Favorite Acoustic Guitar for Recording?

xSALx · Post by **xSALx** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:42 am

I just got a MIJ Epiphone FT-350 from '74, with a spruce top and rosewood back and sides, not to be confused with the version with maple back and sides. It has a pretty balanced tone, it's solid, and sounds great strummed. Kind of reminds me of a 70s style Martin.

I don't know, the newer Martins with Mahogany seem a little too boomy-but then again each one you pick up is different. And the Taylors always seem too bright.

Second on the other posts about the 60s/70s Guilds, they look about as plain as a guitar can look, but they sound great.

JdJ · Post by **JdJ** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:54 am

As I'm sure you know- it's tough to get one that's going to be everything you want

In general, I like cedar tops for finger picked parts, but if you play them hard with a pick - they really kind of overload in a useless way.

I have a Santa Cruz with a mahogany back (really sounds more close to a rosewood backed martin than a mahogany) it kills 90% of the time for strumming and single note stuff, but it was $$ and an unusual find. I'd say if you want a strummin guitar, mahogany back would be the way to go.

I also have a cheapo round neck dobro with an upgraded cone/spider that I love for slide and single note stuff. Otherwise I'd look at rosewood back for flatpickin

Good luck-

J

curtiswyant · Post by **curtiswyant** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:37 pm

I'm waiting for a cheap Yamaha 6-string to show up in a music store locally so I can try it out. I have a 70s Yamaha 12-string that sounds GREAT! I think I bought it from some dude on tapeop, too (go figure). I recently sold a Seagull S6 because I could NOT get a good sound out of it (and the headstock really bugged me). The quest continues...

GoatKnuckles · Post by **GoatKnuckles** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:58 pm

I have a D15, when I bought it I played about 10 different ones and I bought the one that spoke to me the most, while I love playing it, it records like total shit and now I wish I had bought a 000 or spent a little more and got an OM series smaller body, I would never outright suggest any one brand, I find I personally favor martin guitars but its more about just playing stuff and seeing what feels right.

llmonty · Post by **llmonty** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:29 am

for something different, my favorite acoustic to record these days is a kay jumbo from the 50's -- these are the much better made versions that go for around $250-500 on ebay, often with maple sides, cutaway. i just had the neck reset and it sounds wonderful. it is also ladder braced, which most people find either undesirable, or more blues-based, but i think the huge body side, maple sides/back really work well with the ladder bracing to give it a good mix of huge acoustic and small percussive/articulation. really cuts well and you hear alot of the acousticness of the guitar (wood, creaks and clangs, etc.)

DupleMeter · Post by **DupleMeter** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:23 am

it all depends on the sound you're after.

a martin is a completely different beast from a gibson which are both different from a taylor...on ad infinitum

of the acoustic guitars i own or have owned:
1927 martin 00-21
1968 gibson dove
early '90s martin d-28
early '90s martin mc-28
1994 taylor 410
1995 taylor 812c
1996 taylor 510c
1997 taylor 810wmb
1998 taylor 912c

the best recording guitars are the taylors and the d-28. my favorite guitars are the 812c & 810wmb.

my impressions:
the gibson is best suited to slide or aggresive blues - very throaty with steep low-end & hi-end roll-off

the martins have that typical low end punch signature sound, the the mc-28 is a bit nasal and not as open as the d-28

the taylors record very well with their signature bright & tight sound. for a small body guitar the 812c has more low-end than should be legal for the size...and the 810wmb is everything the d-28 is but with a tighter mid-range and clearer highs.

my suggestion is to play as many instrument in your price range as you can and get what sounds right. for me i choose sound/tone over all else. you can always get comfortable with an instrument, but you can't do to much to change it's primary sound.

cats&warriors · Post by **cats&warriors** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:51 pm

I picked up a late 50's Guild m20 that I fell in love with so much I bought another one from the mid 60's. For my small parlor guitars are my favorite, and great to write stuff on. And with a Beyer m160 in front is my favorite acoustic guitar sound.

andyphil27 · Post by **andyphil27** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:15 am

Hey Guys, just thought I would let you know the police found my guitar! It was at a pawn shop on the other side of town. the guy had lied to me over the phone saying they didnt have the guitar, but the police visited and sure enough my guitar and my friends guild bluesbird were both there, still in the case. the pawn shop paid the guy who stole them $500 for both. over $3000 in guitars stolen and sold for only 500, what an idiot.

The good news is that I have it back! the bad news is that now i don't have the insurance money to buy another guitar....oh well i have my baby back.

