Recommendation : Dreadnought for fingerpicking and light strumming?

R

RT88

New member
Need your advice/votes on an all-solid dreadnought between $1k to $2k (plus or minus).

I have a 10-year old Yamaha CG150CCE and a 5-year old Yamaha FS720S. Ventured to Peninsula / Excelsior / Bras Basah / Parklane only the past few months.

Done some research and I am thinking an Englemann Spruce top + Rosewood back/sides should be the right set-up.

I can't really distinguish between the tones of some of the guitars but I have narrowed to the low-end Martin, Takamine and Larrivee. Don't quite like Blueridge and I rather not get a Yamaha LL16.

Which dreadnought would you recommend? Would like to try out as many since this is likely to be my last guitar.

Would appreciate any advice or recommendation.
 
Taylor DN/GA 4 $2138. Give the GA a try. should be more suitable for your purposes since you aren't doing much heavy strumming.
 
He did mention that his budget is below 2k btw. I don't think the 4-series will satisfy you, as it has Ovangkol back and sides and sounds closer to mahogany than rosewood. I've tried the 410ce and i must say it sounds nice and punchy, yet can tone down well enough for fingerpicking. Are you sure you want a dreadnought? Bcos a GA might suit you better, as mentioned above. You might want to go down to Luthermusic and give some of the guitars there a try, i do recall seeing 2 British guitars there that sounded really great and crisp, can't remember the brand though. I believe they cost around 1.3-1.5k, so you could consider them.
 
Thank you for the tip - Taylor DN4 sounds like a good buy. Didn't quite like the lower-end Taylors though.
Found other threads that compared Martin D-16 and Larrivee D-03.
I like the Martin D-16 but I am not sure about the Larrivee. Will try out Taylor DN4 and Larrivee (again).

Tried and also liked the Martin D-1 at Luthermusic. Will have to go back and check out the British guitars.

Any others worth trying?
 
I don't really try the higher end acoustics, as i do not have the budget to get them. I'm very happy with my Takamine EG5303SC that i bought for $725 at Luther a few months back. Are you going to use it for mainly acoustic, mic-up or plug-in? If its the 1st 2, find a guitar that sounds good acoustically. If its the 3rd, i tend to prize the plug-in sound over the acoustic sound. Case in point: my acoustic guitar. It sounds a little soft and mellow acoustically, but plugged in it sounds crisp and powerful. I use it mainly for plug-in, hence i considered plug-in tone first. Why i mentioned this is because usually acoustics with better pickups (which USUALLY equate to better plug-in tone) tend not to sound as good as acoustics with no pickups for the same price.
 
My situation is the reverse of yours - I am thinking of getting a better acoustic guitar (no need for electronics and cutaways) because I can use my Yamaha FS720S plugged into my Crate + Zoom A2.1U if I really want to, though I haven't used them for the longest time since I just like to play and sing simple songs.

I also figured that I can always add a Braggs later if I really want to and use the Yamaha as a carryaround guitar.
 
I tested my friend's Yamaha LL16 and loved the look & feel.
Just felt that I should get a different brand (for a change), nothing more complicated than that. :-)
 
loldude333 said:
Hahaha okok that clears the air a lot more. Have you checked out Maestro?
Click to expand...

I consider myself a very newbie...(mainly because my lowly 'skills' and limited knowledge)..

Don't want to offend any one or insult any guitars.... I like Maestro (actually quite liked the Alpha which is on sale), but my pals tell me that for the price range, I should look at others. If I have the space, I would prefer buying different ones...ha ha. What a journey...
 
If you're not brand-conscious, you might want to check out Ayers guitars at Ranking Sports and Music. There was a parlour I tried that costs only $999. Full-solid I think, but very simple, natural appearance. Sounds superb for fingerstyle and light strumming, but it doesn't sound bad strummed with force either.

