On the best guitars, the builder finds a nice, resonant tonewood board, cuts it in half like you’d fillet a trout, opens the halves to expose a symmetrical, mirrored grain pattern, and glues the pieces side by side. This process is called bookmatch lug. A solid top adds significantly to the instrument’s cost. If you’re serious about tone, how ever, it’s the only way to go.
The criteria. We invited dozens of manufacturers to participate in our Shootout; each was allowed to submit one instrument per brand name. (Only two companies submitted instruments with different marques: St. Louis Music sent us an Alvarez and a Yairi, Martin entered a Martin and a Sigma.) Our contest rules were simple: The entrant must be a 6- string, steel-string acoustic with a solid-wood top and retail price of under $1,000, sans case.
Ellen Sorstokke of Saga, one of our contestants, gave us food for thought. “There’s a huge difference,:’ she reminded us, “between a $300, $600, and $1,000 guitar. Even a $100 difference can be meaningful.” To avoid any “apples to oranges” accusations and ensure a level playing field, we divided our contestants in to five groups based on list price. (If you shop aggressively, you’ll pay less than list.) The price spreads within these divisions range from $77 to as little as $30.50. Each guitar competes against class members, but we don’t hesitate to laud a lower-priced instrument when it outperforms a higher-priced one in a given category.
Testing. Five GP editors participated in the evaluations. All have considerable experience playing and recording acoustics; some have focused principally on acoustic music for years at a stretch. Contrary to what one manufacturer implied at the outset of our Shootout, none of us are “electric guitar weenies with a serious attitude problem regarding acoustic instruments.” (Actually, “weenies with attitudes” has a rather nice ring, don’t you think? Perhaps this warrants a T-shirt.)
To provide essential counterpoint to our views, we asked Martin Simpson (interviewed Aug. ‘93) and Lyle Workman (Bourgeois Tagg, Jellyfish, Todd Rundgren)—two world-class players with extensive performing and recording credits—to give us their unvarnished opinions. Other visiting pickers were pressed into service on a less official basis.
Armed with a Steelman gooseneck inspection mirror (amateur proctologists unite!), a Seiko 5T1200 chromatic tuner, a steel ruler, feeler gauges, sets of Martin phosphor bronze lights and Dean Markley bronze mediums, and a fistful of assorted picks, we held numerous testing sessions. As few as four and as many as seven players and listeners attended these events. You’ll find their comments sprinkles throughout the Shootout. As you’d expect, we didn’t always reach a consensus. At times, you’ll have to draw your own conclusions from conflicting opinions.
Regarding playability: We first evaluated each instrument’s factory setup (virtually all instruments arrived with light-gauge strings). If there was a problem, we tweaked the truss rod and changed strings, noting how well a guitar responded to our efforts to reduce buzz or increase sustain, In the write up, we include physical details that pertain to our observations. For a complete lowdown on nut width, scale length, bridge material, and the like, refer to the chart above.
The fine print Ibanez and Epiphone are conspicuously absent from the fray. Both companies were in the middle of redesigning their line and didn’t have production instrument ready.
Because wood is organic, it’s impossible to guarantee consistency within a model line. Sonic variations—sometimes startling ones— are inevitable. We stand behind our conclusions 100%, but remember, they’re based on the specific instruments we cradled, picked, strummed, and lived with. Augment our re search with your own testing. (See “Flat-Top Shopping Tips.”)
ok that's it let see who is worth buying....uder $999 USD
