High Quality Guitar Components

Like any products, acoustic guitars can be made cheap. They have been mass produced. Some manufacturers even use laminate particle board type material instead of real solid wood. These substitutes reduce price dramatically, but also reduce sound quality and playability.

The best guitars use the best components. Generally speaking, when you find a guitar (even a brand that you've never heard of) that is made with high quality parts, it will be a great sounding guitar. This is important because some of the best sounding guitars aren't big name brands. Many independent luthiers create amazing instruments by hand. They won't have the name "C.F. Martin" on the headstock, so they are hard to pinpoint. However, the component will be a good indication.

One of the first things to look for is an ebony fretboard. Ebony is one of the rarest of materials, used in guitar manufacture. It is used for acoustic guitar bridges and fretboards. While an ebony bridge is pretty standard on guitars, an ebony fretboard is somewhat special. There are high quality guitars with other types of fretboards, but ebony is a good sign that a guitar is high quality.

Some manufacturers will dye rosewood fretboards black just to get that slick black ebony look. This doesn't necessarily mean that the guitar is cheap, but it's a way to get sales and make the guitar look much better. Ebony not only looks good on a fretboard, but it also gives the guitar a brighter sound. Personally, I think the guitar is easier to play with an ebony fretboard too (generally speaking of course).

Another wood to look for is Koa. This is a very decorative wood used for some acoustic guitar bodies.

The main reason these woods are an indication of the quality of the guitar is the price of the wood itself. A guitar manufacturer making a quality guitar will buy the higher quality woods. Someone wanting to make a quick buck will use cheap materials. Usually the expensive materials give an indication of how much love went into making the instrument.

Martin D28 Kit

There's nothing like a good Martin or Taylor except for maybe a Martin kit guitar assembled by an expert luthier. Kit guitars offer a cost effective solution to expensive brand name guitars. I found a good deal on a Martin D-28 replica. 

http://usedacousticguitar.us/8/used_acoustic_guitar:_priced_between_$501_and_$1000.html

Used Yamaha Acoustics

I may have posted about this before, but I really like late 70's model Japanese built Yamaha acoustic guitars. I guess I feel this way because I own a very good example of one. Mine is a FG-345. I bought it around 2001. My dad had a Yamaha my entire childhood. I didn't really appreciate how good it was until I found mine in a music store.

If you can find one of these, grab it.

Used Resonator Guitars

If you like blues guitar as much as I do, you probably like the sound of a good Dobro. A true Dobro brand resonator is good to have. Most resonators are called "dobros" but that's like calling all soft drinks "Coke". Dobro is a brand of resonator guitars.

There's two basic types of necks that a resonating guitar can have. They can have a square neck. These guitars are meant to be played laying across one's lap. Then there are round neck resonating guitars. These are meant to be played like a traditional guitar. I prefer round necks because they are more versatile. One can still lay a round neck guitar in one's lap and play it like a lap steel, but one can't play a square neck resonating guitar like a traditional guitar. So, for me, it makes sense to just stick with the round necks.

There are some great resonators out there. Visit Used Acoustic Guitar and do a search for "dobro" or "resonator". You should be able to find a bunch of cool deals.

Ibanez DT100ECENT

I took my kids to the music store today because I wanted to scout out a smaller body acoustics for my step-son to learn on. I was looking for a Taylor Baby, like the one I posted about yesterday, but they didn't have one at that particular music store. This guy deals mostly in used guitars and though he does have some good brand name guitars, he's not an official dealer for any of the brands. As far as I know, it takes a lot of money from the retailer to be an official dealer. You have to carry a certain amount of stock in that brand and so forth.

I found a good round neck Dobro resonator. I didn't buy it, but I'd love to have it. I also found a great little guitar for my step-son. It's an Ibanez DT100ECENT. These are 3/4 size guitars. The DT in the model stands for "day tripper". This is a guitar you can carry around anywhere. It's slightly smaller than a full-sized guitar, but that makes an incredible amount of difference in portability. At the same time, it doesn't lack in sound or volume. That was one of the main things I noticed about this guitar right from the beginning. It's loud for its size. I expected it to be quiet.

It is also an acoustic electric. It has a built it EQ and tuner. I really like the added tuner. It's a great little guitar, and they sell for around $250. It seems to me that guitars are getting better and cheaper than when I was a kid. I'm glad, because I've spent a lot of money on guitars through the years.

See if you can find a used DT100ECENT at used acoustic guitar.

Used Acoustic Guitar: Taylor Baby

Taylor is by far my favorite acoustic guitar manufacturer in the world. They make great guitars. Even their lowest models are amazing. Take this Taylor Baby. This thing is amazing. It's 3/4 the size of a normal guitar. This makes it great for camping or just taking it along on a trip. It could also be a great first guitar for your child.

But this isn't just some smaller insignificant beginners guitar. This is a high quality Taylor. The sound from these things rivals many large expensive full sized guitars. It also has two things that really distinguish it as a higher quality guitar. Those to things are its ebony fretboard and ebony bridge.

I plan on getting one of these for my step-son in the near future. I would really like to have one myself.  Here is a video showing the sound of the Baby. Of course, a video doesn't show off the volume you can get from this little guitar very well.



Check out the kill deals on Taylor guitars, including the baby at:
Used Acoustic Guitar

Used Taylor Acoustics

I just started a new site called Used Acoustic Guitar. While building the site, I noticed that there were some extremely good deals on many high-dollar acoustic guitars on the net. I'm used to drooling over $4000 Taylors and Martins, but I had no idea that they were going so cheap on the internet.

I've found guitars that retail for over $3000 selling for less than $1000. That's a great deal for a Taylor. Taylor guitars are my favorite acoustic. They have a very bright tone with plenty of bass. They are well worth the look-see. So go look at these used Taylor acoustic guitars.