Hey, at the start of next year im going to invest in an acoustic guitar.
unfortunatly i only have around £150 to spend (i think thats about $260)

aaaaanyways... I really need help with choosing a good acoustic as I have no idea what im doing.

I did find This but i'm unsure if its a good buy or not.
anyone had any experience with ibanez acoustics?

Cheers
Chris

Im in the same boat as you.. I want to purchase an acoustic since i don't have 1. I was on musicians friend looking up Electric/acoustics and i found an ibanez 1 i like alot as well. Im really not sure.. im looking for something very exotic.. perhaps with a really cool inlay.. I think ibanez is a sturdy brand. Help us out

a friend of mine plays an ibanez acoustic but ive yet to hear it. he seems to like it though, not sure if its low end or not though

For that money ($250) try to find one with a solid wood top (not laminate) it will resonate better, and the wood learns to resonate better over time (that's why the old guitars sound better)

Yes! Buy a secondhand and as old as you can guitar.

I have a 20 year old fender Gemini II

and a 10 year old Martin D-15

Both amazing guitars. I suggest you try ebay or garage sales or pawn shops or the newspaper. Try find a decent used acoustic.

i never actually thought of that.
thanks

You can get some very good yamaha acoustic guitars for that price. They sound very well compared to the price. Watch out they come with crappy strings and will sound twice as good with a quality set!

I would reccomend used acoustics also. THe wood on those guitars has allready dried and "layed down" properly so you can be sure it wont curve or anything. For that money you can find some inexpencive but older guitars. ITs a safer buy, and you`ll get the bes sound for the money.

I have that same Ibanez acoustic. It has an ok sound to it, but it ain't amazing, sort of dark and muddy sound. I would suggest that you definitely try to find a second hand guitar in the price range of 200-300$, I think that they would sound way more better than the Ibanez

Good Luck!

-Toni

If you have a guitar store within a reasonable distance I would recommend trying out a few different guitars within that price range. I always recommend the whole try before you buy approach. The price you're looking at is going to get you a great sounding acoustic without breaking the bank (and you can never beat that!).

Other than that I also agree with the approach recommended by the other posts and possibly check out some used acoustics. There's something great about a used acoustic. My Ventura that I got for free from my girlfriend's mom's ex boyfriend is over 30 years old, made in Japan, and I'm assuming wasn't expensive at the time nor even now. But it sounds great and is a really good compliment to my bandmate's much more expensive Martin when we're doing an acoustic jam. In fact, I prefer it to my Takamine and Ovation.

Good luck!!!!

I have a hohner acoustic on my wall sounds very nice to me and its not expensive at all..Best way is to go to the store and test different guitars (and some expensive ones) so you can compare them...Some people don't like buying used gear and thats cool..

Bogdan - My first acoustic guitar was a Hohner that my father had given me because it was a gift to him and he didn't need it. The main reason I retired it was more for an emotional reason... A good friend of mine, Jimmer, and I when we were in our early teens would take my dad's guitar and the Hohner (the one Jimmer would play) and try making songs with it even though neither of us knew how to play guitar. Unfortunately, about 4 years ago Jimmer passed away in a car accident so in memory of him the guitar has been placed in retirement, but it really had a decent sound to it.

You just sparked a good memory for me... Thank you

For how great Ibanez electrics are their acoustics are almost notoriously the opposite. I have never heard an Ibanez acoustic I liked at all.

I totally agree with everyone here who said to look for a used acoustic... but unlike electrics, acoustics suffer from mistreatment much more and are hard to tell by the inexperience buyer. Some things to look for when shopping for a used acoustic:

1.) Bridge lift: Bridges can be abused in 2 ways. Both are a result of tension fatigue (caused by not loosening the strings when not being played) and improper moisture content in the air. The first to look for is debonding of the bridge. This is where the bridge is actually peeling away from the face of the guitar. Don't think you can just take it to a guitar guy and have it glued back down... it is an expensive repair usually. The second is warpage to the face of the guitar. Most acoustics have a slight arc or curve to the face of the guitar but if you look down the body of the guitar and see that the arc rises suddenly at the bridge this is a sign the face has warp allowing the bridge to lift. Stay away from both of these.

2.) Neck: This is generally the same for electrics but because of the massively higher tension acoustic guitars are under compared to electrics it occurs more often. The neck should not be warped or twisted and should have a subtle relief. Also, just like with electrics, make sure the truss rod can still turn. Test this by turning it an 1/8 of a turn either direction then back.

3.) Bracing: The inside of the guitar has bracing which is glued. Cheaper acoustics or abused ones can have braces where the glue has debonded. If the acoustic doesn't have strings on it reach inside the body feel each of the braces to be sure they are still secure. Yes, I HAVE seen bracing broken or loose inside acoustic guitars... though this is the least common problem you'll probably encounter.

Look for resonance, sustain, warmth. Don't shy away from one if you think it is uncomfortable or hard to play. If it is a decent brand name (Taylor, Martin, Fender, Guild, etc.) it should be fine. Acoustics have fatter necks, thicker strings, higher string tension, are wider and generally more cumbersome than electrics so they won't be easy to play comparatively at first.

That's about it. Good luck hunting!

Hardtail

i have played acoustics before, and the guitar shops around here dont have a great selection

i will however go and have a look around this weekend and see what i can get.

I will be using it with my POD X3 aswell so i may drag that with me

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Probably no longer there Muntahunta but there used to be a really nice acoustic guitar shop on one of the side/back roads in or around the Big Market mate. This was back around the mid 1990s so may well have gone by now . As I recall it, it had a good selection covering lots of manufacturers and going from beginner up to high end Martin, Gibson and Lowden.

Cheers,
Tony

I want to get an Ovation.

I really like this one.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ova...itar?sku=513498