I've been looking for a good acoustic guitar for around 1.5k - 2k. So far i've checked out a couple of guitar shops around the klang valley and came up with the following:-

1) A beautiful all-solid Farida guitar d32n
2) A Norman B20 High Gloss
3) Simon & Patrick SP6 Spruce with B-Band pickup
4) Seagull S6+ Slim

All the guitars are within my price range, I would say they all have great qualities, the Farida , although China Made has Fantastic Build and great projection and sound. But it may be a bit too pronounce for me.

The Norman is really mellow and has a real 'control' sound to it.

The seagull sounds just like the Norman, but kinda warmer. Really good sound.

The Simon & Patrick sounds pretty decent, it has some good projection and the pickup was really good. The finishing wasn't as good as the Farida though, but this is a spruce which I'm more partial too. Plus it's got a b-band pickup for under 2k.

Wonder what you guys think, for me the sound is the most important thing. Everything else is secondary. I'm seriously considering the Farida, but worried, cos not many people own them. Can't even get decent search results from Google. But if i'd think about it, if the sticker said 'Made in Canada' instead of 'Made in China' would have bought the guitar that day itself. Anyone have any comments on the Farida.

Also I heard great reviews about a local luthrie that makes Freeman guitars, anyone know where I can find these guitars?

Don't want to consider the Taylor Big Baby?

Nah, I tried the Rm4k Taylor at SMX. I'd rather have the 2k S&P from the same shop. I haven't tried the big baby, but if the 110ce doesn't sound as good as the S&P 6 , why wanna try the big baby?

i think you have already made up your mind on the s&p.

as for freeman, hes based in kepong.
http://freemanguitars.com/

Yea...the guys name is edward....very informative...
he's guitar is very nice indeed...using expensive woods too...

This post has been edited by ReeveX.com: Feb 24 2007, 08:25 PM

But S&P neck ain't that comfortable for me. Why buy a guitar which has the best sound but you don't like playing with it.

i dont see anything that says he doesnt like playing it.
so i guess hes able to adapt to it.

also take note, just because a guitar is all solid, doesnt mean it will sound good.
for acoustics, the strings also play a big part in how the guitar sounds.

you think taylor's would sound as nice with other string brands apart from elixirs? nope.

and since the s&p has the b-band, and if you're planning on plugging in more.
then obviously get the s&p.

This post has been edited by Everdying: Feb 25 2007, 04:44 AM

yeah, for anybody thinking of buying the taylor 110 series, you might as well go for the timothy s10j at SMX. It had a much better sound that the taylor for about Rm200 cheaper(if i remember correctly)

I always thought all-solid guitars would sound good, cos the projection and sustain is much better than laminated back & sides.

I'm kinda leaning towards the S&P . Although i don't really need a pickup now, installing a b-band pickup later on would cost nearly Rm1k (i think). However, of all four guitars I think the S&P ranks number 3. Decisions..decisions...hahaha.

acoustic construction is of cos more complicated than just having all solid wood.
i could point you to someone to try out an all solid vietnamese made acoustic, and you'll then realise all solid is not what its made out to be.

solid top of cos helps alot, while it makes very little difference whether the back and sides are solid or laminated.
remember the old story of how someone made a guitar with back and sides of paper mache? still sounded pretty decent.

then theres how the bracing is done etc.

big baby's and the current 110 arent full sized anyway, but if they were i'm sure they will sound much better.
add in the construction style of the higher end models, and it will probably sell more.
guess thats why the taylor 100 series now comes with dreadnought and grand auditorium, those im sure will be a major hit.

This post has been edited by Everdying: Feb 25 2007, 01:11 PM

Yeah I second that. Back and sides has less influence than the top but I heard of some acoustic, jazz and clasical guitarists would prefer laminate sides and backs for a flat top guitar.

I guess you guys would know about this but I just would like to point out that there are some laminates out there consist of different types of wood. Like Maho/roseW/Maho. I personal tried a guitar like that and it sounded kinda sweet, but unfortunately not to my liking. I prefer a bright tone.

Ok, enough said, bottomline is, if your budget is tight, check out laminate sides and back

yeah, guess i'm sticking to the Norman, the B20 HG is really good. Maybe spring an extra 600 for the pickup

the norman is high gloss?
how bout the neck? i hate high gloss necks

notice how the taylors have high gloss bodies, but satin finished necks.
thats how an acoustic should be.

well i dont quite agree with ur saying...a good bracing with laminated wood will sound good but a good bracing with solid wood sound superb...bottomline...craftmanship is still the most important...peace dude..


haf u tried freeman guitars??i think u should really give it try...very nice sounding guitar...they come in dreadnough,jumbo,OM and grand auditorium...can ask him to setup guitar's neck profile and action to suites ur liking...i think he's selling a brand new one for rm2.2k...the only thing is without pickup..

rm2.2k for a new guitar without a pickup is a bit out of budget la. And the directions he gave me really that faham la, maybe take a trip there next saturday.

No the Norman B20 HG doesn't have a high-gloss neck. The sound was awesome. The Simon and Patrick was not bad, in terms of sound , it sounds different , has more clarity but I prefer the mellow tone of the Norman.

The S&P isn't gloss but i think has a much better pickup for about Rm350 less. Need to reconsider all this, but my hands itchy alredi... need my new guitar soon.

Anybody have a easier way of reaching the Freeman guitar guy, (edward Hiew). I want to check out his guitars before making my purchase.

www.freemanguitars.com
the number is there.

i might going there next week...if u wanna go juz let me know lo...

To be honest, the Taylor big baby is nevera good choice. If you actually tried looking through the various big babies, you would notice that there is so much variation in sound! I've tried my friend's big baby which he bought in Australia and it sounded like crap (comparable to a standard Yahama 400 series) whilst I tried another one in the UK and it sounded ok for a RM2k guitar.

just a q
wats the side back n neck of the simon n patric made of?

I wonder how much is these freeman guitars???

I think should be quite expensive. Hand Made.