Looking for a second £500-£800 guitar, quite fancy an electro acoustic

[Martyn Eden]

I got my Eastman E1d from Richard's. Too far away to visit in person, but if I was you I'd make the journey assuming he has the models that interest you in stock.
He doesn't carry Yamaha or Alvarez though, which you can check out in London.
Yamaha London are very good and will give you a free set-up after purchase. You can haggle with them too.

[standup]

I’m newly enthused about Breedlove guitars. Play some and see if they work for you.

A couple of years ago I picked one up in a guitar shop and played a bit, and I liked it. I looked at the price tag and it was not an expensive guitar, I was surprised.

This year I bought a concertina, their small-body parlor/00 guitar. I played a bunch, and bought an “Artista” level guitar. All solid woods, and to me totally a couple steps above their “Discovery” level instruments.

But you have to play it yourself to see if it’s to your liking.

[mawmow]

Did I miss anybody suggesting Tanglewood ?

Eastman E10 ?

Seagull Performer.

[TDW]

The recommendations keep coming guys, thanks for making my list grow. I'm heading to Milton Keynes this weekend for work and will see if I can find anything worth looking at whilst I'm there. Good shot re Yamaha, I hadn't really considered them so I'll add them to the list. I don't discard Tanglewood, but it's not up there on my wish list at the moment.

I'm very much set on going and trying a few out and then see where that takes me. I did find the Martin D15M using the same approach so I'm confident I'll pick a good one. Getting quite excited now!

[rob 1963]

Originally Posted by Aimelie

TDW, is there any possibility that you could make the trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon? (Richard’s Guitars). I see that it’s about 1 1/2 hours’ drive from Bedfordshire.

They have a shop full of acoustics and are now doing personalized appointments with clients to find the best guitar to suit her/his needs (and that includes price range).

Nothing beats trying a guitar physically — hearing how it sounds, feeling how it plays.

In your situation, that’s what I would do.

I so agree with this. I went to Richard last week and met him and his colleague John. I was so well treated and could tell that John was genuinely looking for the best sound and style for what I'd asked rather than just pushing one brand/model etc.

Most importantly, I went there sold on the idea of the Eastman brand with 2 questions: (1) Dreadnought or OM/000 and (2) confirmation that Rosewood sounded warmer to my ears. I was convinced I'd purchase either the E8d TC or E8OM TC

I had previously heard an Eastman E8 OM TC and a Martin 000 28 (out of my budget) and thought that was the perfect sound. As explained to me, if bought in isolation, I would have been delighted with either of these great guitars but John suggested that by trying a few different guitars back to back I might change my mind.

He was right. After over an hour of constant alternating, I'd decided, with John's comments and input, that OM size was for me, mahogany over rosewood and the make/model that had the best sound to my ears was the Auden Chester which I'd never even heard of, although the Eastman SS was just as good but the practicalities of the bigger size would mean it would get used less often given the way/place I practice.

I am just organising finances so I can make the purchase but my conclusion is that it's definitely worth trying in the flesh and that Richards Guitars is an absolutely excellent shop to go to. I drove from London based on their YouTube videos and will definitely be buying from them

[Coler]

Consider an LR Baggs M80 soundhole pickup for your existing guitar. Should be a great match. You can buy an extension lead so that you don't need to make a permanent installation (drapes out the sound hold.

[Aimelie]

Originally Posted by rob 1963

I so agree with this. I went to Richard last week and met him and his colleague John. I was so well treated and could tell that John was genuinely looking for the best sound and style for what I'd asked rather than just pushing one brand/model etc.

Most importantly, I went there sold on the idea of the Eastman brand with 2 questions: (1) Dreadnought or OM/000 and (2) confirmation that Rosewood sounded warmer to my ears. I was convinced I'd purchase either the E8d TC or E8OM TC

I had previously heard an Eastman E8 OM TC and a Martin 000 28 (out of my budget) and thought that was the perfect sound. As explained to me, if bought in isolation, I would have been delighted with either of these great guitars but John suggested that by trying a few different guitars back to back I might change my mind.

