Hi guys!
I'm new here, and I just had a few questions.
I'm planning on buying a Fender Acoustic, but I need your help, since I'm not much of a guitar whiz. I really don't know that much about guitars.... ^^''
Anyways, I'm looking for an acoustic/electric one. GA-45 SCE seems nice, but I don't know.. kinda pricey for me :P
Help, anyone? Thanks!
-j
IMHO, you can purchase a much better acoustic for the money from a number of different manufacturers than a Fender.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
I'm not familiar with that model, but I concur w/Kap'n.
I've never visited the acoustic room of any of the shops I frequent and thought that the Fenders stood out in a way I'd usually call good.
"Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello
I don't know that model first-hand either but agree with the fellas above that in that price range Fender isn't one of the brands I'd usually look to for unplugged nirvana. Some of your impulses are good ones though: a solid top (rather than ply) is the first essential for any decent acoustic in my opinion, and if you're going for an acoustic-electric a dual-source pickup and built-in pre-amp similar to that is a sensible move too.
My best advice is to try out as many as you can, preferably with reasonably fresh strings. One of them will "speak' to you.
I think I'll go with clayville's advice and just try out different guitars.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I actually own a Fender acoustic. I bought it in the late 1990's for about $300. I has great action and the tone is passable. It has developed some cracking between the neck and body and it looks like it might come apart. My nephew likes it and I'm likely to give it to him next time he visits.
The Fender brand is legendary with electric guitars. But Fender doesn't manufacture acoustics. They "OEM" them out to Asian manfuacturers.
I agree with the others. Go to the music store and vibrate some strings. Something will speak to you.
Fred
My local GC has a Fender CD140SCE that blows away every Martin they have in stock. In fact, the only acoustics they have that sound better to my ear are Taylors.
Am I just insane?
Not insane, but that seems to be the opinion of most who aren't well versed in what an acoustic guitar can sound like.
Taylors tend to be the Ovation of today. While the sounds they make are typically very "acousticy", that same voice can make them pretty annoying over time.
Play one for a season or two and you may agree. You'll long for something "warmer" and more "mature". You'll be missing the complex tones that some other quality makers can get.
Although, for overall consistent quality, Taylor is hard to beat
Originally Posted by Wilko
While I think Taylors sound better than Ovations, I pretty much agree with that entire statement.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Umm... me too I guess. On the lower end of the Taylor price range (meaning above Big Baby) I think the build and material quality is higher than many similarly priced alternatives... but it still comes down to the sound you're after, and how that sound opens up over time.
Of my two decent acoustics, though I really like my Taylor 812ce for a lot of things (and it does sound much richer today than the day I bought it eight years ago), if my house was on fire and I'd already saved the kids I'd run back and save my Gibson J-100. I like my Tele fine too, but in the other hand would be my CS-356.
The heck with the cat!
The cat'll be sitting on the curb, bathing itself, saying "There you are! I've been watching the house burn for ten minutes, wondering when you guys were going to come out."
"I haven't slept for ten days...because that would be too long." -- Mitch Hedberg
Ok, my Ovation comment was a bit harsh. (I had one back in 81)
Back then you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting an Ovation.
the comparison was a blend of generic sound and the ubiquitous nature.
There ya go... two like items I personally have no problem putting on the curb. Imho, YMMV, etc.
I didn't think it was harsh at all; it got your point across fine, and I don't disagree. My point is simply that I have yet to hear a Martin that sounds good to my ears. Or a Gibson. Or an Epiphone Masterbilt. Or a Breedlove, Guild, or Parkour. A $300 guitar from Fender has managed to beat all of those in my estimation. Maybe the local GC just has a good one in stock?
I've been hitting the local shops in Austin for months and every single guitar has the same problem: dull, lifeless, hollow sound. Too much low-end thunk and not enough sparkle. Even Seagull -- I have an S12 that I picked up for less than $500 that sounds better than any other 12-string I've ever heard -- has let me down when it comes to 6-strings.
Ovations have sparkle, but it sounds so artificial, I'm sure you know. And I hate the roundback. Impossible to keep on your lap.
So your point about Taylor being the Ovation of today is well taken. I don't dispute that they are very uniform and not particularly versatile, and that their signature tone is something of a fad. But I have always prefered a brighter, snappier tone from acoustics, and the Taylors are built for that.
For comparison, the best sounding guitar I've heard lately is the Big Baby Taylor. I'm sure this is mostly due to its unique construction, but I really love the earthy, woody snap that guitar has. It reminds me of the old Tacomas.
Try an Alvarez. I love my AD70SC (had to get technical)
What happened to model names?
That's exactly why you gotta just get out and find a guitar that speaks to YOU.
