Need a better guitar

slant six

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Nov 9, 2022
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I've been looking to move up in guitars, i'm just an old couch player not that good plugging away with my old yamaha fg800.

I was looking last week at lots of guitars and kinda settled in on taylor but all i can afford would be the 110 / 114, but i decided to look into prs and see just what they had and yea they do look good and reviews sound good.

I just can't seem to find that one guitar that says yup that's the one, taylor came close but i still think maybe there's a better fit out there in my price range of those taylor 110, prs a40 price range.

So now i wonder how a prs a40 se would stack up against taylor 110/114 or eastman ac122 in feel and playing, i need something better than this yamaha even after a set up it's still an uphill battle playing.
 
Find an older SE Angelus, (Korean). I loved mine. I do love the sound of a Yamaha acoustic when played with a pick. The first few years of the SE acoustics did both pick (strumming), and fingerstyle very well.
Since I acquired an early US Angelus (2013), I haven't played any SE model produced since. I only play fingerstyle now.
 
I can’t comment on the others, but the 114CE is a great guitar. We bought one for our grandson when he began playing, and he’s continued using it in a school performance band even when he could have leveled up to a higher model. He loves it. A friend also has one he uses to let people play when they’re at his house, and it is also universally praised for great sound and playability. They also come with one of the nicer soft cases out there.

Play a PRS and see how you feel they compare. If anyone can top the Taylor, it would be PRS. Keep in mind the Taylor is a full sized body, so if you compare to a parlor size, it’ll be kinda apples and oranges.
 
I have the A40E. It was a choice between the 214 and the A40. I ended up going with the A40. And I am glad I did. After having mine for a couple of months, I found myself in a music store and decided, just for the sake of, to play a 214. I like what I have better. I am equally satisfied tone wise. But I like the feel of the PRS better. The neck feels more "finished" if that makes since. I can't speak much for the 114. But I prefer my PRS to the 214.

But those kinds of things are so subjective.
 
I'm going to have to go look at them soon if i can even find any they're far & few between, all i can go by so far are recommendations and video, saw a neat a10 video, mahogany nice lil bluegrass flat pickin guitar, they do look & sound nice, anxious to get some hands on time.
 
I'm going to have to go look at them soon if i can even find any they're far & few between, all i can go by so far are recommendations and video, saw a neat a10 video, mahogany nice lil bluegrass flat pickin guitar, they do look & sound nice, anxious to get some hands on time.
The 40s are all over Reverb. The price is really good too if you look at the right place. I got mine there listed as "very good" condition. When it arrived, it was somewhere between excellent and mint (other than a slight scuff on the case). That same place has more of them at the moment at a nice price tag comparatively to others on Reverb.

Either way you go, they are both excellent guitars. You will probably be happy either way.
 
I generally liked my 800 and 900 series Taylors when I owned them, and have had a number of them over the years. I bought a 100 series Taylor just to have something to knock around with, but thought it was truly junk. Sounded like it was made of cardboard. I tried recording it just to see if its lack of tone was clearly audible on a recording.

It was. After a few weeks I sold it to guitar center for next to nothing, and applied the proceeds to a microphone.

I was disappointed enough that I wrote Taylor asking why they'd even put their name on on a product that cheesy. No reply of course. They don't care. It's just product to them. Bob Taylor's counting his money and was glad to have some of mine. Worst 8 hundred bucks or so I've ever put into a piece of musical gear.

It had a weird resonant frequency in the low mids; the top end was brittle; sounded worse than any import I've ever played.

The gig bag was much nicer than the guitar.

This is one person's opinion. But I'd run from that and go with the PRS.
 
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While I love Taylors ( I have 5), I'm not a big fan of the laminated back/sides models, exception of the GS Mini . For that matter that holds true of any maker . The American Dream series is the least $$ all solid Taylor
 
Find an older SE Angelus, (Korean). I loved mine. I do love the sound of a Yamaha acoustic when played with a pick. The first few years of the SE acoustics did both pick (strumming), and fingerstyle very well.
Since I acquired an early US Angelus (2013), I haven't played any SE model produced since. I only play fingerstyle now.
I also think the used Angelus market is where I would go. I have one of the Angelus customs with rosewood. I'd put this one up against the other makers top models. Amazing tone and playability.
 
I haven't played a PRS acoustic, but I'd like to. Just never see them out where I live in Western Colorado.

I sold my Taylors when I discovered the Oregon made Breedloves.

I have four. Three Concerts and one Concerto.

All with Baggs pickups and volume and tone controls in the soundhole.

I keep them in different tunings: Standard, Open D or Dm, Open G and DADGAD.

I like Blueridge OM size guitars too, and for under a grand for a solid wood guitar with no plywood they're hard to beat.

Here's my Breedlove Concerto:

 
I have a Taylor 110e that I have had for many years. PRS didn't offer acoustic guitars when I bought mine so I can't really compare it to the PRS models. What I can tell you is that I compared the 110e to what Martin was offering at that time in the same price range. I had one of the sales guys play them for me so I could stand in front of him and listen to how they sounded to someone hearing you play it. The Taylor sounded much fuller across the whole frequency range and played better than the Martin. I was good with the laminated back and sides because I was planning on using this guitar outside in camping situations and wanted it to be able to handle changes in temperature and humidity and still be playable and stay in tune. It does great at that.
 
