I'd like to get back into the guitar, what should I look for?

So my musical background is....sparse. Pretty much elementary school band, then 3 or so years ago when I was living on the island, I bought Rocksmith that game with an electric guitar.

I really liked rocksmith, it did point me sort of in the right direction until I got stuck on a lesson (bell tone) that I just couldn't reproduce. Well 3 years and 3 thousand miles later, that guitar is gone and I'm wanting to pick it up again.

I have no desire to play actual electric guitar, and no delusions of being in a band or anything. I'd just like to be able to mess around with an acoustic. Big bonus points if it has an electric out so I could hook it up to rocksmith to practice with.

Maybe pick up some of the folk and country I listen to, or for sorting around the fire in the summer time.

I'd say this project has a budget of ~$300 which is a pretty big budget rally, bigger than it needs to be, but I have no idea what to look for as far as "hybrid" guitars go. Or what kind of woods/build I should look for.

Tl;dr point me at an inexpensive acoustic guitar with an output cable that doesn't sound like a toy.

In your price range I'd be looking for an Epiphone Inspired By 1964 Texan--all of them had [crappy] electronics and they're halfway decent as an acoustic.

Otherwise, any Seagull you find in your price range should be decent. My go-to for cheap guitars though is Yamaha. At worst you'll get a playable guitar.

Are you ok with a "big" guitar (dreadnaught?) If so, get a dreadnaught with a spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Make sure the top is solid wood. Bonus points if the back and sides are, but that is getting difficult in your price range.

Watch for sales.

I just bought my son an Ovation Celebrity Standard CS24P in black flame maple for xmas on sale for $248 (lists for $690 or so but sells for $300 all the time if you google) with free shipping on a Deal Of The Day sale at Sweetwater. It has an internal pickup with pre-amp and 3 band eq. so should plug right into Rocksmith. It has nice light action and sounds really good for something that did not really cost a lot compared to the junk at the local shop for that money. He is already an accomplished pianist/singer and likes to do his own recording... so the $200 "beginner" wasn't going to cut it but I really couldn't see laying out for a "serious" new instrument at what a proper, good acoustic costs when I have a perfectly good Les Paul Custom all set up in my office he could borrow. So, I'm hoping this is a worthwhile middle-of-the-road portable learning tool and studio guitar for him. I like it - but I'm a horrible guitarist and generally don't know crap about guitars. It had favorable reviews and the price was right.

I'm sharing that whole decison process hoping someone who knows their E36 M3 will come in here and answer your question, and validate my purchase

This one is a rosewood back and sides, so even better:
https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-FGX700SC-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar-Natural/dp/B002AKSHWG/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1481052887&sr=1-1&keywords=yamaha&th=1

This is probably 3 times the guitar as above if you expand your budget:
https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-LL6RHC-LL6-Natural/dp/B00JG2EDMY/ref=sr_1_50?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1481052927&sr=1-50&keywords=yamaha

Huckleberry wrote: Watch for sales. I just bought my son an Ovation Celebrity Standard CS24P in black flame maple for xmas on sale for $248 (lists for $690 or so but sells for $300 all the time if you google) with free shipping on a Deal Of The Day sale at Sweetwater. It has an internal pickup with pre-amp and 3 band eq. so should plug right into Rocksmith. It has nice light action and sounds really good for something that did not really cost a lot compared to the junk at the local shop for that money. He is already an accomplished pianist/singer and likes to do his own recording... so the $200 "beginner" wasn't going to cut it but I really couldn't see laying out for a "serious" new instrument at what a proper, good acoustic costs when I have a perfectly good Les Paul Custom all set up in my office he could borrow. So, I'm hoping this is a worthwhile portable learning tool and studio guitar for him. I'm sharing that whole decison process hoping someone who knows their E36 M3 will come in here and answer your question, and validate my purchase

Not a bad "beginner" guitar--I mean beginner in that it will play just fine and is a real instrument. I personally have what is probably an unfair bias against Ovations, but it won't matter for your son--it is a decent instrument.

