Guitar buying: Diversification vs Brand Loyalty

[roylor4]

I don't care about the name on the headstock, as my sig shows.

I want the best sounding guitar i can get for the best price. I like to have diversity of tone, so I have a Spruce/RW, Hog/Hog, and two Spruce/hog guitars in slightly different shapes (000 12 fret & OM).

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by roylor4

I don't care about the name on the headstock, as my sig shows.

I want the best sounding guitar i can get for the best price...

Agreed, and I'll add playability/ergonomics. My next guitar will be a Larrivee 12 fret dreadnought. Unless Eastman bends to my will and finally introduces a 12 fret "Smeck" slope shoulder!!!

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by Zissou Intern

Agreed, and I'll add playability/ergonomics. My next guitar will be a Larrivee 12 fret dreadnought. Unless Eastman bends to my will and finally introduces a 12 fret "Smeck" slope shoulder!!!

I love the sound of a good dread, but at just under 5'6" and 200 lbs, there ain't room for one in my lap.

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by roylor4

I love the sound of a good dread, but at just under 5'6" and 200 lbs, there ain't room for one in my lap.

Well then, Roy, you need to buy one of the Eastman Double OO 12 fretters! They sound wonderful, and that neck is about perfect.

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by troystory92

Hey guys,

After being in this forum for awhile, and seeing sigs with what guitars people own, I was curious about what drives your guitar buying thought process.


For me, I want as many different guitars as I can. Mainly, I want a Taylor, a Martin, a Gibson, and a Guild. I've played all of these brands in stores but want to own a 6 string acoustic from all of them. I believe they are the biggest names in acoustic guitars and think they all became that for a reason. Hopefully, in the end, I would decide which was best for me and perhaps sell the others. Ya know what they say, variety is the spice of life!


On the other hand, I've noticed that some people LOVE one company and end up buying 5 or so of their guitars. This can go for any company that you love. Who needs different necks and nut widths and other variables? Not them! I can appreciate these people for knowing what they like and what they want.

Which one are you and why?

Because they were the only names out there for many years. That's the "reason". None other.

I have no brand consciousness. Early on I had a notion passed on to me that Martin and Gibson were the choices one should consider. I never could get a Gibson into my eyes or ears and Martin's quality at the time short-changed me so we parted company. I was 18. I looked at Guild and bought one of their guitars. It was a good performer for me so I felt it was the only contender for my money at the time. Taylor wasn't around yet. The others were Yamaha, Harmony and derivatives, Ovation was the new kid, Epiphone, and others I don't recall now. Of them I owned a Yamaha and an Ovation. I learned on a Yamaha FG230, bought an Ovation that I sold in 6 weeks but otherwise kept the Guild F412 for years.

These days I do not see any of them qualitatively distancing the so-called Pac rim products. Breedlove's guitars eclipse anything Gibson makes to my ear and the Canadian products are very competitive. Taylor's line up I group with Gibson for tonal reasons. Then there's the cadres of small builders who also aren't all that far from the field, sonically speaking, that they can honestly ask the prices they're asking, IMO.

So, if you're looking through a brand filter I suggest you're going about it the wrong way. If you've developed a decent ear and set of playing skills you'd already have sorted out what you like. But, you're coming here to get some direction so I suggest, again, to make that exercise part of your musical journey and get out there to try everything yourself.

[Goodallboy]

I've always just wanted one that made me not want to play any other one.

Luckily I have that now.

[tadol]

I'm blessed to live in an area where there are numerous outstanding luthiers, and also where I've been able to find some great deal over the years on used guitars. I do keep my eyes open for one brand - Santa Cruz - because if I find one that meets my specification desires (nut, neck, bridge) and is something I have 't tried, then I know it's something that I'd want to try. Beyond that, there have been opportunities to get to know the whole shop at SCGC, and they're just great. I've also gotten to know numerous local luthiers, and find instruments built by them to be as good and usually better than anything out there. I've managed to acquire fantastic guitars by Bruce Sexauer, Howard Klepper, a Lynch, and my late friend James Patterson. If the opportunity arose, I would love to get a Claxton, a Strahm, and even a Carter/Poulsen and a Mustapick, just to name a few. All from Santa Cruz, actually -

So, while I definitely have a brand loyalty - I could think of it as a geographic preference -

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by RP

I own five guitars, all of which are Taylor Grand Auditorium models so I clearly fall into the second category.

You have 5 Taylor GA'S? That is known as Taylor GAS.

[rwmct]

Originally Posted by Pitar

Because they were the only names out there for many years. That's the "reason". None other.

I strongly disagree. I am not aware of any time period when there were just Gibson and Martin. Even before Guild, and then Ovation came in, there have always been other guitars.

Being good had a lot to do with Gibson and Martin's prominence.

[DanR]

Diversification for me. I like to choose the right tool for the job (to my ears, of course). I like a variety of brands, body sizes/shapes and tone woods.

[RP]

Originally Posted by guitar george

You have 5 Taylor GA'S? That is known as Taylor GAS.

I look at it as finally having found what I was looking for, and the end of GAS for me. No longer do I lust after this guitar and that guitar unless they are Taylor GAs without cutaway or electronics (which in and of itself eliminates the majority of Taylors that are out there). I also prefer more simple cosmetics and so I've never longed for a 914...

[Rockysdad]

Having recently acquired a Larrivee L-10 which, has blown me away with it's sound and playability, has definitely made me a total Larrivee fan.