Great value for $ Acoustic/Electro-Acoustic in $200-$600 range?

[Yixie]

Hey guys,

I'm a total newbie starting on this chinese made $70 guitar, learning basics like forming chords and some music theory. To motivate myself to improve faster, I'll buy me the best I can afford ( MAX $600) after I complete the justinguitar.com beginner and intermediate course

Do fellow softies have any reccomendations (from personal/friends' experiences) of great value acoustics within my budget? I'm dreaming of a full solid with pickup+ eq but the only brand I saw online in that price range so far is Mission from guitar77.

1) Anyone have a review on it?

I'd like my goal guitar to have at least a solid top, but I'll happily buy one with laminate back/sides if they sound, feel and are built better than a full solid with an equivalent price.

2) I've also heard of Custom Acoustics, Cort and Maestro, how are those?

3) I've only heard great things about Seagull, are their prices grossly inflated in sg stores compared to usa?

I've also got an eye on Yamaha fg730s, it sounds beautiful on youtube haha!

I know I'm spending way too much time lurking around this forum and GASing... I'll really like to hear the opinions of more experienced players (ie, everyone else here) about where I could find a good intermediate guitar that can play a broad range of genres that I'd want to keep for years.

Yes, my Holy Grail. That can't cost much more than $600 (student lah).

Thanks for reading this and for answering any of my many questions. I will spend more time on my guitar than online lusting after them I promise!

 

[Mehhz]

Im not experienced enough to give much advice.
But u could try "crafter"
yeah my friends own one,and i just love it .
the length between the strings and the fret is low (Y)
Custom acoustic ?
Heard it,played it, yeah its good. But somehow i still think that Crafter is a better choice.
$600 is an high budget, u could try 2nd hand Acoustic too. Cheers

 

[Yixie]

I've never hear of Crafter, gotta check it out thanks! Have any idea about the price and their specs? Yeah figure it's better to spend a little more and get something I'd stay in love with

 

[ShredAddict]

For acoustic guitars, head down to Guitar 77 for a look. They have a few guitars with Solid Top and back installed with a pickup. Sound great and definitely worth the money.

 

[sgguy_5]

Try Maestro. Local brand with plenty of cheap and good models. I would advise getting a Maestro SD-3ce. Its really worth the money

 

[theunknown]

I own a crafter and vouch for the quality.

though a full solid plus pickups will cost u slightly above 600.

 

[peter01]

Try to go for at least a solid top if it's gonna last you a few years. A point to note is that while specifications like all solids seem more appealing, the builder's skill contributes a lot to the tone as well. As such, I would advice you to try out all the said models before making your decision instead of thinking, "Wow, all solid at $xxx, shiok" and just buy.

If you want at least a solid top, Maestros start in the $400 range and have a Solid Spruce top with mahogany back/sides. The S series of Maestros such as the SA, SD are all laminate top. As such, go for the E series at least.

For that kind of price, you may well want to check out the Yamaha like you mentioned. A FG700S is about $350 and yes, the FG730S is quite a good sounding guitar. The thing about Yamaha is that their qc is better than the other China made brands. You may want to compare the LL6 to the FG730S, similar tonewoods on the back/sides - Rosewood. If my memory isn't failing, the LL6 has a solid Engelmann spruce top VS the Sitka Spruce on the FG730S. Engelmann has a softer and sweeter touch to the tone.

Crafters are decent made in Korea guitars as well. You can also check out Waldens from Ranking/Music Theme. US brand, made in China but pretty darn good stuff. You can get a Solid Sitka Spruce with Rosewood back/sides at about $300 I think. Cheaper than the Yamaha, but do note that Yamaha have sales every mid and end of the year.

Yes, you may want to look for a good deal on the forums as well. You probably could get a Big Baby Taylor in the $500 range used, $695 new. Well built and easy to bring around if that's a factor for you.

Btw, is the pickup absolutely required? Otherwise, I would say buy one that sounds good acoustically and install an aftermarket pickup such as the LR Baggs RTS2. I'd much rather have a good pickup than have a not so good one then spending extra dough swapping it.


Cheers!