a time without pain in fingertips or wrists. My skills are improving quickly and I am getting a sense of what I want more of;
Which is balance! the switch from D to G is dramatic. Big change in tone and sustain. The wound strings sustain as long as my steel string guitar, while the trebles vanish fast. Past the 9th fret on the high E there is almost no sustain at all. We are talking 1 second here.
Hey... this was only $400 CDN. I actually can't believe how well it plays for the price. Will it last??? Probably not. My experience with low prices instruments is issues in the first 2 years. I may take it back... but it has grown on me!! I may just keep it.
The problem is that this is the best guitar in my city... which isn't saying much. There's no way this guitar will keep up with the $2000+ guitars, just isn't reasonable. So I can't even know what better guitars sound like without ordering them. I hate this part of the journey!
Most importantly I AM ENJOYING MUSIC AGAIN!! It was server hearing changes that drove me from guitar and to play very little for 5 years now. I can now play without the sensation of trying to get away from my guitar. I can even play LOUD if I want to. The tones are so much more natural to my ears. To put it a better way, less metallic.