Best guitar type for singers

[Tiguarist]

I'm a singer and i'm actually playing on an old classical guitar to accompany myself, i'd like to buy a folk guitar around 500$ and i'm interested in your thoughts on what back and side material is generally best for vocals? (soft sound with low mids and rich basses).

I like the sound of van halen on "finish what you started" for example.




Thanks !

[Guitarplayer_PR]

Originally Posted by Tiguarist

I'm a singer and i'm actually playing on an old classical guitar to accompany myself, i'd like to buy a folk guitar around 500$ and i'm interested in your thoughts on what back and side material is generally best for vocals? (soft sound with low mids and rich basses).


Thanks !

"Soft" sound? Rich bass? Do you mean "rich" as having a present bass? If that's the case, probably a rosewood back and sides can help; . . . but use strings that can give a warm tone. Probably something with nickel, like a Martin Retro or a D'Addario NB. The thing is that with 500 bucks you definitely need to look for a used guitar.

[Tiguarist]

Hi!, thanks for your fast answer, i was indeed thinking about buying a used guitar. Yes by rich basses i meant present, and soft i meant.. how can i say.. low on mids

I'll look into rosewood models then, thanks for your help

[MBee]

I have a small body spruce/mahogany, that is direct, clear, very balanced, and with lots of sustain. I find this works really well for my voice. I recently had the chance to use a larger body Stonebridge cedar/rosewood. Wonderful guitar, sort of lush sounding, with overtones and more pronounced bass. I actually found that it didn't work as well to accompany my singing.

So the choice of guitar may depend on your voice, style of singing, type of material that you're singing, and ultimately, what sounds good to you. If you can, it would be best to try a few, and get a sense of what's going to work for you.

[Robin, Wales]

There are lots of guitars around that $500 bracket both new and used that may well work for you. You don't say how you play (strumming, fingerstyle, flatpicking?) or what your voice is like so it is difficult to make specific suggestions.

James Blunt wrote, recorded and played live for a long time with a Seagull S6 Original (Cedar top, cherry plywood back and sides, maple neck) - you'd pick up one of those around $500 new. In fact, it is the guitar many singer songwriters started out on - and an instrument many players here on AGF hang on to as their "beater" even if they own top shelf instruments.

The best thing would be to try out as many guitars as you can and simply pick what works for you.

[roylor4]

My choices for the tone you are describing -

1) Mahogany top
2) Cedar top
3) Spruce top

Of course, tone will depend on size of guitar, tonewoods used, etc.

All that said, the Seagulls with Cedar tops and Cherry lam B&S are excellent sounding guitars and a real bargain compared to most other brands.

[J Patrick]

...if you need a deep rich bass you're best bet is gonna be a Dreadnought or a Jumbo.....if you consider smaller bodied instruments you’re going to have to find a special one to meet that bass requirement...the kind not commonly found at the 500 dollar price point....for a soft sound with low mid range projection I’d consider Rosewood over Mahogany.....but a good mahogany Gibsonesque J-45 can be plenty warm with the right strings and technique....many instruments will fit the bill...the used market will get you a lot more for the money....I’d personally be looking at used Eastmans....

[CASD57]

I found the OM/concert hall fits my voice the best
And I'm totally enjoying my Seagull CH momentum with a cedar top and cherry back and sides, 1.8in nut
I enjoy it so much I can hardly look at other guitars knowing that looking is futile....

[Tiguarist]

Thanks a lot for your answers, im writing down your recommendations and ill make a list to test at my local shop. Ill also look into the Seagull S6 Original as recommended.

[Richard_H]

Sounds like you need a Spruce top/ Maple Body Jumbo guitar. Lot's of Country singers use them. They're bright and punchy with a powerful bass - and VERY loud.

I use Silk & Steel strings on mine to mellow it out a bit.

But you may not be comfortable with a guitar that big.

[Coler]

If you're at a point where the choice of the back and side material is going to impact on overall sound (singing and playing) you're a very accomplished guitarist and a bloody decent singer (I'm not suggesting you arnn
't).

I would advise you play a whole of guitars, and if the interaction with your singing.voice does matter so precisely... break out your vocals while you do.

Are you playing and singing amped & mic'd? Because that's a whole other set of variables.

[Glennwillow]

Hi Tiguarist!

Welcome to the AGF! I hope you like it here!

Many guitar players believe that a particular combination of wood works better for singing with, though not everyone agrees on what that wood combination should be. However, many guitar players believe that a good singer can sing with any well played guitar. I am in this last group.

I think that you need to find a guitar you like the sound of and that you feel comfortable playing. Once you find that guitar and start making good music on it, then you can start singing with it. For myself, I have never found any combination of woods on a guitar that I couldn't sing with.

My recommendation is to go to several local shops, tell them your experience, your spending limit, and what you are looking for, and then they will make suggestions on what you should try. The best way for you to find out what's going to work for you is to try on a bunch of guitars and see what fits.

It's also not uncommon as people become more accomplished guitar players for them to look for a different guitar. Once a players gets experience, he/she learns much more about what he/she wants. Sometimes you choose the right guitar the first time, but many times after a few years you'll find yourself looking for a step up.

Best of luck to you.

- Glenn

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Richard_H

Sounds like you need a Spruce top/Maple Body Jumbo guitar...

Here's one of the very few 17" jumbos in your price bracket:



https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...-antique-burst

- and a set of Martin Retro Monels will mellow it out nicely, after about a week or two of break-in time...

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Here's one of the very few 17" jumbos in your price bracket:







https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...-antique-burst



- and a set of Martin Retro Monels will mellow it out nicely, after about a week or two of break-in time...

Nice, that was one of the guitars I was on the fence with, I should of tried it

[RalphH]

This might not sound like the most helpful answer, but it's the truth as far as I can tell:

It depends.

To elaborate a little, different guitars will suit different voices. My GS mini sounds great with my wifes voice, but it's very mid heavy and I find myself fighting it when I sing with it- we're trying to occupy the same space in the mix. My hummingbird (mahogany back and sides) is great for my voice. Others will tell you rosewood is the best for singing with.

Your best bet is to actually try singing with a bunch of guitars. I sing and play a lot and I cant always tell whether I will like sining with a guitar until I try it. Sometimes the most uninteresting sounding guitar works well for singing and the most rich and sparkly is overpowering. Other times a dull guitar just adds nothing and a rich sparkly one will really bring a lot to the overall performance. Theres also a question of volume. You need to sing pretty loud to be heard over a lot of dreads, as where the hummingbird, for all its size isn't really that loud. If you sing loud a loud guitar might be a requirement. If you sing softer then it could be really obnoxious.