Hi all,

I'm considered a new joiner for guitar (<half a year experience) and is looking to purchase a mid-tier guitar which I'll probably keep forever.
I'm using a Norman B18 Cedar which was purchased by my brother 8 years ago and I love how it sounds, the problem is I don't feel comfortable to the dreadnaught body and looking for something which is smaller / more comfortable to hold.

These are the things I want in my new guitar:
i) GA / GC body
ii) With a pickup
iii) With a cutaway (purely because I think it looks cooler)
iv) The sound is more towards warm and mellow rather than sharp and bright (as I want to play more towards fingerstyle music in the future)

After doing some researches, I found that a Grand Auditorium or a Grand Concert will probably fulfill what I look in a guitar. A body that is easier to hold but not too small so it doesn't lose much of its volume a dreadnought guitar has.

The Taylor 114CE and 214CE is recommended by many but it has a laminated wood back and sides so there are also many who says go for a smaller brand which has full solid wood. Then I saw Cort Gold A6 fulfill that requirement. It is priced at RM2.8k while 114CE is about the same while 214CE is RM700/800 more expensive. I would also like recommendation of any guitar from the Norman sister's company ( Larrivee / Seagull etc) as I really like how my Norman sounds.

Which 1 should I go for? Is laminated back and sides really bad? Or solid top is enough? You guys can also recommend me some other brands too as I don't have much knowledge in it... Thanks.

my fav budget guitar is the Cort L450C...
solid mahogany top and back, but laminated sides.
its commonly known as the poor man's Martin 000-15m, which is basically Auditorium size.
the price has gone up quite abit over the yrs tho...bought it about 3-4yrs ago for RM700+...now its RM1250.

anyway, as for your technicalities...i would go Taylor for the obvious reason that it has its own diff tone...playing it blindfold u usually know its a Taylor etc etc...and the necks are easier to play.
but if u want warm and mellow...none of your choices actually fit...and the Norman you have is already ideal cos its Cedar...

so u should be looking for something with a similar top...
i'll leave that to you to research more since i'm not familiar with Cedar top models...
tho mahogany top guitars comes a close 2nd...

Buy what you like but few key points, laminated doesn't improve tone overtime, solid wood does. The lowest end for martin or taylor, normally comes with shitty grade of solid sitka/mahogany top, back and side are shitty laminated wood.

Try Yamaha Transacoustic LSTA/FSTA or LS16 or CSF3M. The LSTA and LS16 got A.R.E too. Yamaha uses premium top back and sides at the same price point of a lowest end martin or taylor. Even cort and crafter cannot match yamaha in terms or sound, feature and built quality. Dont forget to separete some budget for guitar setup, mods like changing saddle, pins, nut to bone/fmi, default plastic material is rubbish. Also dont forget to buy a dehumidifier to dry up the guitar once a month.

This post has been edited by gas4martin: Mar 29 2020, 09:47 AM

For budget, Cort is the best

For high end feel, go with Taylor

Awek confirm melekat tengok you pakai Taylor lah hahaha