Acoustic Guitars – how to navigate through the sea
| Posted in Guitar
Say ‘aye-aye’ to singer-songwriter Josh Pyke as he sails across Sydney Harbour , but don’t distract him too much, he may abandon the bridge on his dreadnought and buy another sort of outboard altogether!
This is the scenario; you’ve decided you must have an acoustic guitar, just handy for those moments when your songwriter alter ego taps you on the shoulder with a genius chord change. It doesn’t have to be anything special , or too expensive, it’s going to knock around your living space and get semi-trashed by allcomers, children and dogs included.
Trouble is, there are so many acoustics to choose from in so many finishes and prices it makes your head swim.
Here’s what to do;
1. Decide on a basic style. Jumbo, Dreadnought, Folk, or Small Bodied. This will probably be determined on your style of playing and the music you play.
2. Choose between acoustic or electro-acoustic. What are you going to use it for, gigging or recording?
3. Set a price. This is the tricky one. Give yourself a budget and tell yourself, ‘I’m definitely not going above this’. Secretly though, award yourself another £50 on top, just in case you see something you really like. You won’t feel nearly as bad when this happens (which it will).
4. Go shop.
Josh Pyke’s set list is as follows; Coldplay; ‘Swallowed in the Sea’, Mercury Rev; ‘Across Yer Ocean’, The Arcade Fire; ‘Ocean of Noise’, and of course Rod Stewart’s; ‘That Sinking Feeling’.
There’s a few things I didn’t mention. Do you like the guitar? Are you going to enjoy having it around? Are you happy with what you paid? If you answer yes to all three, it’s plain sailing from here on in.
Tags: acoustic guitars, dreadnought acoustic, folk acoustic, jumbo acoustic