Best fingerstyle guitar money can buy?

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by Michael Watts

Depends whose money you're spending...

If you are a filthy rich beginner fingerpicker, try an Esteban!

If you are a filthy rich pro, you probably already know what you want and need!

If you are an intermediate fingerpicker, try a Lowden S25 and work your way through the whole kerplonkers they offer.... The S25 Lowden has the S Lowden sound and as you go up the timber ladder, ha ha, they get more beautiful......

Love my Lowden S35!

If you want to fingerpick blues, roots, look for a Waterloo!



BluesKing777.

[buddyhu]

Originally Posted by Dustinfurlow

It all depends on what type of fingerstyle you are playing. As I've said here before, there is no "good" or "bad" choices, better to say "helpful" and "not helpful".

A lot of sustain and overtones (which many would say constitutes a good fingerstyle guitar) won't help you if you are playing Jerry Reed thumbpicking tunes, but it will certainly help you for a Celtic ballad. That said, one might want a very expensive old Martin, or conversely they may want a grossly expensive Brazilian Lowden or Olson. Either of those are bound to appreciate.

This ^.

To use some examples from our own membership: Larry Pattis has played a variety of guitars, and has some for sale in the AGF classifieds right now. When I think of him, I often associate him and his playing with smaller guitars from Simon Fay. Another member, Toby Walker, has favored a variety of older guitars, and in recent years has favored a Huss and Dalton OM, and a Waterloo. And Eric Skye plays a Santa Cruz 00 size guitar…a model which carries his name.

Meanwhile, all of the guitars mentioned in this thread could be considered “the best”, as could some makers that have not yet been posted to this thread (e.g. Goodall, Webber, Greven), as could guitars made from more obscure woods (Bubinga, Myrtlewood, Australian blackwood), and body sizes that are less commonly favored( 0 size is ine example).

Asking what is the best guitar is like asking what kind of woman makes the best wife….it all depends on who you are, and what your goals are. And sometimes, the one you might think is your lifelong companion might turn out to be a good fit for certain parts of your path, but your paths might diverge in ways you didn’t (or couldn’t) anticipate.

[Wolfram]

There is no general 'best' - everyone has different tonal goals and preferences.

Of the guitars I've played, for my tastes, and money no object, the ones that have stood out are:

1. Baranik Meridian (Colorado blue spruce over macassar ebony, fan-fret)
2. Traugott R (European spruce over Brazilian rosewood)
3. Claxton E/M (European spruce over macassar ebony)
4. Somogyi Modified Dreadnought (Sitka spruce over wenge)
5. Taran 'The Taran' (European spruce over macassar ebony)

However, I believe the Collings OM1 is absolutely all the guitar anyone needs - it is superbly concieved.

Cheers,
David

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by KevinH

You didn't mention how long you've been playing. If a long time, I'd think the best finger style guitar you could get would be one commissioned from a luthier that can design/build one to your particular tonal requirements and playing style. But that assumes you know exactly what you want.

If you haven't been playing for a long time, I'd say trying to find one lifetime guitar off the bat is a pretty big leap. For me, and from what others say here, figuring out what you really want in a guitar is an evolutionary process that can take years.

This is VERY good advice. If you are not to that point in your journey, get a good one that speaks to you and forget about things for a while. Eventually you may pose the question again and be in a better spot to answer it for yourself. Also, people's tastes change.

Colins gave you the names of several specialty shops. To it I would add Cedar Rock Studios, which are the equal of the best of them.

[Benjo]

Originally Posted by BluesKing777

If you are a filthy rich beginner fingerpicker, try an Esteban!

If you are a filthy rich pro, you probably already know what you want and need!

If you are an intermediate fingerpicker, try a Lowden S25 and work your way through the whole kerplonkers they offer.... The S25 Lowden has the S Lowden sound and as you go up the timber ladder, ha ha, they get more beautiful......

Love my Lowden S35!

If you want to fingerpick blues, roots, look for a Waterloo!



BluesKing777.

I'd go for a Lowden F model.over an S for quality and depth of sound

[THart]

If you're into something unique check out a Brentrup. Well known in the mandolin world as a top builder he also built some amazing finger picking gems modeled after Larson Bros guitars. You don't see them on the market often and he's no longer building but there's one Grand Concert left on his website & there will be no more. https://www.brentrup.com/page1/page1.html NFI but I bought his parlor and it's my prize possession. Blows me away every time I pick it up which after 8 months is still pretty much every day. Turned out to be the perfect guitar for me. YMMV

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by s2y

Basically define the tone, size, and feel you want.

If money wasn't an object, I'd probably want some sort of Somogyi or Matsuda wild guitar.

^^^^yep!
If you want to insert several others: Kim Walker, Tom Sands (in the UK), Leo Buendia. Tom and Leo were apprentices to Somogyi.

[Monts]

You may want to check out pretty much any of the Kevin Kopp models... they all excel at fingerstyle. And since you mention "one guitar" they can definitely serve that purpose as a do it all.

[TomB'sox]

If money is not an issue and you know what you want, I would go the custom route. I could think of many builders that I have complete confidence would build me exactly what I would ask for.

[handers]

Originally Posted by leo12

What is the best un biased fingerstyle guitar money can buy? "no budget"

I am looking at froggy bottom or lowden but open to others and not sure which models are best for fingerstyle from them. I want to buy 1 guitar and keep it forever hopefully it will even appreciate in value down the road.

