Brandon Acker's Guitar Tip: Choosing a guitar PART II in collaboration with Siccas Guitars

[@griffinedwards1404]

Siccas guitars more like sick ass guitars

[@stringchild]

My thoughts exactly. The pronunciation in my brain every time.

[@buaya111]

Because the price is sick ass if you no money

[@josephgiustiniani2834]

I have been playing for about 50 years. I found this video to be an education, even to a seasoned player. I have always just played every guitar I was interested in, but never quite knew why I would put one back on the rack, and another, I would take home. I think you explain the facts, and the other factor,........... personal preference. Your two videos should be a ""must have"" for any person interested in guitars. It is apparent you spent some time putting these two videos together. I thank you.

[@a.bloke2.0alwayslearning.23]

I think that like me you forgot that we could learn more, but the Internet has brought out far more knowledge than we expected. I am plowing through these videos, learning many lifetime's experience in DAYS ! It can only make us better players, and its FREE ! AMAZING. .

[@jeroen9637]

It's like Harry Potter and his new wand. You pick it up and there's magic. It's just that every guitar in the store calls to me.

[@kairunissahameed2943]

The bro lol I went to a music store and for some reason the souls of guitars were calling me lolll

[@farwa6820]

I was literally thinking the same

[@aparnaroy3347]

Then buy all 😆

[@kobrian58]

Every electric, acoustic, classical! My downfall is older guitars that need a home, like going to a pet shelter.

[@theskullblaze1]

Cedar sounds sooooo fire

[@sankalpwaghmare]

That's so me !!!

[@robertcronin6603]

Definitely 🔥

[@rakanalhakim2443]

Bad choice of words

[@oh_my_gauze]

Chocolaty

[@matttondr9282]

Chocolaty

[@scottconnuck3406]

Hey there Brandon. I had been a guitarist in my youth, having attained a master's degree in guitar performance from Florida State about 40 years ago. I had not played since my university days. At any rate, I recently purchased an inexpensive classical guitar which I fell immediately in love with. While making incredible progress in the short time I have been practicing, I had experienced a problem. I couldn't understand why my new guitar was such a bear to play. I mean, I found that getting through even a short Sor study would make me exhausted. Then today I've come to discover that the strings that the store put on the instrument were super heavy gauge, which meant that it takes a Herculean effort just to get through a piece. I think that the seller put heavy gauge strings on the guitar so that it wouldn't buzz. But the problem with that is, the guitar became super difficult to play. Once the strings were changed to a medium gauge, the instrument became SO much more playable. It does have a slight buzz at times, but I much prefer that than to kill my fingers from having to press down inordinately hard. Such a simple fix that changes everything! Here I was thinking that my stamina was the problem when, in actuality, it was the strings.

[@pedterson]

I have a simple process: 1. Check my bank account. 2. Despair.

[@Den_Anderen]

Shoul've bought in on gamestop

[@kidlatazul]

@@Den_Anderen too late now

[@carlotapuig]

If you only had bought bitcoins in the past...

[@viarnay]

You can buy a student guitar under 400$

[@UFO314159]

@@carlotapuig It's Dogecoin now.

[@TheHenkka65]

Thank you for your tutoring for picking up a good guitar. I am a steelstring player and been thinking of starting classical guitar studies. I have always loved the sound of a classical, good guitar. I've made my living by playing in bands, acoustic groups and as a trubadur. I would like to make a shift to something I think of being something fantastic. I learned something I didn't consider as a steelstring and electric player. You would make a very good teacher, BTW. 🙂👍.

[@oldfrend]

i think i need to get a cedar top guitar. the warmth and fullness of the tone is unbelievable!

[@PegasusFleets]

Lucky you..letting Love work through You to enhance our skills. Very helpful !! ...

[@Emily_M81]

I'm kinda in love with that cedar guitar...

[@viy4616]

I think Brandon just sold me on cedar tops. I also had spruce top guitars before, maybe because my first guitar was (accidentally) a flamenco guitar, so i got used to bright tones and snappy attack, but something about that sustain and resonance of cedar is slowly winning me over. By the way, brilliant and informative video, thank you!

[@thanosp.8140]

My main problem is that I'm left handed and it's difficult to choose when I can't play any in the store. Luckily, I met with the best luthier in my country and asked him to make one specifically for me. He even asked me to be there when he attached and finalised the fretboard and nut/saddle to fit my needs.😊

[@nrgraff]

This makes so much sense to me. Parts 1 and 2 were bith great and i appreciate them!

