I'd say Takamine or Seagull will give you the most bang for your buck. The Takamine Accuracoustic preamp is VERY nice for a stock preamp. Seagull's are great guitars for the money, but you'd probably need to install the preamp aftermarket.

Tacoma's are very nice as well, and the Chief & Roadking models have Fishman options.

 

Yep. Several friends of mine have had Takamines, and they have always been solid, sound nice, and definately a great price.

 

I just bought a Fender DG-20CE. it was around $350. I was A/Bing it with a $600 Takamine and found the Fender to play better and sound better both acoustically and electrically.

The salesman reluctantly agreed.

you'd mentioned 'bang for the buck' and I like value too, so i thought i'd throw my .02 in

good luck
~K

 

Definitely Seagull. All of their models feature solid tops, which you won't find in many other guitars in their price range.

 

I can echo the Seagull rec. They remind me of the MIJ Tak EN10C I used to own...satin finishes and warmer, softer tone. I agree with Chris too that Taks (at least the MIJ models) have great electronics.

That Fender sounds like it's worth checking out...I've always thought they looked nice but never tried one.
Greg

 

Alverez makes some decent acoustics for the price.

Gabe

 

All Seagulls also come equipped with L.R. Baggs electronics.

http://seagullguitars.com/specs.htm

 

Takamine & Seagulls are great choices. Also check out Yamaha's offerings, and if you don't mind mail order (or live in So. Cal.) you might want to give Carvin a shot.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

Played Tacoma Chief and found the acoustic tone uninspiring but I need to hear it plugged in. Also played a Taylor that was priced at $1350 or so and it was simply amazing. It's pricey but for now it represents the tone and playability I am most after....it sets the bar and I'll see how close I can get within the price range that is acceptable.

I will go to the Seagull dealer this weekend to give those a run and I'd also like to audition the Taks and Yamahammers that are out there.

 

Just a thought... Martin makes some lower line Mahogany models. The finish looks like furniture, but they really have a warm sound.

 

I'll back up what everybody else says about Takamines... I've had 2 of them (a 12 string A/E and a classical A/E)--both are very well built, great playing, warm sounding guitars for the money.

One guitar I have a love/hate relationship with is Guild... I have a DCE5-NT A/E. It is without a doubt the best playing acoustic guitar I've ever played, and it projects quite well. The downside--I've been plagued by some weird QC issues (and I'm not the only one on the forum). The bridge started separating from the body after about 2 years, and the guitar was in the shop for about a year getting repaired. While it was in the shop, I debated about selling it, but now that I have it back I don't know if I ever could. Anyway, if Guild has improved their quality lately, I think it's a really great acoustic for the money. I'm debating buying a Guild jumbo acoustic now to go along with it!

--B

 

I'd buy a Cort acoustic... They play and sound sweet for a great price 8)

 

Gresh-
Bro, you've been poisoned by a Taylor! I succumbed to a 414CE...quite nice. If you end up in that price range, check out Larrivee. The necks are a bit fatter than Taylors, but you seem to get finish/wood/trim upgrades for the same money. I was torn, but ended up preferring Taylor playability.
Greg

 

Greg, I knew I shouldn't have picked it up but I figured I'd give it a go, so now I'm probably screwed. Oh well, it's only money and you can't take it with you!!

I played some of those lower end martins and although they sounded decent, they just didn't feel right to me....could be the looks too, not to my liking and it may have put a bad taste in my mouth before hearing it.

 

I tried those Martins as well...they seem to be intended as Taylor competitors. Not too bad, but for me Taylor had the edge. I worked out a trade deal for mine, so I didn't set me back too bad. My rationale was that it would be the last acoustic I'll ever buy. Yeah, right. Well, it actually has a much better chance of hanging around than most of my electrics. If you settle for something else, you can always upgrade later.

 

If you're looking for bang for the buck without spending a mint on a Taylor -- look into any Yamaha. I find their acoutsics to be better quality than any other for the same price. I don't know why exactly, but I find a $500 Yamaha to be significantly higher in quality than any other $500 acoustic. This has been my experience...

