What's the Best Guitar for the Money You Have Ever Owned?

[Bamforth]

it's kind of an open ended question. The best guitar for your money is personal to you. I recently purchased a 2018 Martin D41 and have zero regrets despite the £4150 price tag. in 2004 I purchased a Taylor 210 for around £650. It's solid Sapelle back and sides and Sitka Spruce top which was my main 6 string for many years. I recently had it set up with my local Luthier and had a Tusk nut and saddle fitted and it rings like a bell. It really has aged well and has a deep, warm tone. Does it sound as good as my D41? No but it does not sound £3500 inferior to my Martin. It is the same with virtually anything you buy in general. It's a fact that a point is reached were the higher end you go the diminished returns increases. you will hear a very real difference even to the untrained ear with a £100 guitar compared to a £2000 guitar. In general, the difference between a £2000 - £4000 guitar will be much less and I have had occasions were I have played guitars in this price range and felt the cheaper guitar sounded better. with all that said, I do not feel short changed with my D41. The tone is amazing and plays beautifully finger style or heavy strumming. The volume and sustain is staggering, but on the criteria of the thread my 210 is probably the best bang for my buck. I regard my D41 like it states on the Martin website, "A family heirloom" and we will grow old together and hopefully will be passed down through my family in future.

2018 Martin D41 Re imagined
2017 Yamaha LLTA Transacoustic
2012 Martin GPCPA5K Concert
2007 Martin DM 12
2007 Farida C-63NA classical
2007 Fender Strat
2004 Taylor 210 Solid Sapelle/ Sitka Spruce
2001 Crafter D12

[Br1ck]

It would be a tossup between my Martin M36, bought just after a neck reset and a fret job, or my Guild D 35 bought for $250 needing a reset and frets and bridge. I have $1600 in the Martin, $1300 in the Guild.

[robj144]

Tough one... I've got many decent guitars for little money:

$1200 for a D55 do to having surface checks. It sounds amazing.

$1800 for a Guild Orpheum as it was NOS. Maybe better sounding than the D55.

$650 for a Guild CO2 as it was NOS. It's a mahogany OM, so it sounds different than most of my guitars, but it's great.

$350 for my Parker acoustic. Cheap due to close out and no one wanting to try Parker acoustics, but it's solid spruce over solid maple. It easily, to me, sounds as good as some $2k guitars I've tried.

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[Muddslide]

Originally Posted by Fret Buzz

Hands down my Ibanez AC240!

I just recently replaced the bridge pins (fit to Martin bridge pins white/black dot) after a set up/saddle lowered with EXP16s.

15% off the $299 at Guitar Center...on a day I picked it up and couldn't put it down.

Ridiculously great sound and playability and mojo for the money! And light as a feather! Hold its own (at least mine does) vs 15 series stuff.

Try out a bunch (they are not all created equal).

I have become quite the big fan of Ibanez acoustics the last couple of years. I have owned and played quite a few Ibanez electric guitars and basses over the years including some stellar 70s lawsuit era Gibson and Fender clones.

But I've never even really thought about their acoustics.

When I came back to playing 2 years ago after about a 2 year hiatus from playing, I shopped around a great deal in person and online, reading reviews, watching videos, listening to samples, and based on my (very limited) budget and the basic size I sought, the uses would be put to, etc., I ended up with a small bodied "PN15" model. I wound up ordering it from Reverb (after playing a couple in person) because the natural finish version had been discontinued and I could only find that option online. (The model is still available, but only in sunburst, which is very pretty and one of which I may end up buying down the road as I like mine so much.)

It's just an inexpensive laminate guitar. It plays very well, holds tune, intonates well and sounds nice and woody and has surprising volume.

I now have a second cheap Ibanez (model PC14 in weathered, open pore matte black with white trim) incoming to use for a live project I plan to undertake. It's a Grand Concert size and I again ordered it online because I was able to save $60 and get it for $139!

I have played this model in person and it's perfect for my needs. They have a similarly appointed dreadnought, a parlor and another cutaway dread with a solid mahogany top.