[@markusross3858]

5:34 The distance should be 3mm My guitar: 1cm, take it or leave it

[@falxonPSN]

Yikes. You must have strong finger muscles now.

[@brandonacker]

Take the guitar in for a setup. They can lower the saddle by filing it down.

[@valentinkovshik]

@@brandonacker If the string height is really 1cm, it is needed to lower it to 3mm by filing 14mm from the saddle :) So, a neck reset is required in this case.

[@falxonPSN]

@@valentinkovshik wouldn't you just need to file 7mm?

[@etherealfuegooscuro491]

SAME XD

[@markus-hermannkoch1740]

That rhymes so well with my own hobbyist adventure. After finally getting a little more serious about the guitar I decided to replace my 20 year old antiquity by something 'better'. Did just as you say: Took it to a large store for a serious comparison session. In the end I didn't buy anything, talked to our village luthier about it, and he reduced my guitar's action ever so slightly, putting an end to that story. There were beautifully crafted guitars in that store. But the direct comparison with my old one taught me objectively: They weren't significantly better.

[@nickotasla3091]

😠👍hey, nicely put there Markus👍

[@Jeronimo.67]

Excellent tutorials with all the helpful information and surprisingly correct and accurate technical tips on construction and set-up. Two thumbs up!👌👍👍

[@anthonymumford4277]

I bought a Flamenco guitar, made in Spain and all solid timber. They had several models and I just sat there for an hour trying all of them. And I bought the one with the nicest sound, and it had a spruce top. Its bright and percussive and that was 20 years ago and it still sounds great today. It was under 2,000 dollars. Factory made, but hand made. One test is to sit it on your lap and hear the sound coming straight out of the sound hole directly. But classical guitars, I prefer cedar tops. I agree with everything Brandon says. It's great advice. I think all solid timber guitars sound better, but some laminated body guitars sounded pretty good as well.

[@cherylgrames8555]

best instructor ever :)

[@attilakovacs5803]

Another great video, Brandon! These two (parts 1 & 2) should be shown to guitarists and taught at music schools worldwide. A lot of disappointment and wasted money/effort could be avoided.

[@yvonnecowan5994]

The song played to test lower tones sounded down right haunting on the cedar top.

[@lorenzodreo2268]

Oh God, the cedar one... I'm in love, I want to play it

[@Bova13]

Wow! This two videos where great at the right time, it happens that Im looking a new classical guitar. Now I want a cedar one. Thanx, Brandon, and Siccas guitars.

[@SuperExadidas]

Very useful tips. I wish there is a guitar brand that sells for a shorter finger e.g. Asian . Thank you.

[@LostSoulAscension]

Brandon is the best.

[@CrimFerret]

All good points. I appreciate that none of these tests presume that you have developed a huge amount of skill. Obviously it would probably be inadvisable to spend multiple thousands on a guitar until you were fairly sure it was an instrument you were going to play long term. At the same time, once you got to that point, getting an instrument that wouldn't hold back your progress might well be in order. Finally, given all the limitations of audio from a KZbin video, to my ear that cedar top guitar sounded orders of magnitude better to me. The overtones and sustain were just incredible on it. So I would guess if I were choosing between the two and both were within my budget, that might be the better one for me. After all, I'm ultimately the one person who has to listen to everything I play.

[@younesbenimam2754]

Thanks man! This was really helpeful. I realized that my preference is a guitar with a long sustain, easy action movement, vibration, should be cedar, and a one I can use to play different styles

[@Tiny_craftss]

This is the best buying advice video I've ever seen for a guitar. Thanks

[@SiccasGuitars]

It's nice to hear! You are welcome. 🌹

[@151155111555]

Thank you Brandon. Finally, a clear and practical word of advice

[@marcelakebleris3027]

Thank you! Very helpful and interesting video!

[@JimmyOnGuitar]

This and part 1 are very interesting, it’s a great way to look at things. I’m a long time steel string player, but I’ve always been drawn to finger style playing. I recently made the jump to a nylon classical guitar, and love it. I went for an entry level guitar to test the waters, but I’m thinking it’s time to upgrade. I love my cordoba so much that I barely ever touch my Martin or Gibson acoustics any more. Thanks for sharing!

[@usernamemykel]

"Spot on" about the difference the wood makes. I've Taylor guitars, one is Spruce (bright, crisp sound), the other Mahogany (deeper, more mellow. I've also ukuleles. At the ukulele shop, I tried several ukes and settled on a Spruce model. After I became more familiar with, and loving ukulele e playing, I later opted for an expensive (Kanilea brand) Koa uke, which is "warmer" and projects beautifully. So, depending on your playing mood/choice of tune, options are great to have.