There is no answer to the question because there is no best fingerstyle guitar . There is a list of 30-50 names all of whom would be in the top tier of such.

hans

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob

Are there guitars that cost more than Olson?

Hi BB

I own an Olson, and it is an amazing fingerstyle guitar. Mine is the 3rd best guitar I've ever played.

The other two were…

Best - Somogyi OM 2005 - Brazilian Rosewood/German Spruce
Second - Gerald Sheppard 2005 - Small body Brazilian Rosewood/German Spruce

I played both at the 2005 Healdsburg shot in SantaRosa, California. Absolutely the two best I've played before or since.

And one costs more than an Olson, the other less.

[iim7V7IM7]

Different fingerstyle players will have divergent playing preferences based on tonal preference, repertoire, and ergonomic preferences. There honestly is NO “best” for everyone. Even between the two small shop brands that you cite, there are huge tonal differences to my ears.

Do YOU prefer an ultimately responsive guitar to your touch at the expense of headroom or do you prefer to give up on responsiveness for a bit more headroom? Do you want long sustain because you favor slower tempo ballads or a guitar with fast attack and somewhat shorter sustain because you play more up tempo pieces? Is string to string separation and fundamentals most important or do you favor harmonic complexity? How important is bass response to you in your playing (this will relate to body size, but playing ergonomics need to be considered)?

Think about the body size you want (small, midsized or large) for you to play comfortably, the scale length that you prefer (short, long, multi-scale) to support your playing, the nut width you prefer (1-11/16”, 1-3/4” or 1-13/16”) and the string spacing you prefer (2-3/16”, 2-1/4”, 2-5/16” or 2-3/8”) for the strings to be comfortable under your fingers. Do you play mostly in standard tuning or in others as well? What type of neck profile do you prefer (C-Shaped, D-Shaped, U-Shaped or V-Shaped? Do you need easy access to the upper fretboard (some form of cutaway)?

DO NOT BUY A GUITAR BECAUSE YOU BELIEVE IT WILL APPRECIATE IN VALUE. These are musical instruments, tools that help you make music. If something appreciates in value, consider it a lucky consequence. You are looking for the best guitar. Some vintage or luthier made guitars may indeed appreciate in value over time, but don’t buy one for that reason. Yes, there are some luthiers whose guitars have appreciated in value, but consider two things:

1. If you limit your choice to builders whose instruments have a record of appreciating you are restricting yourself to a small number of choices and may miss out on YOUR “best” guitar.
   
2. Like any investment, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Lastly, you need to audition MANY luthier made guitars to understand whose instruments YOU like best. Try to attend one of the luthier exhibitions next year or travel to one of the resellers who specialize in luthier made guitars. If money is no object investing a trip like this is invaluable.

I intentionally did not give you a name, because by the nature of your question, you likely need to think about what you are looking a bit more to understand YOUR “best”.

Apologies for the long note, I did not have the time for a short one!

Originally Posted by leo12

What is the best un biased fingerstyle guitar money can buy? "no budget"

I am looking at froggy bottom or lowden but open to others and not sure which models are best for fingerstyle from them. I want to buy 1 guitar and keep it forever hopefully it will even appreciate in value down the road.

[Zissou Intern]

I am a hack flat-picker, but I worked in an acoustic shop for several years and saw a lot of guitars come through the door. Also my brother-in-law plays finger style, and has owned about every boutique brand you can imagine. If I had unlimited funds, and was a finger-picker, I'd buy a Ryan or an Olson.

[lt20dbl]

People do tend to recommend what they have so I'll do the same.
In 1997, I ordered a new Collings DS2H. In the interim, I bought a Martin 00-28VS (in 2011). A Martin OM-18 Authentic (in 2014), A Martin D-28 Authentic 1931 (in 2016) and 12 fret, 000-28 style built by Gary Cotten (2017) All nice guitars but the old Collings is the one I most effectively pair with. That aside, I still have them all and intend to keep them. I enjoy having several choices to take to a gig. I don't believe one guitar, no matter how grand, would be as satisfying for me. I never know which one will call out to me and I like it that way.

[BluesKing777]

Originally Posted by lt20dbl

People do tend to recommend what they have so I'll do the same.
In 1997, I ordered a new Collings DS2H. In the interim, I bought a Martin 00-28VS (in 2011). A Martin OM-18 Authentic (in 2014), A Martin D-28 Authentic 1931 (in 2016) and 12 fret, 000-28 style built by Gary Cotten (2017) All nice guitars but the old Collings is the one I most effectively pair with. That aside, I still have them all and intend to keep them. I enjoy having several choices to take to a gig. I don't believe one guitar, no matter how grand, would be as satisfying for me. I never know which one will call out to me and I like it that way.

Exactly!

Choices!

It could take about 10 lifetimes to try all of them and pick a few, or a lot , to keep. It has been fabulous to experiment in Covid lockdown, to play the same tune on a number of totally different guitars I own, that funnily enough, are the same size and fit in the same case! For example, my Waterloo ladder braced, then my CEO7, my Lowden S35, then my hand made custom Cargill.....they all have six strings! But totally different. All great!


BluesKing777.