Acoustics that feel and play like electrics

Travisthedog

joneve said:

Travisthedog said:

I keep coming back to the Taylor big baby.........

Shame you're not left handed. I'm getting rid of mine for just over a ton as it needs a small repair to the bridge (been quoted £40) but just haven't had the time to get it done. Only selling because I don't have the room at home (it's currently sat in my office at work getting in everyone's way!) 

They are great guitars though. Mine's a little over 10 years old and sounds fucking superb for the money. Effortless to play too. 

Even worse, I could have bought it with me next weekend as I'm coming down to Bournemouth so probably wouldn't be too far from you. 

To be honest, I don't know how much it would cost to re jig the bridge angle from lefty to righty so it intonates correctly but still might save you some dollar on your budget if you were interested. 

if its possible to do all that i may be interested!

joneve

Pretty sure it is. If you've got a local guitar tech near you, ask the question and see how much it would cost. I can ask my local repairer to see what she'd charge too, but I doubt I could get it done before next week (if you wanted it that quick)..and I'm always weary about posting acoustics! 

I can send pics if you're interested. It's got some cosmetic knocks which is inevitable with them as they're "unfinished" tops give a better tone, but I guarantee you that you'd love the sound. It's fucking awesome sounding for a solid top/lacquered sides guitar! 

ICBM

I apologise for wrecking a potential deal here, but do *not* reverse the bridge on a steel-string acoustic. It's not actually an easy thing to do well, and almost all steel-string acoustics are braced asymmetrically, so it will never sound right the other way round and could even have structural issues, although that's perhaps not very likely.

In particular, don't ruin a left-handed guitar making it right-handed when there are few enough decent left-handed guitars in the world anyway! It's slightly more forgivable the other way round, although still not ideal.

Sell it to a left-handed player who wants it for what it is.

Travisthedog

Ha ! You didn't wreck the deal - I'd already said no!!

joneve

ICBM said:

I apologise for wrecking a potential deal here, but do *not* reverse the bridge on a steel-string acoustic. It's not actually an easy thing to do well, and almost all steel-string acoustics are braced asymmetrically, so it will never sound right the other way round and could even have structural issues, although that's perhaps not very likely.

In particular, don't ruin a left-handed guitar making it right-handed when there are few enough decent left-handed guitars in the world anyway! It's slightly more forgivable the other way round, although still not ideal.

Sell it to a left-handed player who wants it for what it is.

Ha! Calm down dear As Travis said, it's a "No" from him. I'd LOVE to sell it to a left handed guitarist, but it appears that unless I give it away, no one wants it! And that's because we're so few and far between!

xSkarloey

How do! A fellow Lefty here! Did I read correctly that someone's giving away a Big Baby?

(Sorry only joking. Am a happy man with 2 acoustics at the mo. )

Back to the topic, are Gibbos or Gibbo copies worth pursuing? The ones I've tried have almost all had slim comfy necks.

dindude

Taylor's are definately a good bet.

Or how about this.....think it's rather fetching (although most will disagree)

http://i1137.photobucket.com/albums/n505/dindude/7a51c9df71462b6e180a53bcd1eafe0d_zps55737133.jpg

jonnyburgo

Gagaryn said:

Don't laugh but try a Fender Newporter, they are brilliant!

I was just going to say that @Gagaryn and @ICBM. My mates got one, they are slinky as fuck to play, feels like a Strat.

Octahedron

Taylor are great. What hasn't been suggested yet? Washburn. I was really surprised by how easy to play those necks are. Very comfortable. Ended up buying! Ha. 

joneve

Skarloey said:

How do! A fellow Lefty here! Did I read correctly that someone's giving away a Big Baby?

(Sorry only joking. Am a happy man with 2 acoustics at the mo. )

Back to the topic, are Gibbos or Gibbo copies worth pursuing? The ones I've tried have almost all had slim comfy necks.

G'wan! You know you want it!!

xmrchi

I have to agree with the waldens they are amazing guitars for the price, and the playability is that of a guitar twice the price I owned one before falling in love with my vintage guild, also the tangle wood rosewood reserves are great, they also play like butter and have a good sound.

TheDarkLord

Just got one of these.  Perfect for an electric player like me:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91866150@N00/sets/72157644908528040/

http://eedev.takamine.com/archive/acoustic_electric/eg568c

strtdv

They sound awful acoustically, and "different" plugged in, but an Ovation (especially the newer ones with the contour on the back) plays very like an electric.

The sound is a love it or hate it thing though

Phil_aka_Pip

IMO if you want something that plays & feels like an electric, get an electric. If you want an acoustic sound out of an electric, get a piezo-loaded bridge or a Boss Acoustic Simulator pedal. If you want a genuine acoustic sound, man up and get an acoustic.

Travisthedog

Phil_aka_Pip said:

IMO if you want something that plays & feels like an electric, get an electric. If you want an acoustic sound out of an electric, get a piezo-loaded bridge or a Boss Acoustic Simulator pedal. If you want a genuine acoustic sound, man up and get an acoustic.

Helpful

Thanks

)

ICBM

I like things that are halfway between the two, both feel- and sound-wise.

I like electrics to sound and feel like acoustics and acoustics to sound and feel like electrics .

welshboyo

shame, I had a lovely Tanglewood premium line jobby that played like an electric, sold it to someone on the old MR forum
:P

Phil_aka_Pip

ICBM said:

I like things that are halfway between the two, both feel- and sound-wise.

I like electrics to sound and feel like acoustics and acoustics to sound and feel like electrics .

You'd like my Washburn SBF-80 then. IMO it doesn't really play like an electric neither does it really play like an acoustic, it's kinda halfway. Sounds wise I think it's very nicely in the acoustic camp.

EDIT I didn't mention it before as I didn't think it would fit the OP's spec.

ICBM

Phil_aka_Pip said:

ICBM said:

I like things that are halfway between the two, both feel- and sound-wise.

I like electrics to sound and feel like acoustics and acoustics to sound and feel like electrics .

You'd like my Washburn SBF-80 then. IMO it doesn't really play like an electric neither does it really play like an acoustic, it's kinda halfway. Sounds wise I think it's very nicely in the acoustic camp.

I quite like those, but they need a magnetic pickup as well. At that point they would become very similar to the Fender HMT Tele, which is the best-sounding 'solid acoustic' I've played. I owned one for a while but I couldn't get on with the wide/flat neck and jumbo frets - a hangover from the original version of the HMT (Heavy Metal Telecaster) which used the same neck but on a two-humbucker body. Confused yet?

You need a mix of piezo and magnetic to get the best *acoustic* sound in my opinion - although that does also mean that it can do much better electric ones too. The key is that piezo and magnetic pickups are out of phase with each other - not completely like reversing one of two magnetic pickups, but 90º or 'halfway'. This is much more like the way the top of an acoustic guitar vibrates than any single pickup is.

I possibly should have changed the neck on my HMT for a more traditional Tele or Strat one (the original has a Strat-type head shape), but it was the odd offset neckplate design which made it difficult to find something suitable.

boogieman

strtdv said:

They sound awful acoustically, and "different" plugged in, but an Ovation (especially the newer ones with the contour on the back) plays very like an electric.

The sound is a love it or hate it thing though

Ovations have really nice necks. A mate owned a Custom model and it had one of the nicest necks I've ever played; perfect width, perfect fretting and a comfortable soft V. Shame they sound so shit.