Need Help in Buying Acoustic Guitar

[deathmagex]

I'm a newbie and i want to get a acoustic guitar range $200 - $250. what is the difference between a semi acoustic guitar and a normal acoustic guitar. what do i need to take into consideration for acoustic and semi acoustic guitar? please help. Thanks

 

[loldude333]

If i'm not wrong, semi-acoustics are simply acoustic guitars with pickups. Why they're called that is a total mystery to me. Some considerations:

Wood

The wood sets the tone of your guitar. Note that this is in general and not always the case. There are 5 parts: top, back, sides, neck and fretboard. The top affects your tone most, followed by the fretboard, the back, the neck and then the sides. This may not be accurate, its only a general guideline. Most acoustics have either spruce or cedar tops, spruce giving a more bright, punchy sound while cedar gives a mellow, sweet voicing. Back and sides are most of the time made of the same material, and there are many many many combinations. Check out www.taylorguitars.com and go to the Features tab. Its a pretty good resource, if you take it with a pinch of salt.

For the top, back and sides, they are either laminate or solid. Laminate means that the top isn't a single piece of wood, rather several layers glued together. The glue affects the tone and resonance of the wood. Solids have to glue in between, hence are generally more resonant than laminates. For your price range, expect all-laminate acoustics to be within your budget. If you're lucky you can get a solid top at the very most, but even then you have to try it first, to see if you like it. Rule of thumb when buying a guitar: if it sounds good to you, its good enough, regardless of the features.

Shape

There are several shapes, with the more popular ones being dreadnoughts, grand auditoriums and jumbos. Again, the link above explains it in pretty good detail.

I suggest you try Custom Acoustics from Citymusic, Takamine D series from Luthermusic or Fina from Davis.

 

[POS]

erm if you're thinking of playing the guitar in a band with an amplifier then get semi, if not then just get an acoustic i guess?

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Uh huh, semis are just acoustics with pickups. Dude maybe you should use the Search function to find out more, there are numerous threads started on this.
Nevertheless. If you're looking for brands, Custom Acoustic at CM, Takamine, Fina and Samick at Davis and Maestro. Go down, try them out and see which one you like. Especially the neck feel and action.

 

[deathmagex]

is it advisable to get a normal acoustic guitar then after i had honed my skills, then i install the pickup?

 

[JweiH]

is it advisable to get a normal acoustic guitar then after i had honed my skills, then i install the pickup?

If you are planning to get a pick up in future, might as well get an semi acoustic now, once and for all, and save the trouble?

The above mentioned brands are really good for their price, try them out!

 

[deathmagex]

If you are planning to get a pick up in future, might as well get an semi acoustic now, once and for all, and save the trouble?

The above mentioned brands are really good for their price, try them out!

is this a good guitar?
http://www.citymusic.com.sg/webshaper/store/viewProd.asp?pkProductItem=290

or this?
http://www.citymusic.com.sg/webshaper/store/viewProd.asp?pkProductItem=292

 

[JweiH]

is this a good guitar?
http://www.citymusic.com.sg/webshaper/store/viewProd.asp?pkProductItem=290

or this?
http://www.citymusic.com.sg/webshaper/store/viewProd.asp?pkProductItem=292

I went to try that one that cost $220 recently with my friend. It doesn't feels like it is $220, the action and tone really surprised me lol, and guess what... He bought it on that day. but still, you gotta try it out on your own... you gotta have an affinity with the guitar first, then can get it...

 

[halind]

Sorry to hijack the thread a little, but has anyone tried the Swing SM-100 or SMS-270TE at Standard Value before ? They seem to be around the budget as well.

 

[Jumpin'Jellybean]

Maybe you should go down and try and tell us what you think? As far as i know Swing guitars have hardly come up as a topic of discussion... right? not for the past 4 months at least.

 

[deathmagex]

What about Yamaha Guitar? i didnt see anyone comment bout it yet.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

Yamaha makes great acoustic guitars, but for $200-250, there are more value-for-money brands you can turn to.

 

[loldude333]

Yes, i feel that CMs are probably the best value-for-money here, if you ask me. However, their top-of-the-line models leave much to be desired, their all solid construction and use of supposedly quality tonewoods still didn't produce the kind of sound i would expect fr a guitar that's made of those woods. HOWEVER, i was looking for an acoustic at a higher price range, don't get me wrong, the CMs are generally value-for-money.

 

[theGroovyMusic]

If i'm not wrong, semi-acoustics are simply acoustic guitars with pickups. Why they're called that is a total mystery to me. Some considerations:

Wood

The wood sets the tone of your guitar. Note that this is in general and not always the case. There are 5 parts: top, back, sides, neck and fretboard. The top affects your tone most, followed by the fretboard, the back, the neck and then the sides. This may not be accurate, its only a general guideline. Most acoustics have either spruce or cedar tops, spruce giving a more bright, punchy sound while cedar gives a mellow, sweet voicing. Back and sides are most of the time made of the same material, and there are many many many combinations. Check out www.taylorguitars.com and go to the Features tab. Its a pretty good resource, if you take it with a pinch of salt.

For the top, back and sides, they are either laminate or solid. Laminate means that the top isn't a single piece of wood, rather several layers glued together. The glue affects the tone and resonance of the wood. Solids have to glue in between, hence are generally more resonant than laminates. For your price range, expect all-laminate acoustics to be within your budget. If you're lucky you can get a solid top at the very most, but even then you have to try it first, to see if you like it. Rule of thumb when buying a guitar: if it sounds good to you, its good enough, regardless of the features.

Shape

There are several shapes, with the more popular ones being dreadnoughts, grand auditoriums and jumbos. Again, the link above explains it in pretty good detail.

I suggest you try Custom Acoustics from Citymusic, Takamine D series from Luthermusic or Fina from Davis.

Semi acoustics are electric guitars with a hollow/semi hollow body. The correct term you are looking for is electric-acoustic, which is an acoustic guitar with a pickup. Many people including myself have gotten these terms mixed up.

 

[loldude333]

Thanks man. I also wasn't sure.

 

[Sebaztian]

You can get the semi acoustic ones if you want right now.. Or you can get a normal acoustic guitar and then buy an acoustic guitar pickups where you can install it on the hole of the acoustic guitar in the future.. Such pickups cost as low as 30 bucks.

Personally, I feel that Samick guitars from Davies is a better sounding guitar for newbies. Not sure about the semi acoustic ones, but the normal acoustic cost about 120-150 bucks, which is way below your budget, even if you wanna install the pickups mentioned above.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

Personally, I feel that Samick guitars from Davies is a better sounding guitar for newbies.

Agree, totally. I own an all-NATO-wood Samick dreadnought (pre-Greg Bennett, it says Samick on the headstock) that is probably a copy of the Martin D-15. It's seriously a great sounding guitar. I've heard nothing but compliments from others (who have expensive guitars) regarding its tone. And that isn't all. It played superbly too, and the thinner neck makes it more comfy for beginners. After awhile I didn't like the thin neck too much, but that was my only gripe about it.