What Guitar Should I Get?

I am looking for an inexpensive but nice guitar for just playing around for my own entertainment and maybe making a PODcast or two. I want to spend around $200. Would you recommend any of these? Or maybe you have something else to recommend?

Thanks for your help!

Epiphone AJ-200S $199

Ibanez PF25WC

Fender DG-8S

Yamaha FG700S

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
I am looking for an inexpensive but nice guitar for just playing around for my own entertainment and maybe making a PODcast or two.

I want to spend around $200. Would you recommend any of these? Or maybe you have something else to recommend?

Thanks for your help!

Epiphone AJ-200S $199

Ibanez PF25WC

Fender DG-8S

Yamaha FG700S

Hi Benevolent Heretic!

Of those guitars you had listed in that price range I would pick the Yamaha FG700S.

One of my friends bought one a couple of years ago, and I was quite impressed with the sound from such a low priced guitar manufactured in China.

So it's a quite good guitar and good value for the price, it also stays in tune very well and has a good tone with great rich sound for that low price.

The guitar had some minor fret buzz but not overly annoying, and it also depends which strings one are using - and it would definitely not scare me away from buying the guitar - I think the guitar is quite good bang for the buck.

The wood of the body is a little thicker than other guitars in the same price class - which make the guitar sturdy and delivers good tone & sound.

It also have a rather nice high gloss natural finish.

The top is made of Solid Sitka Spruce which is good for the guitar's tone, which often other cheap guitars from China in the same price range doesn't have.

Here's a review from musicradar.com
www.musicradar.com...

I also found a video review of the FG700S at Gearwire with Patrick Ogle the former guitarist of The Thanatos:

www.gearwire.com...


Here is one more video on how the guitar sounds




Apparently the guy in the video was from a music store with the name 'Kraft music' - so I checked their site and saw that they had a nice bundle deal for $209.95

Yamaha FG700S GUITAR ESSENTIALS BUNDLE $209.95

www.kraftmusic.com...

I don't know anything about this store since it's located in the U.S - and I would of course check all other places on the net for the best price.

I think this guitar is a good alternative - but maybe you can look for more reviews of this guitar on the net before you make your decision!

Regards!

[edit on 1-5-2010 by Chevalerous]

Wow! Thank you so much for that comprehensive answer! It does look pretty nice and sounds great. And the neck is smaller, so barre chords might actually be a possibility for me. Thanks again!

Best advice I have on the topic: Try it before you buy it.

Before purchasing a new guitar, I always hit the local Guitar Center to give the one I have in mind a test drive. They don't mind you playing the instruments and if you get the right salesman, you can sometimes do a little haggling and end up getting a really great deal.

But definitely try to play the guitar you have in mind before buying it to make sure it "feels right."


TheAssoc.

Heya BH,

The last time I bought an accoustic guitar (actually, it was a classical style guitar), I went into a large pawnshop, thinking that I would just try a bunch out. Also, many guitars "season" over time, and you can end up with something that looks like a beater, but sounds beautiful. That's what happened. They'd had this old Giannini -- hard case looked like it'd been dragged somewhere, and the body, headstock and back of the guitar had a few weird gouges in it, but it played like a dream, even with elderly nylon strings and I bought it for $125. 'course, this was almost 20 years ago.

Still, you might discover something (as I did) that you've never heard of that you really like, that also doesn't scream out "steal me!"

Originally posted by TheAssociate
Best advice I have on the topic: Try it before you buy it.

Yes. Absolutely, Thanks. I'm going to make a trip to the nearest city tomorrow for that purpose. When I was playing before, the full size guitars felt a little big for me to wrap my arms around, but it's been years and I was playing a classical then. I'm hoping a regular acoustic will be easier to handle with the smaller neck, so maybe the bulk of the body will be OK. I just hoped to get an idea before I went because it's 2 hours away and I don't want to go more than once if I can help it.

I hope to try out some 3/4 size, too, but I'm not sure I'll get the same sound...

reply to post by argentus


That's also a great idea, but unfortunately, I don't know enough about them to know what to look for. I wish I had someone knowledgeable to go with me, because I'd love to find a treasure like you did.

