I've been playing for about 50 years and I've learned a few things along the way. What guitar should you buy? Three thoughts: One, stay inexpensive until you are sure this is going to be a lifetime thing. There are tons of really good guitars these days under $300, and it's best to stick with a major brand. My recommendation is always to go with Yamaha for a first guitar. The workmanship and sound quality rival guitars that cost three times as much. My first guitar was a cheap Sears Silvertone, circa 1968. Once I knew I would continue playing, I purchased a new Yamaha FG-300 in 1974. I think it was around $400 then. I still have it today, and it's still my favorite guitar. Two, realize that the odds are you will keep a guitar for your entire life. That old Sears Silvertone is long gone, but every guitar I've ever bought since (seven guitars in all) I still own and play regularly. So from that perspective, once you know you'll be a player, buy the best guitar you can afford. The extra $200 you pay for a guitar today will be meaningless in 40 years, but the higher quality of the guitar will be something you'll appreciate forever. I pushed my budget to the limit in the late 1980s to buy two of my favorites, an Ovation Custom Balladeer 12-string, and a Gibson Les Paul Studio. Thirty years later, I still feel a thrill each time I pick up one of those two guitars. And three, I recommend staying away from electric guitars until you're comfortable playing acoustics. Acoustic guitars are much more physically difficult to play, and learning to play on one will reap huge benefits by the time you're ready for an electric. If you learn to play on an acoustic, and become adept at getting the sound, chord shapes, and fingering techniques you desire, you'll be absolutely amazed at how cool it is to use those abilities on an electric.
I own a Yamaha FG401a. Very loud and clear but a bit too high on action. Maybe should I get it set up ? Many like it but to me not so comfortable like an Ibanez.
1:00 How much money do you want to spend? 1:49 Price tiers 2:30 What style of music? (Acoustic guitar types) 3:17 Your own body's size 4:04 Acoustic or electric? 5:04 Solid wood top or not? 6:14 Solid wood back and sides? 7:16 Don't forget to budget for accessories 7:41 Buy something you like 8:18 Try guitars to get the "feel" of the guitar
Only one piece of advice to everyone. Find people to play with, regardless of your skill. With Meetup groups, etc everywhere, find people to jam with who just want to play and make music. It's so much more fun with others.
The year was 1970, I was 19 and I went into a small music store and bought my first guitar. It was a used Grammer guitar for $325. I made payments because that's around $2 thousand in todays money. It was outstanding and had a sound like no guitar I've ever heard. Hard times came and had to sell it for $150.00. I've seen asking prices as high as $5 thousand for that guitar today. I still miss that guitar. Oh well, such is life.
I feel like if hard times came i wouldnt sell my first guitar for 10% of its worth....... i made more pan handling with NO guitar when i found myself homeless, so if i knew how to play guitar at the time and had one, id easily have made 150 over a week.....
Donald Lewis don’t feel alone. In 1972, a neighbor’s husband died, she sold his instruments. I bought a Chet Atkins gold plated country gentlemen acoustic/electric for 200 bucks in a custom case. Best guitar I ever had, but being a stupid teenager, when I got out of army basic training, no job.. sold it for 100 bucks. It was worth 3000.00 and I did not know it. Still miss it.
My little story starts as, I always wanted to learn to play guitar since i was a kid and couldn't afford it. Now at 55 years old I started oh boy ! Now I'm addicted and your in part to blame lol ! 1st Taylor 110E 2nd Taylor 150E 12 string, 3rd Taylor 314CE 4th Martin OMC 28E that is the acoustics. I absolutely love them all and use them all (now have 12 guitars) Why did I wait so long ? Any you guys are amazing I learn so much from you Thank you Thank you Thank you !! I surprised my wife with the first one a year and a half ago. As I played and sang her a song and she cried, (in laughter) yes you helped.
