I've decided on an acoustic guitar

[Peter]

So I've been without an acoustic guitar for over a year now...my beloved acoustic guitar of old broke on the trip out here and can't be repaired. The neck is splid lenghwise from the nut halfway down the neck :( So instead of getting a new neck (a blue one, because it's a transparent blue finished guitar), I've opted to buy a new guitar altogether.

So after playing every guitar in my price range at the music store, I've settled on one that feels right: The Taylor 314 CE Grand Auditorium Acoustic/Electric. :drool:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Acoustic?sku=514973

[Trickster]

that's some price range!

[Peter]

:heart: credit card with low interest rate! not to mention my ability to make big payments on said credit card every month...

[Trickster]

i dont like electro-acoustics though, i'd rather just have one or the other, not some half-breed.

[Peter]

My last one was an acoustic/electric and it sounded great either way, plugged or unplugged. I really don't see what having a pickup installed does to the acoustic quality of it. And hell, Taylor's pickups are pretty damn good sounding if you ask me...

[i]

I have a nylon string acoustic with pickups. I like it but it's been in the USA since December and I miss it. I rarely play electric guitar anymore.

[Mrweems]

Go check out the Laravee and If you want to splurge the cash.. Look at Gibson acoustics..

But i love laravee

[Peter]

I've got a case of "ever since I played my friends Taylor, I've always wanted one for myself."

Kind of like the 12 year old whose cousin buys a Thunderbird, and the kid grows up always wanting to drive a thunderbird.

[Mrweems]

haha, i know the feeling. I was the same way about my Les paul.. Omg i dont know what i would do if i didnt get it..

[Peter]

I have a black epiphone les paul studio...$650 regular price, I got it from a friend for $285. I got it set up professionally immediately and it plays like a DREAAAAAMMM. Though all the gold hardware is barely gold anymore...oh well, it still sounds phenomenol.

[Mrweems]

Yea i got the new :
Gibson Les Paul : Goddess: Series.. Its Violet burst.. Its got a weight reduction and its a bit smaller by like half an inch..
But its amazing..
Next im either getting an ES-335 or a Gibson Les Paul Silver Burst(exactly like the one james plays, as well as adam jones(tool)..)

[Six Ways]

Though all the gold hardware is barely gold anymore...oh well, it still sounds phenomenol.

Good. Gold hardware sucks.

[Peter]

Gold hardware is really good at fading. That's pretty much it's only use! I wish it were all silver...then it'd just look good all the time. Nickel plating = teh win.

[sleeper]

I'm a Taylor devotee myself, and I praise you for your choice. I play a 1996 rosewood 412 (the first of the 400s, and the only ones with rosewood). I wish sometimes it was an electric/acoustic, but I make do. Taylors aren't cheap, but they're solid wood and handcrafted. They also sound and play better than many Martins that are being built today, and Martin is considered the benchmark for the acoustic guitar industry.

Taylor 412s and 414s were pretty innovative when they were introduced. The 412s are smaller and quieter, similar to the old folk or parlor shape, but with better tone and dynamics. 414s are closer to the boomy dreadnoughts, but with better tone balance and are easier to play. I am planning to buy a second Taylor, and it'll likely be a 414 eclectric/acoustic too.

The only other handbuilt acoustic I'd dish out the money for (provided I had the money) would a Collins. Those are pricey - they start around $5000. But they are extremely good guitars. I know a lot of other luthiers are fashionable right know, but one dirty little secret about many indy luthiers and small guitar companies is that they are can be very inconsistent in what they turn out. I used to work in an acoutic guitar store, and I saw this all the time, even from companies like Breedlove and Lowden. Collins isn't like that, which is why they've been in business so long.

Taylor has had some design issues in the past (like my 412's "satin" finish - which, 10 years later, is nearly gone) and yeah that gold tone hardware is an annoying thing that comes all too many of their guitars. But many of the more troubling problems they're worked on, and overall, the guitars they produce are consistent in quality.

[Mrweems]

Collins guitars are amazing.. Like hands down one of THE BEST acoustics ive ever handled before..

This band came through my town once and he was playing one.. And i went and asked him about it after the show and let me play it... And i was just in awe of the feel, look, sound, and juts quality of it.. !!! Highly recomend those if you have the cash..