Thanks, all!

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Wow! Thank you so much for that comprehensive answer! It does look pretty nice and sounds great. And the neck is smaller, so barre chords might actually be a possibility for me.

Thanks again!

Hi again BH!

As the guy above said, it's very useful to go to a physical local guitar store and try out the guitars you're interested in to buy - even if you don't buy the guitar at just that store - when you later have decided which one that is most playable and feel just right in your hands, you can of course go online to see if they have any better deals.

But sometimes it's also very good to buy from a physical local store if they have what you want and the price is right!

When I bought my Seagull S6 Original I went to several local stores with my list of 3 different guitars and I directly found out that only 2 of them were interesting to me in the end.

So I had to chose between the guitar Seagull S6 which is made in Quebec Canada - and the Takamine which is a japonese guitar.

Both of them had almost the same price in the store, but the Seagull S6 had a perfect neck for me. This guitar also sounded much richer & warmer than the Takamine and felt so good in my hands, so my choice was really easy - I needed this guitar.

Well! to be honest, both were quite expensive here in Europe - they wanted 450 €uros at my local musical instrument stores, which was roughly $600 at the time.

whereas you lucky guys can buy the Seagull S6 in the States for measly $375-399

So when I wasn't keen on forking out $600 for the guitar, I started to check all online stores here in Europe to see if I could find a deal.

After 6 weeks I thankfully found a promotion deal bundle with a nice hard case for $425 with free shipping

So if you first know exactly what kind of guitar you want, it's often easy to shop around for bargain deals - even if it can take a couple of weeks!

BTW! I don't know if you wanted a Dreadnought/Western acoustic or a pure classical guitar with nylon strings?

Do you prefer to play without a pick/plectrum?

Do you prefer the Western guitar's steel strings over the softer nylon strings of the classical guitar?

What kind of musical style do you like to play?

or maybe you are looking for a good all-round alternative?

But I assume you are looking for a steel-stringed Western guitar since you had some listed, right?

I saw that you wanted a guitar with a tad slimmer neck that is not so wide, so that you can easily play barré chords without streching your hand like crazy!

Yes! this problem is a very common problem for females when they are looking for a new guitar - you creatures have finer and much more delicate & smaller hands.

So if I was a woman! I would definitely go to my local store to pick out the model which both sounded very good and felt perfect for my hands!

Although, I think the Yamaha FG700S (or very similar looking guitar type with similar neck) is perfect for womenly hands.

The FG700S has a very nice neck and is very playable for a woman, especially playing barré chords.

One other thing with lower priced guitars in general, is that with some new guitars you buy, they sometimes need to be set up to the players liking and strings changed for the same reason.

This is often a service that they provide and can help you with in your local musical instrument store - so they can help you with which strings that works especially well with the guitar you own, when buying new strings.

But the FG700S is very okey right out of the box, and any additional adjustments is usually not necessary at all - and the only useful things to buy to this guitar is a set of additional strings and picks/plectrums, which could be handy to have at home, just in case.

Oh Gosh! lol! sorry for the long-winded reply!

I wish you good luck Guitar Hunting! Rock on! - and please tell us later how it went!

[edit on 2-5-2010 by Chevalerous]

Originally posted by Chevalerous
But sometimes it's also very good to buy from a physical local store if they have what you want and the price is right!

I actually found a store here in our small town but I don't hold much hope. I'm going to stop in there tomorrow just in case. It's where I got my keyboard. The store burned down, but I just found out they're operating out of another location, so that's cool.

Then I found a couple stores about an hour away. Then finally, there's one 2 hours away, which I have some hope for. You never know, I may find something right here.

When I bought my Seagull S6 Original

Oh, man! When I was looking online yesterday, that's the one I wanted, but it was out of my price range. Even the $399 (I think it was) is too much for me right now.

BTW! I don't know if you wanted a Dreadnought/Western acoustic or a pure classical guitar with nylon strings?

