What kind of guitar should I get?

nirama

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A little background on me:
- I have been playing the guitar for about eight years. Until a few months ago, I have just been covering artists' music by either using tabs, watching youtube videos, or figuring them out myself. Now I am trying to learn actual music theory so that I can write my own songs, solo, and to become a true musician.

- I want to learn acoustic R&B music, and I guess pop.

- I'd like to have a style like Gabe Bondoc's, but I definitely want to "find my own sound".

- I'd like to spend just around $300, but I am willing to pay up to $600.

- I want to buy an acoustic or acoustic/electric guitar

What guitar models and brands would you recommend for me? I'm pretty good at playing the songs that I have learned to cover, I would consider myself a decent guitar player, but not a true guitarist - YET. I really want to get better and actually write songs. I'd like to be performing at least covers within the next year in front of people.

Gabe's guitar sounds nice, can you guys recommend me any guitars like his?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxqQimGB3Bo

Thanks!
 
You're not going to get one like Gabe's for even twice your budget. Sure, Martin Guitars makes a few as low as $600 but I wouldn't really want to own one.

Seagull makes some great sounding guitars at very reasonable prices. Sure, they're not Rosewood or any other fancy stuff, but you can buy a solid Cedar top with Cherry sides and back for about $400 or so.
 
Thanks. What could I look for in a used guitar?
 
Seagulls are good guitars. There are also a lot of "Masterbilt" Epiphone guitars available these days. The Masterbilt DR500me is a really great sounding guitar. Yamaha's L6 is in your price range and a fantastic guitar. Their FG series includes a few great guitars well within your price range.

The Martin DX1 (older American-made) actually is a great little guitar. I own one of those, too. It is a nice gigging guitar and mine is ten years old. Mine has a solid mahogany neck. The newer ones are Mexican-made and have a "Stratabond Neck" (made of many layers glued together).

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Martin-DX1-Dreadnought-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=514814

Harmony Central's Acoustic Guitar Forum has a lot of good recommendations on acoustic guitars. There are lots of people like me that own a bunch of guitars and can recommend based on playing experience.

BTW.. the HPL (high-pressure-laminate) bodies of Martin low-end guitars rub some people the wrong way, but they are solid, dimensionally stable, and actually are more durable than solid wood. The argument is that they don't sound as nice as solid wood Martin guitars, but my DX1 gets lots of praise from people who play it.
 
Your best bet is to go to your local music shop and try out a few acoustic guitars. See what sounds better to you (maple, rosewood, mahogany, cutwaway, soundhole or piezo pickup, etc). Doesn't matter what brand it is, the big name brands DO make crappy low end guitars sometimes and the no name brands are probably of higher quality because the company is just starting out...

I think asking what type of guitar is good for you is like asking us if we prefer drinking coke or pepsi... :D:D
 
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What kind of woods should I look for in a guitar that will give me something like the sound of the guitar in the video?

Edit: Didn't see ed531's post but yeah, the general impression is that I just have to see what I prefer. Can anyone tell me woods that I should take a look at though?
 
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