Which high end acoustic with slim neck- budget of £3000 (new)

crunchman

How lightly/or heavily they are built does seem to be a factor.  At a slightly lower price point, Furch are absolutely brilliant but I've heard stories of problems with them because they are very lightly built.  I've not had any problems with the two I've had but I use 11s.  It might be different with 13s.

For me, the more lightly built guitars sound a lot better.  Even with Martin, I much prefer the prewar specs (something like an HD28V) to a post war spec D28.  I think the post war spec was introduced because Martin were getting too many problems with the older ones when people were putting really thick strings on them to try to keep up with other instruments volume wise, but it's the pre-war ones that are regarded as the holy grail of acoustic tone.

The standard D28 might come alive with 13s but I'm not about to cut my fingers to shreds trying to find out.

buckfast

Thanks for all the comments.

Yes, I prefer lightly built acoustics too. I have a cheap Blueridge BR-160 which is lightly built and sounds amazing.

I also agree on some of the opinions above on Taylors - most of them are pretty average to me.

I will look into Bourgeois a bit more, although I have heard others comment that Collings have slimmer necks than the Bourgeois. (maybe they mean the nut width, as I dont think that Bourgeois do 1 11/16 nut width, but Collings do).

Requirements are:

1 11/16 nut width + Slim neck profile + lightly built + well known brand

 

 

CloudNine

Pretty sure Collings and Bourgeois do a variety of nut widths.

Can say for certain that your average Bourgeois neck will be slimmer than a Collings. Both do some carves that are pretty accessible to all, i.e. not too fat. Collings seem to offer some much fatter ones though, labelled Vintage and Vintage Now I think. Can't recall ever seeing a Bourgeois with a chunky neck. 

olafgarten

You can get a fully custom neck on a Lowden for an extra £200.

Bluesman1989

I've got a brand new Collings OM2H going under RRP. Has a 1 3/4" nut though so maybe not quite what you're after?

AuldReekie

crunchman said:

buckfast said:

I have heard many (mostly our friends from the USA) rave about Collings, Santa Cruz, Bourgeois. Any opinions on these?

Andre with your points re Taylor's and UK luthiers. Taylor's just don't have any subtlety and if you want that sort of modern sound, give me Larrivee anyway over them. Re UK luthiers, have never played Martin, Taylor, Collings, Santa Cruz are not in the same league as the Model C that I had built by Nigel Forster in Newcastle, in fact I have never played another acoustic that comes close to it in terms of responsiveness and depth of tone. Most of the Santa Cruz I've played have been absolutely brilliant.  A 12 fret pre-war spec OOO that I tried once may well have been the best sounding acoustic I've played.  It wouldn't meet your criteria on the neck though.

Collings on the other hand I don't get.  I think @mgaw said it best when he said that they are impeccably built but lack the magic.  They are mostly based on Martins but to me don't sound as good as the higher end Martins.  I'd have a Martin HD28V over the Collings version of a D28 any day.

To be honest a lot of Santa Cruz and Collings guitars are based on Martins.  I'd definitely try a few of the higher end Martins.  Some of them have huge necks, but not all.  They do make a variety of neck profiles.

I would disagree with @mgaw about some of the UK stuff.  There is some very good UK stuff, but having said that I'm not sure that I'd have the confidence to order something as they can vary.  I played dreadnought made by Moon about 10 years ago that I would say is up there with almost anything, but I tried another recently and was totally underwhelmed.  I'd much rather try something first.  Some of the UK makers are stocked by shops so you can try them.  Moon is in a handful of shops and I've played very good stuff in shops by Brook (if you like the neck - I don't), Atkin and David Anthony Reid.  If you are near London then Ivor Mairants might have some of these in.

I played some Rozawood guitars at the London Acoustic show recently that were stunning.  They weren't particularly small necks though.  If you did want to risk the custom order route they would probably make something to your specs - and being in the Czech Republic they are probably going to be a bit cheaper than an equivalent UK or US guitar.