My number one piece of advice I would give to anyone buying a guitar for the first time would be to, buy the one you played. Don't ever get the one from the warehouse. I know, some people like the idea of getting the "fresh" one, that nobody has touched. But guitars are alive. They all have their own personalities. The one you played, quite often, will have different characteristics to the one nobody has touched. And it's exactly because nobody has touched it. You want the one that's been played, touched, maybe even dropped a few times. If that's the one that sounds good to you, buy that one, that EXACT one. I can't tell you how many times I've talked to people who bought a guitar and then complained that it didn't sound the same as the one they played at the shop. Or it didn't feel the same, or the action was off, or any number of things. And that's because it's not the same.
John Miller I’m not native eng speaker so I didn’t understand you. You said that it would be good if u buy guitar from the other person not from the shop?
For beginners, here's my own guide. To be technical, (Applies to all amount of budget). 1. Get a guitar with a light headstock to avoid "neck diving" - Neck diving happens when your guitar headstock is heavy thus requiring you to support it which reduces your play speed (Some players ignore it while I found it annoying when your headstock is heavy especially when I was still a beginner). 2. Get a guitar with a flat fretboard profile - Flat fretboard relatively makes it more playable than a Curve fretboard. 3. Get a guitar with "Low action" - Low action means that the strings are low and close to the fretboard and make it easier to play. This is based on my experience and it's the same guide I followed when I bought my electric guitar.
There are a few things to consider when purchasing a new acoustic guitar. 1. How is the action? If you want your guitar to be super easy to play, I'd go with a low action, but that's just me. 2. tuners. How well does the guitar stay in tune? This one is pretty straight forward. 3. Tone. How does the guitar sound compared to the other guitars at the store that you tried out? There's more than just this, but I'd say this stuff is very important.
Agree. Missing on these lists, and my experience is the nut width and neck radius/shape/finish. I went from a FG Yamaha to a low-range Fender and still struggled (muting strings unintentionally) until I picked up a 1 3/4" nut Alvarez at GC. Even the nut width doesn't guarantee wider spacing, depends where mfgr cut grooves. And then the shape (radius) of the neck, flatter vs rounder on your palm-side, is a matter of preference.
My first one was a low end dreadnought from Furch / Stonebridge. The quality for it's price was outstanding. It satisfied all my weekend guitar player's needs completely. I'd strongly encourage everyone not to glance over the unfamiliar brand name and try Furch guitars alongside your typical Yamaha and Taylor.
its all about your personal preference, the feel, your style & how it sounds to your ear- there are so many variables like strings, action etc. - I've played a few expensive martins, taylors, guilds, etc. my main is a $300 used Epiphone super jumbo single cutaway electric acoustic. it even came with the case. a good cleaning and a set of 10 elixir polys and it works very well for me. it's all personal
I really wish that I saw this before I got my first guitar. I was 9 years old and my pop got me a 3/4 frame Palmer steel string. It was awful. Red laminate. Those steel strings cut into me so much that I bled each time. It was not fun to learn to play on. I'm guessing that it was the cheapest one in the store. Ironically I became a bass player in my teen years. Nevertheless, this is a great guide for anyone to avoid making really common mistakes. Thanks!
I didn't personally buy myself my acoustic guitar but I got to pick it out. After getting my GED my grandmother bought me an epiphone hummingbird and im completely in love with it. Makes playing feel more personal and I've had her since I was 18. I'm 24 now and no complaints whatsoever.
got my first guitar about 4 months ago, bought a Guild M-20E, concert body, solid mahogany (top, back and sides). beautiful piece. following your video series Nate, thanks so much
i have a very cheap one and expensive one but still like the one i started with and pretty much all the vids i have on my channel are made by the cheap one
I went to my music store with the intention of buying a Taylor 314ce after many months of research and store browsing. The salesman was very supportive but suggested that I try a Martin DCPA4. I played this Martin and fell in love with it. I’ve had it for about two months and love it.
If you are a beginner the easiest guitar to learn on is a NYLON STRUNG classical acoustic guitar. SOFTER strings on the fingers, WIDER string spacing for learning open chord shapes and readily available in different sizes (depending on your age) .
