Suggestions for a Folk Fingerstyle Guitar

Hi, I'm thinking of going into the kind of music that you would find by hearing Simon and Garfunkel, Merle Travis, etc. What brand of guitar do you recommend for playing stuff like that? What type of tone do you recommend? Right now, I'm using an electric to play this kind of music, and, well, I'll just say that it could be better. Anyway, I'm looking for something around the $450 price range, but I might be able to stretch it a little. Any

This should be a fun project. You're not in a hurry, right? I always like guitar shopping 'cause I get to try so many different models. Now that I'm no longer single, it's the next best thing to dating.

I've been playing for 45 years, I just realized the other day, mostly fingerstyle after I quit classical lessons. Here's what I'd look for.

his should be a fun project. You're not in a hurry, right? I always like guitar shopping 'cause I get to try so many different models. Now that I'm no longer single, it's the next best thing to dating.

I've been playing for 45 years, I just realized the other day, mostly fingerstyle after I quit classical lessons. Here's what I'd look for.

[I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that you're looking for a steel-string, probably a flattop.(Merle Travis played archtops, yes, but that's a whole other discussion

Thanks a lot for your help! I am looking for a steel-string guitar. I really don't know what a flattop or an archtop is, but I'm guessing a 'normal' guitar is a flattop? I am doing fingerstyle on my Squier Strat, which probably doesn't sound as good as if it were on a good acoustic. My school has some crummy nylon-stringed guitars, but I think I might feel more comfortable with a steel-string because I've been playing on an electric, which seems closer to a steel-string. I went to a guitar store recently and looked at some Martins, but the price tag scared me away.

I think my teacher was playing one of my school's guitars, which cost about $150, and he said that it's not good because the strings are too close together. I'm guessing that wider string spacing is important for fingerstyle?

I'll remember to check how far the neck goes when it connects to the body. I've seen guitars that are smaller than 'regular' and it was labeled a 'folk' guitar. I've also seen Ovations. They're the ones with the plastic underside and no centre soundhole, right? I thought those looked nice, but those started at $650 or around there, I think. I'll give them another look. I've been playing for about 1 and a half years, so I don't want to spend a lot on a guitar until I get to the point where I know whether I prefer a guitar with 'resonant highs' or more bass.

Once again, thanks for your help. I appreciate your taking the time to type all that out! The next time I go to a guitar store might be in a few months. I'll be sure to remember all your recommendations.

Good luck, Andrew. You're right, if you're thinking about Merle Travis, Simon & Garfunkel, you're thinking steel strings. And right again, a flattop is a 'regular' guitar with a flat (should be spruce!) top and a round soundhole. The archtops, usually much more expensive, are carved tops with f-shaped soundholes reminiscent of a violin. A lot of these are electric these days (Gibson ES175, ES335).

Yes, string spacing was what I was talking about on my Martin D-28, which has a narrow neck. One-quarter inch is a big difference in the width of a neck. Measure your guitar across the strings at the nut before you shop, for a comparison.

Do you have friends who play? Borrow their guitars! Spend two days on an acoustic trying everything you know, and you'll have a much better idea when you go shopping. Once when I was buying a guitar I thought was really terrific, I took along a guitar I knew really well and played them side by side, and had someone else play them, just to be sure the new one really was as good as I thought.

And find somebody who knows how to check out a guitar