Topic: Upgrading to a different guitar..

Hi, I have been playing my accoustic guitar for about 18 months now, it is a very much bottom end of the market Fender. When I first decided to have a go at learning guitar I didn't want to spend too much in case I didn't take to it. Now this far on I love it but I am struggling with some stuff, mainly Barre chords which I can finger ok but mostly need the vulcan death hold to get a good sound and it hurts. I have a guitar dvd on which it says really you get what you pay for with guitars. I was thinking of a Tanglewood TW 1000 SR which I held in the music shop but as all eyes turned to me for some reason I bottled out of playing it ( wimp I know). The Tanglewood has a very hefty price to it tho' and I wondered if anyone can suggest a really good accoustic and is it better to buy the electric kind.

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

have u  tried defrent size srings normaly there are 10s or 11s on a acoustic so try 9s it might be easyer.and as for barr chords deppends on what music you like if you like folk use acoustic for rock electric. i dont realy like barring acoustic ther meant for open chords in my eyes others may say deffrent.you need a book or dvd on deffrent chord shapes .barring comes with practice any way when fingers get stronger youve not been playing long it comes practice so keep it up. and good luck from strate

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

Sparra,


You can consider string size, but it would be good to not go below .011.  Have you tried having your guitar set up by a music store?  If not, you might want to do this first, before you start looking at a new guitar.  There are many things that can make a good guitar harder to play.  Some of them include: Nut/bridge too High, Worn Out Strings, Guitar Neck Bowed, etc. 


One of the most common issue with a new guitar is the nut if often too high.  Which makes it harder to hold barre chords.  For about $50 (plus strings), a good instrument repair shop can set up your guitar to make play as well as those higher-priced ones. 


Kahuna

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

For about half the price of the Tanglewood, you could pick up something from the Guild Acoustic Design series (GAD) from, who else?  Guild.  Here's three pages of the GAD-series guitars:


<a href="http://www.guildguitars.com/instruments/search.php?section=acoustics&cat=gadseries" target="_blank"> http://www.guildguitars.com/instruments … ?section=a coustics&cat=gadseries</a>


You could also get an -03 series Larrivee (OM-03, L-03, L-03R, D-03, etc.)  Here's the Larrivees:


<a href="http://www.larrivee.com/flash/products/products.html" target="_blank">http://www.larrivee.com/flash/products/products.html</a>


And here's a place that sells both Guilds and Larrivees and features sound samples on their site:


<a href="http://guitaradoptions.com/store/home.php?cat=257" target="_blank">http://guitaradoptions.com/store/home.php?cat=257</a>


I've been playing since 1968, and frankly, I have yet to play a Martin, Taylor, or Gibson that can touch the recent Guilds or the Larrivees.  The big names are consistently mediocre on a good day.  Try Guild or Larrivee, you won't be sorry, and you'll save a ton of money and get better tone.  Buy tone, not names on headstocks.


Now cue the Martin, Taylor, and Gibson fans with their torches and pitchforks, LOL!


Item two: Instead of giving anywhere from $50 to $110 to a guitar shop that sees your guitar as just another customer guitar, let someone who really cares about your guitar do your setups.  You.  Read this website thoroughly and listen to Frank Ford's wisdom:


<a href="http://www.frets.com" target="_blank">http://www.frets.com</a>


Or buy this book and read it:


<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Repair-Guide-Electrics/dp/0879302917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-4226993-8306451?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1173471302&sr=1-2" target="_blank"> http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Player-Rep … lectrics/d p/0879302917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/002-4226993-8306451?ie=UTF8&amp ;s=books&qid=1173471302&sr=1-2</a>


Need parts?  Here ya go:


<a href="http://www.stewmac.com/" target="_blank">http://www.stewmac.com/</a>


<a href="http://www.lmii.com/" target="_blank">http://www.lmii.com/</a>


Well, gotta go!  They'll be coming to burn me at the stake any minute now, LOL!


Oubaas  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

Thanks everyone. The advice is really appreciated. The Guild guitars look really good.

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

i'm using a tanglewood. the price is well worth it - seriously. i've always been complimented on what a nice sound it produces. the entire thing had just been built with such quality and care. no cut corners on a tanglewood. please let me know what you end up doing

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

Are there any out there with slightly slimmer necks? I have small hands so every little helps.

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

perhaps you should go for a smaller size in their range. i use the drednaught size - my hands aren't particularly that large but i have no problem with it. you should either contact tanglewood or a guitar distributor and ask what size would be best for your hands

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MARTIN AND GIBSON ARE NO GOOD! nah I'm just kidding oubaas LOL we've been over this.... larrivee is crap, and guild is good but it's a bit pricy.  Maybe try an Alvarez, they sound pretty good for the price.

DJ Cormier
[url=http://www.bigdjindustriez.tk]www.bigdjindustriez.tk[/url]
myspace.com/bigdjindustriez

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

hey just wondering if anyone collects acoustic guitars? If so

whats in your collection? ..Badeye.

one caper after another

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

just bought a Yamaha APX500. Fantastic guitar for the money. Barre chords no longer a problem and sounds fantastic.

A lot of guitar for your

Is anything really made up of zeros and ones??

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

Your right alvee.It does pay to shop around.you get to play lots of guitars and you can get better prices.I look to flea markets and yard sales all the time for guitars.Hope the little lady dosent stop me for the sake of room. lol...Badeye.

one caper after another

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

is the yamaha the start of your collection or added in? ...Badeye.

one caper after another

Re: Upgrading to a different guitar..

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>badeye wrote on Wed, 21 March 2007 14&#58;10</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
hey just wondering if anyone collects acoustic guitars? If so

whats in your collection? ..Badeye.
</td></tr></table>

one caper after another