I’m looking for a rich, full sound. Looks are not that important, but I’d like a guitar that won’t fall apart after a year’s play.
I’ve looked at the Johnson, the Kona, and some other unknown or lesser known brands.
I don’t want a 12 string, and accessories aren’t really a factor in the purchase, either. I can get them later. I’d like it to have a “solid” top, but it doesn’t have to be spruce, though I hear it’s preferred. I’d like the option to plug it in, too, but I won’t be using it amplified very often.
It’ll probably be hard to get a good guitar in that price range, it’s a little low. I got one of these for about $200 and it is a great guitar. Once the price goes below about 200 the quality goes down quickly in my experience. I’m am sure there are some decent guitars for $150 but it might be better to wait a bit so you can go a little higher in price.
Unless you are buying a used guitar, you won’t find a solid top guitar in your price range.
I heartily recommend anything made by Yamaha. My current beater classical guitar that I keep in the office is a Yamaha CG100MA. It sounds good enough for me and I wouldn’t shed a tear if the cleaners knocked it over or if someone else decided they wanted it more than me.
You’re asking for an awful lot of features in a very cheap guitar, so you won’t likely be pleased with the options. Try adding another $100 or so.
Solid top guitars don’t start for a few hundred more, but plywood guitars really aren’t as bad as it sounds. Play a few and see what you like.
Well the Johnson is a solid top, and they start at around $100, and they have a nice sound, too, but I’m just wondering how long it will last, quality-wise.
I found this guitar, but I’ve never heard of the brand: It’s a Harmonia. It sure is perty, but I’m not sure about its level of quality. I think it’s made in China. Should I avoid all guitars made in Asia as a general rule?
Be aware many cheap guitars have poor intonation, which means that if you decide to play anything beyond the 5th fret, it will be out of tune, no matter how well you tune it. As well cheap guitars can have poor action (distance from strings to the fretboard) and fretbuzz as well. I would seriously reccomend playing a guitar yourself before purchasing. I teach 55 students and many have poor guitars with these problems.
Yamaha makes good inexpensive guitars for about 400$ Canadian. I also like the Godin company. La Patries are nice as well, about 650 for an acoustic with a pickup. May be a bit more pricey, but it is a solid guitar.
Sorry to make this into an echo chamber - but you really should wait until you’ve saved up a little more. For my first guitar, I pennypinched until I had about $300. I bought a brand new Takamine that I still think is one of the best sounding guitars I’ve ever played.
It’s well-built (i.e. it hasn’t fallen apart in over 10 years), and it has a full sound. My dad has a Yamaha (same sort of price range) that has survived over 40 years - and still sounds good, and is still totally playable.
So that’s how I feel. NOW - practically speaking - if you only want to spend about $150 - I would recommend looking for a good, used guitar on craigslist or ebay. I would avoid classical guitars. And I would forget about plugging it in - you can buy a nice acoustic pickup at a later date (fits right in the soundhole).
Sorry to be blunt, but I suggest you don’t buy such a cheap guitar and wait until you can afford something better. An acoustic guitar in the price range you mention is almost certainly not going to be very playable, or stay in tune, or do anything other than frustrate the hell out of you. On the other hand, spending $100 more, if you can, is going to make quite a bit of difference and will get you a fairly serviceable instrument.
I know, I know. (Sheesh, I knew somebody would say something about that.) Look, I have nothing against classical guitars.
If you look back at that part of my answer, I was trying to work with the OP to actually get a guitar in the $150 range. In my experience, a good sounding classical guitar costs significantly more than that. For $150 you might get a regular acoustic guitar that’s playable - but you are not going to get a classical guitar that sounds worth a damn. Particularly not one that’s got a “rich, full sound” as the OP requested.
That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it. But, rest assured, there was no animus or bias against classical guitars. They’re lovely.
Well, it’s not a cut-out but here’s my recommendation. It’s a Takamine - which I am familiar with (and like) - and it is an acoustic-electric. List price on musiciansfriend: $249.99.
Well it appears that even the more expensive guitars do not have solid tops. Most of the guitars on that site that range from $300 to $600 have laminate or composite tops.
Then the laminate top is not a huge factor in sound quality after all? And what, exactly, is a composite top and how does it affect sound?
No. First of all, “the Johnson” suggests there’s one guitar choice from Johnson, which is not the case. They have about two dozen different models, SOME of which have solid tops – probably starting at $400 or so. Their $100 models do not have solid tops, and I think it’s safe to say there are no new solid top guitars anywhere near the $100 range.
I think I can help you best by referring you to The Mudcat Cafe. It’s a site devoted to folk and blues music, and there have been many threads there on guitars. Post your questions there and you will get lots of knowledgeable responses as well as links to previous threads. You can also use the built-in search function to find previous threads. You’re getting some good info and advice here, you’ll just get a ton more of it at the Mudcat because it’s a music specialty site.
I’d recomend getting a cheap second hand acoustic and spending a bit extra to get it set up at a guitar shop. If you have a friend who knows about guitars, get them to check that the guitar is structrally sound before you buy. Small problems with intonation, action etc can be easily sorted out. My local guitar shop (UK) charges about £50 for a set up. You don’t say whether you’re a beginner; if you are, let the shop know and they’ll set it up for light gauge strings. There are so many second hand instruments around that I wouldn’t buy new unless you have to. If you must buy a new guitar, make sure that whoever sells it to you has set it up properly - at the price range you’re looking at, it almost certainly won’t be set up well out of the factory. Good luck.
My standard advice to beginning guitarists is to get a used Baby Taylor (not the Big Baby). Not only will you get a quality guitar, but should you decide that the guitar is not for you (or want to graduate to a better guitar), you can sell it on ebay & get most of your money back (nobody wants your used Johnson ). It is also a smaller guitar (although it has a fair sound) which appeals to many beginners.
You might be able to get a used one for $250.
I’d recommend the New Esteban Acoustic/Electric American Legacy Guitar Package. Dynamite guitar endorsed by the legend himself.
It’s a fine heirloom instrument that the endorsement of a guitarist whom many fans rank among the world’s foremost.
Search SDMB and you’ll find a good half dozen threads where the consensus view is that Esbeban is as good as–and perhaps better–than Clapton, Hendrix, Page and Beck.
Search for Esteban on Google and you’ll get more than 5 million hits.
I bought an Ibanez AW12 and was very pleased with it - even my instructor was fairly impressed with the warmth of the tone. It cost me $250 new. It also had a solid spruce top, so it meets that preference as well.
It was a fancy guitar, or anything spectacular, but I did a lot of comparison shopping, and I felt pretty comfortable that it was a good value for its relatively low price range.
I loved that guitar; unfortunately, it didn’t make the move with me.
). It is also a smaller guitar (although it has a fair sound) which appeals to many beginners.