Yesterday i was on the hunt for Christmas guitars for a couple kids and I played a couple of the new hohner essential series guitars. Now hohner is not usually a name that gets any oooh's and aaah's, especially on a guitar forum, but hey, these were great!They are made similar to some other guitars we know that have very thin satin finish, instead of the thick asian tone killer finishes I was used to with cheap guitars (we're talking well under 500). They have some type of frequency tested solid tops,(aka tap tuned), and very intresting compensated nut and saddle and are touted as having, get this, perfect intonation. All hype aside , I was amazed at how open they were, and extreamly well set up, I especially liked the parlor model.Check them out,great Christmas stocking stuffers!! :drool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPT647H_UjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iixyaNq_ZA This second vid is the parlor, they also have a slightly larger folk style, a dred and a jumbo cutaway with pickup onboard. :nice guitar:
Welcome to the forum.
I picked up a $75.00 Makala Baritone ukulele. It sounds great, holds it's tune and has made a great contribution in my leading children's worship. Best $75.00 I've ever spent.
I agree that cheap guitars are way better than when I was a kid. I have a Takamine that was in the $100 range that is worlds better than anything I could put my hands on when I was a kid. So much easier to play...its almost unbelievable.
I think this one is going to be donated to my church's angel tree this holiday season....
Yes, I had my eye on the cheap Hohner Essential Mini-Jumbo with electronics.
Glad to hear your favorable feedback.
Quote from: Dotneck on November 27, 2010, 06:20:13 PM
I agree that cheap guitars are way better than when I was a kid. I have a Takamine that was in the $100 range that is worlds better than anything I could put my hands on when I was a kid. So much easier to play...its almost unbelievable.
I think this one is going to be donated to my church's angel tree this holiday season....
Good for you Dotneck, There's a young lady in deep Mexico playing an old red lable Yamaha of mine that I passed to her through some missionaries, and a martin LX in the Phillipines that I left with a Pastor there, our youth Pastor plays my old Epiphone, it surely IS more blessed to give than recieve, (however the recieving ain't bad either)!! God bless and aloha, PH :thumb
In spite of some gloss that's a wee bit thick, my Cort Earth 200 dread (solid top and back) is a really great sounding and playing guitar.
I wouldn't part with it.
I disagree. I think good guitars are getting cheaper. :wink:
Quote from: pastorharry on November 27, 2010, 02:22:04 PM
Yesterday i was on the hunt for Christmas guitars for a couple kids and I played a couple of the new hohner essential series guitars. Now hohner is not usually a name that gets any oooh's and aaah's, especially on a guitar forum, but hey, these were great!They are made similar to some other guitars we know that have very thin satin finish, instead of the thick asian tone killer finishes I was used to with cheap guitars (we're talking well under 500). They have some type of frequency tested solid tops,(aka tap tuned), and very intresting compensated nut and saddle and are touted as having, get this, perfect intonation. All hype aside , I was amazed at how open they were, and extreamly well set up, I especially liked the parlor model.Check them out,great Christmas stocking stuffers!! :drool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPT647H_UjU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iixyaNq_ZA This second vid is the parlor, they also have a slightly larger folk style, a dred and a jumbo cutaway with pickup onboard. :nice guitar:
:+1: :nice guitar:
This is the Golden Age of acoustic guitar building and the trickle down raises the bar on 'cheap' guitars, too. Amazing times for acoustic guitar fanatics.
It seems to be true for steel string guitars but I haven't tried any decent nylon strings for under a grand, and some, like the Taylor nylons ain't worth more than 500 and they ask for close to 15 hundred.
Quote from: bearsville0 on November 28, 2010, 08:55:28 PM
It seems to be true for steel string guitars but I haven't tried any decent nylon strings for under a grand, and some, like the Taylor nylons ain't worth more than 500 and they ask for close to 15 hundred.
And ordinary guitars sometimes become more expensive. Keeps one on their toes, eh?
Quote from: count savage on November 28, 2010, 08:00:02 PM
Amazing times for acoustic guitar fanatics.
Agreed. I played a Korean made Breedlove the other day that was simply outstanding. (and under $500)
I played a brand new Washburn Parlor model guitar a few weeks ago. Aside from the fact that it was embarrassingly "distressed" it played and sounded quite good. Has a "V" style neck which takes a little getting used to. And the case was incredible...more like a tiny coffin than a guitar case.
All for around $450.
Jim
Quote from: bearsville0 on November 28, 2010, 08:55:28 PM
It seems to be true for steel string guitars but I haven't tried any decent nylon strings for under a grand, and some, like the Taylor nylons ain't worth more than 500 and they ask for close to 15 hundred.
Recently I played a Guild GAD nylon that was OK, and a Ramierez that was 'on sale' that was really disappointing. Both not far under 1K. So I take your point.
