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Old 08-03-2021, 04:07 PM
CoastStrings CoastStrings is offline
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Default Acoustic-electric fingerstyle guitar suggestions at $700 or less?

I'm shopping for an acoustic-electric steel-string guitar for fingerstyle at $700 or less. I'd appreciate your suggestions for models I should consider since I haven't seriously looked at what's out there for about seven years.

At that price, I know that I'm likely looking at an import from Asia or Mexico unless I buy used.

Minimum nut width needs to be 1-3/4" though I'd be more at ease with 1-7/8". The preferred string spacing at the saddle would be 2-1/4" but I've had no problems with 2-1/8".

I'm open to 12-fretters but I think the last manufacturer that made one in that price range was Recording King and they quit on those.
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Old 08-03-2021, 05:13 PM
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TBman TBman is offline
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Look at the Guild M-120 - all solid woods.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...oncert-natural

I have a D-120C which is about $100 more. I tend to like dreads and Grand Auditoriums for fingerstyle, but I do have an OM as well.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...RoCrYcQAvD_BwE
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Old 08-03-2021, 05:38 PM
SRL SRL is offline
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Eastman E2-OM checks a lot of fingerstyle boxes for me. Cedar top, 000-size body and scale (24.9"), 1.75" nut. Around $550 iirc. All solid woods.
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Old 08-05-2021, 06:49 PM
JimT JimT is offline
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For that money I think you should look at the Breedlove Exotic Series. There’s a whole lot of sound built into them at an affordable price! https://breedlovemusic.com/instrumen...pursuit-exotic
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Old 08-05-2021, 08:12 PM
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KevinH KevinH is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JimT View Post
For that money I think you should look at the Breedlove Exotic Series. There’s a whole lot of sound built into them at an affordable price! https://breedlovemusic.com/instrumen...pursuit-exotic
They do have some nice models in that series. But the nut width on all the imported models (including exotic) is 1-11/16". OP is asking for 1-3/4" or more.
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Old 08-06-2021, 09:15 AM
ewalling ewalling is offline
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I recently bought a used Godin 5h Avenue on GC Used Online, and I absolutely love it. It's lightly built and responsive acoustically, and has a great neck. It also has an excellent P-90 pickup at the neck and sounds really good through both my Roland JC-40 and my Fender Princeton.

I picked mine up for around $470 (after all the add-ns), but I think even new they don't go much beyond $800.
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Old 08-06-2021, 09:19 AM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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Alvarez, Breedlove, and Guild all have excellent choices in this price range as does Takamine - their acoustic electrics are well liked by performers. I own an Alvarez and know that they have 1 and 3/4" nuts depending on the model.

Best,
Jayne

Last edited by jaymarsch; 08-06-2021 at 09:20 AM. Reason: Added content
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Old 08-06-2021, 02:56 PM
Laynej37 Laynej37 is offline
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I highly recommend a Eastman. You could go with a e1om or e2om. These don’t come with pickups but you can have one installed and still be under the $700. You could also go with an ac122ce or Ac222ce (I recommend the 222) as this comes from the factory with a pickup for under your budget. You could also hold off and wait for the Eastman e3ome which is a new model that is not yet for sale, but in my opinion would be your best bet. It comes with electronics and is an om body shape. It is listed at $899 on eastmans website but these prices are typically 20% or so higher than you can get them for. That should put the street price close to $719. I also recommend buying straight from a dealer website over reverb as you can haggle prices down easier since the seller doesn’t have to pay reverb fees and they typically don’t charge tax or shipping. The AC models are a little bit larger guitars than the om models, similar to Taylor grand auditorium or Martin gp. It’s all about your personal preference.
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Old 08-07-2021, 08:56 AM
ChrisN ChrisN is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CoastStrings View Post
I'm shopping for an acoustic-electric steel-string guitar for fingerstyle at $700 or less.
No experience with the brand, but I like the sound of that Eastman 000 (an OM?) with the cedar top. If you're looking primarily for fingerstyle specs, then I wanted to mention that the Eastman's saddle string spacing is 2 2.5/16, which is slightly narrower than Taylor's (and many others') 2 3/16 spacing. The closer those strings at the saddle, the more careful you need to be with finger placement, though I'm aware many easily fingerpick much narrower spacing, etc., etc.

Many prefer more room at the saddle, though, so they look for 2 1/4 to 2 5/16 spacing there. Have fun with your search!
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Old 08-07-2021, 11:20 AM
mawmow mawmow is offline
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Old 08-07-2021, 05:40 PM
donlyn donlyn is offline
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Acoustic-electric fingerstyle guitar suggestions at $700 or less?

A Yamaha or Alvarez might offer the best combination of quality and bang for the buck.

And I think you should check out that Eastman E2-OM that was previously mentioned.

Don
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Old 08-08-2021, 02:49 AM
EZYPIKINS EZYPIKINS is offline
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If it were me. With $700. I'd defiantly be looking at used. And don't mind the cosmetics.

You can find a nice sounding, and playing guitar for that kind of money.

But it may not be the most aesthetically appealing one.
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