 

Bottom line for me is with acoustics, more than anything else, is they all play and sound different. I've owned a ton. Guild, Martin, Ibanez, Yamaha, Tak, and I'm playing a Taylor 714 now.
I always play acoustics when I go to guitar stores and I find the feel between the exact same models varies greatly (i will say Taylor seems to be the best at consistancy).
My advice is play as many acoustics as you can get your hands on and don't be sold just on the name. Just because Taylor is the happening thing right now (I love mine, but played a 514 the other day that smoked it) don't go for one just because of the name or model. Keep looking, you'll find one that just seems to fit then you'll be glad you waited.
Remember, the search is half the fun. Good luck

 

I've gotta throw my vote in for Seagulls I've played 2 and just love the way they sound and play, and I don't like playin acoustics, but seagulls, I have trouble puttin those things down, very cool guitar.

 

Alverez makes some decent acoustics for the price.

Gabe

My brother just picked one up. Dirt cheap, and while there's a low fret at the 14th that's going to need to be fixed, it's a suprisingly well built guitar otherwise (inlays, bracing, etc), and while it doesn't resonate like a top-of-the-line acosutic and isn't as "alive," it sounds a lot better than i expected for $250.

Gotta second Taylors, though. Pick up a 3-series sometime... You'll be looking maybe 800-1000 or so, depending on options, but i have yet to find a mass-rpoduced acoustic guitar company that blows me away as consistantly as taylor does.

Actually, a friend of mine just bought a second 310 (or 314, i'd have to ask him) solely to sell it- it was offered to him at too good a price to pass. If you're interested, i can get in touch with him for you. i can attest that it's a great guitar, the one he just bought has a super expansive bass and a very slightly figured body that's just beautiful, and if he holds it and sells his old one, well, i've been borrowing that for two years.

-Drew

 

I'm close to making the deal....spent about 4 hours in total playing everything I could pick up. Favorite was a $3400 Breedlove, but that's another story.

It's looking like a brand new Taylor 314CE is gonna be the "one." It had the most balanced tone and sounded great stummed or fingerstyle and it seemed to really love complex chords. The only other one that really rivaled it was a cedar topped Taylor but the price was $700 more so that's out.

I can get it for $1100 new, does that sound like a decent deal?

 

Another vote for seagull! Their gutiars are awesome. I played one of the small bodied guitars a while ago, and I loved it so much. Too bad I didn't buy it.

 

The Taylor deal fell through and I'm glad...$1100 turned back into $1399 inside of two seconds so I walked.

I went back to the other shop and played the Breedlove Focus model...Western Cedar top, Rosewood back and sides, friggin beautiful. Completely handmade and this thing sings, it is much warmer sounding than the Taylor given the differences in woods and construction...but for the added $jack$ it aught to be. I want it so I will save up and do the deal in a few months. It's one of those instruments you can pass down for generations.

 

Good stuff! Tthat's the danger of playing those high-end guitars... they're just SO sweet. It's hard to go back to hamburger when you've tasted filet mignon.

The shop that i frequent is also the home of several world-class luthiers, one of whom specializes in building orchestra models that sound like jumbos. His guitars are so efficient and project so well, they're just monstrous. Truly alive.

It's funny, i've only really started getting back into acoustic guitars in the last few months after not playing acoustic at all for over 10 years. But now i've got the bug. (G.A.S. unplugged?) One day i'll either commission a custom instrument or do an apprenticeship so i can build my dream guitar myself.

 

I hear ya, for those who think there can't be that much of a difference....lay off the crack pipe, folks. Jeff Traugott has a waiting list that extends to 2011 for one of his guitars...now that's what I call job security. (Avg sell price $8,900+) I've had several cars that cost less than that.

I too am just getting back into acoustic playing, fingerstyle jazz to be precise. Looking to hook up with a buddy who is an excellent vocalist and do the coffee house thing just for kicks...and to help fund my GAS fund.

 

Heh. I hope you can at least put that Breedlove away on layaway.