Sweetwater is a good online shop. See what deals they have there, might be some good ones.

In reply to mtn:

Thanks for some validation. Now I can wrap it :)

One other suggestion--get a cheap piezzo stick on pickup, and put it on a "regular" acoustic. Most of the low end AE's are pretty crappy anyways, so this is a decent way to get around that.

This is a decent guitar, comes with a case and capo. Call and offer $150. http://chambersburg.craigslist.org/msg/5844710565.html

Then put on one of these: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ArtistXM

or

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NeoDSingle

mtn wrote: One other suggestion--get a cheap piezzo stick on pickup, and put it on a "regular" acoustic. Most of the low end AE's are pretty crappy anyways, so this is a decent way to get around that.

I thought this was a possibility, that will open up some new avenues.

It's been a while since I've even been in a shop to try anything hands on, so I'm a little leery of just buying from online, but there is a guitar center close by, so having some models in mind will help when I head out there.

I like our Fender California series acoustic with built in pickup and tuner. Got it a few years ago for around $275, iirc.

Every big holiday, Guitar Center put out a $115 Guitar starter kit with either Yamaha or Fender acoustic, tuner, bag etc. Grab the Fender (just for parts interchangeability for later on) and learn one song at a time. Play at least 10 to 15 minutes every day no matter what and you'll pick it up.

crankwalk wrote: Every big holiday, Guitar Center put out a $115 Guitar starter kit with either Yamaha or Fender acoustic, tuner, bag etc. Grab the Fender (just for parts interchangeability for later on) and learn one song at a time. Play at least 10 to 15 minutes every day no matter what and you'll pick it up.

I would caution against a low dollar Fender acoustic. I'm not sure what parts interchangeability you're speaking of (really, on an acoustic there isn't much that you change out?) and Yamaha is just as common. And in my opinion, much better than Fender at the low low end.

"Parts interchangeability" is worth literally zero when considering guitars.

IMNSOHO, in the $300 price range, "brand" means nothing. Go play as many guitars as you can find. Buy the one that feels right to you.

I have an Ovation Celebrity CC057.

I picked it up a while back for $225 at Guitar Center. They have rounded plastic backs, but they sound great. When I was in my band, it played and sounded good enough to make it onto our band's EP. We also had an Ovation Balladeer Standard (the ones with the little sound holes near the neck) and it didn't sound as nice as the cheaper Celebrity. Impressive guitar, especially for the price.

In reply to SilverFleet:

Cool. That model is very similar to what I got - composite rounded back, solid hardwood neck, rosewood fretboard, black maple face. No obvious crappy edges or feeling of cheapness. It's held a tune in the case for a week so... wrapping as gift later.

This is north of the budget but it is my standard recommendation.

This Seagull S6

And for a pickup this K&K Pure mini

Those cedar topped S6's sound much, much better than they have any right to. They also break in with playing and sound better and better over the years. Mine is a stunner that makes D-28 players stop in their tracks and wonder how I have so much bottom end.

I have a strong aversion to any undersaddle piezo pickup. They just sound thin and reedy to me. Plus any guitar that comes with a huge chunk of the upper bout cut away for the preamp and controls is usually 100% awful in this price range. The K&K sounds like a guitar sounds naturally.

This would be a guitar setup you could comfortably keep for decades and never feel you have to upgrade. For my flatpicking/fistpicking style I haven't found its equal under $1600. Every once in a while I wish it had the brightness of a spruce topped guitar but a new set of John Pearse strings solves that.

This looks like a pretty good deal:

Applause Elite AE44IIG-VV Acoustic-Electric

Applause is Ovation's cheaper line, but they are still pretty nice.

Ian F wrote: "Parts interchangeability" is worth literally zero when considering guitars.

It is to me when I have mixed and matched parts from multiple $100 Fender acoustics. Tuners and saddles with stuff laying around in the attic.

