huge prices...

[rdba]

well, i'm searching a good acoustic guitar.
i've looked at all the nice gibson acoustics...and i was impressed by the prices they have...for a Gibson J-45 True Vintage Sunburst Round Shoulde you pay 3800 us dollars (i'm from switzerland, and i calculated the price in us Dollars) now i have question, how much do you pay in america for a gibson j-45? i'm asking this,because i think the price is ways to high...:NUTS

now i've found a company called lakewood...handmade guitars in the quality like gibson or martin, but custom build...so i can decide everthing and i pay about 1639 Us dollars...for an outstanding guitar!!!Okay lakewood is not very known, and the transport is ways shorter... but it's about the half price of gibson...

what do you guys think???

[Framus]

Scrap the Gibson idea and find yourself an Ovation Ultra acoustic-electric.

Mine plays almost as smooth as a Strat...you'll never want to play a Gibson acoustic again.

I sold a limited edition John Lennon model Gibson acoustic to buy the Ovation Ultra...no regrets.

My second choice would be a Guild...before they ship production out of the US...nice guitars.

The prices you quoted sound like top shelf Martins...Gibsons are pricey in the States,but nowhere near those dollar amounts...at least not in my area.

Keep looking...a great guitar doesn't have to cost a fortune to play well and sound great.

Not much help...just wanted to give you some options.

:RoCkIn:RoCkIn:RoCkIn

[Dave Orban]

Buy used. There are TONS of great barely-used instruments out there, at both dealers and with private individuals. Let someone else take the depreciation hit.

As far as Lakewood, I've only heard good things about them, but I've never played one for more than about 5 minutes.

As far as Ovation, they would be like number 100 on my top 50 choices. Realistically, an acoustic guitars isn't supposed to play like a Strat.

Go to www.13thfret.com to chat about acoustics with folks for whom it is a passion.

[Drowned Rabbit]

Originally Posted by Dave Orban

Buy used.

+1 on that. I'm really not a huge fan of the acoustics Gibson has been building for the last few years. Maybe I just happened to try some clunkers, but it seems like the guitar stores are full of them and almost everyone I pick up has been pretty mediocre.

Here's what I did and it worked out great. I bought a '67 Gibson C&W that needed a refret. It's the model they based the Sheryl Crow Sig. off of (Think Hummingbird with a natural top). The wood was in good shape, no breaks, and there was some finish checking of course, but I got a good price.

I took it to my guitar guy for the refret and it came out sounding just amazing. It absolutely kills any newer Gibson acoustic I come up against, including the Sheryl Crow Sig.'s based off it. It even destroyed my buddies fancy, super-expensive Taylor. Compared to my C&W, that Taylor sounds dull and lifeless.

Hope that helps. Good luck

[rdba]

well okay, ovation is not what i'm looking for...
i love jumbo's!!!
Well i would buy an old one, but where i live are the vintage shops or even the second hand guitars very rare...evilbay is not what i'm fan of, because you never exactly know what you're buying...so if i want exactly know what i get i must buy a new one...when i see that a gibson southern jumbo costs 1635 $ in america i'm dreaming of such prices.
In switzerland this guitar costs 3814 $ http://www.gibson.com/Products/Gibso...thern%20Jumbo/
...:NUTS

so i played this lakewood jumbo...wow i'm blown away...great great sound...in our country this brand is called "the gibson and martin killer"
i think i gonna buy this one...

[MikeB_18]

Just to answer your original question about the price of a J-45 True Vintage in the US. They go for about $2200 new and can be had for about $1500-$1600 used. The regular J-45's are even less, the modern classic with mohagony back and sides can be had for about $1800 new, with rosewood you're looking at about $2000-$2100.

[gh1]

Originally Posted by rdba

so i played this lakewood jumbo...wow i'm blown away...great great sound...in our country this brand is called "the gibson and martin killer"
i think i gonna buy this one...

Good decision! Lakewood makes excellent guitars.

One thing to remember is that no two guitars from the same manufacturer sound the same. So, if you have the opportunity, play as many as you can and pick the one that you think sounds, and plays the best.

_____
gh1

[RustyAxe]

Tough time on your side of the Atlantic to be looking at American-made goods.

A J-45 True Vintage sells for $2649.00 (discounted retail) and lists for $3542.00 (MSRP). This is at Guitar Center, a huge multi-store retail and online seller.

I was at a Guitar Center shop this weekend and played a Gibson Advanced Jumbo ... I can't get my mind off it ... grin!

[MikeB_18]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

Tough time on your side of the Atlantic to be looking at American-made goods.

A J-45 True Vintage sells for $2649.00 (discounted retail) and lists for $3542.00 (MSRP). This is at Guitar Center, a huge multi-store retail and online seller.

I was at a Guitar Center shop this weekend and played a Gibson Advanced Jumbo ... I can't get my mind off it ... grin!

$2649 is map, a good seller is going to take some money off of that. A dealer typically works off of cost but most Gibson's that I've bought I've been able to get another 10-20% off of that MAP price.

Here's a pic to hep with that AJ gas. This is my recently purchased '07.

[royd]

Lakewoods are nice guitars. I'd pick one long before a Gibson.

another European company to look at is Lowden, built in Northern Ireland.

[smorgdonkey]

Originally Posted by rdba

what do you guys think???

I think that you should look around in some music stores and play a few guitars...in fact, play many guitars. Then you'll find one that has the sound that you want and you can keep your eyes peeled on the used market. Don't pay attention to what name's on the headstock.

[A-Bone]

Originally Posted by royd

another European company to look at is Lowden, built in Northern Ireland.

+1 for Lowdens. The vast majority of these are absolutely killer guitars for the money. They are also available in a good variety of body sizes, including larger models, and are great sonically and also in terms of playability, while having a very cool aesthetic.

I think you might need to look for used models, however, as I am pretty sure that George Lowden has taken the shop down to a "nuclear" luthiery staff at present (with only George Lowden built models seemingly offered now), and his prices on new models are much higher than the Gibson price referenced by the OP.

[texasdave]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

Tough time on your side of the Atlantic to be looking at American-made goods.

Actually the weak dollar should improve his US buying power...

RDBA, if you got to play the Lakewood and you love it, you're probably right where you want to be... I make a point to play 3-4 Gibson acoustics anytime I find them hanging, and it would be very difficult for me to recommend buying one sight unseen. As others have pointed out the $3800 is a "list" price, and in any major city the price marked on the guitar would be around $2500... then you have potentially room to negotiate from there... but if you love the Lakewood sounds like a tough act to follow...enjoy!

[Adrian Shannon]

Larrivee anyone?

[royd]

Originally Posted by A-Bone

+1 for Lowdens. The vast majority of these are absolutely killer guitars for the money. They are also available in a good variety of body sizes, including larger models, and are great sonically and also in terms of playability, while having a very cool aesthetic.

I think you might need to look for used models, however, as I am pretty sure that George Lowden has taken the shop down to a "nuclear" luthiery staff at present (with only George Lowden built models seemingly offered now), and his prices on new models are much higher than the Gibson price referenced by the OP.

the used models are a great buy. Currently there are both shop guitars -"Lowden Guitars" - and George's individually built guitars available. The prices on the shop guitars have increased significantly but they are amazing guitars. Through the years the company went through a number of changes but the guitars remained faithful to the design and I've yet to play one of any era from the company that didn't thrill me including the Japanese built guitars from the early '80s.