Ok, i've owned my 1st guitar for almost 2 years already and i think it's time for me to change to a better one. My budget is around 1k or can exceed a little bit for a good quality Acoustic Guitar with pickup. I went to a guitar shop and saw some really nice SX guitars that cost around RM800++. I am not sure if SX is good or not. What im looking a guitar must be made from a good quality wood, nice looking, cutaway, has pickup, and the most important part is the playing quality/sound. I want something that is easy to press chords, soft stings to put it in other words.

Do you know any good quality guitar that i can get my hands on? Planning to get one end of the year. Branded one would be better, but not too expensive la. Im really tempted to get a brand new Taylor or Ibanez Acoustic Guitar with pickups. Can i get one with that budget of mine?

I usually go to the guitar shop in Petaling Street called "Woh Fat" there to shop. Do you know any other place that has a wide variety of Acoustic Guitars that's selling at a reasonable price (especially Taylor and Ibanez)? Thanks~

This post has been edited by barney: Jul 18 2007, 11:54 AM

Bentley has both Ibanez acoustics while SMX has a small collection of taylors........ but Taylors are WAAAAAAAAAAAAY off your budget. Those are actually more towards the "premium" guitars.

Why not try out Yamaha guitars? Go over to BeatSpot at the Curve and test a few out........ great value for money and good sounds as well/.

art&lutherie has some guitars around that price range, all made in canada.
http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/intro.htm
guitar collection are the dealers here.

Taylors are WAAAAAAAY off my budget??? Awwww man....just when im starting to get serious of getting a Taylor.

Yamaha...hm....didn't thought of Yamaha in the 1st place but wth, i'll go to the curve and try it out myself. Who knows Yamaha could really steal my heart away. But i would prefer Ibanez or Taylor 1st before going to get others.

Anyone here would like to give some suggestions please do so as i need more informations.

Personally I prefer Gibson Hummingbird.

For Taylors, it's really out of your budget.

Anyway, go try Yamaha's first.

Gibson Hummingbirds are even more waaaaaaaay off budget.

Try out the Yammys and some of the Epiphone lying around there too...... you'll be quite surprised.

And if you try out a Taylor, you won't want to try out anything else

1k u cant even get a taylor baby (unless u can find a rare deal like how i got mine)

I'm just saying it's my own preferences.

Again, I recommend Yamaha within that budget.

Have you played a Hummingbird before? I've never seen anyone here who owns it. Not even second hands.. I was looking for a good second hand. Wonder why it's hard to find one here. Damn even the Epiphone Dove costs a bomb.

Yes, I played before. I own one.

Other than that..no idea about that.

where to buy the Gibson hummingbird in Malaysia? I'm keen on getting the Dove instead

now u should post that gibson in the flash us thread

TS, have you tried Seagull guitars before? they are Canadian guitars with great build and sound. Entry model should be around 1.4k (a relative of mine bought one). Just an added info, they are the Acoustics division for Godin guitars.

Their entry model comes with a simple acoustic pickup which should suffice. The beauty of the guitar really shines after a few months of seasoning and playing. And they are the only few brands which have LR.Baggs acoustic systems built in. iMix anyone?

Personally, i'm using a Fender acoustics from US which i got it for a bargain price. Had to do some minor modifications but overall the sound is pretty good. IMO, you can ask for those which are made in Korea which are cheaper while maintaining a standard of quality.

Just to add abit.
why don't you save up abit more and go for a baby taylor or a Takamine? honestly, with RM 1k, it's kinda hard to get a good guitar(my perspective) as it's just a borderline of entry and upper entry level. I'd assume that you're already fairly proficient in your guitar skills, why not reward yourself with a great guitar?

This post has been edited by raist86: Jul 17 2007, 09:11 PM

yea i certainly agree wit raist86. why dont u save up a lil bit more just to get a great guitar since u already got proficient guitar skills. its not a waste u noe dat. really worth it n bring lots of satisfactionary 2 urself.

I didn't bring my bird to Malaysia, sorry. I really missed it.

