Best guitar I can get for £650 or under.

I’m looking for the best possible guitar I can get for around the £650 mark or under. My voice is quite deep and I like a nice deep warm resonant to an acoustic. I tried the Guild D120 at the weekend which was quite nice I must say but just wanted to see if there is anything I am overlooking. I have been doing a bit of research and came up with these 4 but to the best of my knowledge only the Guild is solid.

Guild – D120 - £550
Taylor – 110E - £650 - £699
Blueridge – BR60 - £679
Taylor – 10E - £679

Also looking at a Blueridge - BR160 which I might be able to get a deal on. Would love to hear any advice you could give. Much appreciated!

I play a Taylor for ballads and smooth jazz. No complaints, however, the first thing I did after buying it was to have the bridge insert, nut and pins replaced with ivory.

It’s all fairly subjective. I play a Blueridge parlour, and I like it a lot ( very good value instrument ) - you may not. Try as many as you can - when you come across the " right one " only you will know.

Tanglewood are well worth a look.

Hi Fergal. Ye’r not a prolific poster are ye? No matter anyhows! I bought an Ovation Elite RBB a few weeks ago, cost me 377 Euro. I can’t believe the tone and the handling qualities of this guitar. Ovation do guitars at about 2000 euro. I’d never spend that on a guitar that could be kicked to sh*t in some of the dives I play in, but I can’t fault the one I’ve just got. The case cost £110, so for under £500 I’m kitted up for the rest of my life. (Currently 67)
Alex.

I’ll make an assumption…you already play guitar at some level and for that reason you’re capable of making a judgement after hands on time with an instrument. Play all you can and then pick what you like best.

That said, it’s equally important to get one from a shop with a luthier who can, and will, properly set it up for you. It’s rare that any off the shelf guitar doesn’t need some bridge, neck, nut adjustment; some fretwork and comes with the best strings (for you). Not a criticism of any brand, just a comment about the real world. I’ve never bought any instrument,new or used, that wasn’t improved by passing it through a good luthier’s hands, sometimes a night and day difference. Best to do business in a shop that will stand behind the instrument and you.

I would recommend buying second hand if you’re open to it. There’s lots of great instruments in immaculate condition being sold online. Take it to a luthier to get set up. I play a Martin that I picked up for €650 second hand. It retails for over €1000 new. Took it to a luthier and got it set up nicely. Your money will go a lot farther if you consider this route.

If you can spend just a little more, or find one used, the Taylor 210 series are a fantastic value for the price. The 210ce is just superb, and really does not need modification.

I suggest heading along to Wunjo on Denmark Street and trying as many guitars as you can (https://www.wunjoguitars.com/uk/acoustic-guitars-new-used-vintage).

Callison wrote "the first thing I did after buying it was to have the bridge insert, nut and pins replaced with ivory."

Ivory?? Ivory!!! For feck’s sake.

From mammoths perhaps.
Ain’t nothing wrong with good ol’ bone, though.

"From mammoths perhaps."

If we carry on like this there won’t be any mammoths left soon.

Buy used and make sure you play it before buying (or can return it). You will stretch your cash greatly by picking up an older instrument. Especially if it is 10 years old and less than 20 years old. The sweet spot before players start to consider them "vintage".

I wouldn’t start out by looking for particular brands. Just try out as many as you can, either new or second hand. if you are not experienced enough to tell a good one from a bad one (a variance which can occur within all brand names) take somebody with you. From my own experience I think that when you find the right one you will know it straight away. And it may well cost less than you plan to spend.

Depending on where you live, you may or may not have access to second-hand guitar shops or other sources of good used guitars, where you can try out a range of instruments and see what you like. There really is little point in spending a significant percentage of your budget on the shop’s margin for a new guitar (this applies to used guitars as well, to a lesser extent). Adverts on internet websites are now a very good source of good used instruments and there are various social media groups which cover this area. The only caveat is that you need to be able to assess quickly if a used guitar has been damaged or is in poor condition - if in doubt you need to get the opinion of someone you trust who can do this for you. (A bit like bringing a mechanic to look at a used car).

Generally speaking, the quality in your price range isn’t brand-specific and you will ALWAYS pay a premium for certain brands like Martin, Gibson, Taylor, Guild etc. That said, they do make fine instruments and are a reasonable guarantee of quality and/or resale value. The bargain guitar you buy now may end up being one you desperately need to sell on in a few years time.

It’s important to play any guitar you are actively considering for as long as you can. They "warm up" and respond better after a few minutes and overall playability has to be assessed. In particular, you should make sure you are comfortable with the neck profile and nut width.

In your price range my personal preference would be for a used Martin or Guild, but there are many other brands with good reputations that may suit you better. Sigma guitars are basically Martin/Gibson clones and have a good reputation, but make sure you play it enough to know that it sounds OK.

I think you should be prepared to pay that little bit more for a quality instrument, bearing in mind that the resale value I mention above has to be considered. You don’t want to end up with a guitar that nobody else wants, should you decided to upgrade in a few years (as most people end up doing as they get older and hopefully richer!).

Good luck!