Need help with what guitar to buy.

ewan71

hi My first post on here and i am already looking for a bit of help. I have a nice Frashman FA300GAC, it is all solid wood and was my first proper guitar. I know it is nothing startling but really special to me. After now probably 18 months of playing pretty much everyday it has started to show a few battle scars so looking to buy a new guitar which i will then use as my main guitar and only use the FA300GAC for special occasions etc. So here is where i am at, i'm probably looking to spend around £450-500, at the VERY most £600 on my next guitar so it will most likely end up being a similar or better quality to the freshman, just wanted to know what everyone would recommend i buy in that price range. The cheapest I have been considering is the Yamaha FS740SFM Also the yamahaAPX700ii has been one i have been looking at plus the yamaha A1m/A1FM I also considered the new taylor gs mini koa because i love koa so much, but improbably wont buy that guitar. So yeah, anyone got any suggestions for me? Thanks

Forge

Yamaha L series, Seagulls....it depends on what you are looking for really. Do you want a pure acoustic or a preamp? Will you be fingerpicking and playing instrumentals or will it have to compliment your singing? I recently tried a few in that price bracket and went with the Seagull S6 Spruce because it sounded so good. I recommend you try as many as you can in your price range to make sure you like the neck and tone. Try to find a shop that will set it up nicely for you.

BigLicks67

If you love the Freshman why not keep playing it there's no shame in playing a guitar that's a bit beat up.

Look at Willie Nelson's guitar Trigger it's nearly as famous as he is -

Damien Rice's battered Lowden, Glen Hansard's Takamine, Michael Hedges Martin D28, the list is endless.

However, the answer to your question is a Yamaha LL16M.

ewan71

Forge said:

Yamaha L series, Seagulls....it depends on what you are looking for really. Do you want a pure acoustic or a preamp? Will you be fingerpicking and playing instrumentals or will it have to compliment your singing? I recently tried a few in that price bracket and went with the Seagull S6 Spruce because it sounded so good. I recommend you try as many as you can in your price range to make sure you like the neck and tone. Try to find a shop that will set it up nicely for you.

Thanks for the advice, it wouldn't really matter about a pre-amp or not for me as I very rarely have my freshman plugged in. I had taken a look a Seagull guitars but i dont really like the narrow headstock. I mainly play rhythm guitar along with singing with the odd bit of picking. I think the L series is probably the way I'll go. Thanks.

ewan71

BigLicks67 said:

If you love the Freshman why not keep playing it there's no shame in playing a guitar that's a bit beat up.

Look at Willie Nelson's guitar Trigger it's nearly as famous as he is -

Damien Rice's battered Lowden, Glen Hansard's Takamine, Michael Hedges Martin D28, the list is endless.

However, the answer to your question is a Yamaha LL16M.

yeah, I totally get you, I will always play my Freshman but want to keep it in it's case for special occasions, i think over time it will probably end up like Trigger. haha. The L series is a good shout though, thanks

xmrchi

You can get a Japanese takamine for the price and they really are amazing guitars :-)

Hertz32

I played a GS Mini E today. Loved it. See my review in my thread about travel guitars if you are plugging in, its gorgeous

DiscoStu

Have you tried Faith? Very popular round these parts.

Hertz32

Hertz32

Watch from 3:09 ^

olafgarten

You can get a Sigma 15 series for that much. All solid mahogany.

octatonic

Welcome.

I took your fret cherry.

richardhomer

The full sized, lower-end Taylors (100 and 200 Series) are also worth a look. They are Mexican built and have laminated backs and sides - like the GS Mini - but like all Taylors, they play superbly.

woody

Faith for me..super guitars.. or if your buying s/h,i saw a stanford om5 at a great price on gumtree.none of guitars mentioned will come close imho.

crunchman

The Martin 000X1AE is very good.  It's a bit unconventional with the Stratobond neck and the HPL back and sides but it's a really good guitar.  I think it's the fact that it's unfinished - it lets the wood vibrate without any damping.  It sounds better than the gloss finished Martins that cost 2 or 3 times as much.

Phil_aka_Pip

+1 for Faith. Nice tone, nice feel, absolute confidence in the intonation.