Guitar Oracle

Serenades. Tears in Heaven. Country & Bluegrass. Let's admit it: acoustic guitars are unreplaceable on certain aspects. They still have their advantages, despite the advent of electricity on the 6 string instrument. They are portable and need nothing else to be playable and heard. They are versatile. They may have its unique sweet, romantic, spanish, countryish, or other tone.

Of course there are good acoustic guitars and bad acoustic guitars. And, quite frankly, there are almost as many brands as there are players. So, which guitars on the shop are worth your 30-seconds "test-play"? Maybe my metanalysis will help you out...

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(For an explanation of what this is all about, see This site explained.)

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Original Post Date: July 2006

Original Poster Question: Best acoustic guitar for 1000-1500$

- Martin: 4
- Ovation: 3
- Taylor Grand Auditorium: 2
- Alvarez: 1
- Atlas Series AD25: 1
- Blueridge BR160: 1
- Breedlove: 1
- Carvin C: 1
- Elderly: 1
- Gibson: 1
- Harley Davidson: 1
- Ibanez AEF: 1
- Tacoma: 1
- Takamine: EAN10CE: 1
- Washburn: 1
- Yamaha FG: 1

Original Post Date: November 2006

Original Poster Question: Best acoustic guitar for 450 with good looks, easy action and smaller scale

Original Post Date: May 2008

Original Poster Question: Best acoustic guitar for under 1000$

- Silver Creek: 2
- Taylor 110: 2
- Yamaha: 2
- Alvarez: 1
- Breedlove: 1
- Epiphone Masterbilt AJ-500M: 1
- Takamine EG440SC: 1
- Woodsong K-100: 1

Mentions Epiphone, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Taylor, Takamine and Seagull.





Here's the podium:





1 - Seagull S6: 12



2 - Yamaha: 12


3 - Martin: 9




Even though I already underlined this on the "This site explained" page, I'll say it again: this podium is NOT meant to be an absolute dogmatic score of the different brands. Instead, it is meant to be a good way to provide you the names of the most debated/acclaimed brands on the "guitar community". Use this list as a rough rule of thumb - by this I mean: hit the shop and, when you see one of these brands on a shelf, think "Here is one of the brands mentioned by the Guitar Oracle... Let's check out what this is all about" instead of "That is the one I'll be taking home, sir. How much is it?". You have been warned, I have been "disclaimed". Twice ;).

Seagull S6 impressed me a bit, since it was mentioned on various forums and sites, whether beginner guitars or professional guitars were being debated. I would pay more attention to the Seagull S6 than to a Yamaha in case I hit the shop also because it was almost always the S6 model that was mentioned. Yamahas were, on the other hand, mentioned almost always as a general brand.

I decided to investigate a little about amps. But instead of my traditional approach - forum reading - I took another look on the subject. I hit the online market itself.

Taking a look at the options between 100 and 250 euros on european shops, I leaned over the most common names out there and decided to give you a list with the most useful information about each model I found, in an organized and compact fashion. I also included the direct link to the official site of the model and a link to a quality video demo on youtube so you can check out the sound by yourselves, without getting annoyed by lousy amateur-recorded youtube videos. I hope it's useful ;).

Solid State

Watts: 35

Cabinet: 1x12''
FX: 16 Digital Effects
Other: Built in tuner

Laney LX35R

Solid State

Watts: 30

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: No effects

Laney Cub 8 Tube

Valve/Tube

Watts: 5

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other: Class A single ended
           No effects
           No footswitch
           No FX loop
           Two knobs: Tone and Volume

Laney Linebacker LR35

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Solid State

Watts: 35

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: 4 modulation effects + delay/reverb; 22 amp models
          2 channels
          Master Presence knob; EQ recalled with each amp model

          Headphone socket, Record Out, 1 Jackup input + 1 AUX input

          Built in tuner

Laney Prism P35

Solid State
Watts: 30

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: Multi FX (?)

