Solid war between "chinese" guitars. Who will win?

[pi3tro]

Hi, this is my first post. I am Pietro from Roma and i play the guitar from nearly 2 years. Since i'm going to graduate i wish a new guitar to substitute my cheap Ibanez v72.

I'm directed to an all solid guitar with relatively small body (000 or 00) with short scale under 800 € that could work well both for fingerstyle and strumming.

The choice for now is between these, in order to my inexperienced opinion:

- Eastman Ac-Om2 650 € (solid sapele)
- Guild M 120e LH westerly collection around 700-750 € (solid african mahogany)
- Alvarez masterworks folk between 600-800 €
- Ibanez ac2040 (solid mahogany) 450€
- Eastman e6om or e8om, or Simon & Patrick Showcase concert hall, but are too expensive (around 1000 €)

From the place where i live i couldn't find nothing to test because i am left handed and unfortunately the shops here don't have any of these.



So i wish i could have some advices from you.

Thank you in advance

[fishstick_kitty]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I have had really good experiences with Eastman guitars. The E6 or E8 that you mention I have owned and they are both great for the money!!

[roylor4]

I own three of the guitars mentioned. I'm not sure what you are looking for, as the guitars you list have wildly different specs except for being OM's.

My favorite guitar TONE is my Eastman AC-OM2. Warm, deep and works well with my vocals. Keep in mind, a Mahogany guitar IS NOT as loud as a guitar and may not be as versatile as a Spruce topped counterpart.

My Alvarez MFA70 is big sounding with plenty of bass and warmth, nice sparkle in the trebles and mids too. Easily as good or better than both my Eastmans.

The E6om has a loud voice and leans more toward the midrange and treble, as many Spruce/Mahogany guitars do. It is a bit bright for some of our music but has plenty of punch.

If you do fingerstyle using thumb and finger picks a Solid Mahogany or Sapele guitar works very well in this setting, Dry, wood and with excellent note definition. No distracting overtones. Strums pretty well too. Keep in mind the AC-OM2 has a narrower nut width than the others listed which many would consider a negative for fingerstyle.

You have a fine list and I think you would be happy with several of those you listed.

[pi3tro]

Originally Posted by roylor4

I own three of the guitars mentioned. I'm not sure what you are looking for, as the guitars you list have wildly different specs except for being OM's.

My favorite guitar TONE is my Eastman AC-OM2. Warm, deep and works well with my vocals. Keep in mind, a Mahogany guitar IS NOT as loud as a guitar and may not be as versatile as a Spruce topped counterpart.

My Alvarez MFA70 is big sounding with plenty of bass and warmth, nice sparkle in the trebles and mids too. Easily as good or better than both my Eastmans.

The E6om has a loud voice and leans more toward the midrange and treble, as many Spruce/Mahogany guitars do. It is a bit bright for some of our music but has plenty of punch.

If you do fingerstyle using thumb and finger picks a Solid Mahogany or Sapele guitar works very well in this setting, Dry, wood and with excellent note definition. No distracting overtones. Strums pretty well too. Keep in mind the AC-OM2 has a narrower nut width than the others listed which many would consider a negative for fingerstyle.

You have a fine list and I think you would be happy with several of those you listed.

Well i know my list is a bit incoherent but for the fact that i am left handed i have played only mine and listened from the front few others. The result? my ears are quite inexperienced.

Anyway thank you very much for the great reply. That ac om2 is really interesting if some dealer could bring at least in Italy. There are very few people who write something about it so far.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by pi3tro

Well i know my list is a bit incoherent but for the fact that i am left handed i have played only mine and listened from the front few others. The result? my ears are quite inexperienced.

Anyway thank you very much for the great reply. That ac om2 is really interesting if some dealer could bring at least in Italy. There are very few people who write something about it so far.

Hi Pietro,

Well, since the Eastman shop is pretty small they only produce about 1500 guitars a year and it's a new model so there aren't that many of them out there yet. My AC-OM2 is an excellent guitar and compares very favorably to a Martin 000-15m.

If you need a lot of volume a Sapele top may not be for you. If you play for your own satisfaction and for small groups of friends the OM-2 has an incredibly satisfying tone.

I know lefties have less choice than right handers. It's like that here in the US too. Good luck in your search. Don't hesitate to send me a personal message if you have further questions. I will be happy to help any way I can.

