I need a new acoustic...

I'm a 2 Taylor owner, so my opinions may be biased.
That said I love Taylors. They way they play, the way they sound.
The unlimited adjustability in the design.
And the fact that a neck reset can be performed without glue in 1/2 hour.
All back to the design.
Also consider
Takamine guitars are a top contender.
Yamaha makes some great playing acoustics.
Seagull are another that makes my list.
So many choices.
 
Lots of nice suggestions here gents. Thanks. I am going to head back to the shops soon but probably not take my chances the last weekend before the holiday for obvious reasons.

At the risk of sounding like a troglodyte or worse a corksniffing jerkoff I should mention that I definitely want a guitar made in the USA. I am well aware that provenance does not ensure better tone, playability or quality in many cases (but it can in some, and generally I believe that the US still makes the best instruments in the World) it is important to me to support US guitar making/US workers and I don't mind paying a little more to do it.
 
Acoustic is my main gig, literally. 95% of the playing outside the house I've done has been acoustic. I put some long hard miles on Seagull guitars. They're made in Canada, built extremely well for the money, and sound really good as well. Check one out before dismissing it.
Now, that being said, I recently bought a Martin. DCPA4R. It's louder than any guitar I've played it beside, so much so I can't here the other player at all if we're not plugged in. It looks, sounds, and feels amazing.

You said you liked the Gibson, and they're awesome guitars. They have one out now in the HP series, the HP 435 I believe it's called. That's one SWEET guitar for the money! Definitely worth looking into. In all honesty, I would have bought it over the Martin had I found it first. It's a better guitar than the J15, and in the same price range.

Tons of options, but there are a couple more to look at. Have fun!
 
gball said:
Lots of nice suggestions here gents. Thanks. I am going to head back to the shops soon but probably not take my chances the last weekend before the holiday for obvious reasons.

At the risk of sounding like a troglodyte or worse a corksniffing jerkoff I should mention that I definitely want a guitar made in the USA. I am well aware that provenance does not ensure better tone, playability or quality in many cases (but it can in some, and generally I believe that the US still makes the best instruments in the World) it is important to me to support US guitar making/US workers and I don't mind paying a little more to do it.
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Have you been to the Guitar Center on Artesia near Hawthorne? They have a great selection of mid to upper priced Martin and Gibson acoustics at that store. I played at least a dozen guitars there before I bought my Martin 000-28EC. You should play the CEO-7, I almost bought that one, but I came into a few bucks and sprung for the Eric Clapton model...
 
Sp8ctre said:
Have you been to the Guitar Center on Artesia near Hawthorne? They have a great selection of mid to upper priced Martin and Gibson acoustics at that store. I played at least a dozen guitars there before I bought my Martin 000-28EC. You should play the CEO-7, I almost bought that one, but I came into a few bucks and sprung for the Eric Clapton model...
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Nope, I usually don't go there even though its really close to home because they typically have a pretty dismal selection of electrics and amps. If you recommend it for acoustics though I will stop by and take a look. When I do go to GC I hit the one at Pico and Westwood in West LA. It's a bit of a drive but its the nicest/biggest GC I have been to.

Lots of great suggestions in this thread though, thanks all! Going to likely shelve my search until after the holidays just to avoid the nightmare and I figure the shops will be relatively empty then.
 
gball said:
Nope, I usually don't go there even though its really close to home because they typically have a pretty dismal selection of electrics and amps. If you recommend it for acoustics though I will stop by and take a look. When I do go to GC I hit the one at Pico and Westwood in West LA. It's a bit of a drive but its the nicest/biggest GC I have been to.

Lots of great suggestions in this thread though, thanks all! Going to likely shelve my search until after the holidays just to avoid the nightmare and I figure the shops will be relatively empty then.
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It looked like crap from the outside, but it's right down the street from Sam Ash so I ventured a look. The acoustic room was a surprise. A large selection of guitars all the way up to near $5K and nobody came in or said a word to me the entire hour I spent playing with as many as I could reach safely....
 
Taylors seem to have this easy transition from an electric. The Gibson J-15 is very nice with its slope shoulders. Any dreadnought style is going to feel huge if your not used to the square shoulders. That being said, I own a Martin HD-28 that I bought used for 2K... new ones are 3K. Try out parlor-sized guitars, too. I also have a Taylor GS Mini (Mahogany), which is an awesome nice-sounding, kick-around, travel-size, comfortable guitar. I play this one real frequently around the house... about $500 new, with case.
 
I like Taylors for their sound and the way they are put together, but man, are they ugly. They have to be the worst-proportioned acoustics around.
 
Thus far, I have not really been feeling the Taylors I played. Maybe I will find one that speaks to me but the only guitars so far that I picked up in my price range and said to myself "self, this is an awesome guitar that you would be lucky to have" have been the Gibson J-15 and the Martin D-15. Between those two I lean toward the Gibson because the neck felt more familiar and frankly, the Martin is butt-ugly.
 
well and so... if you've got up to $1500 to spend you've got some excellent
choices: I would look first on the used market. I own three acoustics right now, all were
bought used. I don't think I'd consider buying a new acoustic, because you get so much
more when you buy a used one. Spend the savings on setup and a good case, and still
have some left.