My first acoustic was a fairly inexpensive Washburn. Maybe 120$. Bought it while I was in the Navy. Was really good for a starter. When I got moved home, I bought a Jasmine, by Takamine, for around 350$, and I've had it for about 15 yrs. Really good guitar for the price I paid. I'm actually looking for a new acoustic now, which is why I watched your video. I have been looking at Martins, Taylors, and some higher end Takamines. Thanks for the info! Great video.
similar story, my first guitar was crud, really hard to play. After a couple of years I got a much better one and it was night and day. I was much faster and fluid with my playing but I'm glad I did my time getting good on a bad guitar. You learn finesse, finger and forearm strength and strumming techniques that would take years to develop otherwise.
The law of diminishing returns does apply, especially if you are a beginner, or even an intermediate player. My question would be, "How much do I have to spend to get a quality instrument that has a perfectly straight neck with a good low action, that will stay that way".
The first ever acoustic I got was 11 years ago on Christmas! It was a fairly inexpensive one which sadly broke one day, the one I've been using for the past 8-9 years has been a $70 guitar we bought for my dad. It has served me well through the years. Although at times I used to wish and oogly over the guitars I see in the online catalogues, and sometimes I do admit at being frustrated for not having a good stage instrument for live playing, I really thank God for providing me with loving friends who were so willing to lend me their guitars for such occasions. I came to understand that in times when I really wanted to play but was staying in a place where there was no guitar at all, I used to think even having any guitar would be enough to let out the song inside. So I am thankful for that guitar being there by my bedside all these years! I do sometimes consider buying a semi-acoustic or maybe even an electric but I guess only time will tell about that. To anyone reading, I just wanna say don't get worried about getting the next best instrument, In the meantime I guess you just have to make do with what you've been blessed with. It'll be alright! Just keep playing and making music! God bless you!
I purchased my first guitar a year ago and chose an inexpensive Yamaha. It did the trick for a while but a year later, I purchased a Taylor 214CE deluxe. I'd been looking at this one for about 6 months and treated myself. I love it! I kept the Yamaha for trips as I won't worry about bringing it on a plane.
My first acoustic was an Epiphone Hummingbird Artist. It listed for 200, was a demo at the store, and I paid 129 for it. Put new Elixir nanoweb medium strings on it, and, after a hand full of years, it still plays like a dream. :)
My first guitar was some long forgotten brand classical guitar with nylon strings (I think). I could not play the dammed thing. I switched to bass guitar. Second acoustic was a Yamaha, it was cheep £70 or something, played better, but didn't feel right, sold that. 3rd and most recent one is a fender DG-60. This feels right, warm sounding, comfortable to play, and the action on it is great. Paid about £150 for it. Your right, the accessories do add up as well. Informative video, I like it.
I bought a really cheap first guitar about 3 months ago (I think it was about £75) and I love playing but I just want a new one (I'll probably spend somewhere between £500 and £600 on this one), so videos like these are halpful for me!
You guys nailed it. Tips exactly what i'm looking for. Very clear explanations for a acoustic guitar player like me. You deserve lots of credits! Thanks so much! All the way here in philippines.
Some additions and tweaks: - The most important thing is to hold it and play it. If you find yourself trying new things with it, find you can do things you could never do before, and/or not wanting to put it down, she's your guitar. Find a way to buy it. If you don't find this, keep going until you do. You may need to visit ones outside your budget. Better to save up for the right one. - If you live in a place where the humidity goes below 40%, invest in a hard case and cheap sponge humidifier, or humidify your room. A hard case really protects your guitar in several ways. A gig bag is a "nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there" place good for short stays. A good used case is okay. - Particularly if you are going for a sub-$500 guitar, I would look for no electronics. A good acoustic pickup can go for $200 and up. You are spending part of your small budget on the pickup, when you could be putting more into the guitar itself. You could always get that later and save for a good one. - Budget about $80 for a reputable luthier to do a good setup on it. You could wait a little while to get this done
My rec is by a used guitar and find the sound you want. An older guitar that is in good condition has wood that has been aged and can have a superior sound.