I want a dreadnought. I won't be doing a LOT of picking, but some, and mostly strumming with my fingernails (It looks strange having long fingernails on my right hand and short ones on my left, but hey, it's for the music! ) And the classical, which I had before had a wide neck and I'm hoping to get away from that.

Do you prefer the Western guitar's steel strings over the softer nylon strings of the classical guitar?

I had nylon on the classical I had, but I want steel this time. I'll have to build up the callouses, I know.

What kind of musical style do you like to play?

Oh, just about anything. But fairly mellow folk rock type of stuff. Andy McKee is my hero! LOL

One other thing with lower priced guitars in general is that with some new guitars you buy, sometimes need to be set up to the players liking and strings changed for the same reason.

I was thinking I'll buy some martin medium steel strings, no matter what guitar I get. Does that sound right? And I want a Capo and some picks.

Thanks for the long-winded reply. I appreciate it! And you'll be sure to hear about it. I can't NOT post my music in a PODcast.

Thanks so much!

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

That's also a great idea, but unfortunately, I don't know enough about them to know what to look for. I wish I had someone knowledgeable to go with me, because I'd love to find a treasure like you did.

Y'know, right after I posted that I was struck with the notion that you wouldn't choose to go to a pawnshop for something so personal as a guitar. You might hold a guitar there, and see the story it told in its scratches and wear and wonder who is hoping to someday bring it back home.

The right guitar sometimes finds you, or so I believe.

Originally posted by argentus
The right guitar sometimes finds you, or so I believe.

Hey, if it can happen with dogs (and I know it can) it can happen with guitars.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

I was thinking I'll buy some martin medium steel strings, no matter what guitar I get. Does that sound right? And I want a Capo and some picks.

Yeah, a Capo is certainly nice to have - I need to buy a new one myself!

Martin medium steel strings sounds good, but it's always good to know that sometimes when choosing strings, it can also depend on which guitar one is using.

Some strings actually sounds better than others on certain guitars, and it's sometimes difficult to know that beforehand, and sometimes it takes some experimenting with different brands and types to get the right perfect ones.

A good tip can be to do a search on google about the guitar which you finally decide upon, and see what others are saying about it and what strings they are using - that'll certainly take away a great part of the guesswork down to a couple alternatives.

Or ask in the store of course, they usually know about the guitars they are selling.

It would certainly be cool if you find what you are looking for in those stores you're planning to visit. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Edit: About going to a pawnshop is not a bad idea at all - I have a friend who once found a great late 70's electric Gibson Les Paul for a very very nice price.

Good well made guitars which are made with solid tops and good materials mature like a fine wine and the tone is actually getting better with age.

So it's surely a nice tip to check out maybe?

[edit on 2-5-2010 by Chevalerous]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

I was thinking I'll buy some martin medium steel strings, no matter what guitar I get. Does that sound right? And I want a Capo and some picks.

I have to share something with you that I thought was amusing. I like nylon Herco picks, and have always had a hard time finding them. Lost my last one, and went online to look for them. Few companies will ship to the Caribbean, and the only place I could find my picks was a place called Elderly Instruments.

Sooo.... when the box got here (very quickly too!) the Customs officer arched an eyebrow at me, "elderly instruments?" I had to laugh a bit. "Look, whatever that infers to you, it's just guitar picks, strings, and an AC/DC songbook."

Maybe you had to be there.

I like the Martin SP+ strings -- very bright and the bronze coating keeps 'em from rusting as quickly. If you use alternate tunings, these strings seem to tolerate different tensions without breaking easily. As was mentioned earlier, not all strings sound good on all guitars.

I envy you your ability to grow fingernails. I injured three fingers on my right hand when I was a teenager (all except the middle finger *cough*) and my fingernails grow at odd angles.

Let us know what you end up getting!

Well, I went to the local music store, sat down and played a few guitars, and I fell in love with this guitar!

Ibenez SG120

It sounds great and I always like to support local business, so I got it. I tried several guitars, but this one felt just right. The guy in the shop was totally helpful. He adjusted the bridge and replaced a string. And then played and sang a little song and was quite surprised when I joined him in harmony! I'm so excited!

