Fender acoustic

suspiciousminds

Been offered a fender DG5SBST acoustic for 40quid.
Anyone now owt about this model?

bertie

not that model specifically.  Not for a few years, and its been limited to 1 reso and a few dreads, but never played a Fender acoustic that wasnt worse than an 80s Eko.   

Deader than a cricket bat.   They've probably improved over the recent years - but I certainly wouldnt buy that without trying it first -

octatonic

They are worth around £80-120 used.

I'd buy it and then punt it on.

suspiciousminds

Well,
Had a punt - needs a good clean and some new strings but actually for the money i'm quite pleased.

ICBM

I've never understood the hate for Fender acoustics. OK, they're no Martins, Lowdens or (insert name of favourite high-end proper acoustic maker) but they do a huge range of models from bargain-basement plywood boxes which still play and sound OK for the money, up to quite decent mid-range acoustics that sound and look distinctive, even if not exactly traditionally 'great'. They seem to occupy the same sort of market position and make about the same quality of guitars as Yamaha, with the big difference that most people over-rate Yamahas (most of their models are nothing special - although I admit they do some high-end ones which are quite nice) and under-rate Fender.

I'm a particular fan of the Strat-headstock models, I think it really suits them and sets them apart from being yet another Martin/Gibson/Taylor wannabe.

bertie

ICBM said:

I've never understood the hate for Fender acoustics. OK, they're no Martins, Lowdens or (insert name of favourite high-end proper acoustic maker) but they do a huge range of models from bargain-basement plywood boxes

probably cos these are the ones that are most "readily available"  in shops  - I certainly have never come across anything close to being mid-range............... everything Ive seen/tried (albeit 5+ years ago) have been in the  sub £150 bracket - and far from being anything close to the best value in that price point.   Urt great planks of things that need strumming with saucers - as I said, perhaps things have changed................

Id sadly agree with the comment on Yamaha (proper acoustics, not the girly thin-line a/e things)  I had an FG back in the 80s and it was a cracker,   however couple of years back I tried a couple of the mid-range all solids (£600 ish)- and was underwhelmed and quite frankly disappointed with the quality/feel and more so, the tone

Dave_Mc

That's interesting information about the Yamahas- I've been looking around (sort of) for an acoustic for a while, and the Yamahas always seem to get a good rep at the lower end of the market (the FG700MS especially). Nice to hear a conflicting opinion from people I trust, just so I'm going in with my eyes open.

ICBM

There's certainly nothing wrong with Yamahas, just that I think they're a tad over-rated and you're paying a bit of a premium for the name, on what tends to be a well-made but pretty bland instrument. They're still good, but in my opinion you can do much better for the money if you look around - if you know what you want. If you don't, they're at least a safe choice.

Dave_Mc

I understand what you mean, thanks.

Just out of interest, what would you consider to be "much better for the money"?

bertie

Dave_Mc said:

Just out of interest, what would you consider to be "much better for the money"?

depends what money --  £1000,  £600,  £400,  £200  -   different "competitors" for each price point there

at the £600, and possibly £400 Faith would get my vote, pretty much every time. - for my style of playing at least,  the "secret" is getting out and being brave enough to try brands you've not really heard much of, and of course finding a 'shop owner" you can trust to properly and honestly give you want you need

ICBM

Exactly. There's so much variety in something as apparently (to someone who doesn't play guitar) uniform as a steel-string acoustic that it's almost impossible to be specific. And it's very much a matter of personal taste - I've never actually liked any of the Faiths I've played, for example. I know they're good and I know a lot of people love them, but they just don't do anything for me. Equally, I don't expect everyone to like the Strat-head Fenders, and I know I'm probably in a minority who do! I'm also sure there are people who love their Yamaha too.