I'm not very impressed by Maestro and lower-end Martin. Lower-end Taylors sound and play superb but you can get better specs for less money. I still think the tone and playability of the 214ce makes the pricetag not too unreasonable though. Honestly haven't come across a better-playing guitar. :)

You might also want to check out the Timothy S7 or S10J. I haven't tried the S10J, but I've tried the S7 and it's marvelous. I wouldn't say it's suited for light strumming and fingerstyle, it it's versatile and sounds good whether strummed lightly or with force, or fingerstyle and flat-picking.
 
+1 to Ayers! It's good stuff.
I liked Walden, as well as my Maestro. The Maestro may sound pretty average at first, but after three years with it, the tone has really evolved quite a bit, and the wood ages very well (maybe cause i play it a lot).
 
EugeneSmasher said:
If you're not brand-conscious, you might want to check out Ayers guitars at Ranking Sports and Music. There was a parlour I tried that costs only $999. Full-solid I think, but very simple, natural appearance. Sounds superb for fingerstyle and light strumming, but it doesn't sound bad strummed with force either.

I'm not very impressed by Maestro and lower-end Martin. Lower-end Taylors sound and play superb but you can get better specs for less money. I still think the tone and playability of the 214ce makes the pricetag not too unreasonable though. Honestly haven't come across a better-playing guitar. :)

You might also want to check out the Timothy S7 or S10J. I haven't tried the S10J, but I've tried the S7 and it's marvelous. I wouldn't say it's suited for light strumming and fingerstyle, it it's versatile and sounds good whether strummed lightly or with force, or fingerstyle and flat-picking.
Click to expand...

Yes, I also looked at an Ayers (price quoted was $1800)..maybe I should visit when there are fewer people.
 
I've tried the Ayers guitars before, i felt that Larrivees sounded better. However, i did like the response i got from the dreadnoughts. Oh yes i totally forgot Alvarez. I tried the lower end models before, the acoustic sound was lovely. However, i found the plugin sound to be very sterile and bland, hence i didn't get it.
 
My current preference (in order) after the past few days...

1. Larrivee D-03
2. Martin D-1E
3. Yamaha LLX16

Interestingly, after a while, I can actually hear the difference between the guitars...ha ha.

Anyone know where I can test/buy a Walden D1030 (Ranking/Music Theme - no stock) or Alvarez MD90 (BGW/Brendon - no stock)?
 
RT88 said:
My current preference (in order) after the past few days...

1. Larrivee D-03
2. Martin D-1E
3. Yamaha LLX16

Interestingly, after a while, I can actually hear the difference between the guitars...ha ha.

Anyone know where I can test/buy a Walden D1030 (Ranking/Music Theme - no stock) or Alvarez MD90 (BGW/Brendon - no stock)?
Click to expand...

After weeks of waiting for the year-end sales, I narrowed to Martin D-16 RGT and Larrivee D-03RE, and finally bought the Larrivee. :-)
 
EugeneSmasher said:
If you're not brand-conscious, you might want to check out Ayers guitars at Ranking Sports and Music. There was a parlour I tried that costs only $999. Full-solid I think, but very simple, natural appearance. Sounds superb for fingerstyle and light strumming, but it doesn't sound bad strummed with force either.

I'm not very impressed by Maestro and lower-end Martin. Lower-end Taylors sound and play superb but you can get better specs for less money. I still think the tone and playability of the 214ce makes the pricetag not too unreasonable though. Honestly haven't come across a better-playing guitar. :)

You might also want to check out the Timothy S7 or S10J. I haven't tried the S10J, but I've tried the S7 and it's marvelous. I wouldn't say it's suited for light strumming and fingerstyle, it it's versatile and sounds good whether strummed lightly or with force, or fingerstyle and flat-picking.
Click to expand...

Hi!

Just asking, why are you not impressed with maestro guitars?

Aren't most guitars which are suited for strumming, good for both light and hard strumming?

Which guitars do you think are suited for hard strumming more than light strumming?

Thanks in advance!:)
 
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