Cheaper Martin and Taylor vs. Guild, Eastman and others

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by blakey

If you can only afford a Mexican Martin or Taylor with laminate back and sides. Def get one of those over an indistinct lower end Chinese import guitar. Why settle for generic cola when you can have classic coke.

That's a bit of a blanket statement, don't you think? Eastman, for example build some outstanding guitars-and no, I don't own an Eastman. For example...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A12-LKtdOJI&t=13s

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by Scolaguitar

Yeah, I agree. Eastman FTW.

Thanks!

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by Mbroady

Agree with this 100%. If it is a lower lower end Martins (below the D-18) vs mid to higher end Asian pacific rim guitar then I would go with an import

Eastman, blue ridge, Yamaha all make good solid wood guitars at around the $1000 mark, less for used

I would also check out an older Yari made Alverez, though the are getting expensive now.

Thanks! I will take this in consideration!

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by fartamis

You will have plenty of response, but only you are able to try out guitars and see which one plays and sounds best for you.

However I can say this and it is only a personal opinion, I have owned a Taylor 114ce, it is a well made guitar that plays well and has an incredible volume, but the sound left me on my hungry it was too thin, too sterile, it definitely lacked warmth, some people like that kind of sound and if it's yours go for it you won't be disappointed, but if you like warmer sounds go for something else. For $800 to $900 you can have solid wood in new or used.

This is very interesting for me. Thank you very much.

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by TBman

I have a Guild D-120C that I picked up used. I think new they are going for about $800. All solid wood, 1.75" nut. A good player for me. I don't use the pickup so YMMV. The Guild's "fit and finish" is better than my playing (see video of "An Daingean" in my signature)

Welcome to the forum too!

Thank you for your help and your welcome. Your experience and your video with the sound of your Guild is very useful to me. Good playing too!

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by Kevin Bishop

That will give you some insight on many makes and models in just a little above your price target. Most of those guitars are average, $1,300 USD.

If you keep up on Guitar Center Sales, I bought a GPC-15ME Streetmaster (all solid mahogany) for $1,199 USD during the holidays last year. It may go down again.

Good luck on your search. Without playing, sites on youtube like Alamo Music, Maury's Guitars, etc. provide very comprehensive reviews and do so many side by side comparisons with playing demos. They do a great job. I bought my Martin without playing and was very pleased. I plan to do the same for my next.

Hi Kevin. Thank you very much for your opinion.
As I told in other answers, I can't go to Guitar Center, which seems a very good place to visit, because I don't live in the USA. I intend to try the used guitars market here in Spain, but I don't think there is something like GC around here.

Alamo Music videos and others' have been my first source of information for months now, but I want to go trying out some guitars as soon as I can give a structure to all the informtion I'm gathering.
Thanks again!

[Kevin Bishop]

Originally Posted by Nannicantipot

Hi Kevin. Thank you very much for your opinion.
As I told in other answers, I can't go to Guitar Center, which seems a very good place to visit, because I don't live in the USA. I intend to try the used guitars market here in Spain, but I don't think there is something like GC around here.

Alamo Music videos and others' have been my first source of information for months now, but I want to go trying out some guitars as soon as I can give a structure to all the informtion I'm gathering.
Thanks again!

Does GC ship worldwide??

I thought that they would?

Good luck on your quest for a Guitar. I am doing the same thing. Lots and lots of research. I love to research guitars. I also looked at almost every Factory Video. I have made some very good assumptions on build and quality by watching those.

For instance, Ovation was like watching a NASA rocket laboratory. Goodin (Seagull) were working on a time/quota clock. Eastman was very interesting as well. Larrivee was done in the 80's. Taylor was a mix of a lot of engineering and QA. I would check them out. Most are about 40 mins and all available on Youtube.

Lastly, I posted a very similar question back in December of last year. Below is a link to my post, it may also be helpful:


https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=602168

[blakey]

It has to be said that there are some really dull sounding all solid wood guitars out there. Especially some Eastern import guitars that have 1/2 inch of gloss arbitrarily dumped on them.
I played some all solid Faith guitars a while back. They all played really nice with good setups and action. But the tone sounded dull to my ears. All except the Naked series (non gloss) , which totally blew me away and yet they are cheaper.
Regarding Eastmans - I've never played one, but there seems to be a massive jump in price between the lower end ones (which sound a bit harsh imo) and the posher ones, which do sound great.