If a budget is $300, Id get a a $100 to see if you even stick with it before spending $300 on one that could just collect the same amount of dust. But hey whatever!

crankwalk wrote: It is to me when I have mixed and matched parts from multiple $100 Fender acoustics. Tuners and saddles with stuff laying around in the attic. If a budget is $300, Id get a a $100 to see if you even stick with it before spending $300 on one that could just collect the same amount of dust. But hey whatever!

I'm here scratching my trying to figure how or why you have multiple Fender acoustics... I'm surrounded by about 20 guitars right now. Being able to mix-match parts is not something I think about.

I also disagree on the $100 vs $300 argument. A $300 guitar that is well set-up and easy to play is more likely to get use than a $100 guitar with high action and constantly goes out of tune.

It took some digging because they don't offer the bundle I had bought anymore. The guitar I was learning on was an Epiphone Les Paul electric junior.

Frankly it was cheap crap. wouldn't hold a tune sitting on it's stand for a day, felt cheap and plasticky, and electric only really limited what I could do with it.

Luckily, the audio cable is pretty much universal 1/4" male to USB, so it goes with everything.

I don't have a problem stretching the budget, although this is probably going to be the cheapest buy in time of the year. I just picked $300 because that's around the area where if the kid breaks it im not super angry, but if I get fed up and angry at it, I have a good chance of selling it again.

Next time I head out towards Monroeville, I'll make the trip into guitar center and try out these Yamaha and Ovation that have been recommended. I wish I could remember what I had tried previously, as there was one that stuck out to me as far as hand fit and "playability" that I'm just drawing a total blank on.

I had tried looking at the guitars the people whose music I like play, but 1950s one offs are past challenge money for a buy in, and that just isn't feasible.

I have though dug up a list of musically inclined friends of mine to call when those first credit card bills after Xmas start coming in.That might be my easy way into something decent with some character already built in.

Who are the guys you like? What music?

crankwalk wrote:

Ian F wrote: "Parts interchangeability" is worth literally zero when considering guitars.

It is to me when I have mixed and matched parts from multiple $100 Fender acoustics. Tuners and saddles with stuff laying around in the attic. If a budget is $300, Id get a a $100 to see if you even stick with it before spending $300 on one that could just collect the same amount of dust. But hey whatever!

I don't mean to shoot down everything you say, but.... well, I sure don't agree with any of it.

Tuners and saddles are pretty universal. And blanks are soooper cheap--not to mention that any saddle (and but) on a $100 guitar is the first thing that needs to go for a real bone saddle.

Additionally, at $100 you aren't getting solid wood. So you will never get it to be anything better than playable. It will always sound "meh" (and yeah, I know that there are laminates out there that are better than solid wood--but in over 70 guitars, most acoustic, I've come across 2 all laminate that are at all good guitars).

More likely it will have high action with extremely limited adjustability, if it even has a truss rod.

mtn wrote: Who are the guys you like? What music?

John Prine, Todd Snyder, Hayes Carll. Just that flowing folk country sound.

Oddly, lots of people that play Gibson guitars.

Great taste btw. I'm seeing John prine for NYE, and just saw him about a month ago.

Prine actually plays Martins more often on stage, at least from what I've seen. And Todd Snider plays an epiphone J200. I think Jamey Johnson does too. You can get into those for less than $500 new.

Hayes plays a J45. Look into upping your budget to about $600 new or ~$400 used and get an Epiphone Masterbilt, any of the AJ models will have the same shape. Although to my ear they sound more "martiny" than Gibson, even though epiphone is owned by Gibson and he masterbilt is basically a Chinese made "Gibson". The one I posted above on Craigslist is also an identical shape, but lower quality.

I built myself a Cigar Box Guitar for around $10, tuned open G, and played with a slide because my middle-aged hand can't seem to chord as easily as my brain thinks it should.

Easy enough to much around with, and if I'm bored with it, I'm out $10. I've spent more and gotten less.

Been doing it now for six months, and quite enjoying it. Got a cheap pickup and amp and distortion pedal coming soon, for a grand total of $30 more.

This ain't me, but doesn't this look fun?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/NTt3iZNPc2c