Good electric-acoustic guitar?

[toddstaples]

Carvin

[FusionFarmer]

Most of my guitar friends are acoustic players and a couple of em have some damn collections, mostly Taylors, a couple Guilds and a couple takamines, and Ovations, the guilds are built like trucks, and don't ring like the Taylors or Takamines, I am not a big fan of the round back on the ovations, they do sound nice but they can be awkward to play while sitting down, all in all for the money I feel the mid priced Takamines are the way to go. I find them getting played more often than some of the more expensive guitars at a lot of our acoustic jam sessions. The new Carvin Cobalt series look nice, Korean I think. I would not spend that kind of money on an Ibanez, the masterbuilt Epi's are supposed to be sweet but I haven't played one yet

[LEOKV2]

Yeah, the Cobalts look nice, and they're all wood. The Martin's are HPL (somekind of laminate). The Ovations so far are kinda like what I'd go for, since they're more "live" oriented, but I do like the classic look of a dreadnaught guitar. Carvin it's not an "acoustic guitar maker", at least, not "known" to be. I dunno, I guess I should play them all together. But the Ovation looks promising. Are they made in the USA ?

[LEOKV2]

Okay, I've narrowed my options (I think) to these. Check 'em out and tell me which one you'd choose, for me. Remember that I need a great sounding acoustic both plugged and unplugged.

Check the different wood combinations on each guitar, to decide which one will produce the best tone, projection, clarity. Also, check the preamp.

1) Takamine EG531SSC

Body: sapele back and sides
Top: solid spruce
Fretboard: rosewood
Electronics: TK4NT
Picture:



2) Taylor 110e

Body: sapele back and sides
Top: solid sitka spruce
Fretboard: ebony
Electronics: Taylor ES Blue
Picture:



3) Martin DCX1E

Body: HPL back and sides (laminate, not "real" wood)
Top: solid spruce top
Fretboard: Micarta (artificial wood, I think)
Picture:



4) Ovation Celebrity SE Deluxe CSE 44

Body: Ovation's bowl, I think it's plastic or carbon
Top: solid spruce
Fretboard: rosewood
Electronics: OP30 preamp with OCP1K pickup
Picture:



5) Yamaha APX 700 Thinline

Body: mahogany back and sides
Top: solid spruce
Fretboard: rosewood
Electronics: System56 (A.R.T.) 1-Way pickup system with on board tuner, 3-band EQ
Picture:



6) Carvin Cobalt C850T

Body: rosewood back and sides
Top: AA solid spruce top
Fretboard: rosewood
Electronics: Fishman Prefix Plus T, with Matrix pickup
Picture:

[mhalsey]

Last month I bought myself a Yamaha CPX700 and I like it so far. I was torn between the APX series and the CPX series. I knew I'd be playing it more unplugged than with the electronics so I went with the CPX due to the fuller body which equates to a fuller sound. As far as your choices, I'd go with the Takamine or the Yamaha.

[LEOKV2]

What about the Taylor? Seems nice... I actually like the dreadnought shape, but the Martin has this laminate thing which I don't think it'd be that cool.

[El_Kabong]

The sure bet in your desired range is Takamine. The stock electronics are also very versatile and quiet.

Taylors are nice accoustics with necks that feel like electrics, but the entry level models are not really even distant cousins to the models that made Taylor famous.

[max]

I played one of these lately, cool guitar:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Acoustasonic-Stratocaster?sku=511246&src=3SOSWXXA

[LEOKV2]

I'm also leaning towards the Carvin. Looks like a very high quality acoustic, compared to the others which are very entry-level instruments (given the fact that the "normal" models for those brands cost around 3 grand). Plus Carvin works using no stores to sell their stuff so I guess the price means it will actually cost almost double if sold at a store. Meaning that maybe it's a very high quality guitar for the money, right?