Acoustic Guitar/Song Recommendation

Charles Kinbote

So I'm going to be working on picking up guitar again soon, and I've moved from a musical taste that favors electrics to one that favors acoustics. I have about ~$400 to spend...anyone have any recommendations as to a good brand, type, etc etc?

Also, if anyone knows a place/website where I can find lots and lots of guitar tabs/notes (I can read notes) to real songs (I'm looking for stuff like Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens, the Shankill Butchers by the Decemberists, Into the Darkness by Death Cab, that kinda stuff) that would also be some good information.

ChopperDave

Usually you can just google the name of the song and/or the band along with the word "tabs," like "Decemberists tabs" "or Shankill Butcher Decemberists tabs" and find what you want. Ultimate Guitar and AZ Chords have pretty solid collections.

As for the guitar, I bought a $300 Yamaha 4 years ago, and it still plays well and sounds great. Really, as long as you get a decent acoustic and slap some Elixers on it, it should sound pretty good.

Also, :^: on the music choices.

Organichu

Shankill Butcher wrote: »

So I'm going to be working on picking up guitar again soon, and I've moved from a musical taste that favors electrics to one that favors acoustics. I have about ~$400 to spend...anyone have any recommendations as to a good brand, type, etc etc?

Also, if anyone knows a place/website where I can find lots and lots of guitar tabs/notes (I can read notes) to real songs (I'm looking for stuff like Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens, the Shankill Butchers by the Decemberists, Into the Darkness by Death Cab, that kinda stuff) that would also be some good information.

Hah, I played all three of those songs today.. talk about creepy. We have very similar taste in music.

IME Yamaha is awesome for 'lower' level acoustics. You get what you pay for, but I've never heard a bad low-mid Yamaha.

Hlubocky

I spent about $500 on an acoustic/electric Takemine and it sounds pretty good...

Organichu

If you're willing to go a bit above $400, here are a few models I'd recommend:

Yamaha FG730S
Takamine G360S

Further, if you don't mind an electric hybrid:

Yamaha APX500
Takamine EG460SC


And if you're into 12 strings, for (IIRC) around $350, probably $300 in a store if you can find it with a ding or two, you can grab the Fender CD160E, 12 string acou-elec.

oldsak

I'd also recommend checking out ebay once you figure out what you want to get. Used are of course a gamble, but you can also find shops that will auction new instruments so you have a good chance of saving some money. I got my takamine for $350 after shipping, while it sells for $499 at musiciansfriend.com or guitar center

Uncle Long

oldsak wrote: »

I'd also recommend checking out ebay once you figure out what you want to get. Used are of course a gamble, but you can also find shops that will auction new instruments so you have a good chance of saving some money. I got my takamine for $350 after shipping, while it sells for $499 at musiciansfriend.com or guitar center

While it's usually better to get your hands on the instrument that you're going to buy, eBay isn't at all a bad option. I mean, if you were dropping one or two thousand on a new classical guitar you'd be sure as shit to play it before you bought it. But, the mid-range stuff that you're looking at can be had on the cheap through eBay.

My bit of advice, if you do go this route, would be to take it into a music shop once you get it shipped to you and have them set it up professionally. Stringed instruments don't always come fully set up and those that do seem to get a bit wonky from the ride. At least, this has been my experience and the experience of a few of the people I knew from the music department.

I hope you find something great.

Hermus

I got a guitar about three years ago for about $400 made by a company called Seagull. It is a really great-sounding guitar, and IMO, after trying out many, many other guitars in that price range, it can't be beat.

It has a very nice, bright, loud sound, and I would highly recommend it.

cooljammer00

obligatory "go to a music store if you can and try out the guitars to find the right one for you"

cause it's true.

romanqwerty

I have a ibanez AW800ECE electro/acoustic and it plays like a dream. I assume your getting steel strings right. For mid range guitars around your price range pretty much anything Ibanez or Yamaha and you cant go wrong. That said, DO go down to your local guitar store and try some out so you can pick one that feels best.

Evil Multifarious

Shankill Butcher wrote: »

So I'm going to be working on picking up guitar again soon, and I've moved from a musical taste that favors electrics to one that favors acoustics. I have about ~$400 to spend...anyone have any recommendations as to a good brand, type, etc etc?

Also, if anyone knows a place/website where I can find lots and lots of guitar tabs/notes (I can read notes) to real songs (I'm looking for stuff like Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens, the Shankill Butchers by the Decemberists, Into the Darkness by Death Cab, that kinda stuff) that would also be some good information.

A google for "guitar tabs" will result in a vast array of tab sites, most of which are decent

www.ultimate-guitar.com is what I generally use

stigweard

The Seagull S6 is a beatiful sounding acoustic for the price. The solid cedar top is softer than spruce though and can ding easier. Seagull, Godin, Art and Lutherie, Simon and Patrick, lapatrie, and Norman guitars all come of Quebec in Canada and some of them are really high quality.

Uncle Long

stigweard wrote: »

The Seagull S6 is a beatiful sounding acoustic for the price. The solid cedar top is softer than spruce though and can ding easier. Seagull, Godin, Art and Lutherie, Simon and Patrick, lapatrie, and Norman guitars all come of Quebec in Canada and some of them are really high quality.

