about to purchase an acoustic - help!

[rabies]

I'm looking at Epi Masterbilt line now. I'm needing an acoustic (not acoustic/electric). Any recommendations? Not wanting to spend much more than $700.

I currently have a "totally" beat-up Yamaha: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-FG730S-Solid-Top-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=519049

My son walks on it for fun!

That one has a ton of reviews. But one peg for the bridge got jammed in there. So I eventually stopped using it.

Is the Masterbilt much better than this model? Plus i'd like a sunburst if I can but they're hard to find.

I'm thinking to try out mahogany this time around... thx.

 

[rabies]

or how but an old Yamaha Martin copy (they go for pretty cheap in decent shape on eBay IIRC)?

 

[94Tremoverb]

If it matters, you can get a jammed or broken bridge peg out quite easily - just slacken all the strings, put your hand inside the soundhole with a coin held against the end of one finger, and use it to push the peg out from the inside. If that *really* doesn't work (I have once or twice come across pegs that people glued in!) you can drill it out.

I don't know much about the Epiphone Masterbilts, but I've never liked one single Epiphone acoustic guitar I've ever played that was made after the 1960s. Old Yamahas can be nice, though - just be careful about the action, they can be rather (unfixably, without a neck re-set) high.

 

[rabies]

I couldn't pull it out with pliers (IIRC) so I ended up hammering it in deeper like an idiot trying to blast it thru the wood. I drilled subsequently, still stuck.

So it's a toddler's toy now.

I'm trying not to spend a whole lot more than $500 and I know that may not be the best acoustic in the world. But then again, i'm not a pro so it really doesn't matter.

btw, I played a $4000-5000 signature Martin a while back at a store (ebony fretboard), and I was very un-impressed of the sound but it looked beautiful. i believe it was the richie sambora model. it wasn't bad sounding but not worth that much money, no way.

I think I'm going to try an Epi Masterbilt and worse case return it if I need to...

 

[rabies]

btw, I have an Epi Elitist LP and it's sick. pretty **** heavy like a real LP but much much cheaper. MIJ.

the Masterbilt line is MIC so a little leary but we'll see...

 

[mefgames]

You might want to look at Boulder Creek guitars. I just bought an acoustic bass they make that rivals the sound of the old Tacoma. They have a new bracing system that makes them really sound great. Check them out.

http://www.bouldercreekguitars.com/

Here is just one of the ones I saw on ebay. Certainly fits your price range, and it's a Sunburst.


http://cgi.ebay.com/Boulder-Creek-R2-C-Cabo-Sunset-Acoustic-Guitar-/150464002270?pt=Guitar&hash=item23085a78de#ht_1287wt_907


Good Luck, Mike

 

[rabies]

no boulder creek on MF. What about the Loar? never heard of that brand but they look nice.

 

[rabies]

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Godin-5th-Avenue-Archtop-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=518494

I actually play along with MDavis KoB very often...

 

[94Tremoverb]

I couldn't pull it out with pliers (IIRC) so I ended up hammering it in deeper like an idiot trying to blast it thru the wood. I drilled subsequently, still stuck.

Hmmm... I think it probably is quite stuck then .

If you really hammered it in, probably the only way now is to get the proper specifically-tapered cutter that a luthier uses to make the peg holes, drill right through the middle of the peg and use the cutter to remove the remains of it. ie, pay a luthier to do it for you! - the cutter is quite expensive to buy. It actually won't cost much for a pro to do it, it's only a few minute's work, and even if it's a bit beat-up you'll end up with a decent playable guitar again.

I've had to remove pegs that way before, some people don't get the hang of bending the ball end slightly when they string it, so they get annoyed by the peg popping up as the string comes up to tension. Then if you're lucky, they hammer it in. If you're unlucky they superglue it .

 

[rabies]

I just ordered the Godin in cognac burst: http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Godin-5th-Avenue-Archtop-Acoustic-Guitar?sku=518494

seems to have a lot of good reviews and a bronze award. More interesting that a typical dreadnaught acoustic too. I'll update after I play it.

thx.

 

[94Tremoverb]

I'll try not to spoil it for you while you're waiting, but be prepared for it to sound very, very different from what you expect an 'acoustic guitar' to sound like. I had to say that, because it really may be quite a shock! Keep an open mind, you may like it - it's a good guitar, it was just too far away from what I want an acoustic for to work for me. Personally I much prefer the version with the P90 pickup, it's got a nice 50s Gibson ES125-type flavor to it plugged in.

You might also find it sounds much better with either heavy nickel roundwound or even flatwound strings - which is what was used back in the day on archtop guitars, not bronze.

At least it doesn't have a peg bridge, either!

 

[rabies]

I'll try not to spoil it for you while you're waiting, but be prepared for it to sound very, very different from what you expect an 'acoustic guitar' to sound like. I had to say that, because it really may be quite a shock! Keep an open mind, you may like it - it's a good guitar, it was just too far away from what I want an acoustic for to work for me. Personally I much prefer the version with the P90 pickup, it's got a nice 50s Gibson ES125-type flavor to it plugged in.

You might also find it sounds much better with either heavy nickel roundwound or even flatwound strings - which is what was used back in the day on archtop guitars, not bronze.

At least it doesn't have a peg bridge, either!

**** man, i don't post on this forum nearly as much as I used to, but i've noticed that you are an oasis of knowledge of all things guitar-related. thanks for the heads up. I thought I'd try something different for once and if i don't like it, i can always ship it back to MF.

btw, i saw stp live recently and dean de leo still has the exact same rig (demeter preamp, vht power amp, two marshall cabs and a vox 212 combo). great sounds. i wonder what tubes are in those vht's? kt88? same power amps as kirk hammett used/uses?

 

[94Tremoverb]

Ha, now that's something know next to nothing about! I've only ever played a couple of VHTs, never had to repair one, and didn't really spend long enough with those ones to really find 'my' sound in them - I thought I would from what they look like, but they didn't do much for me I have to say. Which is not to say they're not good amps, they are. Similar to the Godin... in the sense that they were just not what I was looking for.

I'm actually a pro repairer, and quite a 'jack of all trades' one. My specialty is really tube amps but I do a fair bit of guitar work as well, although not high-end luthier stuff. I also have a personal interest in acoustic-electric crossover sounds, so the Godin is something I've tried - if you want an acoustic that sounds anything like a Martin (or even a Martin crossed with a Tele, a Rick and a Gretsch) for that sort of folk-rock chord-strumming/finger-picking, arpeggio-melody jangle thing, this is not going to be it. If you want one with more of a jazzy-blues soloing or roots-Americana vocal accompaniment snappy midrange kind of thing, it might be. It's about as far away from the Yamaha as it's possible for an acoustic guitar to be (a decent one, anyway).