          4 user channels
          EQ; Adjustable boost switch
          2 footswitches, Headphone socket and CD input
          Built in tuner

Peavey Vypyr 30

Solid State

Watts: 30

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: Up to 5 effects simultaneously; 11 editable rack effects; 11 editable stompbox effects; 12 amp presets
           EQ, master volume + pre / post gain controls; Tap Tempo button
           Sanpera footswitch adds up to 400 presets
           MIDI In/Out; headphone output; FX looper
           Built in tuner
           Comes with demo of REAPER and Revalver HP

Peavey Transtube Rage 258

Solid State

Watts: 25

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other: 3 position voicing switch
           2 channels; EQ
           Tape/CD input; headphone jack

Peavey Valveking Royal 8
Official Site

Valve/Tube

Watts: 5

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other: Class A single ended
           Gain, Tone and Level controls
           High and Low Gain inputs

Peavey Transtube Envoy 110

Solid State

Watts: 40

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: 3-position voicing switches for each of the 2 channels; Boost; Speaker Simulated Direct Output
           EQ on each channel
           High and Low Gain inputs; Heaphone output

Marshall MG30FX

Solid State

Watts: 30

Cabinet: 1x10''

Fender G-DEC 3 FIFTEEN

Solid State

Watts: 15

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other: 100 factory + user presets; Digital amp modeling + DSP effects
          Guitar Tone, Band Level and Volume knobs; screen + buttons for digital settings
          Heaphone output; USB connection

          Built in tuner; onboard phrase sampler

Fender Champion 600

Valve/Tube

Watts: 5

Cabinet: 1x6''

Other: No effects
           Volume control
           High and Low Gain inputs (Instrument and Microphone); External Speaker output

Fender Super Champ XD

Valve/Tube

Watts: 15

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: Class AB
           16 Voicings + 16 DSP effects
           2 Channels (Normal; Amp Voice); EQ, channel Volume, Gain and FX level knobs; Footswitch
           External Speaker Output

Fender Vibro Champ XD

Valve/Tube

Watts: 5

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: Class A
          16 Voicings + 16 DSP effects
          One Channel; EQ, Volume, Gain and FX level knobs; No footswitch
          External Speaker Output

Fender Mustang I

Official Site
Demo
Solid State
Watts: 20
Cabinet; 1x8''
Other: 24 editable presets + 24 DSP effects;
          One Channel; EQ, Gain, Volume, Master + buttons for digital settings;
          Headphone output/Line out; USB connection; footswitch to switch between two presets;
          Built in tuner



Fender Mustang II

Official Site
Demo
Solid State
Watts: 40
Cabinet: 1x12''
Other: 24 editable presets + 24 DSP effects;
          One Channel; EQ, Gain, Volume, Master + buttons for digital settings;
          Headphone output/Line out; USB connection; footswitch to switch between two presets;
          Built in tuner

VOX Pathfinder 15R

Solid State

Watts: 15

Cabinet: 1x8''
Other: Tremolo and Reverb effects
          Gain, Volume, Tremolo Speed / Depth and Reverb knobs; Boost switch
          Line output; External Speaker output; Headphone output; Footswitch

VOX Valvetronix VT15

Valve/Tube

Watts: 15

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other: 12 effects; 22 amp models with 3 preset slots each; 8 additional user preset slots
           Power Level control (control wattage without affecting tone); Master volume control
           Headphone output; Phone jack

Randall KH15

Other: No effects
           2 Channels; volume knob for each channel; Drive knob for overdrive channel; EQ; Master volume
           Headphones output; AUX In

Crate V5

Valve/Tube

Watts: 5

Cabinet: 1x10''

Other: Class A
          No effects
          Volume and Tone knobs

Crate FW65

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Solid State

Watts: 65

Cabinet: 1x12''

Other: DSP Effects
          3 Channels
           EQ for each channel;
          CD output; Effects loop; External speaker output; footswitch included!
          Built in tuner

Solid State

Watts: 15

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other:  Reverb
            EQ
           CD input; Heaphone output; Line Out

Roland Cube 30

Solid State

Watts: 30

Cabinet:

Other: 8 amp models; DSP effects
          2 Channels
          CD input; Recording/Headphone output

Epiphone Valve Junior

Valve/Tube

Watts: 5

Cabinet: 1x8''

Other: Class A single ended
           No effects, footswitch, headphones output...
           Only volume knob, guitar input and power switch

Line 6 Spider IV 30

Solid State

Watts: 30

Cabinet: 1x10''
Other: 12 amp models; 7 DSP effects (up to 3 at once) + noise gate
           4 user-programmable channels
           CD input; Headphone/Direct out
           Built in tuner



Bugera V22

Official Site
Demo
Valve/Tube
Watts: 22
Cabinet: 1x12''
Other: Reverb
          2 Channels; EQ + Presence knobs; Footswitch; triode/pentode switch; Impedance switch (4/8/16 ohms)
          2 Inputs (Normal and Bright)       



PS: I didn't include an image on the amps that didn't show up on amazon.
      I also didn't give the link to the official site/demo when it was not found.

Happy string pulling!