I have a Taylor 110e that I have had for many years. PRS didn't offer acoustic guitars when I bought mine so I can't really compare it to the PRS models. What I can tell you is that I compared the 110e to what Martin was offering at that time in the same price range. I had one of the sales guys play them for me so I could stand in front of him and listen to how they sounded to someone hearing you play it. The Taylor sounded much fuller across the whole frequency range and played better than the Martin. I was good with the laminated back and sides because I was planning on using this guitar outside in camping situations and wanted it to be able to handle changes in temperature and humidity and still be playable and stay in tune. It does great at that.
Some plywood guitars sound great, especially the older Seagulls which have a solid cedar top. Some sound as nice as Martins.

I have one and use it for slide with a Sunrise soundhole pickup.

You can find them used for $500 or so.

Just take your time finding one and make sure you pick out a nice one and you're good to go with a lifetime guitar!
 
Those cedar top seagull acoustic guitars were fantastic. My brother bought one. They have a great sound to them.
They truly do! A friend bought a Martin D45 and kept it for a year or so then sold it.

She preferred her Seagull. I think it was a S6 cutaway?

I have it now. Her husband gave it to me when she passed away.
 
For me, the Martin sound is king in what I have played/heard. Playability wise, my favorite acoustic ever is a Carlos built in Korea. I paid $20 for it (included was an old school Martin hard case) and I find it to be more playable than my Martin J-40, Martin D12-20 and any Taylor I have ever played. The tone is not there on that cheap guitar, but I never worry about what will happen to it! I was able to strum some PRS acoustics this past September, and although I thought they played well (not as well as my Carlos), I was not hearing the acoustic tones I wanted. I have played McPherson and Rainsong carbon fiber acoustics and the McPherson was the winner for me, but I am leaning towards the Emerald carbon fiber from what I have heard in online videos. With Emerald, it is nearly impossible to play one before you order it because they are a direct sales model, so you literally are buying from the factory and can not go to a dealer to try them (though you can go to the factory and try them in Ireland). They do have a money back guarantee, but the shipping costs could turn that into a several hundred dollar experiment. Klos is the name in the more budget priced carbon fiber guitars, but I have not tried one. I had a Yamaha 12 string years ago before I Pete Townsended it, I thought it sounded really good for it's price point though!
 
I have a few PRS SE Acoustics (a Korean Angelus from ~2014, a Chinese T-50e Tonare, and a P20e Parlor), and they all play quite well for their price point. I also have a Taylor 214ce and a Norman B15 (Cherry). Oh, and a mid-level Takamine 12 string and my FIL's 1960-something Gibson J50 (though I don't play it much - I'm just storing it for him, in theory).

And I have a PRS Core Steve Fischer Angelus.

That last one is by far the best guitar of the bunch, but is in a different league price-point-wise. None of the rest are to sniff at, though, especially price-point-wise.

I find the 200-series (import) Taylor to feel different from the PRS SE acoustics, even though they have the same neck width, because the string spacing is different. I prefer the PRSs, but YMMV. The PRS SEs have a neck feel very similar to the WF (or Pattern) neck of PRS electrics. The Core Angelus is a slightly wider neck, so feels different - my small-ish hands have to stretch a bit more, but the resultant wider string spacing means easier fretting my fat fingers between neighboring strings.

My bandmates have Martins, Breedloves, Augustinos, Taylors, and a few other brands. They all play nicely, but I prefer my Core Angelus if I'm playing that size neck, and I prefer my PRS SEs if playing that size neck. Martin necks always feel "off" to me, dunno why. Breedloves are nice, especially the US-build ones.

I highly recommend you go play a bunch of guitars in a store and figure out why you like this one over that one - is it the neck width, string spacing, neck shape, scale length (there are some variations), fretboard material (I prefer ebony), body shape/size (huge variation here). Acoustic guitars are, to me, much more variable in "feel" and comfort than electrics.
 
While I love Taylors ( I have 5), I'm not a big fan of the laminated back/sides models, exception of the GS Mini . For that matter that holds true of any maker . The American Dream series is the least $$ all solid Taylor
Have you gotten to try or evaluate any of the American Dream Taylors? I'm curious about them but saw one review where the frets wore down in months (the reviewer shared photos). I had a similar issue with my first guitar, a Strat, although not nearly as bad as that review seemed.

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I'm also looking at a few acoustics. I recently sold a Collings OM1, which was an astounding guitar, but it was a bit loud and zingy playing in a small room at home, especially with a pick, which made my tinnitus more pronounced. I also felt a bit guilty having it and wanted to refill a financial dent after medical expenses, so I let it go.

In the meantime I've been rediscovering my Martin 000-15 (an older sapele version). It plays stiffly, but I'm still recovering from some hand issues. Tuning it down a half step helps, but I'm hoping to take it to a good luthier, especially as it sat in the case for several years.

So I'm thinking a smaller-body (00 maybe?) with a 24.75" scale or so, that's not too bright (so possibly a mahogany top) would work. I'm hesitant to buy from the most obvious manufacturer of such guitars, however.

I haven't acoustic shopped much since getting the Collings in 2012, but I do remember really liking Larrivees.
 
While I love Taylors ( I have 5), I'm not a big fan of the laminated back/sides models, exception of the GS Mini . For that matter that holds true of any maker . The American Dream series is the least $$ all solid Taylor

Since Taylor went to the V Class bracing in the solid models, the laminated 100 and 200 series are the only Taylors I like. I do love older, X braced Taylors.
 
For me, the Martin sound is king in what I have played/heard.

There is definitely something to the Martin sound! I was looking for a Dread recently, thought I was going to go Eastman since I love my Eastman GAs...but dropped into my favorite local store and played a Martin D-10E, and it had to come home with me. It's a whole lotta guitar for under a grand! It may be made in Mexico, but it's solid wood and sounds like a Martin Dread...and is incredibly playable, even with 13s!
 
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