What *should* my budget be?

[cliff_the_stiff]

1500-3000 is a sweet spot for higher end used guitars.
If someone asked me “what dread would you get?”
My answer would be get a used Martin J-40. Sounds better than everything to my ears.
One fantastic one is for sale here on the forum...

[RP]

My opinion is "in real life quality is a highly complex and somewhat subjective thing that doesn't correlate to price in a simple, linear way." The AGF membership is extremely varied as to their ability to be satisfied on the Y-axis and dollars spent on the X-axis. Some will swear that the $200 dread that they recently purchased is second to none at any price while others are only satisfied by the multiple individual choices of a boutique guitar. I wouldn't attempt to guess what anybody else's intersection of cost vs. satisfaction is or should be...

[BlackKeys36]

When I was selling guitars for a living I tried to talk people into the $7-800 minimum as being where they start to get "good" (15 years ago).

Nowadays, I think it depends on if you're picky about the source country. You can buy consistently great MIJ guitars from Yamaha and Takamine in the $1500-2500 new range($1000-1500 used).

For US made guitars I feel like you'll probably have to jump up to the $2250-3000 range to get equivalent quality to those Japanese options.

If you're willing to go to a Singapore brand, Maestro has some phenomenal tonewoods with lots of options typically reserved for $5k+ handmade guitars in the $2k range.

I'm a big fan of buying used and letting someone else take the initial depreciation hit (though I make exceptions here on AGF to support local builders) and you will find that the MIJ and Singapore guitars take a bigger % hit than your typical US made one. If you're looking for best "bang for your buck" I would buy a $2000-2500 guitar used in the $1200-1500 range.

[nightchef]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

Judging from your record of posts here on AGF you are a gigging musician. It may help folks point you in the direction of how much to spend if you could outline exactly the job you want your new dreadnaught to do (type of gig, type of music genera etc) and the rig you already have.

Well, I was a gigging musician, back when there were gigs. And may be again.

So for context, I currently own four acoustic guitars:

1. 1978 Guild D50 (see below)
2. Eastman E10OM
3. Martin D12X1AE
4. La Patrie CW Concert nylon-string

Unfortunately the D50 has serious issues and may be on its deathbed. I'm going to have it checked out, but I'm not hopeful. (Serious neck/headstock crack, repaired about 15 years ago, now deteriorating; the guy who did the original work warned me that the repair might not last forever and would probably be impossible to do a second time.)

So I'm looking into replacing the D50. Literally replacing it would cost upwards of $3K, although if I were to go into that part of the budget range I might look first at a Martin or Gibson.

The Eastman, which I bought a couple of years ago, is a lovely instrument: beautiful to look at, effortless and responsive to play, with a rich, chimey tone. But it's not a dread, and there's a certain sound and way of playing that I'm used to pulling out the D50 for that the E10OM can't quite give me.

But the D50 replacement isn't the only item on my shopping list, so I don't want to spend $3000-ish on it if a less expensive guitar will make me happy. Hence the thread question.

[AH Acoustic]

Edited by member.

[MickZ]

Considering diminishing returns, I think anything over $3K is where the nuances become exceedingly costly. If you consider the D18 and J45, which are workhorse guitars, they land below the $3K mark new but offer just about everything you will ever need and are benchmarks for a reason. When you go above these, you're either paying for aesthetic choices, fancy woods, custom options or boutique builds. In most cases, the factory guitars have greater variability, so that's a key factor if you're buying online, and the boutiques like Bourgeois, Collings and Santa Cruz provide more consistency.

I love my Collings and Santa Cruz guitars, but have come to realize that the instruments I own from the Big 3 in the ~ $3K range are good enough for me, and I tend to play them the most. Sure, there are tonal and finishing differences, but you need to weigh how important these subtleties are and if they're worth the extra coin to you.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by nightchef

By this I mean, if you made a scatterplot with every available guitar on it, with the X-axis being price and the Y-axis being quality, where along the x-axis would there be the highest concentration of points above the trendline?

To my thinking, that point on the scatterplot would be at $1,300 USD.

[merlin666]

Should this reflect the quality of guitar or your financial status? I'd say chose between two weeks of your net income or what you would be willing to pay for a two week vacation for you and your loved one. One of these options should get you a guitar to make you happy.

[generalliamsayn]

Buying used is your #1 strategy RE: bang for the buck.

The last time I was in my awesome local used guitar store (Atomic Music in MD) they had a great sounding/playing Martin OM-15 in fine shape for $800.

If I didn't already have my L-00, I would have bought in a second.

[Br1ck]

I've always thought of a D 18 as the gateway to the good stuff. That could be a 300-400 Taylor or a J 45.

You can certainly spend less and get a good guitar, and more to get a better one. I've played some great adi topped D 16s and the 15 series is fantastic, but the 18 for me is the base standard of excellence.

[cu4life7]

I would add a modifier of 1200-3500. This is the range where you are getting all solid wood offerings from American brands. On the low end you have the Martin 15 series, 17 series, Gibson J-15, Taylor 300 series up through the Standards (D-18, D-28, Gibson J-45, Taylor 700+ series).

Above this price you are into boutique brands (which are great), but to me the standards are the standards for a reason.

In your shoes, I would try the D-18, D-28, and the J-45 and use those as my baseline for judging everything else up against. You may find you can get pretty close for cheaper, or something different entirely like the 15 series. For my money, you can't possibly beat the value/tone/history/americana of the D-18 Standard for a dread. Don't forget used as well. Happy hunting.

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Br1ck

I've always thought of a D 18 as the gateway to the good stuff.

Ha! For decades I considered the D-18 as the ultimate goal. Anything beyond that, in my mind, was just bling and feathers.

(I'm still kinda there, actually.)

[Batmitestar]

I frequently squander time by putting arbitrary ranges into Reverb price range and seeing what falls out for various brands.

I am consistently delighted by what you can buy for $1250 - 1500 used in excellent condition. Pretty well any brand solid Murican axe can be had whether your pleasure is a J-45 or D-18 or 310 etc.

In my mind, under $1500 for a used guitar is the pretty sweet spot.

[airpatrick]

I’m not so sure used is the best bang for your buck today. Sure there are deals to be had, but used prices haven’t been very far off new prices with the guitars I’ve been looking at. In some cases, the used asking prices are even more. Of course if you can’t find the new model you want due to production, my point is moot.

My vote for largest return by doubling is 1500-3000, and my scatterplot number is 2250.

[buddyhu]

I think the $1500-3000 range (used) is where you find pretty consistent high quality, in regards to tone, in regardless fit and finish, and regarding playability. Great guitars can be had for a lot less, but the consistency of the greatness can be less reliable As you go lower with price. And below $1200, you can do very well, but you might also find some aspect (especially tone). A bit disappointing. M