[pi3tro]

Originally Posted by roylor4

Hi Pietro,

Well, since the Eastman shop is pretty small they only produce about 1500 guitars a year and it's a new model so there aren't that many of them out there yet. My AC-OM2 is an excellent guitar and compares very favorably to a Martin 000-15m.

If you need a lot of volume a Sapele top may not be for you. If you play for your own satisfaction and for small groups of friends the OM-2 has an incredibly satisfying tone.

I know lefties have less choice than right handers. It's like that here in the US too. Good luck in your search. Don't hesitate to send me a personal message if you have further questions. I will be happy to help any way I can.

Thank you again for your help Roylor! i keep that in mind. From now i only play for my pleasure.

The only other thing is the Guild m120 westerly collection for now, because reviews contract. Some say that is boxy and some don't.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by pi3tro

Thank you again for your help Roylor! i keep that in mind. From now i only play for my pleasure.

The only other thing is the Guild m120 westerly collection for now, because reviews contract. Some say that is boxy and some don't.

I have played the older version of the GAD m120 and did find it a bit boxy sounding. The "Westerly" version may or may not be any different. They are both quite a bit smaller than the AC-OM2 with a lower bout width of 13.75" versus 15" for the AC2. Smaller box = less volume (usually). It is more of a 00 than 000/Om size.

[Glennwillow]

Hi Pietro,

Welcome to the forum! My vote on how you should spend your money is on the Alvarez Masterworks since those guitars are the least expensive, they are, I believe, solid wood, and from what I have heard, they are good values.

Best of luck!
- Glenn

[CT77]

I'm new to the forum and relatively new to Fingerstyle guitar. I recently had a question similar to pi3tro's. I ended up getting an Alvarez Masterworks MFA66SHB (All solid Mahog, Folk size, no electronics) and I'm definitely happy with it for the money. It's loud and punchy for a mahogany smaller bodied guitar and has a fairly distinct voice - possibly related to the bracing system. It has excellent sustain but subdued harmonics. I did, however, have to return 3 before I got a keeper. I'm probably pickier than most, but quality control seems to an issue for Alvarez at the moment so make sure you get as much info as you can and be sure to get it set up properly if you go this way.

[pi3tro]

thank you all for the responses, the sapele eastman is on the top for now

[VJP5]

I think you'll be happy with an Eastman. I've played several and all had good tone and playability.

Welcome to the AGF!

[zmf]

Originally Posted by pi3tro

The choice for now is between these, in order to my inexperienced opinion:

- Eastman Ac-Om2 650 € (solid sapele)
- Guild M 120e LH westerly collection around 700-750 € (solid african mahogany)
- Alvarez masterworks folk between 600-800 €
- Ibanez ac2040 (solid mahogany) 450€
- Eastman e6om or e8om, or Simon & Patrick Showcase concert hall, but are too expensive (around 1000 €)

You left out the Saga guitars, namely Blueridge, and their laminate Bristols. You should give them some consideration.

I played a couple of Bristols yesterday, looking for a cheap travel/camping guitar, and was impressed -- even though they're all laminate.

[cisco7]

Hi Pietro and welcome, i'd suggest an eastman.. Great guitars for the price! Good luck

[pi3tro]

I didn't buy for now, but maybe i can go for 800 - 1000 euro. So, now for the fact that if i buy an Eastman AC-Om2 it will cost me around 800 € with the conversion and equilibration for left handed i am tempted to go for other options.

A guitar shop gave me two options custom and lefty from the factory with three months of pre order:

Eastman e8om (sitka - rosewood9) 1000€
Furch Om 20 (cedar - sapele) 900€

Do you think is a better option to order a lefty from the factory? 100-200 more than an AC-OM2 is worth?

In that moment i am gravitating around the e8om but just yesterday i discovered a great love for the Furch in this forum.

What would you do?

PS: Obviously i can't try them, i know only the cedar a bit in terms of sonority and i like it, the sitka i have is a cheaper laminated so i couldn't express very well, mahogany and rosewood are still unknown in person.

[agnosia71]

Furch makes these left-handed, cutaway and non-cutaway, 749 euros. I had one and didn't like my particular one in the tuning I'd bought it for - the wound strings weren't bright enough - but am enjoying the dreadnought version.
http://www.thomann.de/gb/furch_g20cm_natural.htm