Seeking recommendations for an acoustic under 2000

[v32 finish]

Originally Posted by Aaron Smith

From the description in your OP, you and I have very similar playing styles and tastes. I own both a J-45 and a D-28, and love them both. However, if I had to have just one, it would be the J-45 without any question. It just suits my playing style and singing range; it’s the “right” guitar for me.

Advanced Jumbo or J45. Without question. Of course I may be biased, but.. I think you can get into a J45 standard OR a regular AJ for under 2k. I keep reading this thread and just for some reason Adv. Jumbo is just screaming at me. Usually I recommend J45 (or 35) in situations like this (theres a beautiful j35 on sale in the classifieds here for a stupid good price) but for some reason I think if you got your hands on a post-2015 AJ it would be game over, just based on what you've described.

[v32 finish]

Also as an honorable mention: Furch/stonebridge guitars. I havent had the honor yet but for value , I think there are few people who would argue against both Furch and Larrivee. (still though my instinct is pointing elsewhere )

[vindibona1]

I read through a couple pages of replies. Nobody gave you bad advice. But with a budge of $2000 I would take a different approach than some of the others.

You already know that $2000 will buy you one heck of a used guitar. That's a great start. Good budget, eyes set on used potentially. But here's what I would do were I in your shoes...

Don't let a time frame dictate when you'll pull the trigger. Be patient. Go play a lot of guitars in all price ranges- particularly the more expensive ones. Focus on guitars that are considered to be top quality. Spoil your ears. Don't linger on the ones that don't sound or feel good to you. You need to know what real quality guitars sound and feel like. Play every used instrument you can get your hands on. I think you will be surprised at how educated your hands and ears will become in 30 days.

Once you've played enough really good guitars you will have a much better idea of what strikes you. Once your ears and hands are trained, keep playing a lot of instruments. The difference between my approach and the others is... with my approach your guitar will find you rather than the other way around. You may find "the one" and end up spending far less than you thought.

Anecdote alert! Stop reading here if you don't like anecdotes. I've said pretty much the important stuff above.To drive home my point...

A number of years ago my 16 y/o daughter and I set out to buy her a professional level piccolo. These suckers can get very expensive. She was an aspiring flute player and studying with one of the Chicago Symphony folks. I had a budget of $2000 for said picc, which is peanuts in the flute world where some professional instruments can cost $10k (or more, even back then). It so happened that the National Flute Fair came to town for the week. We set out to look for a piccolo and spent several days there trying many piccolos. She must have auditioned in excess of 60 piccolos in that time period. Nothing struck us as being worthy of purchase even as I considered expanding my budget to $3000. On the very last day of the fair, in the very last minutes as we were headed for the door we chanced to run into someone who told us that she has a used piccolo for sale that she had refurbished and encouraged my daughter to try it. We both could instantly hear the difference. It was head and shoulders, night and day better than any of the other 60+ piccs that we tried over 3 days. I asked- the cost? $700. Sold! ... The perfect example of it finding us rather than us finding it. End anecdote.

[Paddy1951]

I just read this whole thread. You are getting recommendations from all over the map. Not wrong or unusual.

IMO, you need to slow down. Yes, play many models but don't be in a rush. It is normal for a person to point to a guitar they like and probably own. Human nature. A "this is the way to go" kind of thing. ALL the guitars mentioned are good guitars.

Be patient when you buy the guitar, especially if it is new. Guitars take a while to come into their own. You mentioned you felt the Gibson J15 lacked mids. But you hardly gave it a chance. You compared it to a Martin DM which has got to be... I'm thinking 10 years old or more? They have been discontinued for some time, so your girlfriend's DM has got some serious playing time on it!
I don't think the J15 lacks mids. There are things that you can do that can make a real difference. Strings, for instance. Put some good PBs on that J15 and it is a different animal. But it doesn't make any difference what I think. YOU have to be pleased.

But you need to be patient. A guitar can sound really good one day, the next day not as much. Nature of the beast.