If I stay with it and decide to get something better, I will, but this is just fantastic to resurrect my love of the guitar. My husband said he'd never heard me play and we're coming up on our 18-year anniversary next month! What was I thinking?

Thanks again for all your help and encouragement!

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Well, I went to the local music store, sat down and played a few guitars, and I fell in love with this guitar!

Ibenez SG120

Cool! I'm happy to hear that you found one that felt just right for you, this was great news!

Yeah! It's always good to support your local business, I'm always trying to the same!

I saw they had this guitar in different colours, which one did you buy?

Wow! haven't you played any guitar at all in those 18 years?

If so, that's a lot of catching up to do - you'll have to play like crazy now for all those missing years! j/k

Great BH! Rock on!

[edit on 3-5-2010 by Chevalerous]

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


That Ibanez does look nice. I'm constantly astonished at the quality of instruments coming out of China.

Strings however are another matter. I just discovered these www.pyramidstrings.com... and are well worth the extra money.
Looking forward to your pod casts!

Lol! Nice story of how you bought the guitar!

And good choice too, Ibanez is a good brand. My first electric guitar was a Cherry Heritage Sunburst Epiphone Les Paul.

Who are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic



BH, did your new Ibenez come with a pickup and an onboard eq and tuner. Or is it strictly acoustic?

Also, put some stuff up on www.soundclick.com... so the world can hear you. A great community of online singer/songwriter/bands/musicians.

[edit on 4-5-2010 by whaaa]

Originally posted by Chevalerous
I saw they had this guitar in different colours, which one did you buy?

I got the natural. It was the only one they had. Small local shop. I didn't really care about the color. It was the sound and feel that I loved.

Wow! haven't you played any guitar at all in those 18 years?

No, and even though I remember a lot, my fingers don't! Man! The 3 fingertips on my left hand are so sore today, it hurts to type!

Originally posted by whaaa
Looking forward to your pod casts!

It's going to be a while. After 18 years, I have a lot of practicing to do before I feel confident to record anything. Also, I played classical before which I think is easier because the strings are farther apart. This is like learning a whole new technique.

Thanks for the tip on strings. I talked to the guy about strings, but I wanted to get a feel for these and and then get some new ones when I get better.

Originally posted by heyJude
Who are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

My favorite style is blues by far, but I like everything. Bonnie Raitt, CSN&Y, Beatles, Pistol Opera (that's my nephew), Christina Aguilera, Norah Jones, Dire Straits, Alanis, Seal... I'm all over the place.

Originally posted by whaaa
BH, did your new Ibenez come with a pickup and an onboard eq and tuner. Or is it strictly acoustic?

Nope. Just acoustic. But if I decide to stick with it and start playing a lot, I'll be getting a better guitar with a pickup.

Thanks so much for all your interest and encouragement! I really appreciate it!

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
No, and even though I remember a lot, my fingers don't!

Man! The 3 fingertips on my left hand are so sore today, it hurts to type!

Best thing to get your fingers back in shape: get a tennis ball and squeeze it as hard as you can for a few minutes a day, every day. It'll build the muscles in your hands back up and toughen up the tips of your fingers.

Glad ya found a guitar you like, hope ya fun with it.


TheAssoc.

reply to post by TheAssociate


That's a great idea! Thanks!

Guys. After playing the guitar for the afternoon, I realized that it's just too big for me. I took it back this morning and exchanged it for the one the store owner had picked out for me the other day. He said he knew I'd be back. He's been teaching guitar for nearly 50 years and he knew that body was just too big for me, but didn't want to push it.

I absolutely LOVE this guitar! www.gregbennettguitars.com...

It was more expensive, but it has a pick-up and the sound is great! And it "fits" me much better. I also got a case and the cable, so I can plug into my computer. He gave me a set of his best selling strings.

So, I'm all happy!

This is a good guitar, right?

Worthington Video

[edit on 5/5/2010 by Benevolent Heretic]