Hi everyone!
I have been playing for around 8 months, and currently play on n Epiphone Dove. I started out with a cheap £50 Legend acoustic, then i was givin an Ibanez SA series, which i really didn't like, as i play mostly folky/singer-songwriter/acoustic stuff, and i couldn't get the sound off it that i was looking for (although for rock/metal it seems to hold up pretty well,although im a novice in that area) So i got the Dove and i love it, for a £200 guitar the action was surprisingly good, easy to play, and i have been playing on her for the last 6 months or so.
Now im looking for a new toy, and looking to spend between £500-£600 (maybe an extra £100 if needed) which i think is around $1000-$1200 depending on the exchange rate (although remember us brits get ripped off when it comes to anything, including guitars)
I am going to be heading into a great guitar store in Glasgow, this coming Tuesday.
So im looking for any suggestions on guitars around that price (and if you have found a beauty cheaper than that..Great!!)
Im either looking for an acoustic or a semi-acoustic. I was looking at the sheraton 2 which looks just amazing, but was wondering, could i get a nice clean acoustic sound from it aswell as a jazzy/bluesy tone.
I mean with semi acoustics can you get a nice acoustic sound that you would get off a true acoustic?
If you have any ideas or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated, and il give them a bash on Tuesday and hopefully (fingers crossed) we will see a result :)
Thanks again
Hi :D
Semi-Acoustic electrics - IMO are really just solid body electrics in disguise.
An ES-335 type guitar is a neck thru body electric, with a solid center 'block'.
It has hollow 'wings' on both sides of the center block.
It's sort of like thinking that a thin line Tele is akin to a hollow body, when it's really just a solid body with a hollow chamber.
Those hollow chambers do allow a certain 'acoustic' quality to the sound - though, more of when they are played electrically.
So - IMO then, no.... They don't really have an acoustic sound when played acoustically.
True wide body 'Jazz Boxes' do have a nice acoustic sound when played without amplification....
Though, since maple is often used (especially on higher end hollow bodies) - They will have a bit of a 'dry' sound
acoustically speaking.
Most of the less expensive hollow bodies use spruce tops - like most acoustic guitars.
I've been touting Epiphone hollow bodies lately, and this is another opportunity to do just that :twisted:
For $600.00 U.S., Epiphone has the Joe Pass Emperor II Hollow Body.
I played one recently - Very nice guitar.
The only problem I saw with it was the binding on the top F hole had some excess glue.
It gets a nice smooth Jazz tone, and a pretty decent Blues tone as well.
Here's what one sounds like for blues. (Looks maybe like thru a Marshall 1/2 stack....?)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyd-gbsMOGE
And here's the jazzier side of it.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2nODlYylv2E&feature=related
Epiphone also makes an ES-175 RI for $500.00 U.S. - Doesn't have the gold trim or all the binding, and has a French cut instead of a rounded one.
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
I agree, a semihollowbody isn't much different from a solid body guitar. Hollowbodies make a nice acoustic sound that's good for unplugged practice, but they don't sound like acoustic guitars. Semihollows can also be heard pretty well for low volume unplugged practice, but you've got to plug them in to perform.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
agreed with the above posts.
for acoustic, you might wanna try the Martin D15 which retails at 649UKquid, the Ibanez NW20WNE (I think that's the name, though I've probs screwed it up) a bargain at 269UKquid or cheaper, and I'd try a few others in your price range by Martin, Taylor, and Ibanez (not thinking of specific numbers/models off the top of my head). The Ibanez I mentioned has quite a jazzy tone to it (I only mentioned it because its a steal at the price), but the Martin D15 will easily serve folk as well as blues. Ovation also make some good guitars in this price range, but I tend to put them in more of a 'country music' sort of category than folk, although a lot of rockstars/their band members will use them on performances, so they might be worth a gander.
Cheers Scrybe and thanks Rico and Citi,
I think im set on an acoustic, and il have a play at the ones you mentioned Scrybe, the martin looks interesting, ive also been reading good things about the Taylor 210/214E they looks pretty sweet aswell :)
Il keep you updated :)
Cheers again!
