What guitar brands have you tried to like/love but end up selling?

[Nctom]

I can't see that any post that states "this is not brand bashing, just personal, but I've never played a ______ that I like" is anything but brand bashing. There have been some brands that I haven't cared for, but none that I started a thread about how much I didn't care for them.

Personally, I have Larrivees that I love, a Martin or two that are quite playable, and even a Gibson that is a fine guitar. Also, I mustn't forget two Waterloos and a Recording King that I'm fond of. Generally if I run across a guitar I don't like I don't buy it and don't post what I didn't like about it.

[brencat]

Collings.

Owned 3, played dozens. I initially LOVED the tone because it was so shockingly different than the Martin/Gibson vintage voicing I had grown up listening to. Collings make a great first impression. Impeccable fit and finish, and loud, explosive, piano-like tone. They play like a coiled spring, and output more than you put into them. Then the playability issues started. They demand your very best technique to sound their best. The constant fighting with my Collings after playing my Santa Cruz and Martins loosey goosey with no issues became trying after a while, and I eventually sold them all.

I have no regrets though. They were amazing guitars and I still have the utmost respect for the Collings brand. But they are not for me, and I can live with that.

[Oldguy64]

I’m cheap. Let’s start there.

I don’t end up selling so much as not buying in the first place.
I haven’t been able to bond with a Martin, Yamaha, or Washburn.
I have bonded with a Gibson or two, but my wallet has not.

I like Taylors. But when I have a couple around, they are what ends up going to fund the next round of GAS.

[Rogerblair]

I tend to drift around, more out of boredom with a guitar, rather than not liking it. I’ve had some wonderful examples of Larrivee, Martin, Gibson, etc, etc that I’ve moved along just to try something new.

Eastmans move out more quickly, I guess, because I am not a fan of Adirondack tops and most that I’ve tried have that feature. I want to like Adi, but can’t warm up to the harshness that I perceive.

It’s all fun. I do have a J45 that I’ve noticed hanging around longer than most, so maybe I’m a Gibson guy.

Roger

[Tnfiddler]

I've not played a guitar brand that I didn't like! I'm sure there is a model made by any maker out there that I would like. I, personally found that out by being a "Taylor-only" person for many years. I missed out on some FANTASTIC guitars by being closed-minded and limiting myself to one brand! Remember, we're all guitar players, first! They're all great!

[TomB'sox]

This thread is borderline while thus far has being OK, but remember there is a rule against brand bashing on the AGF, so keep your comments constructive please.

[boombox]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

For me it wold have to be modern Gibsons. Apart from the poor finish/presentation, the tone simply des't rach me.

Taylors don't attract me either - just don't like their shapes (by which i mean they don't look like pre-war designs - which is my thing).

Same experience with new Gibsons: really want to find one and I've played a lot in shops and came really close only once, but the price for me couldn't justify the purchase. I don't have anything against Gibsons though - my longest owned 12 string is a 60s B45-12 and I am sorely tempted by a few small jumbos I've seen advertised around the net.

I had similar issues initially with Martin. I really did want to like them and I did own a 16 series 00-CE for about a month - I bought it because I thought everyone HAD to have a Martin. But after it sounded good in the shop, I quickly realised at home that it was pretty bland sounding, so I took a hit on it and moved it on very quickly. Much later, however, looking for a 12-fret, with no Waterloo WL-12s about, I tried a 00-17 12-fret which was quite simply the best Martin I've ever played and very nearly got it had my head not been turned by a Taylor.

I generally don't go a bundle on hype, so had never really looked seriously at Taylor. Maybe like Silly, it was the non-traditional shapes too, but I never made any effort to try them. However, after being recommended to try a 312, I then tried the more expensive 712e and that's what I bought. I then realised that in that guitar's case, for me, the whole Taylor playability and workmanship thing wasn't hype. I did own a 354ce 12 for a while too, but only sold it on to part-finance a Huss & Dalton 12 string - no fault of the Taylor, though.

So, I guess my take on it would be, even if previous underwhelming experience suggests one thing, the right guitar will usually find it's way to me, irrespective of the name on the headstock.

