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"Sunglasses At Night" -- Corey Hart

I know Randy Bachman only through his BTO albums, where he did some great creative work. (Doing now some research on the "Guess Who", thanx for this forum, never heard of them before...)

Sweetly done and meditative EM. I have a Heritage 535, and my son has a blonde Gibson ES 335. I recognize the tone. I love mine with a little compression.

Just beautiful!

Randy Bachman's collection of Guitars was on display here in the city. The 59 was a reissue on display, I can understand why. alot of the Guitars are Rogers, Hoyers, I think a SJ300. A super 400. Many others.

I have several Acoustics as well. I have 2 that are my favorites. One is my 2001 Gibson Bozeman Masterbilt J-160E Solid Top.. One of the best looking & sounding Gibsons I’ve ever played.. The other is my 1975 Martin D-35. It has always sounded & played great.. It has aged beautifully & just keeps sounding better.. Best of both Worlds.. Mahogany & Rosewood… But, I am very interested in trying a new USA California built Guild D-55E..

I would love to be able to walk in to a guitar store/music shop and be able to take a high end acoustic off the rack and play a top of the line model just to see how the cream of the crop feels when I play it. Sadly, I don't even have the knowledge base to be able to look at the rack and determine what that guitar would be. There are so many high end Gibby's and Martins, with so many variations/models designed for different purposes, I wouldn't know where to begin. I have to assume that there are specific lines/models of quality acoustics that lend themselves better to "sitting around the campfire" playing vs. plugging in and playing on stage at The Grand Ole Opry. Just looking for a a place to start.

As a matter of fact I played it at Venice Beach on an 80 degree day and sweat all over it and now the finish is a little cloudy on the upper bout. I play my guitars and I'll play them anywhere.

Wow Duane, she is stunning! That's the kind of guitar that makes the voices in my head scream, "Put that down! That's expensive!". Dollars to donuts, I wager that guitar has never been played at a Hillbilly fire pit, nor should it ever be, lol.

I played a new Epiphone Melody maker at my Local shop last week - probably need a slight setup but the Fret ends where smooth and it played well. The Pickups were OK and it was very light. So for 179.00 not a bad Guitar at all. I have a Gibson Melody maker that I would never sell.....

I thought it was a fair enough question from the OP. there are members here with tons of acoustic guitars that can provide real life experience, and can help with making a decision. ..... I've purchased a few guitars off the experience of others.

Obviously you are correct. I guess I want to know what I should be looking for in an easy playing quality acoustic, so I can have a place to start. I only know from hand cramping, tough to play low end stuff. Maybe I'm asking to much of an acoustic, but I hope not. Here are 2 of my current torture devices.

Chief, As you know, this question is asked with regularity on every guitar site, and almost always results in every respondant suggesting their favorite guitar, regardless whether it fits or not what the poster is looking for, so I don't recommend specific instruments. If that makes me the voice of reason, so be it. RBSinTo

When I started playing clubs at 14, my mom made me wear ear plugs, and I'm glad she did. It just became habit to always wear them. Now with IEM's and electronic drums, nothing is loud.

When I need to play lead on an acoustic I break out my Gibby Bluesking EC30. Plays like butter.

Once again a Canuck is the voice of reason.

Sheepdog1969, You are asking an open-ended question which will result in as many different suggestions as replies. You would be better served visiting music stores and playing instruments that fit the parameters you've set. Good luck on your quest. RBSinTo

It depends on what sound you want. I’m known as the Martin guy, but the best IMHO acoustic I ever played was a Preston Thompson. Now to get one, there are no entry level models, and you’re gonna drop 5k minimum for the least expensive one. You want the Martin sound or the Gibson thump or something different? I used to love Dreads and still do, but they are just too big for me. I like 000 size guitars.

I have 12 acoustic guitars and my favorite is my 1990 J-160E.