My first really good guitar was a 74’ D-18 Martin and it was and still is really great. I still have it and also just bought a Seagull w/ electronics and built in tuner for playing in church and it sounds great. I’ve had others but these are my favorites. Thanks for the video.
I just got a Yamaha FGX800C, hard case, guitar stand, extra pack of strings, pack of picks, and Kliq ergonomic strap. I'm definitely very happy with everything and feel it was a great deal.
@@booradely6423 Hey I bought mine for 116.82 from amazon however they must not have any more instock and sold now by third parties. Musicians friend and guitar center sister companies also sell it but out of stock.
my first own acoustic guitar was a Ibanez AVN6 DTS. I really like it for its size while it still has quite a full sound for its smaller body. It’s nice for fingerpicking. Playing it since a year now and I don’t regret getting it at all. I like its warmish sound!
First and foremost, thank you for the video. Very instructive and inspirational for someone looking to buy an acoustic guitar. OK.... About me. I am now 46 years old and received my 1st acoustic guitar as a xmas gift when I was 17. Its a Celebrity Ovation model CC11. So this makes this guitar almost 30 years old ! I know wow! I consider myself an amateur and play as a hobby. Eventually real life took over and got married, had 2 kids, you know the deal. So my guitars took a back shelf (yes plural, I also have an electric !) So that special "it" factor that made me want to play came back and so I am in the market for a new acoustic guitar. I am 5' 7" so I thought that triple O might feel better on my body type and also smaller hands/fingers for gripping. Thanks again for the video and hope to buy something real soon! AL
I bought an Ibanez dreadnaught in a box for $79 at GC at their Christmas sale maybe 4 years ago. First time I ever bought a guitar without playing it, but for $80 I figured ok, i'll risk it. When I tightened the strings the guitar became an immediate player. low action with no buzzing, excellent intonation. I was blown away. It was originally going to be my campfire beater, but it quickly became as precious as my Taylor grand auditorium because it has it's own sound vs the Taylor. Moral of the story is give Ibanez a look if you are on a budget but want a nice guitar.
jj rusy almost the same thing happened to me on an art and lutherie guitar. Went in the store had 700$ to spend was looking at those guitars. Store owner tells me try this art and lutherie at 350$. It sounded better than the fenders, martins I picked up that day. Walked out with it. Loved it ever since.
rael His "english" sucks? The irony of your comment is laughable. My pity goes to anyone so unfortunate as to have you in their orbit. Go back to strumming yourself in your lonely pit and don't come out until ....
I agree with your like for Ibanez guitars. I presently own two and really like them. They are both acoustic electrics that I play through a Fender Acoustasonic 90 amp. These are not expensive guitars but feel great and sound great. I don't have a lot of money and if I bought again it would be Ibanez.
Personal 😂 I'm a type of person that wants to go kinda "cheap" so I can learn the basics because I know I'm going to be learning and kinda rough with it. And I don't want to get a really expensive instrument for my first one for fear of damaging it and not wanting to breaking it.(just so you know "rough" means I'm going to be being it with me to and from school and just general student use.) So I really want a smaller guitar for folk music .
The best thing to do is buy a good guitar..a,super cheap guitar you might lose interest..if you really want to play,,buy something good..3oo..to 500. Sometimes you can find a fender for 200 plus..that are good ones
As a beginner I chose a rather plain looking (early model) Takamine GS330S based purely on its sound. The sales rep kept steering me toward other brands. But, nothing in that price range came close to it’s open sound. It’s light weight, has a cedar top, a matt finish and no pick guard. But, it sounds wonderful. The cedar top is “soft” and will ding easily if abused, but it’s well made and has held up very well over the years. That was many years ago, and I have moved on to very expensive guitars, but that Takamine GS330S is still a joy to play and sounds wonderful. I have no plan to sell it either.
