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Beater thoughts...

Jinder

By Jinder
in Gibson Acoustic

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Jinder

Jinder

Posted
Posted

I'm in need of a cheap, all-lam but decent sounding beater to have as a lying-around-the-house guitar and one to chuck in the back of the car to take to far-flung places whilst writing.

 

My Gibsons and Guild are very pricy instruments, and I don't want to cart them around in that manner. Plus, I want a house guitar to have out all the time and not worry about humidity when cooking in my flat etc.

 

I have been looking online at the Epi EJ200 Artist, very cheap at around £110, but are they any good?

 

Obviously I'm not expecting fireworks and explosions, I just want a cheap tank of an acoustic for writing that reacts well to strumming, flatpicking and fingerstyle.

 

Thoughts and suggestions are very welcome :-)

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Matt the Cat

Matt the Cat

Posted
Posted

Hey Jinder

 

I have an Epi Hummingbird which is great and has such a thick coating of glossy lacquer that, despite the fact that it has a solid top, I aint too worried about having it out around the house and taking the knocks that my 2 yr old boy might give it! (Or me for that matter!) It sounds great, looks great and plays great.

All great really. I think any of the budget Epi's are pretty good and still look cool which makes you want to pick them up.

Also, I have a Washburn D-10 from years back which has withstood tons of abuse over the years but still sounds good and is a real easy-player. Highly recommend these. Well cheap and well worth a look.

Enjoy your search!

All the best, Matt

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albertjohn

albertjohn

Posted
Posted

+1 from me on Matt's Hbird. Sounds very fine indeed.

 

A mate has bought an Epi J200 and it is remarkably good. You might also consider a Yamaha FG - solid top and good value - but you may find the neck a bit slim perhaps for a man of your stature! I've had one for years. (I'm assuming you have larger than average hands!)

 

A friend gave me her Epi AJ15? or something the other week as they are having some work done on the house. I restrung it and keep it in the lounge. Neck's not great but sounds OK.

 

I've played a few Adam Blacks too as I know the importer. Chinese built solid top. Surprisingly good and worth a look. Had a 12er dread for a while which was very good indeed and I had alot of fun with it.

 

If it were me I'd look at the above 3 brands and probably no further.

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Jinder

Jinder

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Good plan, thanks AJ!

 

The skinny Yam neck would be a struggle for me as I do have sausage fingers, but I've played and enjoyed an Adam Black that belongs to a friend of mine in the past...plenty of bang for the buck.

 

I'm leaning more and more towards an Epi J200. I think the size and neck will be familiar, plus they're cheap as chips :-)

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ksdaddy

ksdaddy

Posted
Posted

My #1 choice for a beater is my Ovation Academy. The only piece of wood on it is the bridge. You can NOT hurt this guitar. It has a wide neck and tremendous tone. They're cheap if you can find them but they are rare as hen's teeth.

 

Academy

 

Using cheap and plentiful as criteria, the choice is the Seagull S-6 cedar. The top is solid; the back and sides are probably laminate. I never looked.

 

Seagull

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Taylor Player

Taylor Player

Posted
Posted

Funny how this is the first post I see today as last night, I just picked up what will be my "Beater" guitar to leave out during our cold Minnesota winters. I traded away my Oscar Schmidt semi-hollow electric for it. Since getting the Epi SG, I haven't even picked up the Oscar Schmidt.

 

My New beater is a 1979 Yamaha FG-331. It has a Grand Concert body size and actually fits into the same case that my LG1 fits in. It is 100% laminate I am pretty sure from everything I have read, but after stringing it up with a set of Elixir PB Nano's last night, I was VERY impressed with what I was hearing. Maybe 30 years of time has a good effect on laminate type guitars (I would have sworn no prior to owning this Yamaha). Nice thing is, the guy I got it from is a Bass player. His parents had purchased this for him when he was in 3rd grade but I guess within no time he was playing bass instead. I am pretty sure the strings that were on the Yamaha were 15 + years old when I got it yesterday. The neck is straight as an arrow, there is plenty of saddle and the action is really good. Best part is the nut width is the same as my Gibsons at 1.725" (Not your typical skinny Yamaha neck!) They only made this model for a few years in the late 70's to early 80's I heard. The original owner had kept the tuning tension to a minimum over the years. It is 100% original, but I am thinking of giving Mr. Colosi a call to "Bone" this baby. The guy also included the Dean Markley soundhole pickup which he has wired to an end pin jack and a 1/8" connector inside the guitar so you can remove the pickup with no problem and yet when useing it, you don't have the cord hanging out the front.