Any given guitar might not be the best sounding but really good for how you are going to use it. Remember, your audiences are nowhere near as discerning as the many members of the AGF.

Whichever guitar you chose, don't look back for at least a reasonable amount of time. There is no absolutely perfect guitar. You can drive yourself nuts by constantly second guessing.

Be patient. Follow your EARS. Once you make a choice, be happy with it. Determine how to get the most out of what you have chozen. Strings, bone saddle or not. Pin choice. Pick up choice. Give that guitar some time to please you. You may, for instance, need to slightly modify your playing style.
By your statement, you have not played a lot of acoustic guitar. Acoustics just play differently than electrics.

BE PATIENT.

Good luck with your search.

[Digitalshrub]

Originally Posted by Paddy1951

I just read this whole thread. You are getting recommendations from all over the map. Not wrong or unusual.
BE PATIENT.

Totally fair. I’ve been out of the loop regarding acoustics in general, and the recent Black Friday shenanigans got me a little keyed up and fixated on making a decision. I definitely need to take a step back and accept that this is a process. Thanks for the reality check!

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Exhale and enjoy the process. You're not far from the Martin shop in Nazareth. You might learn a thing or two while you're there.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by v32 finish

Also as an honorable mention: Furch/stonebridge guitars. I havent had the honor yet but for value , I think there are few people who would argue against both Furch and Larrivee. (still though my instinct is pointing elsewhere )

Another thumbs up for Furch (that won’t surprise those who know me

Here a sweet dread guitar and some killer licks (I have a new version of this guitar on the way)
Retail is above the OPs budget, but grandma always said don’t buy retail.

[Digitalshrub]

Returned the J-15. I really dug the feel of that neck, but to my ears, the guitar lacked the oomph and projection that I realized I wanted. I demoed tons of guitars since then, mostly Gibsons and Martins. The Gibson necks have a distinct, tactile feel that my hands really respond to. Though, to somewhat buy into the cliche of J-45s being inconsistent, I've played four or five in the last few days, and they definitely varied quite a bit. Much more so than the Martins I've played. One Gibson model I didn't care for was a Hummingbird; the tone was a tad strident, and I didn't like the neck profile.

I played a J-45 True Vintage model today, and it felt so awesome. I loved the murky, mellow sound of it, too. But I brought a friend to play with me, and the J-45 True Vintage just couldn't keep up volume-wise with pretty much any guitar my friend picked up. (I was using a heavier pick, and I'm no pushover when it comes to hard strumming). It was begging for solo bedroom recording projects. In the latter half of our jam/quest, I found myself gravitating to a D-18. I was surprised by how much I liked the neck; not as comfy as the J-45s and J-15s I've played, but not as thin as some Martins. From the first strum, it was the sound I had been looking for. And not just on the loud stuff. Tried a few other Martins, including a D-35, but the D-18 was obviously what I liked the best.

So, screw cutaways. My mind is pretty made up: a D-18. I do need an acoustic/electric soon for a live theater project I have coming up, but I think I'll get a lower-tier guitar (Guild, Yamaha, Breedlove, Takamine) with a cutaway for that, and shop around for the best deal I can find on a D-18 in the meantime. No need to enlist a D-18 to get all banged up onstage by a bunch of actors, including myself. Down the line, I could totally see owning a J-45 or Advanced Jumbo, especially for recording.

[ripdotcom]

I only read the OP but if you are used to a large guitar and there is a D18GE close enough to go play and buy for under $2K, it looks like you already found what you are looking for. That is a hard guitar to beat and one that will never dissapoint or leave regret. Also a D18V is an excellent choice if you are ok with the 1-11/16 Nut, they can be found in the $1500-$2000 range

Good Luck

[ripdotcom]

Come to think of it, a 88-95 D-16 or D16T would be an excellent choice and can be had for around $1000.00. they have so much in common with a prewar designed guitar and have GE bracing. I have a the 000 version and have had a couple of the dreads and a 00. Once again, if you are ok with a smaller neck and a 1-11/16 nut these are quite excellent and many a tale have been told of men and women walking into stores intending to buy a D28 or D18 and walking out with one of these because of what they heard.