The first guitar I ever played, and learned to play on, was an acoustic. My Dad had a Yamaha FG-150 that he bought new, presumably in the early 1070's. From time to time, he would get it out and strum a bit for me and my brother. Dad came from a musical family that played/performed at taverns and bars for Tips, just to make a few extra bucks to survive. Dad knew the basics, and could play enough chords to sing and entertain us. He also knew the names of those chords, which really helped me when I begged him to teach me how to play. I was 8 when he felt my hands were big and strong enough to start to learn. And, after much pain and frustration throughout countless hours of practicing on that Yamaha, he told me that I had learned all that I could from him because I already knew everything he knew. I was on my own from there, and did my best to learn by listening (and playing with) songs on the radio and/or the albums I had access to. At that time, none of my friends played, and I couldn't learn online, because the internet didn't even exist at that time. I didn't even touch or play another guitar, other than that Yamaha, until I was in my teens. Guitar lessons were not an option, because my financially strapped parents were already paying for me to learn trombone through the Public School music program. Although I am glad that I began learning and playing on an acoustic guitar, it saddens me that it took me so long to learn that not all acoustics were as difficult to play as that Yamaha was/is. The second guitar I ever played was my friends POS beginner electric. I couldn't believe how easy it was to fret, especially bar chords. I remember having to force myself to stop using so much pressure as I played chords, because I was literally mashing both E strings off the fretboard when I played a simple G chord, (and with every bar chord). I had to mellow out with my picking/strumming, as well. (Dad never taught me about changing strings, so the Yamaha had super dead, super old strings on it.) I think I was a junior in High School before I got to play a good acoustic, and I remember it was an Ovation with the curved back. It was big and heavy, but I swear it fretted like my '83 Explorer. And, best of all, it sounded full and loud with little to no effort from either hand. Over the years I have played a few decent acoustics, but I have never played a Gibson or a Martin, so I really don't know what real quality feels like when played, (let alone what real quality sounds like when played by me). I have been gifted two acoustics, in addition to my Dad's Yamaha (which he gave to me when I turned 13). Both are Oscar Schmidt's by Washburn, One is a 12 string that's Model number is 292035-01 OD312. The other is a 6 string, but it is in a case in the back, and it's not worth bothering to pull it out just to get it's model number. Both have to be super low cost, and I know the 12 was made in China, (I bet the 6 was too.). The 12 is actually easier to play than the six, and both are way easier to play than the Yamaha. But that's not saying much. Because of it's size, and the 12 strings, the 12 has a richer tone, but neither of them are anything to write home about. They all just seem to have a thin tone, for lack of a better word. I am actually ok with how the 12 string is easier to fret that the other two six strings, even with the added complexity of 12 strings. Sadly, it takes so long to tune vs. a 6, that I don't play it as much as I should. I also shy away from playing the 6 strings because of how hard they are to fret/play, which sucks. When strung with lighter strings, they obviously play easier, but the tone goes from thin to emaciated. I am hoping to find a quality acoustic that I don't have to fight to play, that produces decent tone, and isn't so darn purdy and 'spensive that I won't want to play it out at the fire pit. I am not looking to buy this guitar tomorrow, and it is kind of a wish list thing right now. I am thinking pre owned instead of new, and don't mind scuffs/wear as long as they don't hurt how it plays. I also would rather sacrifice some tone for ease of play, if I have to. Any suggestions?

Apropos flaming Doves goin' to quilt - here's my Firebird, , , , , , in the company of the new 2020 ES-335 which Santa most fortunately brought just before X-mas.

Steve Martin’s character in the Jerk was born a poor black child. It killed me when he found his special purpose.

Well no duh the joint is at the 16th fret. I just didn't have that option with the components I was working with so I made well with what I had, and for a total of about $800 I'm gonna have a nice playing and sounding geetar when it's all done. And really dude you're not the final approval on projects or what is good or not good. .... I'm happy and that's all that counts.

Some people hear a noticeable difference, some don’t. I think it depends on the person and the guitar. I removed the Baggs Element UST from my J45 Standard and thought it made a huge difference. Part of it is that the Tusq saddle wiggles a bit in the slot. I put in a new bone saddle that was a snug fit in the slot and it seemed to make the saddle, bridge and top vibrate as one. If you’re unsure about removing it, you can try it by just removing the saddle, lifting the UST braid out of its slot and pulling/pushing it into the hole in the bridge under the saddle (into the guitar). The wiring clips will keep it from banging around in there and you can put in a new saddle and string it back up. If you decide to remove it permanently, you’ll need to pull the wiring out from the clips (you can feel inside where they are), detaching the battery bag, and removing the preamp and endpin jack. Just be careful removing the endpin jack so you don’t scratch the finish. You can do it, just take your time and use the right tools.

The neck joint was at the 16th fret in 1982 and 1959 so something is wrong. I don’t want to be a **** but I would never approve of what you’ve done here it just isn’t good