Re: Anyone into guitars ?
Some good advice has been given in this thread. I own and have played LOTS of expensive guitars and plenty of different people's beater guitars, lol, they're all fun. I had the priveledge of playing with a musician that was signed by Lure records, so I know a little bit about guitars, although that doesn't mean I'm more experienced than some people probably here. The truth is some of the best musicians don't get signed because they just don't get heard or get lucky. Either way, I've only been playing guitar seriously (every day at least 45 minutes or more) for 12 years.
I love my Taylor guitars, although I don't like the new ones nearly as much as my old Taylor. They changed the bracing system quite a while back and it really changed the intonation and voicing of the guitars. The old Taylors sounded MUCH more like C.F. Martin guitars. I believe the new Taylors have WAY too much mid and high tones and not nearly enough smooth bass to them. The American Walnut I played at the exhibition last year and at this year's Taylor exhibition are an exception, lol, but I doubt you want to pay that. Either way, I miss the old Taylor sound.
You'll hear a lot about Takamine's (and Ovation's) and they're ok for the money, but I think most of them are still a bit weighted toward the mid and high tones, even their larger body guitars. Your daughter will probably feel most comfortable with a "dreadnought" style body guitar. They offer good even tones and don't sound too small, but they fit women and younger people better than the larger guitars. It's not the same as playing a big jumbo body, but it usually just works a lot better for them.
I have been impressed quite a few times with some Yamaha guitars that I thought sounded pretty dang good for the money. I sat down with a friend that had a $400 budget for a guitar, and I kept coming back to the Yamaha's every single time. The Seagulls sound really good, and they're good for the money, BUT I do have one thing against them. Every seagull that I've played has a neck and nut that is 2mm wider than most other guitars. 2mm doesn't sound like a lot, but think about how much of a differnce 2mm can make in terms of precision rifles, at the muzzle it gets magnified over distance. For women and people with shorter fingers ,the necks feel VERY wide and are NOT comfortable for them. For men and people that have "fat fingers" they usually LOVE seagull guitars because they sound good and give them that little bit of space they need.
I think you should let her play lots of guitars, and see which ones she likes. Most of the lighter topped guitars will mellow with age, and get a little bit lower toned and more even voicing. The big names in guitars that you'll hear about are Gibson, Taylor, Breedlove, Godin, etc. They're a lot like rifles, there's some very expensive and beautiful guitars out there, but most people can't even come close to using them how they should be. Some more common names you'll hear that make some good acoustic guitars as well are Ibanez, Guild, Seagull, Yamaha, Takamine,Epiphone, Ovation (lower down made by Takamine), Washburn, etc, etc, etc. I would stay away from Fender acoustic guitars (not their good electric guitar), Jasmine (made by ovation, who's made by takamine), Rogue, etc.
You'll be pretty safe with $300 guitars and up with one of the main brands that I've mentioned. Every player has a different preference in tone, and their style. I still like more well rounded intonation on guitars so make sure they at least have a little bass; cheaper guitars usually lack in this field, so finding one that has some bass in the chord usually will make it sound a little better (in my opinion). You should keep an eye on how high the "action" is on the guitar. This is a term that simply means how high the strings sit off of the neck. Look at about the 12th fret (about the middle of the neck where there's a double dot usually), and see how far off of the neck they are. You want it to be as low as possible, but so that you don't hear rattling or buzzing sounds when she's fretting chords. Sometimes beginners don't get strings down good and they buzz a little, but it shouldn't be a persistent noise. Lower actions means it's easier to push the strings down so they don't cut into the fingers quite as much because they require less pressure on the string. This allows players to play longer without their fingers hurting as much (even if they have callouses), and it make sit easier to play up on the higher frets. There's lots of other reasons, but I won't get into it in detail. Either way, you want to look at how high the strings sit off of the neck at the 12th fret (good place to look), you and her will thank me later for the lower action. You'll also want to run your finger down the "edge" of the neck where the radius meets the flat part (no strings there), on the top and bottom of the guitar. You do this so you can feel where the frets meet the wood. Sharps edges can be uncomfortable while playing (in extreme cases cause little cuts), and it's a sign of a lower quality guitar that didn't get as much attention paid to the details. So check for little sharp pieces of frets or any that might stick up high off the neck (they will sometimes buzz on that single note). These are some of the little things that effect how the guitar feels and plays that most people don't know to look for. Notice everyone said you need to PLAY the guitar, not just buy it online, I agree with this, but have some advice. Use the online and catalog people to your advantage. Almost every single music store I know will match prices of Musician's friend, Mars Music, Guitar Center (bought out Mars, etc). So you can go to a "Jent's" or "Tarpley's" or lots of other places and play guitars, and they will usually match the prices of the big catalogue people, or come pretty close. It's great to do this because you get a guitar for the same price, you get to take it home THEN, and you also get to see and feel the characteristics of THAT guitar, you know EXACTLY what you're getting. Small differences on guitars, and even slight changes in densities of the wood effect their characteristics, and you can have 2 guitar side by side made on the same day, 1 number apart and they may still sound different. So play to your hearts desire and then if it's the one she likes and you have a price from online or the catalog that is better, STICK IT TO THEM. They hate it, lol, but they'll do it because they need to compete.
Remember that it's usually trade offs for certain features, so try to find one that sounds good, she likes the feel of, that has a lower action. Hope that helps, and feel free to message me if you have any questions about particular guitars, or I need to clarify anything. Hope these are some helpful tips or information and best of luck to you and your daughter.