[Digitalshrub]

Originally Posted by ripdotcom

Come to think of it, a 88-95 D-16 or D16T would be an excellent choice and can be had for around $1000.00. they have so much in common with a prewar designed guitar and have GE bracing. I have a the 000 version and have had a couple of the dreads and a 00. Once again, if you are ok with a smaller neck and a 1-11/16 nut these are quite excellent and many a tale have been told of men and women walking into stores intending to buy a D28 or D18 and walking out with one of these because of what they heard.

The friend who played at Guitar Center with me today has a D-16. It's a thing of beauty. I'd have nothing against getting one of those.

That D-18GE I mentioned in my original post ended up selling (a while ago). Alas! I should've at least played it.

[oneshot1405]

I have a Yamaha A5R and I would highly recommend it. Yamaha will always give you a great value for the money, and this guitar stacks right up with my way too expensive taylor. Has an extremely even tone, with awesome mic modelling electronics to combat the typical piezo "quack", a torrefied top for an already broken in sound, and the dread body will suit your bluegrass playing style. The guitar is sitka spruce top with indian rosewood back and sides all solid.

If you wanted to go even cheaper try to look for a used one or check out the less cosmetically dazzling A3R, which tonewise has the same materials.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by Digitalshrub

The friend who played at Guitar Center with me today has a D-16. It's a thing of beauty. I'd have nothing against getting one of those.

That D-18GE I mentioned in my original post ended up selling (a while ago). Alas! I should've at least played it.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record. If you like the D18 or D16.........
Old new stock.
https://www.sgimusiccorp.com/product/furch-d32sm-71173/

It's like A D18 on steroids. loud but not as mid scooped
And you would save enough to get a pick up with change left over

[Digitalshrub]

Originally Posted by oneshot1405

I have a Yamaha A5R and I would highly recommend it. Yamaha will always give you a great value for the money, and this guitar stacks right up with my way too expensive taylor. Has an extremely even tone, with awesome mic modelling electronics to combat the typical piezo "quack", a torrefied top for an already broken in sound, and the dread body will suit your bluegrass playing style. The guitar is sitka spruce top with indian rosewood back and sides all solid.

If you wanted to go even cheaper try to look for a used one or check out the less cosmetically dazzling A3R, which tonewise has the same materials.

Thanks for the rec! Yeah, the guitars I'm eyeing are: Guild D-150 (maybe D-120), Breedlove Stage Dreadnought, Takamine GD71ce, and Yamaha A3R (I'll check out the A5R as well). On paper, the biggest difference I noticed between these models is the scale length is shorter on the A3R (23.5" vs approx 25.5" on the others). Oh, and I believe the nut width on the Guilds is 1 3/4” vs 1 11/16” on the others. Which might be a vote in favor of the Guilds, since I’d been gravitating towards the necks on the Gibsons, which would provide a contrast to the eventual D-18 purchase.

Mbroady, thanks for the rec on Furch. It looks like there's one dealer in NYC, but short of them having any, it would be a bit of a gamble for me to buy a guitar from a brand I've never played.

[jjrpilot]

I know you've gotten a ton of advice. I think you're going about it correctly. Just take your time. No need to rush.

For what it's worth, I got a NOS (new old stock) 2017 J45 for wayyy under 2K, and I love it.

The J45 and D18, both I think based on your description will offer you what you want. Both are solid Sitka Spruce and solid Mahogany back and sides.

The Mahogany part will give you an even sound spectrum and won't leave you with that typical mid-range scoop that you would experience with Rosewood.

To my ears the D18 can really belt it out there like a bell and the J45 has that great punch and decay that is superb for recordings.

Both are great options! Keep us posted!