My daughter's bf has a large Ibanez Artwood in blueburst with a cutaway that isn't my taste as far as size goes, but it is a nice instrument and he tells me it's been through hell.

I have played the AC240 you have, and they are very fine guitars. Most impressive, and not just for the price.

Enjoy! I can't wait to get my new cheapie Ibanez.

[_zedagive]

Breedlove American series C25/cre-h. My current guitars do sound better, but the American is really not too far behind considering its cost is 1/2 to 1/3 in comparison.

[Charmed Life Picks]

I probably posted already in here, but I must give a shout out for the four older Epiphone Masterbilts I own. They started to gut the line about ten years ago, but I've been fortunate to acquire a few along the way that are truly superb.

$350 for an all-solid-wood guitar built in the tradition of the J-er lineage is quite remarkable. The pick of litter? The AJ-500M. Still a lot of them out there.

scott memmer

[jrb715]

My Collings OM2G short scale: purchased new and only 10% off list price, but worth it and more. Made other guitars I was playing at the time feel like ill fitting suits. The Collings was a perfect match for the songs I sang and how I played them. It changed my expectations of what acoustic guitars could sound like, and helped me improve, almost instantly, as a player.

[NotveryGood]

Alvarez AP70 .Recent purchase, the size,neck and feel of this little guitar fit me like a glove.It took me many years to realise that this the most important thing of all! You have to look forward to picking it up and not have to wrestle to get a tune out of it

[djg]

Santa Cruz OM.

If that seems an odd choice,well . . . I paid just over 1800 bucks for the guitar, which was on sale, when it was brand new, hanging on the peg in a shop. 1995. It's been my favorite for 23 years and counting. I'd say that's good value for money.

My son got a better deal on a 1954 Martin D-28. His grandfather handed it to him -- quite a gift.

[GHS]

My Yamaha FG730s/HSC at $250 was the best deal and just about the best sounding/playing guitar I've ever owned. Whenever I play with friends or out nearly everyone wants to play it or ask what type it is ( non players). Really something special about that guitar ( 2009 build I think). I do have others that sound "better" if you will with different voices and such and I paid what I think were either fair or "good deal" prices for them, but for "price paid" its the Yamaha.

[backdoc]

Tossup for me between my Martin OM-15m and my Eastman E20OM. Both bought used from this forum. The Eastman was set up so badly that I'm not surprised it was sold. I was going to sell it on until I had a proper setup done on it and now it is just amazing. It is not going anywhere.

The Martin I got here as the third owner I believe. Every time I play it I cannot understand why anyone would ever sell it. It is just magic. If it came down to having to have just one, this would be it. It would be a tough choice between it and the E20, but the easy playability would give it the edge.

[M19]

My McIlroy A30c. $3,250 from John at Shoreline a few years back. Just blankets you with gorgeous tones.

[Guitartanzon]

No brainer for me..

Cordoba Leona 9e

A marketing flop but an outstanding guitar. Little discovered gem unfortuneatly for Cordoba. Cordoba' attemp at a steel string oo size parlor. Spanish heel neck build joint, x and fan bracing hybrid, pick up system, all south american SOLID hondoran mahogany.....top sides and back....sounds great. looks great, and play like a dream with a nice setup.

Paid $350 on a blowout on reverb. A steal. Original street price was $799.00.

see
http://www.mixdownmag.com.au/reviewe...ars-leona-l9-e

best score I made.

[Dreadfulnaught]

That’s easy. The Marlboro points guitar I bought for $60 off Facebook Marketplace a few weeks ago. Sounds great, the first guitar I have ever bought that needed no saddle compensation. I cleaned it, de smoked it, @nd put new strings on it and that was it, ready to go. I installed a Fishman soundhole pickup (stacked double coil) and played it last night at a Christmas show. No fear drilling a $60 guitar myself. Playing it again tonight at rehearsal for ANOTHER Christmas show. Other guitarists just shake their heads when they play it or hear it.