A Guide to Purchasing a Quality Acoustic Guitar

You Don't Need to Spend Four Figures to Acquire a Beauty

Acoustic guitars aren't just for folk and country music anymore. These days the word "unplugged" has become an adored description of a popular rock or pop song. Artists and bands such as "Ryan Cabrera" "Michelle Branch" and The "Goo Goo Dolls" have brought the acoustic/electric guitar back into the realm of popular music. It's not uncommon at all to see a local cover band do an unplugged set in a performance. Even in a non acoustic set of songs, a rhythm acoustic guitar in the background along with an electric guitar and bass can add presence and color to the sound of the band.

How Much?

It used to be that a good sounding acoustic/electric guitar for performance with a good feel would cost you at lease $1000. These days, you can grab a decent acoustic /electric guitar for under $500.

First, let's define "Acoustic/Electric Guitar". An acoustic/electric guitar is a guitar that appears to be an acoustic guitar but also has the option of plugging it into an amplifier or public audio system. They enable the guitarist to get that unmistakable acoustic sound and have it amplified without having to place a microphone in front of the sound hole.

These types of guitars can go anywhere from around $2000 US dollars to around $5000 US dollars. Some acoustic/electric guitars by companies such as "Martin" and "Taylor" can easily fetch $5000 or even well over. (And they're worth every penny in my opinion). But a lot of us don't have that kind of money to spend on an instrument.

Fortunately, companies like "Ibenez" and "Washburn" make some decent quality acoustic/electric guitars and offer them at a very reasonable price. These (and the more expensive ones) all have on board electronics in the form of an equalizer and volume controls. Many have not only the standard quarter inch high impedance output but also have a low impedance output like top grade microphones.

Acoustic Amplifiers