[blakey]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

That's a bit of a blanket statement, don't you think? Eastman, for example build some outstanding guitars-and no, I don't own an Eastman. For example...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A12-LKtdOJI&t=13s

Yes the more expensive ones do sound really good. But the all solid lower end ones sound rough as old boots to me. Their J45 clone sounds amazing.

But for example the all solid wood Martin Road series sits at about the same price that Eastmans start to get interesting.

[edward993]

Originally Posted by TBman

Funniest post I've read in some time, thanks for the laughs.

You are most welcome.

And thank you, sir, for your utter predictability.

Edward

[Angel Guitar]

Originally Posted by Ed66

As has been stated before, don't presume that a guitar not having solid wood back and sides can't perform exceptionally. Some builders even choose to use layered wood sides and backs on high end models to achieve certain design and/or integrity goals. If you're looking at guitars under $800 that are a real value, it would be hard to miss if you look in the Seagull, Alvarez, Eastman and Yamaha direction. All of these companies produce exceptional guitars at that price point. There are others that do so as well, but my experience is that these are the better options.

Sorry but I disagree with you. In my experience, Eastmans at any price point sound great. Yamahas (for example)? Not necessarily, some can be hit or miss. I’ve played many poor sounding lower end Yamahas. Then again, they were much cheaper than the cheapest Eastman laminate models.

[Atomkraft]

Originally Posted by dnf777

I cant comment on Chinese Guilds, but in general, I wouldnt let “made in China” dissuade me from a guitar. My Eastman PCH dred has lami b/s, but has tone and playability of guitars costing 4x as much. And it was around $500.

There's Made in China and there's Made in China, just like there's Mady in Germany and Made in Germany. Some of it will be of superior quality, and some of it will blow. Eastman, every single time, nails it. I own quite a few, and they're just incredible. I wouldn't even think of spending money on a Martin (overpriced) of Taylor (overpriced and sounds like ***). I'm not too familiar with Guild, so I can't comment.

So, Eastman!

[waterlooz]

With Eastman, you want a return policy. I personally have had to return one after 15 days because the neck started to twist and the frets started popping. It was properly humidified, etc. I looked at a brand new one again a few months back and the quality was awful. There were stains inside the guitar and the neck was a bit funny. Bottom line is they make wonderful guitars but make sure you protect yourself with some sort of return policy. YMMV

As far as Martin's and Taylor's being overpriced, I just dont see it that way. While they offer some high end pricing for specific models, they both also offer great guitars around 500-600.

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by waterlooz

With Eastman, you want a return policy. I personally have had to return one after 15 days because the neck started to twist and the frets started popping. It was properly humidified, etc. I looked at a brand new one again a few months back and the quality was awful. There were stains inside the guitar and the neck was a bit funny. Bottom line is they make wonderful guitars but make sure you protect yourself with some sort of return policy. YMMV

As far as Martin's and Taylor's being overpriced, I just dont see it that way. While they offer some high end pricing for specific models, they both also offer great guitars around 500-600.

Hi!
Thank you for your advice. I will keep that in mind. Right now, and just hearing video reviews, the Eastman instruments that I want to test (AC122-1CE, for instance) have a tone I like very much. More than the guitars that could interest me by Seagull, for example.
Can you tell me in what range of price where the models you had problems with?
Thanks!

[Nannicantipot]

Originally Posted by Kevin Bishop

Does GC ship worldwide??

I thought that they would?

Good luck on your quest for a Guitar. I am doing the same thing. Lots and lots of research. I love to research guitars. I also looked at almost every Factory Video. I have made some very good assumptions on build and quality by watching those.

For instance, Ovation was like watching a NASA rocket laboratory. Goodin (Seagull) were working on a time/quota clock. Eastman was very interesting as well. Larrivee was done in the 80's. Taylor was a mix of a lot of engineering and QA. I would check them out. Most are about 40 mins and all available on Youtube.

Lastly, I posted a very similar question back in December of last year. Below is a link to my post, it may also be helpful:


https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=602168

Than you very much Kevin. It is useful indeed! :-)