Don't hesitate to to explore the used market. You can often get a lot more guitar for your $. I find the avarage guitar across all price ranges tend to sell for about 50% of their new value. $300 Takamine or Fender-$150. $5400-$6000 Martin 40 series $2700-$3000 if you really shop and bide your time. I could never have afforded my Santa Cruz OM new-barely sort of afford it used.
My first was a super cheap Jasmine guitar, I think I paid around $125 for it. I hated it so much that it turned me off to acoustic guitars for over 10 years, I just stuck with playing my electrics. Then one day about a year ago I decided to give acoustic another try and I bought a much better quality Washburn and I fell in love! I enjoy playing acoustic so much now that I recently bought a PRS as my second one.
My very first acoustic guitar was an Ortega concert guitar. I bought it back in 1992, so there was no internet, and I couldn't afford lessons, so I bought a book that taught the basics. I learned to strum and finger-pick open chords and bar chords. I sold that guitar to a friend in 1995, then I bought a no-name steel-string with a folk-sized body with a glossy sunburst finish from my local luthier. He had bought a whole shipping container full of factory rejects from Asia, which he then personally fixed up and customized, making sure the quality was top of the line. I love that guitar and still play it to this day. Both my sons learned to play on that guitar. Ten years ago, I bought an LAG Auditorium guitar with a curved fret-board but nylon strings. It has such a warm sound, especially hooked up to an acoustic amp.
Back in December 2022 something clicked with me and I decided to get a guitar. Only had $100 and had just gone through an awful breakup when I walked into GC and got the cheapest one there, which was also the only one I could afford. Been playing it daily since then for 6 months and love it, saving up now to trade it in and get something nice! 👌
Okay, so that all sounded pretty good, but you missed a really important aspect, and it relates to the question you asked about the first guitar we ever bought. My first was a Yamaha FG-180. The action was very high and it was tough to play. I would play for hours on end and couldn't get any better because it hurt my fingers and I didn't enjoy the guitar. I thought the problem was me. My advice to a first time acoustic buyer is to check the action, see if it is hard to play, and decide if you want to find something that's easier to play or you want to spend the money to get the action adjusted. If you can't tell whether it is hard or not, try a bunch of different guitars and ask the guys in the store which guitars are easier to play. If you find one you like but it isn't easy to play, ask the guys in the store if they can adjust it, maybe lower the bridge. If it's a good store they will understand. For a new player, that is very important, or at least it was for me. I didn't know any better because I had never played a guitar before.
My first acoustic guitar was a Lag tramontane and really it sounds amazing for the price like I still play it these days even so now I have a more expensive one from seagull
best guitars to buy gs mini taylor easy and nice sounding . than sigma d41 easy to play lovely sounding . than big baby taylor . very easy to play lovely sounding . easy to play i mean easy to hold the fret hand down and make the strings ring out
If you're a beginner.., get a solid top. It'll sound great. As you progress, save up for an all solid guitar, because the tones and overall sound is richer and it resonates more and longer. Your ears will be able to recognize this more as you progress, and you'll eventually want an all solid. (I'm currently saving up for a Furch OM SR. I fell in love with it.)
I recently spoke out about wanting to learn and play guitar. My father and grandfather both play and play well. So it was just a matter of time before I became interested. I was recently gifted a Woods W92 (I'd never heard of them either) as a learner and if it becomes something I really want to pursue then I'll be ready to go and purchase a "Real" guitar. I have no complaints about the Woods. It's cheap and it shows but for learning purposes it does the trick. All it needed to be a decent learner was a new set of Elixir Nanoweb strings and it was ready to play properly. And for anyone reading this. I can't put it down! I have it sitting by my side table in the living room. I'll have a show on that I'm interested in, and I'll just grab the guitar and work on finger positions and clear sounding chords. I forget all about the show, and by the time I realize that it's still playing its moving on to the next episode. I'm sure this is a good sign, as it means I really do want to learn and won't get tired of it.
