Electro-acoustic guitar help please?

Question

I want an electro-acoustic guitar, but a thin bodied one. This being that I think it would be easier to handle and travel with. I want it to be able to take it places like the beach and just jam with my friends.

I saw the Martin 00CXAE guitar in black, and I thought it was a nice size, looks good but a bit on the pricey side.

I would like to play some Ed Sheeran type stuff on it, and the Fender CD-60 isn't very portable or doesn't particularly suit that type of music.

If anybody has any suggestions on any makes or models it would be much appreciated, however under £500 is preferable.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Morgan,



One thing to keep in mind with thin guitars is that they are not going to produce much sound when played acoustic. They'll produce more than an unplugged electric, but they will still seem pretty quiet by acoustic standards. So, while you can play them without an amp, they're really designed to perform best when plugged in.



A bunch of companies make these guitars in varying price ranges:

-Alvarez has their "Fusion Series" (http://www.alvarezguitars.com/prod_byseries.php?SeriesID=2) which aren't bad.



-Dean has some thin body acoustics, but their acoustic guitars are generally pretty awful so I wouldn't recommend them.



-Epiphone -

-PR5-E (http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=1564) which has a thinner body. It does have a laminate spruce top which is not something I would recommend if you're just going to be playing acoustic, but if you're plugging in and playing through an amp, a solid top isn't as vital, though it's still much preferred.

-Performer ME (http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=729) which is also a laminate top. It's a thinner than normal body for an acoustic, but not very thin in comparison to some others. If you want to hear it, here's a review of it (http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=23634)



Fender - They have the Stratacoustic and Telecoustic (http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0967300006), (http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0967310006) designed to look like acoustic versions of the Stratocaster and Telecaster, but neither of these acoustics are all that good.



Godin - Their A6 (http://www.godinguitars.com/godina6ultrap.htm) is pretty cool, but you'll definitely need to plug in to an amp if you want to get real sound out of this one.



Ibanez - They've got a few different ones. Their AEF series is billed as a thinner acoustic-electric, but with a 4.25" depth, it's not that thin. Their Talman series is even thinner at 3.25" inches (http://www.ibanez.com/AcousticGuitars/Series-talman)



All of those should be within your price range. But another option that you may want to consider, if your main focus is portability, is to go with a travel guitar. Pretty much every guitar company makes one, and some are better than others. Ones I'd recommend in your price range are the Little Martin, Baby Taylor, Art & Lutherie Ami. Other good, less-traditional options are the Voyage-Air (folding guitar) or the carbon fiber travel guitar made by Emerald Guitars (which is based in Ireland). A huge advantage of carbon fiber guitars is that they're pretty indestructible. Sand, heat, cold, water, etc. won't faze it at all, though all those elements will damage a wood guitar. Since you're in the UK, this would be a good site for you to check out for the last two I mentioned (http://www.playawayguitars.com)



In my opinion, I'd go the travel guitar route rather than looking for a thin-body acoustic. They're more portable and, in my opinion, tend to sound better when played acoustically than a thin-body guitar does.



I hope that helps. Good luck!









Anyway, hope that helps.

Answer 2

I find electro-acoustic more versatile. The trouble is you are paying a lot for good quality electrics - It is not worth buying a guitar with cheap electrics. So, you will pay a lot more for an electro-acoustic guitar that is worth having. You can buy something of passable quality (acoustically and amplified) for around £220-£250 though you'd have to pay much more for something good. On the other hand, you can buy a perfectly OK acoustic guitar for around £100 less. It comes down to what you can afford and what you want to use it for. On a limited budget, my choice would be a second-hand instrument because it should deliver more quality for the money. Many guitars improve with age if they were well made in the first place. I hope you find what you are looking for. EDIT: To correct someone else's answer, electro acoustic guitars still need to be amplified. They have built in acoustic transducers to pick up the sound and many have built in pre-amps but you still need to amplify it. Of course you CAN position a microphone in front of a normal acoustic guitar but there may well be problems of feedback. The bigger problem is that a good enough microphone is expensive, easily costing as much as the extra you'd pay for an electro-acoustic guitar. If you don't want to be amplified, your money would be better spent on a good acoustic guitar. ANOTHER EDIT: Have you considered getting a good acoustic guitar and adding a sound-hole pick-up. I used to have one (made by SHADOW, I think, and made of wood with the coils hidden inside it) that sounded very natural.

Answer 3

Keep in mind that a thin body will not project the sound volume or tonal resonance that a full body guitar can provide.



Even a standard acoustic will not sound off as well, especially outside of a room to have the sound waves bouncing back at a shorter distance to the ears. But still be louder and have more expression than a thin body, acoustic/electric guitar.



So, whatever is the best to your ears when playing inside, will be most likely do well out of doors.



Many other brands, even lower end models, offer up some good alternatives than those high-end guitar makers. You have to shop around and try them out on the spot at the music stores.

Answer 4

Www.acousticguitar.com