Starting out

[rocklobster]

I am a budding guitar player with limited knowledge and am looking for a good guitar for under $300. I have seen a few and need to know opinions on which is best. One is Oscar Schmidt by Washburn, another is Segovia, another is Art & Luthrie, and a used Yamaha FG413S-12. Any ideas.

[GuitarsCanada]

I personally think the A&L line or Seagull and Norman from Godin are great first time acoustics. The prices are not bad and they are well made instruments. Canadian made as well.

[ronmac]

+1 on that!

[elindso]

I personally think the A&L line or Seagull and Norman from Godin are great first time acoustics. The prices are not bad and they are well made instruments. Canadian made as well.

But the Canadian one. If you like it:smile:

They are usually nice.

[bRian]

Another vote here for the Canadian made line of Norman, Simon & Patrick, and Seagull. Haven't seen a whole lot of the Art & Lutherie line but they are made by the same family as the others already mentioned. You can't go wrong with a Yamaha either, keep an eye out for a used model, for $300 you can get a solid top in the used dept.. Best place to start are the local buy and sell rags, also check the local pawn shops. Before you buy check ebay for completed listings or harmonycentral.com to compare different models. Some posters will state the price they paid as well, worth a look, do your homework it will pay off. Good luck.

[sneakypete]

don`t overlook buying used、 you can get a much higher quality guitar for the same money. If you have a guitar playing pal, take em along so they can look a potential purchase over and...importantly...stand in front of the guitar while they play it so you can hear what it sounds like. We are very lucky in that we live in a time where we are surrounded by great guitars in every price range.　Finding a guitar will not be a problem...selecting one may be.　Then again, don`t for an instant think you`re gonna stop at just one guitar...no no no grasshopper...you`ll soon be joining the ranks of we...who can not stop buying guitars...it`s a DISEASE I tell ya.

[lolligagger]

A guy I work with has a Norman and he loves it. I played one at L&McQ and like what I heard as well. I found some really great sounding guitars made by Norman, A&L, Seagull and Garrison when I was shopping around, but I also found some duds.

Sneakypete is right about having a buddy along to play the guitar as well. You should close your eyes and pick the one that sounds the best to you, without being influenced by the name on the headstock or the price tag.