After 30 years, I'm buying a new acoustic, here's my shortlist

[CooloutAC]

Originally Posted by blakey

A good neck angle from the get go makes such a difference on any guitar.
I've played and owned quite a few Mexican Taylors and Martins and found nearly all very poor quality, except one road series Martin I played in a shop recently that was exceptional. but that success ratio is probably about one in fifty.
I played some eastern import guilds that played marginally better than a garden shed, but I'm there are probably some occasional nice examples of import Guilds that are good. IMO USA Martins and Taylors always sound good but that doesn't mean their geometry will always be spot on - just a better likelyhood.
Very happy with my Eastman. Nice to have all the build quality, playability and an Adi top.

I was with you all the way to you said eastman. lol. I was gonna say that the reason why the expensive guitars are always in good condition is not just because they are built better, they are also treated better than the cheap guitars in the guitar shops themselves.

[CooloutAC]

Originally Posted by Fatfingers12

Have you ever played one?

welcome the internet and online guitar buying in 2023. I'm just as paranoid as that guy after a recent experience and don't believe anything people say about these guitars. Seems to be all marketing hype to get people to make their blind purchases. We have youtube to compare sounds, and while alot of these guitars sound decent I would suggest people go play these guitars in the store themselves and bring a fret rocker and straight edge to check frets and neck angles lol.

BTW Fender did right by me and gave me the full refund on the all mahogany paramount. And Yes it did sound good as I expected from youtube reviews. But was brutal to play compared to my 20 year old DX1, and needed fret work. I pointed out a high frett causing a buzz(it had a couple others that would probably be an issue with lower action). And I mean it was brutal to play. Even with the same action height same gauge strings, even the body was cutting into my arm. But when you listen to all the comments and reviews you are left with a false impression otherwise. I guess most people don't know any better or already have better guitars and i'm just spoiled with my cheap HPL Martin eh? lol....

Its funny too I was a sucker listening to all the commenters and reviewers that Martin has very high action and hard to play compared to other factory settings. I found out thats bs when it comes to my playing. The acousticshoppe guys even claim the cheap martins have sharp edges. BS. Unless things have changed in Mexico my 20 year old frets besides some notches are still perfectly level on the neck (not with the bodyextension) and smooth and low all around. I should of ordered a dreadnaught jr street master sapele top or something instead. But now I'm so disillusioned I'm not buying anything without playing it first, which won't be anytime soon. I don't even like Sapele, but I sure like the Martin brand even more now.

[Fatfingers12]

Originally Posted by CooloutAC

welcome the internet and online guitar buying in 2023. I'm just as paranoid as that guy after a recent experience and don't believe anything people say about these guitars. Seems to be all marketing hype to get people to make their blind purchases. We have youtube to compare sounds, and while alot of these guitars sound decent I would suggest people go play these guitars in the store themselves and bring a fret rocker and straight edge to check frets and neck angles lol.

BTW Fender did right by me and gave me the full refund on the all mahogany paramount. And Yes it did sound good as I expected from youtube reviews. But was brutal to play compared to my 20 year old DX1, and needed fret work. I pointed out a high frett causing a buzz(it had a couple others that would probably be an issue with lower action). And I mean it was brutal to play. Even with the same action height same gauge strings, even the body was cutting into my arm. But when you listen to all the comments and reviews you are left with a false impression otherwise. I guess most people don't know any better or already have better guitars and i'm just spoiled with my cheap HPL Martin eh? lol....

Its funny too I was a sucker listening to all the commenters and reviewers that Martin has very high action and hard to play compared to other factory settings. I found out thats bs when it comes to my playing. The acousticshoppe guys even claim the cheap martins have sharp edges. BS. Unless things have changed in Mexico my 20 year old frets besides some notches are still perfectly level on the neck (not with the bodyextension) and smooth and low all around. I should of ordered a dreadnaught jr street master sapele top or something instead. But now I'm so disillusioned I'm not buying anything without playing it first, which won't be anytime soon. I don't even like Sapele, but I sure like the Martin brand even more now.

So no. And I guess you think the forum members who like Eastmans are You Tube shills.

[CooloutAC]

Originally Posted by Fatfingers12

So no. And I guess you think the forum members who like Eastmans are You Tube shills.

Don't know what youtube has to do with it, unless like me they were convinced by youtube to buy one and don't know any better. Its part of the reason I'm posting so much now, I'm horrified at the state of the industry which is literally going backwards and dying faster than ever.

Then again there are people who traded away their Martins for one, I think because A. its too much of a hassle to find a luthier to fix their old Martin or B. its simply much cheaper. C. they like the fact they claim its handcrafted. Which reminds me I have to see if there are any videos of the factory these are made in. D. They want a cheap all solid wood alternative. E. They probably own multiple guitars so don't even have a focused ear or care about having a easy and stable daily driver for the next 20 years.

[Corndog]

OP,

So after 30 YEARS of playing, you're looking to treat yourself with a mid/low priced Chinese Dreadnought? Reach for the stars...

If you had put but a quarter a day in a jar for those 30 YEARS, you would have enough for a D-18.