Every one is different. There are generalities that can improve your odds of finding what you want, but there are exceptions to every rule.
My two keepers right now are not supposed to be great sounding acoustics, but they are. One's a 77 Martin D-28 and the other is a 54 Gibson J-160e. Both are not top of their class, but they sure sound good. They don't have so much "sparkle" that they'd get lost in a mix, and they're bot real loud and sure of themselves. Each has a voice that is good at what they do.
That's what it takes a while to find.
The Fender Acoustic to get is a Tacoma. I bought a USA made DM9E6 dread for 500ish bucks on sale at MF. Its beautiful (although simple) and sounds amazing when close miked.
Here is a $90 condenser close miking my "entry level" Tacoma...
http://www.thebluesatemyhomework.com/tacoma.mp3
This was just a quick test to see what it sounded like recorded. Needless to say - after going crazy deciding between Taylor and MArtin - I'm happy with my Fender (family) guitar
"Oh, Mister D.J.,
I keep wondering why you don't play much blues anymore
I don't know what you got against me
Whatever it is, I sure would like to know"
That Tacoma sounds great; has that earthy snap similar to what I was talking about on the BBT. I would love to check out a Tacoma, especially a C1C Chief, but none of the stores carry them here, not even the indie guitar places; everybody seems to think they've gone out of business since Fender bought them (apparently the factory is being used to make Guilds now, which Fender also owns). I've had more than one shop owner tell me they don't make them anymore, which is obviously untrue.
I could get one from Musicians Friend, but I don't want to buy an acoustic sight unseen...
Thats why they have a return policy.
"Oh, Mister D.J.,
I keep wondering why you don't play much blues anymore
I don't know what you got against me
Whatever it is, I sure would like to know"
Yep...I had a budget in mind, but went out to get the best sounding (to me, of course) and feeling acoustic. I played a lot of them.
I ended up with a Fender CD60 that I ordered online in a sale, and it was $240 with the hardshell case. It's got the mini-Q preamp and jack if needed.
This one sounds great with Martin M140 strings.
Now, I have no delusions that this is equal to a Martin or sounds better than a Manzer, or anything like that. But it does sound good and it's what I wanted.
"...pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field;
that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little,
shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome, insects of the hour."
-Edmund Burke
Here's a great example of Martin doing what they do:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=T75YklbUXj8
I guess it must be a matter of personal taste... I'm not really digging on it. I mean, it sounds great because it's Gregg Allman, but the guitar tone itself isn't terribly impressive... beneath the chorus effect that's been added, it seems kind of dull and lifeless. The recording of the Tacoma posted above sounds much better to my ears.
I was just hearing it in the room and found it round and full, and not at all lifeless. I didn't thin there was chorus. I heard it as the two mics together making that sound.
I find that Tacoma clip to be very thin on the single note stuff. Very predictable sound that electric players tend to like.
Here's my J-160e. Rhythm track is with an AT2021 (cheap small condesor) and the leads are with a Groove Tubes GT55 (Cheap LDC) M-Audio Firewire Solo into GarageBand.
Major Wank-fest the week I got the old girl
I can dig it, Wilko.
"Oh, Mister D.J.,
I keep wondering why you don't play much blues anymore
I don't know what you got against me
Whatever it is, I sure would like to know"
Played it through my monitors to make sure; there's a low warble that's a dead giveaway. Whatever the case, it doesn't sound very natural to me.
I see your point, now that you mention it; it does sound a little weedy in that respect. I think of the acoustic more as a rhythm instrument, and that tight snap in the mids really makes up for it.
While that sounds very, very good, it's not the sound I'm looking for out of an acoustic, I guess. It does sound very full, especially on single note stuff in comparison to the Tacoma, but it lacks the midrange snap that I hear from the Tacoma or BBT.
I'm thinking there might be a truism here, that one man's "warm" is another man's "muddy," one man's "bright and snappy" is another man's "thin and grating," etc.
yep. Everybody has to play and hear the one that speak to them.
I was just showing an example. And, of course, recordings can't really get so close to the real sound and feel.
In person is where they really shine, luckily they record very well too.
Gotsta start with something.
Basically we all pretty much agree, though, that unless you have some real tie a to a brand name, the best way to shop is to play some. You may be surprised that the best sound for YOU comes from something you didn't expect!
Interestingly, this thread's originator, who hasn't been back, said, "I'm planning on buying a Fender Acoustic."
"Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello
Well, that's the forum category... "other fender guitars"
He was well recommended to shop for a guitar, not a name.
two fenders (or any other brand) rarely sound "the same"
Ya' know, that totally slipped my mind.
Wooops.
"Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello
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