 

I am very pleased with the tone of this old girl and for strumming or fingerstyle, it will be a pleasure to pick it up to play as I wait to drive my wife or kids somewhere and have just a few minutes to noodle while I wait.

 

Here are some photos I got from the owner prior to picking it up. I have cleaned it up, oiled the fretboard and restrung it now (and actually trimmed the string ends! =D> )

 

dscf2479.jpg

 

dscf2485.jpg

 

dscf24391.jpg

 

dscf2487.jpg

 

dscf2484.jpg

 

dscf2480.jpg

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nid2007

nid2007

Posted
Posted

Jinder,

a little more pricey than the typical lam beater, but the CA Cargo is absolutely amazing. I leave it in my car all year round (under a pile of junk often). Great sound--I imagine very good for songwriting. Best part is that it appears virtually indestructable and unaffected by the elements. The perfect car guitar..small, but easily sounds bigger than a Taylor Big Baby (to my ears anyway).

 

I hav no connection to CA !!

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bkharmony

bkharmony

Posted
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I've had both cheap-o Epiphones and Yamahas, and I love them both. The Yamaha FG series is a classic, regardless of the price range. Had an Epi AJ-100 (I think - the label was missing) that sounded great, too.

 

Despite the bumps, scratches and missing chunks from my FG, I'm actually putting some work into it (upgraded saddle/nut, new electrics) to use it as a permanently alt-tuned guitar.

 

(I've also played some really nice $300-range Alvarezes. People also seem to really like those Silver Creeks.)

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Taylor Player

Taylor Player

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Posted
I've had both cheap-o Epiphones and Yamahas' date=' and I love them both. The Yamaha FG series is a classic, regardless of the price range. Had an Epi AJ-100 (I think - the label was missing) that sounded great, too.

 

Despite the bumps, scratches and missing chunks from my FG, I'm actually putting some work into it (upgraded saddle/nut, new electrics) to use it as a permanently alt-tuned guitar.

 

(I've also played some really nice $300-range Alvarezes. People also seem to really like those Silver Creeks.)[/quote']

 

I figure after winter is over and I can leave my guitars on the stands again, my Yamaha will be kept in either DADGAD, Open G or Open D. I also plan on Boning mine as soon as I can get around to it (read "afford" it) ](*,) .......

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bkharmony

bkharmony

Posted
Posted
jinder! you must try an A/B experiment with one of these against the standard epi bird:

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Epiphone-Limited-Edition-Hummingbird-Artist-Acoustic-Guitar-581430-i1448734.gc

this is a really great deal. fantastic sound' date=' projection, construction and bang for the buck.[/quote']

 

$250 for that is a steal.

 

Jinder' date=' I've thought about getting an EJ200 for myself as well.. just to use around camp fires and such.

But for the same price, I had better options.. such as seagull, Simon and Patrick.. and stuff.

Lasido company(canadian based) makes great guitars! you might want to check them out.[/quote']

 

I just got an EJ-200 (project guitar I'm refitting as a gift) and I think it's great. It's not a J-200, but for what it is, it's a great guitar. My only thing is, I like to think of a beater as more.... "playable." And by that, I mean the J-200 body is just so huge. I prefer my beaters to be simpler and easier to corral, just toss in the car without worry and pull out and strum. That giant 17" is a chore sometimes.

 

But that's just me.

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ajsc

ajsc

Posted
Posted

You might consider looking for a used EJ300. These have solid tops, & pop up on ebay from time to time.

Also as already mentioned, The AJ-100 is a great buy. You can pick these up for around $150,,,,,,,,,(new)

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