Entry Level Acoustic-Electric Guitar

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Dru Edwards

Welcome to the AGF, pablitus!

The majority of Taylors have a 1 3/4" nut but the 114 / 214 are some of the exceptions. Play some 1 11/16" and 1 3/4" guitars, even if it's not what you want to buy, just to get a feel.

Another + for Seagull and/or Yamaha in your price range.

What Dru said. In Yamaha, you'll need to look at the L series. LS, LL and LJ models 6 and 16. Very well made with (IMO) very comfortable necks and a 1.75" nut

[Oldguy64]

Originally Posted by pablitus

FSX820C ?, it looks like it is made in Canada.

Seems to be a good guitar. I am not 100% conviced with the ones made in China, any input on this?

Also, how about Alvarez guitars?

Thank you all!

Alvarez makes great guitars.
If the Taylor 110 is outside your budget...
look for a used Alvarez Artist series.
I have seen a (discontinued) Professional series
PD80 with a sound hole pickup on FB marketplace for $350.
I have a PD85S with a K&K style pickup installed.
I’ve been playing it back and forth with my new Gibson G45.
My ears love both of them.

[jcpharm]

you have plenty of good options to choose from as others have shared. here is one a little different and would require shipping from EU but is still very affordable:
Harley Benton CLG-650SM-CE BK SolidWood
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_..._solidwood.htm
some noteworthy things about this instrument:
it is ALL-solid wood (sitka spruce top and mahogany back and sides)
it has an armrest curve usually on more expensive models
it has built in tuner and Fishman Flex-T pickup system
bone nut and saddle

i have the Grand Concert version that is all mahogany (solid wood) and i think it's similar to many $600+ guitars. i would dock it a little on the quality of materials like the fretboard ("composite"), tuners are okay, and the nut could've been cut a little better(get that ping when tuning at times), but such issues would plague almost any guitar in this price range and not mess with your tone and playability.

for some reason this version is <$400 while the all-mahogany and concert body styles are $450-460.

just another one to consider. here's a nice vid of Jonathan Ko playing the concert/mahogany version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmz5OLcZ3jA&t=2s

[pablitus]

Thank you all.

I think I have narrowed my search to these two:

1) Martin D-X1E
2) Alvarez AD30CE

I also considered the Yamaha LS6M, nice guitar but it is out of my budget.

All of these are 1 3/4 Nut Width.

I really like the Martin, but I may end up with the Alvarez since it is more budget friendly and also real wood, my only concern is the electronics, which I have read some bad reviews about them.

Any input on that?

Thanks!

[roylor4]

I would go with Alvarez, as the Martin has a laminate top, vs solid wood on the Alvarez.

[Oldguy64]

Originally Posted by pablitus

Thank you all.

I think I have narrowed my search to these two:

1) Martin D-X1E
2) Alvarez AD30CE

I also considered the Yamaha LS6M, nice guitar but it is out of my budget.

All of these are 1 3/4 Nut Width.

I really like the Martin, but I may end up with the Alvarez since it is more budget friendly and also real wood, my only concern is the electronics, which I have read some bad reviews about them.

Any input on that?

Thanks!

If the preamp is a SYS600 or SYS500 buy it.
If it’s newer that that...buy it “naked” and add a K&K.
Also, you might like the AD60 or AD66 better than the AD30.
If you can...play them all.

[Br1ck]

My .02. You want to keep within a budget. Buying a guitar with pickups is going to be a compromise. It will have an under saddle pickup and cheap electronics. It will make noise for sure. I would rather see you in a better guitar without pickups. Stretch for a guitar like a Taylor 110 with no pickups, or a Yamaha that will always give you bang for the buck. I can assure you no one wanted to hear me louder for a good five years, or twenty. Put your money where you will hear it all the time.

Then resist the incremental upgrade. Eastman, Larrivee, and others are building pretty decent guitars for $1200 these days. Don't get a guitar $200 more than you spend now. Heck, I saw two Martin D 15s in Craigslist today for $900, and a 000 15 for $1k. Those are real deal guitars.

[RustyMcdangles]

I’ve had 3 on that list, the Martin and Taylor are great, beautiful sound, I think the Martin has more deep punch to it, the Taylor’s are bright and chimey I find, both laminate backs and spruce top with give you a similar sound.

[Ralph124C41]

As roylor4 pointed out, that Martin has an HPL top so I really suggest buying a guitar with at least a solid-wood top.

But ... I do have the regular Alvarez AD30 with no electronics. And frankly I'm not a fan of the sound. And I do like Alvarez guitars but the sound is OK ... but just that, OK.

And as others have said, these lower-cost acoustic-electrics are compromises. Maybe good sound ... and not-so-good electronics. Or maybe the other way around. But you can at least buy and install a better pickup system one day ... but there really won't be all that much you can do to improve the acoustic sound so that is what I would rate as the optimal thing to look for. So that's why I'd advise you to concentrate your search on solid-topped guitars.

Heck, here's an idea: Find a great deal on a guitar without a pickup and then buy a good system and have it installed. You will save yourself the price of a pickup system you will discard and you will be able to pick exactly the system you want to have in your guitar.

[AntneeH]

I'm going to be an outlier and suggest what I've had as my first guitar, the Guild D-240E. It has a solid sitka top on a laminated mahogany body. It played great right out of the box and sounds like a guitar much pricier than the $399 retail it presently sells for. I've had it 6 years now and it sounds even better today than when new.

[lowrider]

Just for reference, the Sonotone pickup that comes on the Martins and other lower priced guiars cost around $12 on Ebay. It's really no loss if you take it out.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by AntneeH

I'm going to be an outlier and suggest what I've had as my first guitar, the Guild D-240E. It has a solid sitka top on a laminated mahogany body. It played great right out of the box and sounds like a guitar much pricier than the $399 retail it presently sells for. I've had it 6 years now and it sounds even better today than when new.

That Guild has the narrower 1 11/16-inch nut width. The O.P. would prefer getting a guitar with a 1 3/4-inch nut width.