[thechat] Guitars

[Luther, Ron]

Jack Timmons made a mighty fine decision and is now a-lookin' fer a guitar!  Yee-Haw!


Hi Jack!

Hey, Ibanez makes some nice guitars.  (I think those Steve Vai Gems many of us would love to have sitting around the house run about $2.5 - $3K!)  But on the whole, I think Ibanez has usually been a pretty good value for the money.  

I would recommend looking at / fooling with anything the music store will let you get your hands on and buying what you are most comfortable with.  [Hard advice to follow, yes?]  ;-)

I dunno how things are now, but when I bought a Washburn dreadnaught back in the 80's it was the least expensive solid top flattop you could get.  Turned out to be a very nice guitar all round as well.  Had a fabulous jazz guitar kind of neck on it.  Very nice.

I think it might be worth a few extra dollars to get an acoustic where the top of the guitar (soundboard) is made from one single piece of wood.  That is what makes it a "solid top".  You can get a less expensive guitar where the top is made from several pieces of wood joined/glued together, but solid tops are preferable.

I would recommend trying different sized guitars as well.  I've never been real comfortable with dreadnaughts or jumbos.  I really like the smaller 'orchestra' sized acoustic bodies.  But it's all personal choice.  Try them yourself and see what you like best.

You might want to also think about whether you want a cutaway or not.  I have one on my current acoustic and I like it a lot.  My prior two acoustics didn't have them.

Round shoulders?  Square shoulders?  12th fret join?  14th fret join?  Lots of things to consider!

Hope that helps a little.  Good luck!  Have Big Fun looking and let us know what you end up choosing.


Cheers,
RonL.