Best Blue grass Guitar

[Ivan Kelsall]

Chalk one up for the Blueridge Guitars for me also.For their price they are astonishingly good & should at least be tried out. Also try to play one of the Tanglewood TW1000-SR (solid Rosewood) Dreadnaughts. I'm mainly a fingerpicker,but a friend of mine who's a flatpicker,compared it very favourably with his Martin (don't know which model) Guitar,
Ivan

[D C Blood]

Ditto on 300win Post #24...

[Ronny Stecher]

I have a few nice acoustics inc. a 97 Xmas edition Taylor 710BCE, but none compare to the Taylor Koa, it's unbelievably versatile as it's great sounding for leads and rhythms, I love it more than any other I possess.

[grassrootphilosopher]

In that price range you´d be able to get a D-21 or a banner (or barely post-banner) J-45.

Check out the vintage corner in The Unofficial Martin Guitar Forum (www.umgf.com) as it was mentioned before. For all who say that Gibsons can´t be great bluegrass guitars check out "Morning Sun" on the Tone Poems I CD (Grisman and Rice), read about bone crushers, see the appreciation old Gibsons get over the recent years... If the budget was more I´d say a Gibson Jumbo (1934-1936), a Southerner Jumbo (1942 - 1945), maybe a J-35 (1935-1942) and of course ultimately an Advanced Jumbo (1936 - 1942) would be the way to go. A nice D-21 is basicaly a D-28 with D-18 appointments. They can sound quite nice.

If the budget was less, I´d say a Randy Lucas guitar, a Gallagher guitar, a Mossman (from the old shop) etc. would sound as nice.

If the budget was just 1 k I´d say a 1990 Martin D-16M is about as nice and underrated as they come (about 1 k used if you can find one; they are built about like the D-18GE models that came later). Chris Sharp (with John Hartford) plays one. A close second in this price segment would be Stonebridge (Furch). Blueridge might come in there too.

Good hunting to you.

[mandopete]

Whew...

Now I can sell it on ebay and buy a Strad-o-Lin...

Maybe with the money you have left over you can buy a couple of SM-57's too!

[Bluegrassnate]

Opps I miss read read your post. I thought you said 1500 not 5000. A D-28CW is a realy great guitars. I have one and am very happy with it.

[montana]

I just went through this myself. I posted a thread asking where was the best place to buy and got a lot of anwsers. A number of folks mentioned Big Joe's Guitarworks in Nashville. I looked on his site and he had a used HD-28 for sale that he discribed as a bluegrass cannon. I took a chance and bought it and guess what. It is load. Just what I needed for this summers outdoor bluegrass jams. The HD-28s are mremakes of the 30's d-28s built with a lighter bracing for more volume. You can get them new for about$2600 but check with Big Joe and tell him Edd from Montana sent you. Also remind him he was going to send me a set of light Elixers.

[MandoJam]

The J-45 is an awesome guitar but in the last few years the price has gone too high for their value. (from 1999.00 a few years ago to 2399.00 now) The Martin D-18 has stayed at it's current price (I just bought one from Elderly for 1560.00!) and with its dreadnought shape is probably better for bluegrass. If all you want to do is flatpick I would recommend the D-28 as the rosewood gives it a strong bass and it can really shine on 5th and 6th string licks as well as rhythm. But, if you also want to do a little fingerpicking then the mahogany of the D-18 or J-45 helps to keep the bass from booming too much and the overall tone is more balanced for fingerstyle. They're all great instruments, though.

[Jim Garber]

if you are looking for a fantastic modern guitar, check out the Huss & Daltons. I have yet to find one that I didn't love. In your price range certainly mahogany. Rosewood prob in the upper end of the price range. Check out this rosewood TDR.

[Nelson Peddycoart]

Thanks, all,

Lots of good and consistent advice.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

I've thoroughly enjoyed my Santa Cruz Tony Rice- they'd be worth a look...

I'd highly recommend several of the SCGC line: Tony Rice and Tony Rice Pro, Vintage Artist, and D/PW. If you can find a 1942 Bluegrass D, grab it. For the slope shouldered stuff a SCGC VJ usually beats any but the best vintage Gibsons.

I own a SCGC 1942 Bluegrass D and I moderate the unofficial Santa Cruz Guitar PLayers Forum. Even so, I have no financial interest in the company. Just a big fan of their work.

Daniel

[Ivan Kelsall]

If you want a terrific sounding Rosewood bodied Guitar at a price of around $1,200, then this is the back & sides of my TW1000-SR (Solid Rosewood),
Ivan

[Nolan]

In the $1k-$5k range, you have plenty of excellent options.

I'm not a big fan of Gibson flattops for bluegrass, but I have a couple of Advanced Jumbo reissues and a 60th edition Southern Jumbo that are excellent guitars and work well in a bluegrass context. For Martins, I agree with earlier posts about the HD-28 and the D-18 (especially the D-18V or D-18GE).

I tend to agree with that except a friend of mine has an early 40's Gibson... (the sloped shoulder one with sunburst with mahagony sides) that is one of THE BEST guitars I've played. It's right up there with the pre-war Martins but they aren't as expensive.