Seagull makes an unvarnished classical guitar in the 3-400 dollar range. It's quite possibly one of the best sounding instruments for under a grand that I have ever heard. I believe they make a very similar steel string acoustic. I haven't heard the model but I think it would certainly be very worth looking into if it shares the sound quality of its nylon stringed cousin.

Which reminds me: try not to get too caught up in the name on the guitar; it is always a difficult thing not to do because, if you know other musicians are around you tend to think that they may judge you by what you're playing, not how you're playing. Look for great sound. I've got an old epiphone acoustic around here somewhere and it's an outstandingly well-crafted instrument which I think sounds a lot better than many of my friends' taylors and washburns.

Maybe doing a blindfolded test of these instruments isn't a bad idea; so you can listen for sound without matching it against the name brand.

stigweard

I agree completely about the brand name, and not just because I am left handed and have to scour all over to find a decent guitar. The brands I posted above are not really well known outside of Canada, but they do manufacture some really nice models which is I mentioned them.

Godfather

$400 for a solid acoustic?

Try a La Patrie (did I spell it right? oh well). It's a guitar made in Quebec, and because of some crazy fringe benefits over there you can pick up this guitar that's easily worth a thousand smackers for $300. I just got one, and man is it a beautiful guitar. Plus, it's great for beginners/intermediates.

wakeboarderblunt

I have a Washburn EA16 that I picked up a couple years ago for C$325. I love the sound and look of it, but is not your standard acoustic look either. Has a thinner body, a cutaway, and a black laquer finish. It also has an internal pickup, but I never use that.

Definitley a comfortable good sounding guitar on the cheap. But might not be for everyone.

Charles Kinbote

Ok there's kinda another step to this now.

Back when I played I was pretty young, and I didn't quite grasp the importance of chords. So, I didn't touch them. I only played songs with the individual-note kinda thing, and as a result while I'm now a very fast and very adept player for that kind of music, I know nothing about chords. Should this affect the way I play? Are there any simple songs I could look into that kinda get me going on chords, preferably ones that I would enjoy and recognize beyond the stupid novice guitar stuff like "Greensleeves" or that one patriotic song.

Also, if one of the songs I listed fits into that category, great. I don't even know if this kinda stuff is necessary; it's just that I don't know anything about chords at all, so that will probably affect my playing ability for a while.

Organichu

A lot of guitarists make fun of the campfire guitarist who can only songs in 4/4 with major chords.

But the inverse of that is that a lot of people who jump into solo'ing have no sense of rhythm when they strum.

There are innumerable songs that are pretty easy and sound decent when played with simple chords:

Don't Look Back In Anger - Oasis
Doesn't Remind Me - Audioslave
We Both Go Down Together - Decemberists
Engine Driver - Decemberists
Heart of Gold - Neil
Crooked Teeth - Death Cab
Light My Fire - The Doors
Phantom Limb - The Shins

etc. etc. ad infinitum.

The main piece of advice I can give is DON'T settle on one strumming pattern. Down up down up down up down up 4/4 for 5 minutes makes anyone want to commit seppuku.

If you find it necessary, use a metronome. Mix it up.

romanqwerty

Chords like any part of guitar just take practice. Start with simple songs with easy chords to start with and then slowly build up. There are alot of songs that can be played with only Em, Am, C, D, G. Im not gonna bother naming any songs but i sugest looking up the chords for a few songs you like, and if your lucky one of them will have a simple chords tabbed out.

Charles Kinbote

That list was really helpful Organichu. At least, the ones I know. Basically, I know I'm going to be more motivated to learn how to play songs that I know and/or listen to a lot, and my taste in music is on the rhythmic, harmonic, acoustic side of indie/indie rock. So, Sufjan, the Shins, the Decemberists, Death Cab, The Unicorns, the Violent Femmes, Cloud Cult, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Built to Spill, Belle & Sebastian...if you know any other songs that fit in there, lemme know. Ah, Modest Mouse too.

Organichu

Shankill Butcher wrote: »

That list was really helpful Organichu. At least, the ones I know. Basically, I know I'm going to be more motivated to learn how to play songs that I know and/or listen to a lot, and my taste in music is on the rhythmic, harmonic, acoustic side of indie/indie rock. So, Sufjan, the Shins, the Decemberists, Death Cab, The Unicorns, the Violent Femmes, Cloud Cult, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Built to Spill, Belle & Sebastian...if you know any other songs that fit in there, lemme know. Ah, Modest Mouse too.

No problem.

There are plenty of songs by the bands you listed (nice taste, btw!) that are easy to play on acoustic guitar (i.e. you could probably play, no exaggeration, one hundred+ songs by those bands within a year of learning rhythm), though I just listed ones that sound good with strumming.

While it's fresh in my head (since I just played it), a really easy song to play once you get down the timing is Bankrupt on Selling by Modest Mouse... in fact, because of its brevity (I think it's under 3:00), this might be a good first song for you to reacquaint yourself with guitar.

Haha it's weird, but I'm kind of excited for you. You've sort of inspired me to do a youtube guitar series or something.