+1 on Taylor guitars. Top of the line excellence IMHO. And they are not all priced through the roof.
I'm going to recommend the 214 ce Grand Auditorium for $1299 or the 210e Deluxe dred for $1000.
Play it before you buy it! Then you'll know.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Taylor/Acoustic-Guitars.gc

Also I'm going to recommend the Martin Performing Arts series: these can get quite pricey,
but the lower end models are a huge bang for the money you spend. Look at the GPCPA5 for $800
and look at the DCPA4 for $1500. With the Martins, the $800 one likely has back and sides made of
what they call HPL (high pressure laminate). I have a Martin with this, and it works fine and sounds
great. In this price range you also get a neck made of "Stratabond." Laminated wood like a butcher block. I LOVE THIS NECK. Purists might sneer because it isn't mahogany, but this neck is so stable, it stays in tune better than most other guitars. An excellent innovation. Purists can pound sand.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Martin/Acoustic-Guitars.gc

Also, +1 on Seagull ...Canada made guitars... excellent quality and tone for less than
your max budget. A really good idea to look these over, and play a few.

For Canada made guitars, also check out L'Arrivee guitars... these can be pricey also, but
carry lots of prestige along with extraordinary quality and tone. Highly recommended.
I don't own one, but keep looking at them with greedy eyes. One of these would be a very good
choice.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Larrivee/

I'm posting the GC links, but only for comparison. I would never shop there, I'd go looking for
a quality used guitar store, so I could play them. Individual instruments will vary in tone so you
can't order online. You have to make a quest of it. Play it and listen. Play another one and compare. If I found a Martin GPCPA5 used, I'd be seriously tempted.

I recommended both Dreadnought and Grand Performance size guitars, not knowing whether you
want a dred or a smaller body. I am very enamored of the small bodied acoustic, plugged into
an excellent preamp and played throught a PA. Taylor, Martin, Seagull and L'Arrivee, those are
my preferred brands... and you ought to be able to find something excellent inside of your budget
especially if you get a used one.

If you must buy online without playing it, get one from Elderly Instruments
www.elderly.com
This is an outfit you can trust. They'll tell you if the guitar needs setup, and if you
add that cost to the guitar, you can trust them to do it right. Real experts in their shop.
They sell both new and used, and their online service is great. Their store is about fifty miles
from my house, so all my life me and my musician friends have said, "ROAD TRIP! Let's go
to Elderly." A great place to spend an afternoon.
 
Thanks for the detailed info. I knew I came to the right group of guys with the question, since I have never been much of an acoustic player. I have always had one, but never used them much. The one I currently have is a Yamaha dreadnought, not sure the model but it was around $300 new, nothing fancy, but I am used to the size and shape and probably want to continue down those lines. The one I had before that for many years was an Ovation that I bought because they had built-in electronics and almost nothing else did at that time (although most seem to now), but it was pretty awful just playing acoustically as it sounded pretty weak and the bowl back made it uncomfortable.

The Martin I was digging is the D-15, all hog, no laminates, with a rosewood 'board. A little on the dark side tone-wise, but that actually works for me.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/D15M

And the Gibson is the J-15. Its got an unusual wood combination but sounds great to my ears, plus I liked the neck a lot more and the gloss nitro finish is night and day superior to what's going on with the Martin.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RS15ANNH
 
Went to the Hollywood Guitar Center today...they have a lot of nice Martin and Gibson acoustics there and some sales going on...also a 59 Strat for only $20K...if you can't buy it at least you might be able to play it for a minute....fantastic selection of high end guitars and some nice Vintage too!
 
Will probably head up there after the holidays. There is actually an awesome small shop right in my neighborhood, Mike's Guitar Parlor, and I went in there on Saturday as he is a Gibson Acoustic dealer. The guitar I liked was out of my price range, so going to keep looking. I also got distracted by an '83 Les Paul Custom and it was all I could do not to walk out of there with it.
 
gball said:
Will probably head up there after the holidays. There is actually an awesome small shop right in my neighborhood, Mike's Guitar Parlor, and I went in there on Saturday as he is a Gibson Acoustic dealer. The guitar I liked was out of my price range, so going to keep looking. I also got distracted by an '83 Les Paul Custom and it was all I could do not to walk out of there with it.
Click to expand...

Getting distracted in a guitar store seems to happen every thirty seconds or so...

You were looking around $1500 right? I saw a couple real nice Martins in that range, but they had cutaway's which I don't care for on an acoustic...
 
I don't prefer a cutaway, but its not a deal-breaker if its otherwise the right guitar. The Martin that I liked had no cutaway and no electronics, something else I do prefer, but the Gibson's all have electronics in them.
 
gball said:
The Martin I was digging is the D-15, all hog, no laminates, with a rosewood 'board. A little on the dark side tone-wise, but that actually works for me.
Click to expand...
A mahogany top definitely will make the sound darker, or not as bright at the upper high end.

Martin does make a D-15 with a solid spruce top... same price.
 
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