Ok, my 1k budget is just a rough figure. I can double up that figure for an awesome guitar or beyond that if i really like what i'm seing. I really don't plan to get a "so-so" guitar. If i change 1 now, it'll be a very very very long time before i change to a even better one.

I would like to reward myself with an AWESOME guitar so please shoot me those guitar that are worth getting!!!

How about Freeman guitars? I haven't personally tried them though...

for the bluesy sound, I'd recommend the big baby Taylor. Shoould be around RM1800. Maybe you can get it cheaper in Singapore from SMX

TS,go for a freeman guitar....it's a great bargain...sound wise is comparable to middle range taylor...thrust me...i've played freeman guitars for so many times...i've try every single model he built...even some of his custom built ones...i've been staying with the luthiers place for so long...i think he got a dreadnaught wiht lr baggs pickup for sale...it's a freaking good bargain...it's only rm2500....think abt it...if u interested juz let me know...i go there with u n try it out...maybe u get a better deal....since i'm his student...

Or wait for Taylor's distributorship to be returned to SMX.
Should be happening very soon.

not that soon.
i think bentley has a 1yr contract.

anyway, you can get SMX here to order from you from their HQ in SG.
price should be the same.

I meant one year la... Just around 8 months to go...

Better yet, buy directly from Sinamex in Singapore and get a 15% discount off Taylors, and a 5% discount off Music Man. Not sure whether can get these discounts if you buy through SMX though.

SMX here gives 10% on taylors.

buy your Taylor anywhere you want. Just avoid Bentley. Their margin of profit is simply stoning

This post has been edited by the_registered: Jul 20 2007, 05:01 PM

maybe you'll like to go verify your prices again.
bentley's price is only 5-10% more than SMX here.

perhaps if SMX wasnt around anymore, bentley's price would be more.
but that obviously isnt the case.

i've heard you guys mention yamaha, taylor, A&L, GH, and etc but one of you mentioned Ibanez acoustic. I never tried Ibanez guitar before but will the sound quality produced by Taylor vs Ibanez has some difference? I looked at Ibanez website and some of their acoustic guitar are simply beautiful!

Btw, where is SMX located?

personal preference...
ibanez acoustics go nowhere near a taylor acoustic. i started learning on an ibanez acoustic.

smx is in times square, 7th floor. several floors above borders.

yea, just go SMX and try the taylors there.
after that you'll most probably wont want to try anything else.

too bad they sold the taylor T5, that was damn good.
the 12-string taylor is still there tho, go try that.

ok, i just got back from BTS and the reason i went there was just to test Taylor out. I walked in the shop, there were a few Taylor guitars only. I saw 1 of my favorite, 310ce. I asked the shop keeper if i could try it, he gave me the green light. I gently took it down and sat down on a stool, then i started to play a few of my favorite song. The 1st song i played was "Qing Fei De Yi" by Harlem and was BLOWN away how the Taylor performed! I was stunned, shocked, and told myself "i have to get a Taylor!". The responds on the fret board was so smooth! Something that i could hardly do on my RM400 acoustic guitar. I wanted to play the Taylor a bit louder but didn't have the guts to do it because im not buying it. I looked at the price tag and my eyes went BIG...it was RM6k++. I asked the shop keeper if got discount and he told me only 10%. Then i continued to play a few more song and then put back the 310ce to where it belongs. I chit chat with the store keeper and then went off.

Ok....what you guys said was true, if i would try a Taylor guitar, i wouldn't to try anything else and boy it was so true!!! I don't even want to play on my old Guitar any more... I want a Taylor! Ok, i've made up my mind, im getting a Taylor and it will be next year. Im going to reward myself with Taylor.
.
Now i know i will have a hard time to sleep today dreaming about a Taylor Guitar .