I bought a solid top Yamaha FD01S steel string on sale for $140 total. I'm a beginner so I think I should be ok. I also found a 1980 Harmony parlor acoustic classical guitar, My son gave me his Squire Affinity electric 🎸 and my brother gave me 6 months subscription to Guitar Tricks for Christmas, so I think I'm pretty much set for now. Thanks family 🎁🎄✝️🎅👍😁!
Enjoyed the video. My first guitar was a Yamaha back in the 1970's. Great guitar, but the action on it was quite high and it was hard to play, at least until i developed callouses on my fingers. One thing I would recommend to new guitar players is to spend an extra 50$ or so and get the guitar set up by a competent tech at your local guitar shop. It will be so much easier and enjoyable to play.
Hello from Africa! My very first acoustic guitar was an IMG; the I purchaed a Royal. Question please: Is it possible to replace the metallic strings with the nylon ones on an electric acoustic guitar? Thanks for an answer!
I wound't recommend putting steel strings on an nylon string guitar or nylon strings on a steel string guitar. They just are not made for that. There is a lot that can go wrong and a lot that would need to be done to make a guitar ready to accept the other type of strings. It's better to just buy a second guitar if possible.
Another way to tell if you have solid back and sides is if the back doesn’t have any bracing on it then it is laminated, because solid wood needs bracing.
I am on the search for my next acoustic guitar. I believe that I am definitely going to need to spend some money and invest in something suitable. The one thing that I have not been able to find on RU-vid is a video where somebody talks about strumming And how it relates to the guitar brand and make. I hope that I can find a versatile guitar. I’ve tried out many different kinds of martins. I hope I can find one that really stands out. I am not going to rush this process. I am going to continue to try out different guitars and keep watching videos like yours until the right guitar finds its way into my hands! All of that being said great job have a good one see ya!
I know this is an old vid, but you asked... My first guitar was an inexpensive small blonde accoustic my Dad brought home for me to learn on (me: age 6). I traded for an inexpensive Goya accoustics (still is my all-time favorite go-to guitar, with my setup on it). As a very young teenager, I acquired a Teisco solid body electric, an amp (etc.), a couple more accoustics, etc. Started doing "mods" on those (learning all the time). Again, very young, turned pro, and Dad brought home a Gibson J-200 (NOT SJ-200), in the tooled leather case, and fur-on-leather interior. Nice. Too much guitar for me & Dad helped me swap it for showroom-new 1970 'Cuda...had plenty of cars, too. Years passed, gigs, touring, studio/recording, managing bands, and all the rest happened, college degrees, marriage and kids (20 years), moving all across the country, etc. --- now, I professionally compose and write songs...tons of guitars, keyboards, etc. etc. Simple life, now. --- pretty solid video for anyone considering that first step. Well done, guys.
My first guitar was a 3k Gibson Les Paul…I was making great money and thought I should go for the very best. Big mistake, I was so intimidated by it that it never left the case. I then realized that I like acoustic guitars better and bought a Taylor GS mini, which I absolutely love and can’t put down.
Food for thought!! .......It is the guitar player who makes the guitar ; the guitar is just a means! Its quality is primordial in the conduction of Music so You are the one who makes it happens in the end! Never stop doing what you love. Follow your passion! It will become part of you! It will enrich you! PEACE!
I'm in a guitar class in college right now, and I had to buy a guitar. My first guitar ever. This video was perfect, because the Dreadnought was EXACTLY what I was looking for.
I'm feeling to buy Fender CC 60 SCE electro-acoustic guitar. So, I wanna know whether this guitar is made of good material & one of the best within that price range??
