Electric/acoustic cutaway

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Jazzyjack
Date: 13 Jun 03 - 12:34 AM

Thanks Merritt. I appreciate all your experience.    Jack

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Merritt
Date: 12 Jun 03 - 06:35 PM

Oke, gotcha regarding playing styles. And you're apparently oke spending $500. Obviously, a lot of this highly subjective and you just need to play as many guitars as you can, but here's my 3 cents.

I've gone through buying an acoustic-electric guitar twice in the last 4 years each time playing dozens of guitars in the process. The first time my criteria were:

~ solid-top
~ very playable neck/fretboard with (or capable of) low action
~ decent sound un-plugged
~ decent sound plugged-in – a great guitar with lousy EQ doesn't make the cut
~ made in a shop with union labor
~ made in a shop with conscious program to conserve rare tonewoods and otherwise address environmental concerns
~ can purchase through local dealer - within a 50-mile radius of my house in the boonies
~ I like the dealer (or at least their guitar tech) and can get support/advocacy w/ maker if problems
~ no more than $600 actual price paid; less is better

The first time around, here's how the guitars you've mentioned matched up >for me<:

~ in terms of playability and sound (plugged or unplugged) I only liked the Takamines that were out of my price range
~ Seagulls/Simon & Patrick – best sound of all played >unplugged<; decent playability; poorly designed/lousy sounding EQ however knocked them off my list; towards higher end of price range too
~ Alvarez in this price range (again IMO) offers a playable middle of the low-end acoustic/electric market product with acceptable electronics available at a local dealer; no attention however that I could find (in 2000) to workers or Mother Nature. (Please note that when you get into this market, it's my experience that there is huge variation from one instrument to the next. This suggests the being sure that you play anything you might want to buy, and perhaps the limits of advice from someone like me who never played the specific guitars you're looking at.)

The other qualifier I'll throw in is that I bought an Alvarez-equivalent, i.e., met all technical and playing criteria, made at a union shop in S. Korea. Within a year of steady playing everyday tho' I found that this decent sounding, low end instrument wasn't sturdy and stable enough to handle all the attention the attention I was giving it. I now rely on a Martin solid mahogany 000-sized guitar for 80% of my playing and have so far found the stability and sturdiness I seek; the price range for a new Martin like this goes from the low-$600s to above $1000.

One other thought. I used to borrow a mid-1980s Alvarez acoustic-electric – everytime my Alvarez-equivalent was in the shop!! - that was all laminate and it was a great playable guitar that I tried to buy from the owner.

- Merritt

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: GUEST,Jazzyjack
Date: 12 Jun 03 - 04:09 PM

Merritt ; I play many styles; fingerpicking, strum and lately flatpicking but with fingerpicks on middle & 4th fingers so that I can strum accompaniment and then do some fingerpicking on a solo. I do pure folk to country pop with Canadian Stephen Fearing my " ultimate contemporary folksinger".
I am really intrigued by the Alvarez guitar I saw on the net with 5 excellent ratings from buyers. Who has tried one ? It seems to be only about $500 ; black cutaway with built in tuner & preamp.

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Willie-O
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 08:28 PM

Call me a skeptic, but I have my doubts about how satisfactory it would be to be stuck with a particular tuner that's part of a guitar (especially a low-priced guitar like those Johnsons). I have found that choosing a tuner is almost as individual a thing as choosing an instrument. All the ones I've owned, in fact, have been some kind of crap. So I'd be very leery of a built-in one. And when I get a good one (talking Intellitouch), I plan to use it for more than one instrument. But hey, whatever works. I'm just saying it might seem convenient, but there are drawbacks.

Seriously, those Guilds are nice guitars, plugged or unplugged, low feedback, comfy...I say buy a guitar based on it's guitar characteristics, choosing on the basis of a gimmick like this is like buying a car cause it has good tires...

Willie-O

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Merritt
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 07:46 PM

Jazzy Jack,

Your choice may vary based style of guitar - fingerstyle, flatpick, strum, etc. - you play, and how much you're looking to spend. What's your style? How much is "not a lot of cash" for you? Takamines & Seagulls can vary widely on price. Are you just looking at the used market?

- Merritt

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Lanfranc
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 06:58 PM

I have a pair of Washburn Festival EA cutaways (an old Woodstock 6-string and a newer EA20-12 12-string) and have found them excellent in terms of durability, playability, reliability and tone.

They are not wildly expensive, and good enough for Shania Twain, Bob Dylan and George Harrison, to name but three.

Alan

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: GUEST,Jazzyjack
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 05:59 PM

I just checked out an interesting item with built in tuner at :http://www.music123.com/item/?itemno=46301&AID=8232998&PID=1242844. Anyone play an ALVAREZ Guitar ?

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: GUEST,jazzyjack
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 05:52 PM

Willie-O; Built in tuner ;http://news.harmony-central.com/Newp/2003/InTune-Guitars.html

Subject: RE: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Willie-O
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 03:05 PM

Built in tuner?

I'd be looking for a Guild F4CE like this one currently on e-bay with 25 hours to go. A thin-profile, single-cutaway hollow-bodied item. For this one there's no bids yet at a reserve of $495 US. I was seriously interested in one that my local music store eventually let go for about $600 Cdn (a STEAL!).

The late Eva Cassidy played one of these.

Willie-O

Subject: Electric/acoustic cutaway
From: Jazzyjack
Date: 11 Jun 03 - 02:38 PM

I play but one guitar; an acoustic Martin D3R ( a cheaper version of a D28 ) but I am looking for an electric / acoustic to solo on especially for the gigs that need more pop material .I am thinking about Takamines or Seagulls that are cutaway . I don't want to spend a lot of cash. A built in tuner would also be nice. What advice can I get from you guys with experience here ?