I think threads like this are great, a long as posters don't start being over-protective and mistaking valid statements of personal experience for 'brand bashing'. When I first switched to acoustic after 20+ years of being an electric player, I knew next to nothing and could only base choices on limited personal experience as, in the UK, good dealers are few and far between unless you live in the South East. Honest comments, which 99% of comments here are, can actually reassure you that you are not mad, eg before I came here, I had no idea there were perceived good and bad periods in certain brands history or that some brands were generally accepted to be more consistent. 10 years in, I now see how some such beliefs might be seen to be true, and others perhaps not so, but now this is borne out by personal experience. Guitar forums such as this are therefore more useful if presenting all sides: after all, we don't see threads being threatened with closure if someone expounds the virtues of one brand too much - is this not just the exact opposite of 'brand bashing'? I would certainly be worse off if all the 12-string threads promoting Guilds had been closed for over-promotion: I never would have taken a punt on an F512 having never played one, which turned out to be one of my smartest guitar decisions ever.

[Brucebubs]

Sizes - yes
Brands - no

[s2y]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

This thread is borderline while thus far has being OK, but remember there is a rule against brand bashing on the AGF, so keep your comments constructive please.

My solution has been to take what I like about a given guitar and find an independent luthier who can do EXACTLY what I want. My Bob Thompson acoustics are basically a Martin sound with a Taylor feel. No complaints here.

[jrb715]

The question made me realize how easy I am about brands. There's all of one that many folks like that just doesn't do it for me, but I fear if it were sensible and practicable I'd have at home a flock of brands. I've consigned one guitar, but only because I found a guitar from another brand that suited my needs a little better (but I still have three, soon to be four, guitars from the brand of the guitar that went to a better home).

[llew]

I'm not sure I didn't particularly "like" them but I've owned several different builders that didn't last. Usually to fund something I thought might be better. Among the most of one brand I've tried is Larrivee, Taylor, and Breedlove. There have been others but those are the ones I've owned more than one of.

[sakar12]

Originally Posted by TomB'sox

This thread is borderline while thus far has being OK, but remember there is a rule against brand bashing on the AGF, so keep your comments constructive please.

As someone who bristles every time someone else writes "those guitars never sound good! Brand X is the king!" I think this thread has been a perfect example of how brand bashing can easily be avoided by adding "to me" or "IMHO."

And one more thing, which doesn't need to be said but I'll do it anyway: some of us are loyal to a brand for deeply personal reasons. Maybe Dad gifted us his treasured Martin and so it reminds us of him. Maybe our significant other bought us our first Gibson. In my case, I once drove up to a quiet place in a canyon in a moment of absolute depression, with a gun in one hand and a Taylor in the back seat. I'm still kicking (though I just found out, today, that I have cancer) because I chose to play just one more song, which then became one more and one more and one more again. TMI, but now you know why I deeply appreciate Taylor. (Yes, I believe that if my Lowden or any of my d Martins or my Teton or son's Rogue had been in the back seat, the same thing would have happened. Doesn't matter--I'll always associate that day with the Taylor.)

Again, this is probably TMI, but there you go.

Guitars rock. Music rocks. If only I'd discovered all this earlier in life.

[Cheezeweggie]

I guess I don't like Martin because backpackers make me laugh. But wait... My D16 sounds like a choir of angels. So maybe I do like Martin. Or maybe not. I'm so confused.

[steveh]

Originally Posted by brencat

Collings.

^this.

I could never understand all of the gushing reviews. Indeed, I actually bought one a few years ago to live with it for a while, so sure was I that I was wrong and everyone else was right.
Didn't work out. I sold it.
Easy to play, beautifully made, and really uninspiring. Nothing to criticise about the way they sound, but no mojo either. I've played loads and they all sound like that to me.
Taylors are the same, but they get nowhere near the same volume of glowing reviews from the cognoscenti.

Cheers,
Steve

[JGinNJ]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

I have never been in that situation, because if I don't love a guitar brand right away - in every respect - I won't buy it in the first place...

^ This. Though for me, it doesn't have to do it for me 100% right away. I'll at least get past the first date! I've tried multiple models, more than once, of some brands I want to like, but haven't gone through with a purchase. Blueridge, Taylor, Ovation are in that category, mostly because of their sound.