I have 3:

Ibanez Performance 6 string
Yamaha 12 string
Yamaha FG 345 6 string

My fave is the yamaha 6 string. I've never played a guitar with smoother action. Everyone who picks it up says the same thing - how easy it is on the fingers. It has a really nice, warm sound, too, and has aged well. I bought it new about 22 years ago (actually my parents got it for me when I was a young teen!), but I've taken great care of it. It was worth about $300 American dollars back then.

The Ibanez is about a $280-300 guitar. Very nice sound, different from the Yamaha. Not as smooth, but warm, and I bought it on sale for around 180 bucks 10 years ago from a music store that was going out of business.

The 12 String is also very nice, but the action is a little hard. It's about 18 years old, and has a nice full sound.

All 3 of them are full body wooden guitars. I had a thinline pickup installed in the Yamaha 6 string. It cost me $120 bucks to have it installed, but it was worth it. Very nice pick-up for live performance, it is volume sensitive, it's glued under the bridge and you plug into it at the lower strap holder with a standard 1/4 inch plug, so there are no wires visible or in the way. You are better off live-miking an acoustic in the studio, though, so you get that great ambient sound the guitar creates. Pick ups on acoustics in a studio recording setting don't usually deliver that full wooden sound you want.

I'm not a real collector or anything, I bought all my guitars based on how they felt to play, how they sounded, and opinions of others. Before you buy, go to shops and play a lot of them, and I suggest you spend a little more on a guitar rather than less, because the quality of the components used will be better, and the guitar will be more durable. I don't know how many times I've heard people who spend $100-140 bucks on a guitar, and 2-3 years later the neck is warping, or they can't keep it in tune anymore. I've never had those problems. Unless you are a real beginner and not sure if you really want to play, spend a little more cash, and get a good one. Check out use instruments, as sometimes people who inherit guitars from parents or relatives, or who just don't play anymore will sell them cheap. You can get good deals from that, but it takes time and effort.

I could have spent $600 to $1200 on a guitar if I had wanted to, but I found some affordable guitars that sound good, play well, and are road-durable. Can't ask for much more than that.

Bushice

Bushice:
Pleasure to meet you. I'm Chris. I've just recently been getting back to playing with my XP-60 after being home for a few weeks at winter break. BTW, check out that link I have above for some recording software by Digital Sound Planet called "Quartz Audio Master"--it's really powerful and free (for 4 tracks, and cheap to add more, especially when compared to Pro Tools or Logic).

Stalker, Stigf, Rory: Hey, you all posted again! I promise I'll get cracking on my XP-60. Hey, I just figured out how to play the intro to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (okay, so it may not be a respectable song, but for someone who's forgotten all his piano lessons as a kid and is just sitting down to a keyboard in the first few months, I'm pretty proud of myself--LOL) See ya guys!

I've been playing guitar for about 18 years. i have 3 nice electrics, and now I'm looking for 1 really nice acoustic. I was planning on about $2,000. I'm a very serious guitarist. But, if I can find a sweet guitar for cheaper, I'll buy it. I am not the kind of guy who spends mucho dollar just to show off what an expensive instrument I've got, but I do need serious quality stuff. I'll probably buy a cheaper one as well for on stage anyway, because I'm not bringing a $2000 guitar to a live gig. So, the guitars you mentioned I'll surely look into as well. I'm not really in the loop when it comes to acoustics, but I'll know what I need when I hear it.

Wow, You'll certainly be able to get something very nice for $2,000. You might even look into a custom made job, suited to your hand size, and with what ever wood you want. There was a luthier in a town I lived in about 10 years back who made some very nice customs of his own design for $1,500.

In Todays Market, my Yamaha 6 would run about $600-700, I figured. Every once in a while I drop into a music store and play the 1,000-1,500 acoustics, and none of them have ever stood up to my yamaha in terms of tone and playability for the price.
It's good to keep in mind that it's not always more $$$ that matters.

Bushice

Rory:
For a gig worthy guitar, check out some Takamines--my friend has one that I'm really jealous of; a very full tone for a great price.

For a more pricey guitar, check out Larivees--they're made in Canada. They have a really distinct tone to them--almost trebly, but still warm. Then of course there are always Martin guitars (approved by Eric Johnson and Eric Clapton, if that's worth anything). Only thing is that Martins have pretty flat fretboard radii, and there have been rumors that their quality has been declining over the past ten years.

Whatever you do, I really think instead of buying an acoustic electric, you should really invest in a straight acoustic and just mic it into a PA at your gigs. You could pick up your own Shure SM57 (or is it SM58, I forget) mic at as good or better a price as for electronics to make the acoustic an acoustic-electric.

Yeah, I used a Friend's Tak on this last worship album I've been working on. Nice guitar. I've never played a Larivee, so that's certainly something I'll be doing soon. Martins have been going downhil lately. Well, at least I'd assume they have, because I've played a bunch of them and am seldom impressed, which frustrates me, because my dad had such good things to say about them.

Wow, I feel bad--I misspelled Larrivee. These have been really surprising guitars to me. I hope you get to check one out. If I had the money, I'd be all over one. The website for the company is http://www.larrivee.com/

I guess you could also try looking on eBay for some vintage Martins or what not but...the problem is that it's a guitar that you buy before you hear, and I think we all know that not all guitars (even of the same manufacturer and style) are created equal.

Keep me informed of your accoustic search!

It would be a 57 for guitar miking, but they work the best on electrics.
The real problem with live miking a guitar on stage is you can't move. The radius of sound pick up is so limited, you become a guitar playing statue
on board mics, such as sound hole pick ups or in line mic (like my thin line) are essential for live stuff, and work very well.
Man, I hope it's Ok we have this acoustic guitar talk going on at the synth board


Bushice

LOL, Bushice, just to make it okay with a synth board, we'll add this little plug:

By the way, the acoustic guitar patch on the XP-60 is quite good.

There.

Yeah, good point about not being able to move or you blow your sound, but I mean surely they used to use full=sized mics back in the good ol' days. I mean, take a look at the recordings of Andres Segovia or Charlie Byrd. Also, keep in mind that Rory is blind and probably doesn't do a whole lot of stompin' and dancin' around the stage (if you do, Rory, more power to ya, man!). I'm not familiar with how well guitar-mounted mics have come in terms of sound frequency response, so maybe there just wouldn't be any difference if he used a full-sized mic or a guitar-mounted one. If that's the case, might as well, just get a guitar mounted one.

By the way, Rory, ask around the acoustic guitar forum on guitar.com--I'm sure they'll have some suggestions of some other brands (like Seagulls and such) and they'll have a much better idea of what sounds good and what has good craftsmanship than I would.

Actually, I didn't know he was blind. I'm pretty new here.

The other issue with live miking is the ambient noise. No matter what you do, it will pick up sound from nearby, especially in a noisy club. I imagine Segovia had silence when he played!!!

BTW, I have done that in the past, back in the day when pick-ups were not all that great. I used it to add to the sound, but if you shift the guitar at all the sound and volume changes. Pick ups these days are much improved, and cost about the same as a mike and boom stand.

Bushice