An Educated Person's Guide to Buying Musicians Gear

[Trippin Hillbilly]

Great stuff Andy.
There's a lot of useful information here. The B-Band A2 or A2.2 is the best pickup I've ever used.

[mangold]

Great stuff Andy.
There's a lot of useful information here. The B-Band A2 or A2.2 is the best pickup I've ever used.

I agree wholesomely

[IDrinkTooMuch]

for pickups, I've sworn by the new Taylor Expression System since it came out. It sounds unreal in my 314ce

[mangold]

for pickups, I've sworn by the new Taylor Expression System since it came out. It sounds unreal in my 314ce

In my experience the Taylor ES is a system that should work perfectly on paper and give a high quality acoustic replication, but in reality the parts are pretty cheap, where taylor does the cost cutting, and because of this the system is prone to repairs and feedback (not like, growing noise feedback, but like crackling)

I wouldn't get a guitar with the ES, like I said in the original post about electronics from the guitar company

[iha]

good post, i was in the dark a bout a lot of this (all of it).

[mangold]

glad i could help.

[jaydog]

does anyone have a recommendation for a transducer that is affordable im think around 100 bucks.

[RunsWithBuffalo]

does anyone have a recommendation for a transducer that is affordable im think around 100 bucks.

LR Baggs M1 passive is 139 new i think, Ebay is cheaper.

EDIT: Wait do you mean like the kind that stick to the soundboard like the ES from taylor? Cause i think Fishman makes one for 99 but i have 0 experience with it.

[jaydog]

Quoting mangold:

"Transducers are my personal favorite kind of pickup. They are basically suction cups that attatch to the underside or topside of your guitars top, ussually with finish safe double sided tape or adhesive. They feel the vibrations of your guitar's soundboard, instead of the strings."

yeah, im looking for one that attaches to topside

[RunsWithBuffalo]

Honestly i have never used a transducer pickup unless it was with a piezo, a la the expression system. I will tell you that the one i recommend, the M1, does pickup vibrations as well as string vibrations and produces a very realistic sound. It also is easy to install and you dont have to cut a hole in your guitar.

food for thought.

[GSR]

I'm flirting with the idea of a cheap acoustic to expand my musical horizons (read: mess around on). I'd feel pretty confident, based on my research on the board, picking up an Alvarez. Any particular model recommendations? <$300.

[Klondog]

Fwiw, I have an AD60k, and I love it. I think I got it for $350. If you are set on an Alvarez (good choice), then just go to your local music store and play what they have. Something will probably catch your eye or ear.

[spontaneouscreativity]

Hey, first post here, just thought I'd throw in my two cents.

I've had a Jasmine S-35 for around a year now, and I have to say, having gotten it for just over $100, maybe closer to $150, it's a really fun guitar to play/own. I decided to start teaching myself how to play, and since I've started, I really have found that it's a nice, enduring guitar that I honestly preferred over some other cheap ones I played. It's not perfect, and it's obviously not as good as a more expensive guitar like an Alvarez, Martin, Taylor, or even a full-fledged Takamine, but it's perfect for me as someone who's just getting into it. having played high end guitars before at music shops and much more talented and practiced friends' places, I know it can't measure up, but also having played other starter or economy priced guitars, I prefer mine over any other in its class.

I also recently acquired a used Takamine EG-335c...damn fun twelve string. I restrung it and fiddled with it for a while, and I honestly enjoy twelve strings more than six nowadays, for a long list of songs. I got it for $415 used on eBay, with a hard case, and it's perfect for the price. I didn't enjoy similarly priced Yamahas, but then that's the only brand I've been able to compare it to so far.

So, from my limited experience, Takamine or Takamine-related guitars are quite good for their pricing.

Good thread, by the way. Definitely helping me work towards selecting my next guitar, when I do decide to upgrade.