A/E upgrade purchase

I was in a similar boat but had decided to upgrade.  Check out this thread.  Some of it applies.  The bottom line is "let your ears be the judge". IMO that's a little overly simiplistic because I wanted to make sure that I at least bought a recognized brand also.  I suppose if that's being name conscious I guess I'm guilty, I just didn't want a guitar that nobady had ever heard of KWIM?

http://www.chordie.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6183

Hey oldnewbie ,
  Have you considered looking at used stuff . Sometimes if you want something that won't give problems down the road , you might be better off . Like my bro. points out on guitars that are ten - fifteen years old " if the neck and soundboard have'nt warped or moved in that time , they aint gonna .
   Also don't buy anything based on their warranty , just
about anything that will go wrong with a guitar's structure or finish , can be blamed on humidity or lack of , and that's not covered anyway . It's too easy for the mfgs. to say that since it's been in your care , custody , and control , you have'nt taken proper care of it .
Just my two cents........

Well the problem with Ebay is that it violates the "let your ears decide".  In fact there are many opinions BUT most are to play as many as you can.  A good rule of thumb regarding pricing on new guitars is to have the Musician's Friend or some other internet price handy and be sure that they are at least in the ball park.  Most shops recognize that they must compete with internet pricing.  Also, because you are newbie, you maybe more inclined to like a guitar that may surprise you. FOr example when I bought my ALvarez, I had done all my research and was sure I wnated a Yamaha.  I tried the Ymaha but as soon as I picked up the Alvarez it felt great particulrly in te neck and action and had a very rich sound.  Hey, nobody was more surprised than me.  But you've gotta gotta gotta touch them and hear them.  In terms of used guitar prices, I'm not sure if there is a rule of thumb.  Maybe somebody else can chime in on that.

If you want an Electro-Acoustic I'd say to go with Tanglewood, they're basically the more expensive version of Cort (the current cort guitars used to be the cheap range of Tanglewoods), and the Cort ones are very good. A bit expensive for me but they sound great.

I do alot of buying, selling and trading of guitars both on ebay and locally. There's not many brands that I haven't tried at one time or anouther...lol Acoustic guitars at least. I don't dable too much in electrics yet. I have bought 30-35  on ebay and I've had only one bad experience. That was a warped neck on a '71 Gibson Jumbo. I was able to heat the neck and straighten it out though. Overall, I'd recommend ebay. Just don't be scarred to ask them straight out about the guitar. I usually ask 10-15 questions before a purchase and always request extra pics to be sent with close ups of my questioned areas. You're theory about finding one locally and then buying it from ebay...I'm sorry to say, really doesn't work to well. You'd be really surprised by the diffrence in tone beween the same models. While some brands are more consistent than others, there will always be diffrences even in the same models. I'm not trying to discourage you from buying it online, I just wanted to make you aware that the one you order may not sound the exact same as the one you played in the store. I'd be happy to offer up some suggestions. If you don't mind me asking, What price range are you looking at? So I'll know better what to recommend. I have a few sellers that I purchase from ,fairly regularly, that have been excellent to deal with. I'd be glad to pass on a link to their ebay stores if you'd like... Don't be scared of the little known brands! There is a tremendous amount of value to be found there if you know where to look. The key is just to ask around and research them! Also, remember electronics can always be added if you find a great deal on a straight up acoustic. Actually I prefer to mic mine instead of plugging in at all but that's just me. I don't like the  controls mounted in the side of a guitar. IMO the only hole that should be in the side of a guitar is possibly a soundport...lol Best of luck in your search!! Peace!

Man for $500-$600 you can easily come across an excellent all solid wood acoustic. My first stop would be to look into the epiphone masterbuilts. An outstanding value! Also check out the Simon and Patricks. If you can find a showcase or pro model used I think you'd be really happy. I've picked up a couple of those and wouldn't part with them for anything! I think the most I payed for one was $300 including shipping Seagulls are really great also! You can even pick up a solid wood martin used for that price range! So many choices...lol Garrison guitars (highly recommended) Some yairis and alvarezs, Ibanez (they have some really great acoustic electrics IMO) And of course your Takamines. I'll stop there...lol there's just so many great ones in that range. Of course these are just ideas...Only you can decide what's right for you! Peace!

You can see some of the ones mentioned in my signature if your interested in how they look. Most of what I have pictured there I picked up well below your price range. Even the seagull artist studio rosewood I found for only $650 new and they sell at musicians friend for about $1100.  These are the ones that I keep for myself...so obviously, they are what I consider to be great values on wonderfull instruments (for the money).

Oldnewbie, I play a Takamine solid top Jumbo G series electric / acoustic and have had a lotta good comments about it. I play it thru a Roland AC60 acoustic amp and the sound is outstanding. The other nite a group of us was all playing and one of the better players asked if could play my guitar for awhile because it sounded so good. We swapped guitars - him with my Tamamine, me with his $2000.00 Martin. After we played a few songs we swapped amps and that was what making my Tak sound better than the Martin. But both of us agreed the $700.00 Tak sound was as good as the (that) Martin. If you get one I believe u will be happy BUT do get a acoustic amp.

Nela

I think my guy has it for around $650.

Oldnewbie, with the Jumbo Takamine acoustic I first decided I wanted the guitar because:

1.   I was recommended to me by a couple of other players who them.

2.   After playing several guitars in the price range I wanted to spend it had the best sound to me.

3.   It played real easy.

4.   I thought the "Flamed Maple" sides and back were second to none.

5.   I went through all the Takamine guitars the store had and bought the one with the most detail with the "Flamed Maple.

6.   I have had many people tell me the wood detail was "Outstanding".

Nela

I owm a Takamine EG561C. I can't say enough nice things about. It plays like dream. Not a jumbo but great sounding and reasonable 400.00 or so. I've had it a couple of years and no regrets. All good advice above.

Not sure of the exact cost to "BONE" a guitar but I've been told that a quality job and set-up with new strings would be around $100.00. I have not had this done yet but have played a couple of guitars that had this work and they played SWEET. But just like most men we gotta tweek something. Shoot, I got a neighbor who would modify a pair of fingernail clippers if he thought he could get more speed from them.

Nela