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ash wrote: 2. Sealed machineheads.

Interestingly not considered an essential feature on $6000 guitars. *cough*Gretsch*cough*.

Absolutely stay away from anything Fender in that price range. The Fender logo costs $300 alone, so the rest of the guitar will be made of balsa wood.

ash wrote:I think it depends on what your ultimate goal is...

If you want to end up playing electric guitar, starting on a wide necked classical is probably going to discourage you and hinder your progress unnecesarily. If your goal is to be a classical player, then a classical nylon string guitar is the right choice.

The whole "you should start on a nylon stringed guitar" line seems to be rolled out by people who want to teach you classical guitar and those who prefer Dove Hand Lotion. There must be hundreds of people out there who wanted to become rock gods but were turned off by nasty cardboard Chinese classical guitars with plank necks, high nuts and sharp frets. There's a commonly held theory that you should start cheap just in case you fail or give up... sounds like a recipe for failure to me. Starting cheap doesn't have to mean a nasty classical these days anyway.

+1. When I first got a guitar, it was a cheap accoustic. I gave up straight away partly coz I didnt know what the fuck I should be doing, but mostly coz I wanted to learn on an electric, not an accoustic.

mr_sooty wrote:
Interestingly not considered an essential feature on $6000 guitars. *cough*Gretsch*cough*.

Ha, yeah... Gibson, Rickenbacker, Fender et al...

they're crap on those guitars too, but not quite as crap and somehow still acceptable.

alf wrote:

bluesgeek wrote:I'd stay clear of the Fenders in that price range... Fender only by name.

I'll second that, very disappointing.

The D series Takamine's that the RS had in play quite nice for a cheap acoustic, just don't play one of the higher end Takamines while you're there!

I hesitate to ask, but has anyone here got any comment on the Ashton steel string acoustics? They seem to play and sound alright and the price is good, but they do seem to be the new Samicks in a lot of circles.

I bought an Ashton Dualler (accoustic with built in pup and tuner), and it's okay. My only complaint about it is that it's not the easiest to play due to what I would describe as a high action, although I'm not sure that's strictly the right teriminology. The strings need a lot of pressure to fret properly anyway.

Thank you all for your advice.
I think I have settled on a Cort Earth 70 from Lewis Eady, for $299 plus freight.

TrooperHarley wrote:Thank you all for your advice.
I think I have settled on a Cort Earth 70 from Lewis Eady, for $299 plus freight.

Yeah, that'll do the job.

alf wrote: I hesitate to ask, but has anyone here got any comment on the Ashton steel string acoustics? They seem to play and sound alright and the price is good, but they do seem to be the new Samicks in a lot of circles.

I got a Ashton DM65. Sounds really good but i had to do the ole "I'd like this guitar. Cool I'll go get one from the store room. No, no, no. _This_ one" conversation.

After proper setup* its mint...

*bone nut and saddle, tusq pins

zdali wrote: I got a Ashton DM65.

After proper setup* its mint...

*bone nut and saddle, tusq pins

A DM65 should have come with a bone nut and saddle from the factory.

ash wrote:

zdali wrote: I got a Ashton DM65.

After proper setup* its mint...

*bone nut and saddle, tusq pins

A DM65 should have come with a bone nut and saddle from the factory.

Umm, yes? Could be DM55 then... Never did pay particular attention to the model numbers. I'll look when i get home Was definitely plastic nut and saddle tho.

Thanks again, your answers were very helpful indeed.

Another question - I am left-handed. Should I get a left-hand guitar, or stick with the standard right-handed type?

Terry

Oooh, thats a bombshell!

Some lefties will insist you get a lefty guitar and not listen to us righty conspiracy conformists. Most others would suggest you just get a righty and save yourself the nightmares of finding decent lefty guitars and learning material in future. If you're playing with a pick (as opposed to fingerstyle) a right handed guitar could well be easier to learn on as your left hand is already off to a head start in dexterity and strength. I say get a Righty.

ash wrote:

zdali wrote: I got a Ashton DM65.

After proper setup* its mint...

*bone nut and saddle, tusq pins

A DM65 should have come with a bone nut and saddle from the factory.

Ha ha Pawned

I'm lefty, play lefty, I cant imagine forcing yourself to play "backwards" being easy, but i have come across leftys who have and they've all been horrible . up until i read ash's post I've never heard of "difficulty finding learning material" I've never had any problems using any "RH" books.


it is a hassle being lefty: hard to find guitars, cant play other peoples, but people cant use yours, so you get to jam all the RH'ers who are having to share one or two guitars



Guitars:
you can restring a RH one, intonation (how in tune the guitar plays higher up the neck) will suffer though, and you'll need to have the nut replaced.

shop around, LH guitars move sloooooooooow, and can sometimes be had for cheap.
i got a LH solid top washburn D10SCE for $250 (the tag had $950 crossed off, $600 crossed off, $400 on it, he offered $300, i countered $250 cash and got it ) it had been in there a long time, i had played it last time i was there 18 months previously, they were just happy to see it finally go.

Get a lefty and play it.

isn't mark knopfler a lefty that plays righty? I don't think he's too much of a slouch.