Cigar Weekly

St. Alphonzo · 11-19-2002, 10:09 PM

I've been looking for a second acoustic guitar to my Takamine A/E cutaway. I want a dreadnought for playing in my folk choir, family get togethers, general noodling around, learning bluegrass and the occasional DEAD tune

My price range is approx. $500-$600. I have played the following with some thoughts.

Seagull S-6 Spruce and Cedar $330 w case
Middle of the road. No wow factor for me. Price can't be beat. Sound didn't get deep enough for me.

Larrivee DO3 $899
What a piece of work! I could have played this guitar for hours but the price was too high.

Taylor 310 $899
Set-up was out of wack so I didn't get a good chance to see how it should have really performed but price was prohibitive.

Tacoma DM18 (NO hardshell case and USED w less than 1 yr of age) $550
Wow factor. The craftsmanship was very nice and it played well with no real effort between flatpicking, barre chords etc. I could attack the strings with no degradation of sound. I could stroke this baby hard and everything sounded clear. Nice bass sound came through. Another guitar I could play for hours. Nice sustain.

Norman B 5 06 $595 w case
Another wow factor. Craftsmanship was spot on and the playing was effortless. The sound was much more mellow than the Tacoma but in a good way. I wish this company had a respectable web site where I could glean more information.

Martin D15 $620 w case
Wow factor. The craftmanship was nice and it played well with no real effort between flatpicking, barre chords etc. I could attack the strings with no degradation of sound. Hard strumming revealed clear sounds. I've heard this model can be trebly but I didn't hear it. It had a very good all around sound. I want to say sounds similar to the Norman?

So.....
I think I have narrowed it done to 3; the Martin D15, Tacoma DM18 and the Norman B506
The Tacoma was REALLY nice but since the case is missing (was a trade in), should I broach the subject to the shop owner of taking 100.00 off the price for a case? I know these models are in the 800-900 range. I wish I had more information on the Norman guitars and the Martin might just be the best all around performer.

Any thoughts?

11-19-2002, 10:09 PM	#1
St. Alphonzo Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Wilmington, DE Posts: 471	I've been looking for a second acoustic guitar to my Takamine A/E cutaway. I want a dreadnought for playing in my folk choir, family get togethers, general noodling around, learning bluegrass and the occasional DEAD tune My price range is approx. $500-$600. I have played the following with some thoughts. Seagull S-6 Spruce and Cedar $330 w case Middle of the road. No wow factor for me. Price can't be beat. Sound didn't get deep enough for me. Larrivee DO3 $899 What a piece of work! I could have played this guitar for hours but the price was too high. Taylor 310 $899 Set-up was out of wack so I didn't get a good chance to see how it should have really performed but price was prohibitive. Tacoma DM18 (NO hardshell case and USED w less than 1 yr of age) $550 Wow factor. The craftsmanship was very nice and it played well with no real effort between flatpicking, barre chords etc. I could attack the strings with no degradation of sound. I could stroke this baby hard and everything sounded clear. Nice bass sound came through. Another guitar I could play for hours. Nice sustain. Norman B 5 06 $595 w case Another wow factor. Craftsmanship was spot on and the playing was effortless. The sound was much more mellow than the Tacoma but in a good way. I wish this company had a respectable web site where I could glean more information. Martin D15 $620 w case Wow factor. The craftmanship was nice and it played well with no real effort between flatpicking, barre chords etc. I could attack the strings with no degradation of sound. Hard strumming revealed clear sounds. I've heard this model can be trebly but I didn't hear it. It had a very good all around sound. I want to say sounds similar to the Norman? So..... I think I have narrowed it done to 3; the Martin D15, Tacoma DM18 and the Norman B506 The Tacoma was REALLY nice but since the case is missing (was a trade in), should I broach the subject to the shop owner of taking 100.00 off the price for a case? I know these models are in the 800-900 range. I wish I had more information on the Norman guitars and the Martin might just be the best all around performer. Any thoughts? __________________ Two degrees in be-bop, a PhD in swing, he's the master of rhythm, he's a rock and roll king...