He was right. After over an hour of constant alternating, I'd decided, with John's comments and input, that OM size was for me, mahogany over rosewood and the make/model that had the best sound to my ears was the Auden Chester which I'd never even heard of, although the Eastman SS was just as good but the practicalities of the bigger size would mean it would get used less often given the way/place I practice.

I am just organising finances so I can make the purchase but my conclusion is that it's definitely worth trying in the flesh and that Richards Guitars is an absolutely excellent shop to go to. I drove from London based on their YouTube videos and will definitely be buying from them

The fact that they do a free setup of the guitar before it goes out the door is pretty great, too. I just think they’re a group of passionate guitar junkies that want to do the best by their customers. One can’t ask for more than that.

[Martyn Eden]

They also offer a second set up after 6 months of ownership. Mine is going back after Xmas after 18 months. I just pay for the shipping.

[TDW]

I'm definitely not discarding heading up to Richards. It's about 90 mins drive away so I could make a day of it. I'm off to Cambridge this weekend to do some Xmas shopping and they've got a PMT store there which looks like it's got some great stock and choices.

I'm not against installing my own pick up, but the wife has now said she wants to contribute £500 towards a new guitar so I'm more inclined to treat myself to something new.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by TDW

Thanks again for the extra suggestions. I'll certainly look at all the recommendations. Out of interest, do any of these Breedloves look like a particularly good deal? https://www.dawsons.co.uk/acoustic-g...ustic-guitars/

I know nothing about them, but the 'saving' against the rrp is ~40%+ so I wanted to get opinions. I read their concert guitar is mid way between a 00 and 000, so it would seem to fit what I'm looking for.

I bought a Breedlove Discovery Concert MH (all mahogany). Nice tone, nice clean build, great playability but the neck was a bit too skinny for my taste.

[TDW]

Thanks Andrew, good to hear a recommendation for Breedloves, but I've now got my heart set on going for what I like the sound of more than anything else.

I went to PMT in Cambridge today and it was all a bit meh. Too many in there playing over each other made it really difficult to hear how the guitars really sounded, but I did get to look at sizes and shapes so it wasn't a wasted journey.

So anyway, I ended up calling Richard's Guitars and Peach Guitars and booked myself into some personal appointments next weekend. Peach guitars looks like it's got some great stock to choose from, but they were a little short and sharp in their emails during the booking procedure and told me twice that there was no browsing during the appointment and I'd have to pick the guitars beforehand or ask for recommendations. I don't take particular issue with their approach, but it wasn't anything that made me feel particularly excited.

Richard's Guitars on the other hand was much more personalised. They've booked me into a 3hr slot next Saturday in a section of their studio all to myself. We spoke about what I was hoping for and the budget, plus the types of wood and tones that I'd be listening to when trying out each guitar. I came off the phone genuinely excited to get over there and see what they've got in store for me.

I'll report back about how I get on, but I'm quietly confident I'll be cancelling my appointment at Peaches on the Sunday!

[stillsteven]

Originally Posted by TDW

Richard's Guitars on the other hand was much more personalised. They've booked me into a 3hr slot next Saturday in a section of their studio all to myself. We spoke about what I was hoping for and the budget, plus the types of wood and tones that I'd be listening to when trying out each guitar. I came off the phone genuinely excited to get over there and see what they've got in store for me.

I'll report back about how I get on, but I'm quietly confident I'll be cancelling my appointment at Peaches on the Sunday!

I heard a lot of great things about Richards Guitars, I too have a suspicion you will cancel that appointment on Sunday.

[blakey]

If you've already got a Martin I'd say you've ticked that box.
Like other people have said Faith guitars are a solid choice if your buying new.
I have owned a Faith Naked Venus and found it to be really good value for the money. All solid wood, electro-acoustic if you need it and they come with with really nice hard cases.
They come really well setup too, with a nice low action. If your after a finger picker the Venus is a really good choice. They easily compare to parlour guitars from other makes. The fact that you get Mahogany back and sides as a tone wood makes them very competitive. Engelman spruce is a great tone wood for fingerpicking.

[nuchdig]

Alvarez MF60EOM LR Baggs Element pickup. Spruce/hog all solid

[TDW]

Faith Venus and Mercury are definitely on the list for looking at. I saw them in the PMT shop and the Faith guitars in general look lovely and well made