Thanks for the input, it'll come in handy some day when I'm looking to expand my collection.

Merry Christmas

musikman316 · Post by **musikman316** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 5:49 pm

Glad you found your guitar.

To answer the question, I would say the Larrivee OM-09, it is hands down the best guitar under $4,000 I have ever played. One day I may buy a Collings, but I don't feel like I will ever need it.

Josh

GooberNumber9 · Post by **GooberNumber9** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 9:07 pm

fossiltooth wrote: Mics: OK, I guess you can never have enough Mics!

What about a multi-pattern LDC (with at least cardiod, figure 8, and omni), a dynamic and a nice SDC?

Like KSM-44, RE-20, and an MK-012 (for those on a budget). You can do vocals, stereo micing with mid-side, acoustic instruments, guitar and bass cabs, whatever!

How cool would it be to do a whole album with only three of each thing to choose from? Three mics, three pres, only three takes, three guitars, three guitar tracks, three reverbs, etc. Certainly wouldn't be boring!

Congrats to the OP on the return of your baby. I don't know what I'd do if I lost my Taylor.

Todd Wilcox

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:22 pm

andyphil27 wrote:Hey Guys, just thought I would let you know the police found my guitar! It was at a pawn shop on the other side of town. the guy had lied to me over the phone saying they didnt have the guitar, but the police visited and sure enough my guitar and my friends guild bluesbird were both there, still in the case. the pawn shop paid the guy who stole them $500 for both. over $3000 in guitars stolen and sold for only 500, what an idiot.

The good news is that I have it back! the bad news is that now i don't have the insurance money to buy another guitar....oh well i have my baby back.

Thanks for the input, it'll come in handy some day when I'm looking to expand my collection.

Merry Christmas

Awesome!

You hardly ever hear stories like this and thanks for the update. Did you have to give a serial number or provide a picture for positive ID? I have been keeping a list with all my SN's in numerous undisclosed locations in the event something like this happens.

andyphil27 · Post by **andyphil27** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:41 am

Yeah I had to have the serial number for it, and the fact that it was reported stolen and the police were the ones that found it helped. I guess pawn shops have to hold stuff for 2 weeks before they can put it up for sale (at least in michigan) in order for stolen merchandise to be found and to discourage this sort of thing from happening. During that period you can go in with proof that you own it and get it back. In my case the police got it, took some pictures of it for documentation, and then released it to me. I think the pawn shop owner now goes after the guy that stole them for the $500 now, but i'm not really sure, I'm just glad I have her back. I had assumed it would never be found, and was moving through my stages of grief, but she came home. I think we were meant for each other. We were even in a car accident a couple years ago where she got thrown from a rolling and flipping SUV about 30 ft and survived without a scratch, which is more than i can say for myself...

hughmanatee · Post by **hughmanatee** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:52 am

hey i love some larrivee guitars, Taylors are the shit, the jumbos sound great, and i recently recorded some acoustic with a 60s era guild. Beautiful. also my dad got a blueridge before they made their way into music stores, it was a replica of a pre World War II Martin. he got it for like $400 now theyre around 8 but still great for the price. also i have got a good friend who inherited a 1940s Gibson Mandolin it sounds so fucking nice. but its one of those things if he gets a loan or anything he has to claim it as an asset.

By the way thats awesome you got your guitar back. that happened to a band i know recently they had some custon Rickenbakers, and had some tv thing to do, but the night before 2 of their guits got stolen, on the show they mentioned it, pawnshop called while the show was airing saying they got 2 of them that morning, sure enough they were theirs. its nice to know there is still some good people out there ,to even out some of the bad eggs

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:10 am

I probably should have given some answer to the original question since that's what this thread is about:

I have a Yamaha FG-365S and it records excellently. It's a great player too. It easily holds up to the Martins, Takamine, Guilds, etc. that I have played. It's great for strumming and more jangly picking.

For picking and slide I have a early 1940s Harmony archtop. I got it at a garage sale for $15 in 1986. It's one of the smaller models with stenciled logo and a treble clef on the headstock.

tunesbybill · Post by **tunesbybill** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:23 pm

jaguarsg wrote:for strumming, nothing beats a Gibson Hummingbird, in my book ...

I have a Hummingbird that I slap a 414 in front of and it always sounds good. If you really take your time it sounds AWESOME! But any high quality guitar will do. Martins are great. Better factory tour than Gibson...if that matters.

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Favorite Acoustic Guitar for Recording?

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