[northfolk]

I recently purchased a Recording King from Big Joe. It fits my needs quite nicely and at a very reasonable price. Definately worth checking them out.

[Rob Gerety]

The J-45 is an awesome guitar but in the last few years the price has gone too high for their value. (from 1999.00 a few years ago to 2399.00 now)

I have played some gorgeous vintage J-45s - but I have to say the modern J-45s I have played did not have much life to them.

[mando_steve]

I've got a Martin HD28-VR that totally gets the job done. It's essentially a reissue of the old classic Martins complete with butter bean tuners. Bought it new from Elderly back in the mid-late 90's for less than 2K. You might have to pay a tad more nowadays, but you will be happy.

[jaco]

Huss and Dalton is probably the best value for a high quality dread out there right now. I have a TDR with Adirondack top and Brazillian back that is amazing.

[MandoJump]

I played a Martin at a shop the other day that was unbelievable...If i recall correctly it was an HD-18v....It was truly the best guit-box I've ever played and I think it was in your price range...check it out!

[chip]

I just bought one of those employee Martins, 1974 no name on the headstock or interior, but all handpicked woods, abalone appointments, etc. and it sings....what a guitar. D28 with D35 apointments. I love it....

[Nelson Peddycoart]

My regular, play at home guitar is a Takamine G series. It has exceptional tone and is of top notch craftsmanship. I paid $600 for it new.

I ended up buying a Takamine D-18 clone (lawsuit) guitar for $300. It is a 1974 model. Not much to risk with alot to gain.

I also bought one of the new Takamine Nashville series flatpickers. I got one of the early discontinued models for $1000.00 That is a far cry from $2200.00 We'll see how it works out.

The temptation to give in to the Martin and other big names almost got me. I decided to stick with a better value and save some money. That way, I can get one of the new Gibson mandolas when the come out shortly.

Thanks, all, for the input and advice.

[mingusb1]

Hey, I don't think anyone asked what "kind" of bluegrass you like to play. I prefer the Gibson sound (in general more fundamental, less overtones) for guit/mando and guit/fiddle duet stuff, for example. Maybe you could say the Gibson sound fits better if you are going for an "oldtimey" sound.

"Always heard the rule of thumb, Gibson mandolins and banjos, Martin guitars, and Kay bass fiddles for hardcore Bluegrass music."

You can definitely see at the fiddler's conventions I go to in NC and VA that this is the standard. However, I'm currently playing in a bluegrass band with a strong old J-45 that works well, and I have also played numerous Kay basses that were duds.

Z

[Pete Martin]

Personaly, I've never seen , heard, or played a Gibson acoustic guitar that was a BLUEGRASS guitar. Always heard the rule of thumb, Gibson mandolins and banjos, Martin guitars, and Kay bass fiddles for hardcore Bluegrass music. Now fiddles are a whole differant animal. I don't know any fiddle players that plays a new fiddle, they always want at least a 100 year old, Italian, German, or French fiddle. But for Bluegrass as far as guitars, Martin is king as far as factory made in my opinion.

I've played a lot of Martins, and own a couple of great vintage ones with classic Bluegrass sound. However, the Gibson Advanced Jumbo works as well as most rosewood Martin guitars for a Bluegrass band (and mics way better). I've got a 90s Montana reissue that is fine and have played several original AJs that would work great. Think Charlie Monroe...

[Greg H.]

Ok, your range goes as high as $5000 right? Well here would be my first suggestion:

1949 Martin D18

it may have a few cracks but those can be easily fixed (if they're not already).

After that I'd look for either a D18GE or maybe a D28 Marquis.

[grassrootphilosopher]

I've got a 90s Montana reissue that is fine and have played several original AJs that would work great. Think Charlie Monroe...

Charlie Monroe would be a Gibson Jumbo (1934) on the Monroe Bros. (later on a D-45). But anyhow, I would think that any vintage Gibson guitar will provide ample power, projection and sound for bluegrass music. And I´ve heard good things about the AJ reissues.

[doc holiday]

"I am a mandolin and guitar player who is looking for that ultimate blue grass guitar." It seems we have a wide variety of personal definitions of the word "ultimate." The OP has a stated budget of $1-5K, which is a huge range. If we were talking mandolins, which we usually are....that would range be roughly from Kentucky to an Ellis A style? Of course everyone is offering their opinions based on their historical experience or darling of the moment. There is a huge difference between a $1K guitar and a $5K guitar. In addition to those named, I would offer, that like mandolins, in the guitar world there are more than a handful of single builders, turning out great sounding instruments. Leo Posch & Terry Whipple come to mind from the circles I pick in. Music Emporium has a D-18 style guitar built by Winfield winner Matt Arcara for $3.6K. No question that Matt A knows what tone is. Can he build it in? Worth a look for sure. With a budget ceiling of 5K, I'd be looking for a great guitar in that price range, rather than an acceptable guitar at the bottom of the range...but that's my personal approach in seeking out instruments.