The best thing about buying a huge brand like Fender or Yamaha is that they're unlikely to be total rubbish compared to their competitors at any price point, and they'll hold their value better than lesser-known brands for when/if you decide to trade up. But you can definitely get guitars with more character, and I think more outright tone for the money, if you don't stick to such big names. (Again, I'd make an exception for the Fenders with that headstock which doesn't belong on an acoustic guitar - but I admit they're more of a character than tone choice.)

p90fool

This is probably my most heavily-gigged guitar over the last five years, I love it;

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3356/6l8y.jpg

Dave_Mc

bertie said:

Dave_Mc said:

Just out of interest, what would you consider to be "much better for the money"?

depends what money --  £1000,  £600,  £400,  £200  -   different "competitors" for each price point there

at the £600, and possibly £400 Faith would get my vote, pretty much every time. - for my style of playing at least,  the "secret" is getting out and being brave enough to try brands you've not really heard much of, and of course finding a 'shop owner" you can trust to properly and honestly give you want you need

Ah right, good point ) I was talking about at the same price point as the FG700MS, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to hear your thoughts about all of those price points since I haven't decided what to spend or anything like that. I've come across all-solid Vintages at around the £250 mark, Seagull SWS (solid) around the £500-£600 mark, and Larrivee 03 series around the £800-£1000 mark. I haven't tried any of those, though, and don't really know what I want )

ICBM said:

Exactly. There's so much variety in something as apparently (to someone who doesn't play guitar) uniform as a steel-string acoustic that it's almost impossible to be specific. And it's very much a matter of personal taste - I've never actually liked any of the Faiths I've played, for example. I know they're good and I know a lot of people love them, but they just don't do anything for me. Equally, I don't expect everyone to like the Strat-head Fenders, and I know I'm probably in a minority who do! I'm also sure there are people who love their Yamaha too.

The best thing about buying a huge brand like Fender or Yamaha is that they're unlikely to be total rubbish compared to their competitors at any price point, and they'll hold their value better than lesser-known brands for when/if you decide to trade up. But you can definitely get guitars with more character, and I think more outright tone for the money, if you don't stick to such big names. (Again, I'd make an exception for the Fenders with that headstock which doesn't belong on an acoustic guitar - but I admit they're more of a character than tone choice.)

Thanks again, I know what you mean about personal preference etc.. That's normally the case with the big brands (when it comes to electric kit, anyway)- you won't go too far wrong but you can normally do "better" for similar money if you know what you're doing, too. As you said, though, they're normally pretty easy to shift- I didn't like my Marshall AVT, for example, and felt I'd been sorta suckered by the name... but it did make it easier to sell. )

EDIT: apologies if I'm derailing the thread, I just originally saw ICBM's point about the Yamahas and jumped into the conversation, sorry

suspiciousminds

I like the strat headstock ones too - tbh the elvis signature fender kingman is on my "wants" list.
Must say tho, i cant complain at the one i've bought for 40 notes - only the second acoustic i've ever had - it does have quite a wide body, and is a little buzzy - not sure how to cure that tbh.
Can you get acoustic setups done at guitar shops?

bertie

suspiciousminds said:

Can you get acoustic setups done at guitar shops?

Usually,  however how good they actually are,  is................mmmm.....................varying

ICBM

bertie said:

Usually,  however how good they actually are,  is................mmmm.....................varying

And often done by techs who are mainly or only electric players used to light strings and low action... so they set them up with too low an action to sound good. There is a certain critical height below which they just don't sound right, even though there's often no audible buzz yet. It seems to kill the tone of the strings and the 'bounce' you get on the note attack.

I know you like heavier strings than I do too, so I'm sure you'll have noticed this as well.

Lukeage

Hmmm some of the cheaper models are really horrible (CD60CE), sound as dead as a dodo really. Hardware was shit. 

I don't know bout the specific model we're discussing here though

bertie

ICBM said:

I know you like heavier strings than I do too, so I'm sure you'll have noticed this as well.

oh Indeedy

Phil_aka_Pip

ICBM said:

I've never understood the hate for Fender acoustics.

May I suggest that in my case it's because I've never heard or played one that wouldn't have been better off as firewood?