But the Aria's, Hohner Essentials, Blueridge's. Recording King's, Republic's, and Regal's I tried were all good tone and easy playing. The Godin's have impressed me too. So much better than that dreck that passed for cheap guitars when I was a boy. The only Asian git I have tried that I thought rose to the height set by the top North American luthiers was the Eastman I just got.
Still I agree that this is the Golden Age of lutherie. So many great builders so many great guitars.
I have been seriously impressed with the Seagul maritime mini-jumbo , and am planning on getting an Art & Lutherie AMI to be my main gigging axe. I play in a top 40 country band to pay the bills and currently use my D-03RE for all of the guitar stuff I play. I also play banjo , mandolin , and lap steel and it ends up being a lot of load in & out after all the instruments and amplification are added in. My gear over the last 3-4 yrs has also taken a horrendous beating. The A&L is a great sounding comfortable little guitar that could be a lot easier replaced if anything happened to it. I play in places (and with a drummer) that demand I amplify everything , and with the sound not being really all that acoustic in nature it seems to be the best and most sensible alternative due to circumstance , and am very thankful that such cheap and well made instruments are available now. Maybe with enough decent affordable gear hitting the marke,t live music may win back much of the ground that DJ's and karaoke have taken over in the last decade. :donut :donut2 :coffee
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving where applicable!!! :wink:
Hi Willfo, I have an A&L Ami all plywood guitar that sounds great for the $. Actually, is sounds good regardless of the cost. It stays in tune, has decent tone and plays quite well. For a mite over $200.
Regarding nylon strings,the Hohner essential series has a classical model out. I have a La Patrie etude that is amazing and was about 250.00!! If you want a really, really good classical guitar check out Candelas guitars....I had several from grandpa and pappa in the 50's and early 60's and now the grandson is making them-reasonable, and fantastic!! Check out this video link of Candelas everyone, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vRcHEIawP8
Kremona has been making stringed instruments out of Bulgaria since 1926. Orpheus Valley is there classical guitar division. Mine is all solid wood, has a bone nut and saddle. It sounds beautiful and set me back about $600.00.
I don't think todays "cheap" guitars are any better than say the Yamaha red labels which were the "cheap" guitars of previous generations. There are garbage guitars today same as before. IMO we have always had some decent options when working with a sparse budget..
Quote from: willfo on November 29, 2010, 05:05:04 PM
I have been seriously impressed with the Seagul maritime mini-jumbo ,
I found a very good condition used Maritime Mini-Jumbo. I think it is all solid wood(?). It played nice. I am thinking about getting for my daughter. Any thoughts on this guitar?
With all this Seagull talk "here" (http://www.seagullguitars.com/specs.htm) is a link to their spec's page.
This is the Maritime Mini Jumbo (http://www.seagullguitars.com/productmaritimeswsmjhg.htm)
All Mariitime series are all solid.
Quote from: Mr_LV19E on December 01, 2010, 05:20:10 PM
With all this Seagull talk "here" (http://www.seagullguitars.com/specs.htm) is a link to their spec's page.
This is the Maritime Mini Jumbo (http://www.seagullguitars.com/productmaritimeswsmjhg.htm)
All Mariitime series are all solid.
I work down at the harbour, here in Thunder Bay, and it's not seagull "talk" that we are usually concerned with. :laughin:
There are some great values out there these days. For just entry level acoustics you have good-sounding, reliable models readily available from $200-300, from Yamaha and Cort and Alvarez and Walden & the lower-end Godins. Many solid top. I happen to have lucked into another entrant at this price level, from the LAG brand--a French guitar company just entering the US market (imported by Korg). I won one of their entry-level dreads online, an all laminate, street price c. $200. Doesn't say where it's made, but I'm betting not France. I was actually wanting a decent all laminate, to simplify winter playing. The upper strings sound nicely bright up the fretboard, a bit Tayloresque; the lower strings a bit plonky, but not unpleasantly so. A nice, comfy mahogany neck. Poly finish, but not excessively thick. Pinless bridge. Elixir 11s. Does it compete with my Larry and Avalon? Of course not. But it's been a pleasant surprise.
Quote from: jasbart on November 29, 2010, 11:43:01 AM
I played a brand new Washburn Parlor model guitar a few weeks ago. Aside from the fact that it was embarrassingly "distressed" it played and sounded quite good. Has a "V" style neck which takes a little getting used to. And the case was incredible...more like a tiny coffin than a guitar case.
All for around $450.
Jim
I bought a used Washburn parlor last week. It's really a nice small guitar, all solid wood. I love the wide nut (48mm) and the "V" neck too.
And I agree with you, the case is really cool !
The action is a bit high, so I will have it setup, maybe replace the TUSQ saddle with a bone one.
:+1: :thumb I really like my A&L Ami . $265 US. Solid cedar top 3ply lam cherry b&s .Hard to beat ... I put a Bill Lawrence A300 sound-hole mag pu and it's got that great Elmore James thing happenin.Just wish I could play the slide thing AS WELL AS HE.