Someday you'll pass that Fender acoustic along to a grandchild. What an heirloom.

[CooloutAC]

Originally Posted by Corndog

OP,

So after 30 YEARS of playing, you're looking to treat yourself with a mid/low priced Chinese Dreadnought? Reach for the stars...

If you had put but a quarter a day in a jar for those 30 YEARS, you would have enough for a D-18.

Someday you'll pass that Fender acoustic along to a grandchild. What an heirloom.

I would suggest he get something Mexican or Japanese made for his budget lol. Oh wait I thought the FG3 was made in Japan. Nevermind....

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by CooloutAC

Is anybody playing 20 year old Eastmans, or even 10 year old ones that never needed work done on it?

FYI I bought a Eastman E10SS in 2012 that has never needed any work and I'd part with one of my Martins before I'd part with the Eastman.

[gomespt]

Ok, it took some time but after a lot of pondering I chose the Epiphone Excellente, which actually came into my radar after a suggestion on this topic.

As I live in small Portugal, there are few guitar stores and they usually only have in stock very popular guitars (like Teles and Strats), so this had to be bought online. Every review raved about this guitar and I also like the history of the model (being an actual original and rare Epiphone, not a Gibson copy).

I got the guitar today and unfortunately it came with:

- pickguard came completely detached from the guitar, has what seems almost like one of those glue films you remove to glue something into place but it's sticky so it's really the pickguard glue that sucks and just came off

https://imgbb.com/WsmKpXY

- the ebony bridge edges is not well finished. The top part is nicely beveled but as it goes down looks like someone got careless with a file and it's not delicately beveled but roughly, looks sloppy

https://ibb.co/09Tv1q4

- there's a 9volt battery plug and wired just hanging loose inside the soundhole. Is this suposed to be like this? Shouldn't it be in some way fixed, otherwise it will just be there dangling.

https://ibb.co/0BFyHFC

- being picky here, but I do pay attention to detail, there seems to be some minor "bleeding" of finish around the set neck areas, where the neck joins with the body, like a bit to much finish makes the joinery not look precise and sharp (hard to explain in writing)

https://ibb.co/tx6ZPs8

Strumming it it does sound great, it's a canon, but very high fidelity sound at the same time, however I'm used to a humble and oompa-loompa sized Yamaha APX4 so don't have another high end dreadnought to compare it with.

I will maybe take it to a local luthier to take a look and decide if I fix these glitches and keep it or return it. This is my second bad experience with a guitar in a row after getting a Yamaha FGX5 with some equally bad QC and finish issues.

It's a hard guitar to get, always out of stock and price keeps going up bought it form 1100€, now is around 1200/1300, was once 850€).

What are your thoughts on this, should I keep it?

[Dok]

That pickguard coming off isn't a bad thing in my opinion. They're super thick and surely deaden the top. You can always put on a thinner one later, but if you decide to keep this, I'd recommend leaving it off for now. The other issues aren't dealbreakers for me at all.

[Pickcity]

I really dig the Excellente. Those things sound good. They look good too, at least to me. I would get that pickguard re-attached. It is too cool not to be attached. The guitar will still sound great.

Congrats!

[Moldstar]

My thoughts are that there are so many great used guitars out there that run circles around the excellente and epiphone, why are you focused on just this one new guitar from epiphone with mediocre qc? A used eastman dread for 1100 pounds sterling would be amazing. I would say get used E10D-TC. Or a new Eastman E6D or E8D. Or a guild d-40, can be had for 1500, used. Or a number of excellent used taylors like the 410/510 dn4/dn5 series, or a used Gibson j-35 from the early 2010's (those sound great) or a used Gibson j-15, or a real j-45 with cosmetic issues but still plays and sounds great - I see those everyone once in a while, and also there are Martin special 16's, there are Larrivee D-40s and Simple Sixes, just so many better guitars. IMO.

[gurroz]

When I looked at the Epiphone IBG models almost all the used models, and demos for sale had pickguard peeling issues. I was left feeling that I would have to pay a lot more and go with a Gibson custom shop guitar to get the quality I wanted. We all have a budget to stick to. Good luck with your new guitar.

[Seb_274]

Where did you buy the guitar? Do they have any sort of 30-day money back guarantee? Guitar seems to have been delivered with a lot of issues...
If however, the guitar sounds great and issues are fixable, I would keep it

[bobster7]

I’d avoid the Epiphone and the Guilds at this price point, quality control is not up to par. Look at Eastman (more modern tone) and Sigma (very Martin like tone). If you can up your budget a bit to say £1200 you could get a Sigma SDM-18E with a European spruce top and flamed Mahogany back and sides. Of all the guitars in my signature I think this one is the best I have ever bought in terms of value for money and that includes a used Eastman E20P for £600.

The tone is simply outstanding, clarity and warmth in equal measure.

[rollypolly]

I’ll second the folks who recommended a used guitar. I’d take my time and look over your local classifieds and shops for a used made in USA guitar. Guild D-25s and D-35s can be had for much less than your budget. Maybe a Gibson studio J-45. There are a few options out there. Good luck!