I don't understand why people are recommending Taylors.  There is the odd good one, but mostly they sound thin and tinny.

musicman100

There seems to be one thing missing in all this talk about what sounds good n what's not.
Let's look chet Atkins or tommy Emmanuel.
Is thier sound anything to do with all this talk about different makes n models.
At the end of the day you can get obsessed about this Guitar n that guitar but any guitar is only as good as the hands that play it.
I play chet style n for to me my Taylor 816 is a lovely guitar. Sounds great, plays great n looks sweet too.

mgaw

fair point but it gets frustrating when the guitar you have spent nearly £3k has limitations...the better the guitar the more you can pull out of it and the more pleasure you get....but you are right ultimately it comes down to the player.

musicman100

mgaw;810764" said:

fair point but it gets frustrating when the guitar you have spent nearly £3k has limitations...the better the guitar the more you can pull out of it and the more pleasure you get....but you are right ultimately it comes down to the player.

I'm not expert on acoustics. It's only opinion on my Taylor 816 and I appreciate Some of you guys will know a lot more than me about acoustic guitars.
By the way I'm new here but it seems a very friendly n informative place.
Glad to be here.

Bluesman1989

I'll throw in a mention or Eggle - The playability and tone out of a Rosewood/Cedar Linvlle (OM) I played was beautiful. The s/h Bourgeois OM at TAMCO was very close, but for me, just shy of the Eggle.

mgaw

copy that James Eggles guitars can be great..one of the best at his pricepoint in the UK obviously Nigel Forster/Stefan Sobell/Ralph Bown are all right at the top but...££££££££££££££££££,s   but worth it if i had had the cash i would undoubtedly bought one of theirs

Bluesman1989

s/h Bown on guitarmart

 

http://www.guitarmart.co.uk/advert/G28045

 

One of Nick Benjamin's early guitars was just up on ebay ... Gone now, but a steal really at £2500 ono

buckfast

The Collings OM2H is #1 for me at the moment. It appears to have a slim neck, along with a 1 11/16 nut width (which is crucial), feedback is that Collings guitars are very very consistent from one to the next - most people report that 90% of them are fantastic guitars, with 10% out of this world good. 

One thing concerns me, and I have seen this from many different sources, and that is some Collings guitars being described as "stiff". If this relates to the playability, then I'm really concerned. Although, I don't really know what they mean by "stiff"? High string tension perhaps? Or stiff in terms of build - in that it needs time to "open up"?

richardhomer

buckfast;813155" said:

One thing concerns me, and I have seen this from many different sources, and that is some Collings guitars being described as "stiff". If this relates to the playability, then I'm concerned. Although, I don't really know what they mean by "stiff"? High string tension perhaps? Or stiff in terms of build - in that it needs time to "open up"?

I meant it in both senses. They are very uncompromising guitars built for maximum volume and tone. This (to some extent) necessitates heavier strings and a higher action.

More lightly built acoustics will respond well to lighter strings and lower actions.

By all means try a few - but I'd be surprised if one were the right solution for you.

Gassage

I do love the sizing and body size of my EC00028

Neck is a noticable V though.

woody

Ive owned huss&dalton,collings,mcilroy,lowden,santa cruz,martin and bourgeois over the years. I think a huss&dalton cm will have the playability you want with much better tone than a taylor..however i think my h&d will be moved on and my bourgeois jomc will be the life keeper. I didnt like the higher end db sig quite as much..a little too gentle and nylon like for my tastes..collings are quite stiff when new,they open out beautifully when played in though..id back up the comment here concerning santa cruz..tone is wonderful due to very light build,this comes

woody

With..mcilroy for me represent the best value boutique guitars on planet.. a lowden equally good,but at a premium.

buckfast

How are the neck profiles on the McIlroys?

woody

My internet all over place..re santa cruz, the light build does cause all the problems previously mentioned..same as furch,tone monsters for peanuts,a neck reset coming down the line though.

crunchman

Gassage said:

I do love the sizing and body size of my EC00028

Neck is a noticable V though.

It's pretty big as well as a V.  That was the main reason why I sold it.