Affordable modern guitar

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by Zissou Intern

I read it that way at first as well, that the OP was looking for a modern sound, but then I noticed, "what I’d consider fundamental tone". That's not what I consider a modern sound. But what do I know? All I care about or like is based on vintage Gibson and Martin tones.

This was the phrase that I was focusing on:

Originally Posted by rollypolly

Thanks Charlie

I do already own a couple Seagulls. Got a newer S6 which I agree does have a little of what I'd call modern tone, and a S6 folk which to my ear is much more fundamental and raw which is also cool. I guess what I'm after is rosewood or at least something with a lot of swirling overtones , since nothing I have right now has much of that going on. What's nice about cheaper axes, I can have a bunch and I don't get divorced!

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by sinistral

This was the phrase that I was focusing on:

I should have read the OP's subsequent posts more carefully.

[doctone]

Yamaha FG/FS3. Sitka over hog, sweet but very crisp.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

Thanks Rudy, those do look sweet. I’ll have to go check them out. I wonder about the tone of the walnut top. The one thing is that for the same price of the academy you can get a used 114 or maybe a DN3 or something.

Taylor uses a couple tricks they developed for the GS Mini and apply them to the production of the Academy series. One of those tricks is to cut costs by producing the bodies without binding. Taylor uses that to advantage with the Academy body to add that nice little arm bevel on the body.

Don't sell that short, because it's a very nice feature that makes the Academy extremely comfortable to play.

The walnut top sounds just slightly "rounder" in tone than the standard top. That's a plus for me, and should be agreeable to many who feel Taylor's standard tonality tends to be overly-bright.

[SRL]

Originally Posted by rollypolly

So now I get to pick out an affordable but modern axe for the stable.
I want something that will get me close to a boutique sound but costs Walmart money. My first inclination has been a Yamaha LL in rosewood.
Any other ideas? In the 500-800 range.

For a modern tone in that price point, the only guitars I'd look at are the Yamaha LL-16 and LS-16. You'll probably have to buy them used and at the top of your range, but they have a big, lush, sparkly modern sound. They are solid Engelmann spruce over solid rosewood. Plus they look great too.

I've tried a lot of guitars in that price range and nothing really measures up to the Yamahas. An Eastman E8-OM or E8-D (Sitka/rosewood) would be next closest but my experience is their tone just isn't as rich and complex as Yamaha's Engelmann/Rosewood combination.