Having a good grasp on what makes a really great guitar, great is the best place to start if you are out to buy an acoustic guitar.
The sheer number of choices available to a person that wants to buy a guitar can be overwhelming.
There are hundreds of really great looking guitars out there on the market - some great, some good and allot of really not so great, choices. But most look really, very good.
In your search for the best acoustic guitar, you will already have come across numerous options and types, even if looking solely within the Faith Guitars range. Maybe you’re looking for a traditional acoustic dreadnought model with a classic Spruce/Mahogany combination, or perhaps you fancy an Acoustic-Electric model with more exotic woods.
If you want to sound like Ed Sheeran, Albert Lee or Jake Bugg, which guitar should you choose?
Once you’ve chosen your favourite acoustic guitar and have decided to buy, the choice then becomes whether you should buy it in a physical music store or buy it online. There are a number of important things you should you consider when making this buying decision.
Will your guitar arrive setup? Will it be setup to your liking, and if it’s not, what can you do about it? In the event of your new guitar needing a setup, service or repair what are you prepared to do: Go to your local store for a friendly chat…. or call an internet retailer and (probably) experience a more lengthy and less personal returns procedure.
It is essential that you address questions such as this at the beginning of your buying process.
I've just completed a in depth study on what goes into making a great guitar for this page and I believe it can be summed up with nine main categories of quality factors.
Acoustic Guitar Buying Guide
Craftsmanship - acoustic guitar reviews should include details on the level of skill that is used to build an acoustic guitar because it is very much at the heart of a great instrument. That can mean little things that make huge differences like knowing what kinds of wood to use, choices in glue, types of finishes and who knows what other kinds of way there are to make a guitar sound great.
The most outstanding example I have come across when I was researching how to do an acoustic guitar review that is a great example of this is theTaylor Pallet guitar. - Made out of an old forklift pallet by Taylor guitars. Built by Bob Taylor to demonstrate how important design and the skill of the builder is to the sound of a guitar. List price was $10,000. Did it sound good? Yes, from the reactions of people that played it, it sounded great. They also looked really good for being made out of a pallet.
Playability - This is really your part of your research on acoustic guitar reviews finding out how the guitar feels to you when you play it. You need a guitar that has great playability. A fine guitar is a pleasure to handle and easy to play.
What makes a great guitar playable? It needs to be comfortable to hold and fit the hand of the player. The action needs to be setup for the individual also. Fretwork needs to be smooth and level with no sharp edges to eliminate any buzzing and not hurt your hands.
Fretwork is expensive $80 to $500 depending on where you go.
Sound - Acoustic guitar reviews can only provide so much in this area. I can tell you a guitar sounds great, but you need to hear it for yourself.
You should try to buy acoustic guitar that sounds clear and has a great range from bass to treble with pleasing and interesting overtones.
Good projection of volume not only towards your audience but surrounds the player with sound. That is important because hearing yourself lets you know ow you are doing.
Durability - Acoustic guitar reviews should consider this. A fine guitar should be built to last for a lifetime or more, with proper care and precaution.
Will it hold up to all the different environments it will be in? Is the neck strong and stable? If it has electronics and a preamp are they high quality that will last? Are they reliable? Are the tuners durable and will they last?
Serviceability - When mishaps do happen, it should be a design that lends itself to easier repairs.
Can the electronics be serviced easily? Does it have a good stable truss rod that can take adjustments?
Appearance - a fine guitar should be presentable and pleasant to look upon as possible.
If you are planning to go pro, will it look good on stage? Appearance can be misleading.
Many inferior quality guitars can look pretty good. My first real acoustic guitar looked great but really didn't sound as good as it looked., so I took it to my guitar tech to find out why it didn't sound all that great. I became so disgusted with it after having it evaluated by my guitar tech that I put it out in front of my house with a free sign on it.
It just wasn't good enough to sound all that great.When it comes to guitars, looks can be very misleading. A fancy looking guitar can be covering up bad craftsmanship and materials.
Suitability - Will the guitar perform where and how you perform? Rock stars will need a different guitar than somebody sitting around the kitchen entertaining their mother. If you are playing for a few people without an amplifier you might need a dreadnought guitar with a big booming sound.
Materials - Woods, glues, hardware choices.
Top quality materials and hardware choices, such as tuners and truss rods, along with master craftsmanship are needed to create a great guitar.
Choice solid woods are a major ingredient in producing great guitars.
What about laminates? Isn't that just plywood?
There are various grades of laminates. The quality of the layers of wood and the glues used to join them make all the difference.
You will find laminates in some of the worst sounding guitars and in guitars that sound great. Properly chosen and used by a master craftsman, laminates will produce guitars that are worthy of the best performers.
Affordable - A top of the line, fine quality guitar can run many thousands of dollars.
If a person can afford the best they should have the best. For performing professionals, this can be the right choice not only for sound but appearance.
For people that have other things going on in their lives like families and regular jobs, top quality guitars can be out of range.
The newer more affordable priced guitars from companies such as Martin, Taylor and Seagull, (some people would call them cheap guitars, there is nothing cheap about how they sound or their craftsmanship), have never been better.
Credit to Roy Barnett
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