Choosing an acoustic guitar

[wy1991]

hey guys
please help me with something.
i actually wanna buy an acoustic guitar but it has been very tough to make a choice. it would be awesome if you guys can give me your inputs on my choices
thanks guys.
my requirements are
all solid wood
- sitka spruce top
- rosewood(or indian) back and sides
cutaway and electronics
Grand Auditorium body

i hv kinda shortlisted 2...
a Gibson Songmaker CSR-CE
or a 2nd hand taylor 414ce

yea..both are like the closest i can find within my budget
would definitely love a 714ce but too darn ex
thanks guys

 

[Gene]

Wow, you are pretty exact in your specs, why not test out all the all solid guitars?

 

[lightice]

I would shortlist Cort/Parkwood from Sweelee as my "To try" acoustic brands before settling on any acoustic guitar.

 

[penta-tonic]

hey man, heres some advice, best to try out all u can before making a purchase. dont limit body size cos some makers can seriously make a big sounding guitar in a small body eg a bourgeois om. but that said if u could state your budget, maybe also state what kinda sound u going for, modern, vintage, dark, dry, bright, bassy it would help a lil bit more. btw im a big fan of rosewood too, no mahogany ever.

 

[wy1991]

Thanks, I would like to think that my budget is rather high. Buy it once and for all, settle down. If you guys tried a taylor 714ce...thats the sound i want. Jason Mraz, John Mayer, loads..something versatile. The Gibson seems interesting because its made in canada. previously the Garrison guitar factory. And garrison guitars have awesome reviews. Unfortunately, there is none of this guitar in singapore. cant try. so if i do get it.quite a gamble.
yea.no mahogany for me too. sounds like....a plank of wood
haha
ovangkol is actually pretty good..its a type of african rosewood if im not wrong.
however.the spectrum is not as wide as rosewood.
its really tough to choose a guitar when you are in singapore when there is not large guitar store with almost everything

 

[Dime]

its really tough to choose a guitar when you are in singapore when there is not large guitar store with almost everything

We need Guitar Centre!!

 

[smurfpiss]

I'd say go with a Taylor, they cope pretty well to the local climate, have very playable necks and are pretty versatile in the tone department (especially the Grand Audi's).

You may or may not have heard of Brendon, he has quite a selection of pre-owned Taylors that are competitively priced. Looking at the site now I see a 414CE with Sitka Spruce top and Ovangkol back and sides, and as you mentioned Ovangkol's characteristics are very much similar to rosewood except that it's more readily available than rosewood.

BGW Guitars - http://www.bgwguitars.com/index.html

 

[penta-tonic]

erm a trip down to the parklane, peace centre area should solve all your probs man.

guitar gallery sells bourgeois, goodall, gibson acoustics
sinamex sells taylor, simon and patrick, timothy acoustics
city music sells martin, ovation acoustics

all the guitars are pretty much concentrated in that area so it would be better to try, my recommendation is go to guitar gallery, Terry sometimes gets a few nice pieces of martins and taylors besides the rest of the brands he carries, if im not wrong he even carries those carbon fibre acoustics, tried one there before. guitar gallery has top notch service.

 

[Lifehouse]

Thanks, I would like to think that my budget is rather high. Buy it once and for all, settle down. If you guys tried a taylor 714ce...thats the sound i want. Jason Mraz, John Mayer, loads..something versatile. The Gibson seems interesting because its made in canada. previously the Garrison guitar factory. And garrison guitars have awesome reviews. Unfortunately, there is none of this guitar in singapore. cant try. so if i do get it.quite a gamble.
yea.no mahogany for me too. sounds like....a plank of wood
haha
ovangkol is actually pretty good..its a type of african rosewood if im not wrong.
however.the spectrum is not as wide as rosewood.
its really tough to choose a guitar when you are in singapore when there is not large guitar store with almost everything

I've owned a Garrison a few years back. Favourable? Yes. But I won't judge the Gibson simply because it's made in the same factory. There's too many uncertain factors to count in.

Sorry, mahogany does not sound like a plank of wood. I've owned one and I can attest to that.

Ovangkol might be considered a type of rosewood. I have compared the 414CE, S10J (owned) and 814CE (owned, pre NT neck) and the ovangkols are nothing similar to rosewood. I find rosewood to have a very distinct spectrum of its own but mixes very well in a band. Ovangkol has a very distinctive chime. I find it hard to be descriptive regarding tone and sound. It'd be beneficial for you to A/B them since everyone has a very subjective opinion about sound.

If you happen to chance upon Larrivees (used, new price here is ridiculous), do consider them. While the neck is not as "electric"-like as a Taylor, it is very similar and the material used are excellent. I compare the OM3-R as a very favourable candidate against the 814CE which cost twice as much.

I think there might be used 414CE limited editions which are rosewood back and sides. Your best bet is the G4C classifieds.

 

[penta-tonic]

yeah do check brendons site, i see he has a mcpherson mg3.5 on the way. im mighty interested, u should check that one out. indian rosewood back n sides with englemann spruce soundboard. buy it so i wont have to.

 

[wy1991]

apologies..a hummingbird is an awesome mahogany guitar
anw..heard about larivees..and the dealer here overprices it...its quite nice..gotta admit..3 series aint to bad if you compare it to a taylor
we need a guitar centre man!!!!
totally agree
yup..i met brendon and tried the taylor 414ce..was a rather good piece..sounded better than the taylor that dissapointed me at sinamex...a newer 414ce
thanks for advice guys!