This post has been edited by barney: Jul 21 2007, 06:50 PM

Told you..... Good luck on your purchase next year...... Maggi Mee for a year!

u should try out the Taylor GS with maple back n sides...it's even better....so far the best taylor i've tried...even better than then 14k taylor....

u should try freeman guitars sometimes...not only becoz i'm a student there..but the fact that the guitar there is quite good....full solid wood guitar at less than 2.5k....is worth trying it out....

whats BTS?
and a 310CE for RM6k?
how prices have increased in such a short time

as for freeman guitars.
well, his guitars are good enough for the price.
but a taylor, playing one you just feel like you become one with the guitar


This post has been edited by Everdying: Jul 22 2007, 02:50 AM

bts = berjaya times square

wow u gonna save for that 6k taylor? good luck then.



Oh btw, any1 knows what's the cheapest taylor's price?

Taylors are stunning too when I first try them, got myself a 310CE (yes! same with the one barney tried) and that was my first one. After a time, Gibson Hummingbird sounds just okay but it's like suits my mood and feelings on the music I played, then I picked up the Gibson.

Awww...both is nice afterall. Still, I prefer the Hummingbird.

"Everyone has it's own opinion"

Rich fella spotted
using taylor 310ce n Gibson Hummingbird...

welcome to the taylor fanbase. see my avatar! hahaha

When I'm in Malaysia, it's really crazy to see how things expensive is. Understanding the Malaysian culture here for few years already and I really pity you guys.

In London, Fender, Gibson, Taylor or the other major brand, the pricing is slightly like half of the price.

To fix confusion, the pricing is the same but currency, salary and tax price are totally different.

hehe..i think London More expensive

Bentley's price is cheaper than London . from fender , takamine , boss , ibanez etc.

maybe...Gibson , ESP , PRS (anything from mahogany , GC , wohh fatt , beatspot) yea..UK cheaper
the rest is here..

oh yea..i heard those brit amps are cheaper also..marshall , VOX ..

I repeat,t his is the fact:
To fix confusion, the pricing is the same but currency, salary and tax price are totally different.

So, I'm not rich. I just love playing music.

For your information, I'm not Malaysian. I'm English.

Erm... you mean purchasing power, don't you.

Nononono.

I mean, the salary Malaysian get it isn't enough. Plus, the music instruments tax are just too much. So, the purchasing for you guys are really a pity.

only problem with that maple back/side and spruce top GS taylor
is its 17k price tag [iirc la]

lol

This post has been edited by sean392: Jul 22 2007, 09:32 PM

where got so expensive....9k+ only la....

9k ar??
haha
dun remember very clearly alr

but i remember there was a 17k one right?

i biased more towards maple guitars tho =p

isnt that stil purchasing power?

there is no tax on malaysian instruments, only a 10% import duty.
while if im not mistaken, in the UK its a 17% tax on instruments.
its expensive here cos the shops mark it up real high.

Okay, I didn't know that but seems like my friends in town can simply get their instrument easily.

Unless you're a really wealthy person or already an established musician, if I were you I'll probably settle for a Yamaha. If now you already plan on getting a Taylor, then what's next? A friggin Martin? LOL... No offence meant.

ehh wait.
if hes already got a taylor...
why downgrade to a martin?

He was asking opinions on guitars like SXs, Ibanez so I thought he wouldn't have had a Taylor.... but I might be wrong. Ermm.. Buying for his son/daughter maybe??

haha...then aim for a greven or lowden custom....wahahaha

ed claxton /matsuda > all

=p

i heard several lowdens b4
some were fantastic some were not so fantastic [but still very very nice]

This post has been edited by sean392: Jul 23 2007, 08:23 PM

yup....there's is two types of lowden....some are made by other luthiers under the supervision of george lowden n some are made by george lowden himself...avalon guitars used to be a part of lowden guitars but now no more....
n lowden guitars are hell expensive(for us)...base price is already 3850 pounds....

someones selling this for RM4.5k, used of cos.
Gibson Cutaway J-180 EC Custom built...
Handmade acoustic-electric with venetian cutaway body and onboard controls.
Maple Back and Sides, Famous Starburst MOP Inlay, Pickup System, Gold HW.

This post has been edited by Everdying: Jul 24 2007, 03:55 AM

try washburn or takamine..
both r good stuff dude..