If not Taylor, what?

[JimandJoni]

I got a Big Baby Taylor, and it's quite nice (action a bit high), but I am having a really nightmarish experience with the only local dealer about a different Taylor guitar, and Taylor central offices haven't exactly helped until now, so I am considering sending the Big Baby back to the online shop where I bought it from, to avoid having to deal with Taylor ever again in the future, or having to travel 700 miles to the nearest repair shop as the one in my area refuses to do any repairs and just shouts abuses at me (it s a long, painful story, and aside for the financial loss I d just would like to forget about it).

If you had to buy another guitar under $1000 for a nice and modern folk/country sound, what brand would you get aside from Taylor?
Thanks

[mercy]

Martin has some lower price guitars but Yamaha is spoken well of

[dodge]

Eastman has some nice solid wood guitars below $1k also.

[Glennwillow]

Other alternatives are Yamaha, Alvarez, Eastman, Seagull, just to name a few.

- Glenn

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by JimandJoni

...If you had to buy another guitar under $1000 for a nice and modern folk/country sound, what brand would you get aside from Taylor?...

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Other alternatives are Yamaha, Alvarez, Eastman, Seagull, just to name a few...

A Guild F-250E comes in well under your $1K target figure - if you don't already have it on your must-try short list (along with Glenn's suggestions), you should - and while I haven't been quite as impressed as a whole with the Westerly Series imports as I was (and still am) with their GAD-Series predecessors, this (along with the D-1212 all-hog 12-string dreadnaught) is an exception that I'd happily add to my stable:

[musicman1951]

Yamaha and Alvarez have many good choices for far under your price limit.

[Aahzz]

Yamaha, Eastman, Alvarez, Martin - I'd choose any of those in the under $1000 range before Taylor.

[89bruin]

Alvarez masterworks. Unbelievable bang for the buck.

[kbraker]

Another plug for Guild Westerly collection. All solid wood models in M, OM, Dread and F(jumbo) sized . I sold off my Taylor 314 after 15 years for a Guild D120ce

[Dothraki]

Originally Posted by JimandJoni

I got a Big Baby Taylor, and it's quite nice (action a bit high), but I am having a really nightmarish experience with the only local dealer about a different Taylor guitar, and Taylor central offices haven't exactly helped until now, so I am considering sending the Big Baby back to the online shop where I bought it from, to avoid having to deal with Taylor ever again in the future, or having to travel 700 miles to the nearest repair shop as the one in my area refuses to do any repairs and just shouts abuses at me (it s a long, painful story, and aside for the financial loss I d just would like to forget about it).

If you had to buy another guitar under $1000 for a nice and modern folk/country sound, what brand would you get aside from Taylor?
Thanks

My advice would be go somewhere with a decent selection of acoustics, forget all the names on them and just play anything in your price range. Play through a few times and the one that stands out (as far as makes you go..”oooooh I like that”) buy that guitar. I also agree that Alvarez, Yamaha and Eastman are good. A friend of mine bought a sub $200 Yamaha dreadnought and it was impressively nice for $200. Reminds me a lot of a Hohner I bought in 95 for $100 and still have. I have an Eastman E10D used under a grand and think it was a great purchase, no regrets.

There’s a ton of options out there. Every brand makes good and bad guitars. If you like the sound and it stays in tune with good intonation then jackpot.

[MinorMajor12th]

I have a Martin 000-15, one of the pre "M" versions made from sapele. Back then some were made of mahogany and some from sapele. You can tell as the sapele has a striped pattern. The guitar market being what it is, fewer people are interested in a sapele version so they can often be had for lower prices and within your budget. The top is sapele rather than spruce, so it's not as bright, but I quite like the tone. This would be used, of course. Here's a photo if you want to see what it looks like.

It's been a while since I've played a Tacoma, but I occasionally see a used one pop up for a few hundred. They were good, from what I recall, particularly the EM9.

You may be able to find a used Larrivee 02 or 03 series within your budget.

I've been impressed with a few Alvarez guitars. Ditto them and Yamaha.

But the best thing would be to find a good shop within a reasonable distance that has a nice selection of acoustics, especially used, and spend some time trying out a few, talking with them, and finding a store on which you can rely and feel good about.

(Edit: Oh, Seagulls and other Godin brands like Simon & Patrick).

[SRL]

Originally Posted by JimandJoni

If you had to buy another guitar under $1000 for a nice and modern folk/country sound, what brand would you get aside from Taylor?
Thanks

I'd look at Yamaha (FS3, FS5), Eastman (OM series), Alvarez (folk series).

[Knollhaven]

Agree with many suggestions here. An Eastman, to me, can easily become a lifetime guitar because of the excellent solid woods, hand-built quality and tone. Their OM models compare to the Martin 000 size, shape and scale length.
Also, I have the Yamaha FS-830 (another OM sized option) which has laminated rosewood back/sides, binding, and perhaps nicer aesthetics than the 800 series. May be the best quality tone available for $300-350 range.
Alvarez Masterworks are also super playable, very popular, and great value.
Another guitar I own, Simon & Patrick Woodland Pro Folk (00 size), is all solid woods and is the most stable guitar I have for holding up to travel, humidity changes, and even playwear. Not only a durable instrument, it’s also responsive to varying string choices when you want to experiment with tone.

[Italuke]

Hmm, let's circle back. 700 miles to the nearest person who can do a setup on the baby Taylor? I'm sure if we knew your location, someone here could help. As for the new one, I thought Taylor customer service was known to be top notch? Certainly there must be a way to resolve the issues you're having. Even if you're far from a good retail store, there are plenty of reputable online dealers who would love to have your business.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by JimandJoni

I got a Big Baby Taylor, and it's quite nice (action a bit high), but I am having a really nightmarish experience with the only local dealer about a different Taylor guitar, and Taylor central offices haven't exactly helped until now, so I am considering sending the Big Baby back to the online shop where I bought it from, to avoid having to deal with Taylor ever again in the future, or having to travel 700 miles to the nearest repair shop as the one in my area refuses to do any repairs and just shouts abuses at me (it s a long, painful story, and aside for the financial loss I d just would like to forget about it).

If you had to buy another guitar under $1000 for a nice and modern folk/country sound, what brand would you get aside from Taylor?
Thanks

Enya X4 Pro AcousticPlus carbon/composite guitar, $600 to $900 depending on current Amazon price offering.