BUDGET ROUND-UP
Need to get your acoustic chops in order but don’t have the budget for a high-line steel string? No worries, there’s plenty to satisfy
Toneful, great-quality acoustics that won’t bust your wallet
Who says acoustic guitars need to be all woody and cost a fortune? Not Fender. The California Player range includes the cutaway dreadnought Redondo, the small-body Malibu and this mid-size Newporter, all available in six top finishes from Natural and Sunburst to more classic Fender colours, such as Candy Apple Red. Tops are solid spruce with laminate mahogany back and sides, plus they come with a Fishman CD-1 pickup/preamp system. There is plenty of choice up for grabs in the other California ranges too. www.fender.com www.prsguitars.com
PRS isn’t known for its acoustic guitars but these small-bodied SEs have proved hugely successful. Along with the larger bodied Angelus and Tonare models, this parlour-sized Tonare is available in three satin finishes over the all-mahogany construction (solid top, laminated back and sides). Plus it uses PRS’s own hybrid ‘X’/classical bracing, which “locks down the back and sides, while allowing the top to freely vibrate,” says PRS. The fingerboard and bridge are ebony, and we get a bone nut and saddle, as well as PRS’s bird inlays of course, and the lowly price includes a gig-bag. The electro E version costs £499.
Here’s an excellent mini range of all-solid OM acoustics made from different tonewoods – one is all-mahogany, the second has a spruce top with mahogany back and sides, and the third is an all-blackwood model. Nuts and saddles are bone and the X-bracing underneath the tops is handscalloped. They are all electros too, using Fishman Sonicore/Sonitone combo. “If these guitars all sat in the £750 bracket we wouldn’t be too surprised,” we said, “but the fact they circle the £500 point is very good indeed.” www.cortguitars.com
There’s nothing new in acoustic world, right? Wrong. This intriguing design from Yamaha, coined ‘TransAcoustic’, allows players to dial in reverb and chorus on an unplugged acoustic without any outboard equipment. Of course, with Yamaha’s SRT piezo system you can plug it in too, but the key thing is you can add ‘space’ while strumming on your sofa. “This technology is not a gimmick,” we said back in issue 431. “The onboard reverb is especially inspiring, allowing you to dial in great room ambience and sustain anywhere you go.” https://europe.yamaha.com We might be in a time when the smaller bodied acoustic is more popular, but if you’ve never experienced the power and projection of a Martin dreadnought you could do worse than start here. The X Series guitars are built in Martin’s Mexico factory and are an exercise in cost-effective production using HPL (High Pressure Laminate) back and sides, paired with an X-braced solid Sitka spruce top. The neck uses Martin’s Performing Artist shape, while the electro side comes from Fishman’s MX electronics. The price includes a soft gig-bag. www.martinguitar.com https://sheeranguitars.com Right so, this isn’t exactly low-cost, but, compared to a pukka Lowden, although still made in Ireland, it’s positively bargain basement! And with Ed Sheeran’s involvement it’s a double plus. The S is the larger of two satin-finished shapes offered, and is the basic version of a Lowden S-Series electro (the other is the WL ‘Wee Lowden’ originally designed for Ed). The S03 features a Sitka spruce top, laminated Santos rosewood (aka pau ferro) back and sides; and ebony fingerboard and bridge. Meanwhile, powering is from LR Baggs’ Element VTC. What’s not to like?