Wanted to start playin guitar. Checked on ebay and bought a Montaya W-15 (built somewhere 1969-1972) for about 90$ For my beginner ears it sounds good. The d-shape of the neck is a bit big but it's ok. One day when I think that I have reached intermediate level of playing and enough money I'll go to a store and look for "the next level" guitar.
first acoustic, nylon string piece of crap. second acoustic, steel string piece of crap. third acoustic, Cole Clark FL1A12. she's a beautiful looking and sounding guitar, BUT, one more tip. only buy a 12 string if you hate your fingers and want them to suffer accordingly. EDIT, oh, just purchased fourth acoustic, Takamine P3NC, also a gorgeous looking and sounding guitar.
Been playing for 10 years now and the guitar that matches my satisfaction is Taylor and Martin brand guitar. In my opinion, they are good when you are playing at a church or at home.
I agree. I want to buy a Martin too but I slightly prefer Taylor so I have a mini gs and my latest 324ce that’s totally amazing. What do you like and own?
Hahaha my first guitar was a black shiny one that I bought off of Amazon for $60. 😂 The day it came in the mail was the best day of my life but I quickly realized that it was probably the cheapest one I could find. It may have been a piece of crap, but it was my piece of crap❤️
My first guitar was around 400$ with a rosewood laminate back and side and a solid spruce top. I still play it and still love it. I went to my local music store twice and tried out guitars until I found the right one.
Don't sell them short. Sigma's are Martins. They're were just built in Japan. At least the original ones where. Martin sold the rights a few years ago.
My 3 steps when buying a new guitar. 1. Ask the store guy to show you their left-handed stock. 2. Take a look at 1% of the guitars they have because only those come in Left-handed. 3. Cry in a corner because you were born and learned left-handed. :(
Southpaw guitars man. Look them up. If you live in the states it’s worth the drive, not a single right handed instrument in the store. My dad loved that place.
Gibson Hummingbird love the sound, listened to many others. My Dad played Gibson Dove in gospel group during my growing years other member player used Hummingbird. My wife found the Hummingbird and surprised me for my retirement.
I have a Yamaha. I want a new one. I saw a martin that was 700. Then I heard some were made on Mexico. Are they less quality. ? I would love a Taylor. I love my guitar. I am about to come out of the desert and be on internet so see you soon.
I've had two Big Baby Taylors that were both made in Mexico. They were both very well crafted and sounded rich and full like guitars twice their price.
A Made-in-Mexico guitar is less quality simply because is made in Mexico? Currently Fender makes its guitars in Mexico, and they are better than the made-in-USA Fender guitars. Check out the comparison on RU-vid.
I own a Martin drs2. Solid wood all around,made in Mexico,sound great. Around 800$. Have also played the drs1.also solid wood, around 800$ and sounds fantastic. Highly recommend these two.
There is nothing wrong with the Mexican Martins. Before you get rid of that Yamaha though, See if you can get it set up. It may be a great guitar yet. Take it to a local shop and discuss this option.
4 years on a crappy little Rogue American Chinese made $100 guitar. Its at the end of what I can make it do which is so cool because it makes me realize how good I can be on a guitar. I've outgrown it and might go with a Taylor 110e next. Have replaced the pins on it with new tusq pins, new Tusq saddle, new machines heads, and needs a new nut since the original is trashed... What a work horse it was but its time. On to the next one!
Fender DG20CE (Korean made) was my first and only acoustic guitar and its over 20 years old. I love the dreadnought sound. It has the sound potential to control the whole room, even if you're the only in it. I still think im still using the stock nut, saddle, and bridge pins haha.
I ended up buying a beautiful used Taylor 514 ce. I got on RU-vid and listened to the reviews of various guitars and decided it was worth the money to buy a quality instrument. I paid north of $1k for this used Taylor but know I can always get my money or close to it back out when and if I ever decide to sell it. This guitar will probably be handed down to the next generation. Get a quality instrument and buy used as they only depreciate to a certain point and hold value from that point onward. New is gone the minute you walk out of the store. I would also council buying a good set of strings like Elixr's. I use the light wt strings and love the sound they produce on my Taylor 514ce.
