Looking for a "beater"

[Boomstick]

Which guitar should I look at for a "beater" that I can bring camping and not worry about if anything happens to it? Laminate would be good too because it's more stable with weather changes. I fish a lot too, but wouldn't mind sitting lakeside, play guitar for a bit, fish for a bit etc

I have played a few Asian Guilds. There's a few of them that are like meh largely because they used 2x4s for bracing so the top doesn't really move, but then there's some others that really surprised me. I played one F-250E, the strings were ancient and one was broken (probably rusted through to be honest). This guitar still impressed me. With dead strings it was still the best sounding guitar for three figures I played that day between two stores. The demos I've heard are also pretty solid. It doesn't sound like a maple F50/F55 but nothing about this guitar's sounds "cheap" either. Kind of interested in the F-240E too. I played a D-240E and that was a big setup up from the other guitars in the store for $750 and under, but it wasn't quite the F-250E either.

The other thing that comes to mind is shop for a used Taylor 112ce or 114ce. Decent electronics, and I might even be able to squeeze the a smaller body under the backseat in my truck. B

 

[Wilmywood]

I have a 2011 GAD-25NAT all mahogany I paid $375 for with a case. Sounds decent, looks great and not valuable enough to break a sweat over.

 

[plaidseason]

The M240e Troubadour is my main gigging guitar these days. It's a lot of guitar for the money. And you can probably find one used for $300 or less.

 

[twocorgis]

I'm a big Seagull fan. The S6 can be had cheap, is made in Canada, and sounds surprisingly good.

 

[Boomstick]

I have a 2011 GAD-25NAT all mahogany I paid $375 for with a case. Sounds decent, looks great and not valuable enough to break a sweat over.

Part of me thinks maybe I should get an all-mahogany guitar or a spruce top mahogany guitar for something different too. I only played the M-120 for all-mahogany Asian Guilds and that was one of them I was disappointed with. The bracing is pretty much 2x4s, where the US made counterpart has lighter (and also probaably scalloped) bracing and is a great guitar, would defnitely fit under my truck seat but also $1000 more.

 

[Boomstick]

I'm a big Seagull fan. The S6 can be had cheap, is made in Canada, and sounds surprisingly good.

I haven't seen a Seagull in person in years to be honest. They were pretty popular back in the 90s.

 

[plaidseason]

I haven't seen a Seagull in person in years to be honest. They were pretty popular back in the 90s.

A lifelong friend just unloaded a $1600 Martin in favor of an early 90s S6 he found on Reverb. Because he just preferred it.

 

[Westerly Wood]

A lifelong friend just unloaded a $1600 Martin in favor of an early 90s S6 he found on Reverb. Because he just preferred it.

there always seems to be one of these on the wall at GC too. For under $400. That headstock is weird.

and here one is...https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Seagull/AC15T-Acoustic-Guitar.gc

That is not really a beater price however, imho. for that $ I might try to find a D4.

 

[Wilmywood]

I think I paid $550 for my '92 D4

 

[Boomstick]

there always seems to be one of these on the wall at GC too. For under $400. That headstock is weird.

and here one is...https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Seagull/AC15T-Acoustic-Guitar.gc

That is not really a beater price however, imho. for that $ I might try to find a D4.

A D-4 popped up on Craiglist for $400 not long ago. Was a little ways away from me if I recall and I just didn't have time to go get it.

 

[davenumber2]

Eastman PCH
Martin DM
Tacoma DM9
Guild D240

 

[twocorgis]

I haven't seen a Seagull in person in years to be honest. They were pretty popular back in the 90s.

A lifelong friend just unloaded a $1600 Martin in favor of an early 90s S6 he found on Reverb. Because he just preferred it.

I was fortunate to find a fairly beat up SWS ("Solid Wood Series") Maritime SG in need of some TLC on FB Marketplace for $125. It needed a setup, and proper crack repair (compared to the bad existing repair that the cleat wasn't placed where the crack was). After a new set of strings (and $60 later), it honestly doesn't give a whole lot away to my Gibson WM45. I love it, and it still looks a tad rough, but that's actually a good quality in a beater.

 

[Boomstick]

Eastman PCH
Martin DM
Tacoma DM9
Guild D240

I actually had a DM9, long story short I ended up selling it to make room in my house for my F-50.


Probably should have kept that and sold my others off instead.

 

[davenumber2]

I actually had a DM9, long story short I ended up selling it to make room in my house for my F-50.


Probably should have kept that and sold my others off instead.

I picked one up last year from Goodwill online for $150. Too nice to be called a beater, really. Light as a feather.

 

[3C4S]

I'm a big Seagull fan. The S6 can be had cheap, is made in Canada, and sounds surprisingly good.

I agree a Seagull S6 is a great guitar for a "beater"...The entry level ones have laminate back and sides, so you don't have to worry too much about temperature and humidity...You can find them with Cedar or Spruce tops...There is a S6 at a local shop that I may pick up for my daughter...Made by Godin. I have a Godin Metropolis and love it (probably my favorite guitar)...
My "beater" is a late 80's Fender F230. You can get them for a couple hundred. Got it (gift from parents) before I knew anything about guitars and was just learning to play. Turns out I got lucky, as it is well made from Korea...Rosewood (laminate) back and sides with spruce top (probably laminate as well)...30 years later the neck is straight with proper amount of relief and neck angle is only slightly off...Keep it ay my cottage for the campfire...

 

[7GuildsandanSG]

I have an M-120 seems like it'd be perfect for what you need. Mahogany, light, sounds nice, not crazy expensive.

 

[walrus]

Should I be punished for bringing my '84 D64 to Boy Scout campfires a few times?

 

[Boomstick]

Should I be punished for bringing my '84 D64 to Boy Scout campfires a few times?

Probably not. Really, I'm looking for something I can leave in my truck or even possibly my tent when I'm out fishing on my kayak when camping. Or something I can bring when I'm shore fishing, play guitar a bit, fish for a bit etc

I imagine it didn't go too far from your sight.

 

[Boomstick]

I have an M-120 seems like it'd be perfect for what you need. Mahogany, light, sounds nice, not crazy expensive.

I didn't love the M-120. They play nice, and they're small but they overbraced it. Now the US version is great, but also pricey.

 

[Boneman]

I was gonna say M120 also, since I basically got one for all those purposes you state and even wrote up an NGD for the “lake guitar”. It is a great change of pace from the larger bodied spruce topped dreads and jumbos, and the short scale, wider nut is easier for fingerstyle. I like the tone, and it definitely needs some breaking in but once it is, it’s a sweet ‘take anywhere‘ guitar, I really love mine. The backpack poly foam case it came with just added to the allure.

As for the bracing, it depends on the year with the M120, they changed the specs a bit, I dunno when, 2019 or 2020 maybe? Look for one of the early ones with the scalloped x bracing, they discontinued them, but here is the old link:

M-120E Cherry Red(DISCONTINUED) | Guild Guitars

guildguitars.com