[@ElizabethStJohnRamirez]

Thank you, so intuitive and right on.

[@instituteofconsciousbehavi4779]

Thank you for sharing your videos for the beginner. While this isn't my first time considering a guitar, it is the first in 50 years. Yes, a half century ago when I was 8, my parents bought me a new guitar and even had it restrung lefty for me. After a while, I must of got bored with it or didn't like to practice (my mother was a master pianist and I could have gotten all the free lessons anyone could want but, I hated playing scales for what seemed like hours upon hours so I gave up on it). My parents also bought me 3 different drumsets growing up and yes, drums became my thing but that's a story for another time. So here I am at 58 and semi-retired, deciding to take up guitar again and hoping it sticks this time. I have learned so much from part I & part II and appreciate your time and knowledge. Most of the big music stores just want you to buy what they want you to and get you out the door but I truly want to have the knowledge of knowing what is a good starting guitar for me and now I feel confident to obtain one I know will get me going and even stick with it. Thanks again!

[@gustavoadolfolee2877]

Thank you very much Brandon!!! I am learning a lot with your videos and comments!!! Thank you, again!!!!! Regards, Gustavo

[@MAZiese]

Brandon, all good points on selecting a "good" guitar. One tip you didn't mention was to tell the shopper to run their hand along the neck from the first fret down to the 12th fret to see if they feel any sharp fret ends. This is done by placing you hand on the back of the neck with the thumb (pulgar) on one side and the middle (medius) or forefinger (indice) on the other. Any sharp edges usually indicates a sloppy build. And if kept that way can make playing literally a pain. I personally have two classical models, One a full standard sized 650mm, hand made in Spain (my pride and joy) and I have a factory model which is 630mm 7/8 scale. Both are solid rosewood with solid cedar tops. However there is a difference in sound between the two. I am sure scale and the type of strings play a part. I will admit the hand made, full scale one has more depth in sound (warmer).

[@kateb6866]

I could listen to Brandon for hours ... 🥰regardless the subject 😊😊😊

[@StKnightis64]

Thanks Brandon. I watched this expecting to see a repeat of information I’ve seen over and over. Instead I found a lot of fresh ideas and things to look for. I like the idea of taking your current guitar to the store for comparison sake. I’ll have to watch episode 1. Nicely done. 👍

[@brandonacker]

Thanks, Ken! I'm glad to hear that since many videos on this topic exist already and I was hoping to contribute something new to the conversation 😊

[@jeetray11]

I would say most important things have been nicely covered. A few minor things such as smoothness of tuning keys, smoothness of the fret edges (even high end guitars sometimes have bad fret finish) are important. And in rare cases fret positions might be slightly off - using chords in different positions, harmonics etc. can be used to test for that.

[@atibakojo3478]

Really good information especially the sound difference between the Cedar and spruce tops.

[@ddhaval010]

Thank you 🙏🏼 It resonates with what I was looking for..

[@g.craigpowell2616]

The best video I've seen on this topic. Thank you.

[@stephenlyons100]

Thank you so much. That was very helpful and well done.

[@federicocarnebale]

Step one: go to the store Step two: select a guitar Step three: play smoke on the water

[@tasteslikeacid7804]

Gave me a good chuckle 😂🙏

[@RandomGuy-bb6ru]

Make sure you play it on the low E string instead of G and D string aswell

[@ThomasHope73]

Step four: Staff say "please don't don't touch the guitars".

[@miyamotomusashi001]

I find both videos very interesting, very illustrative and very useful. I only have one observation, the correct use of the ruler is at the other end, where the zero coincides with the end of it, resting it on the fret.

[@rosco1pug]

A thought provoking and enjoyable series of videos thank you sir. A point worth considering is how 'balanced' the instrument seems to be. A guitar with a heavy neck that tends to dive in your hands is, for most people, going to be disconcerting and likely feel unnatural to play. Your coverage of the thickness or profile of the neck is relevant to that.

[@benh.3581]

I had a nice deja-vu, when you played Prelude Nr.1, as I played it recently on my Cedar-Guitar. I think the darker sound with the longer sustain fits really good with this piece.

[@willywantoknow2563]

Thank you for this. Already watched part one. Just difficult when your so far away from trying out any.

[@notmewooshme9916]

I dont know what to concentrate on.His amazing tutorial or the background chopin nocturne.

[@davet2625]

I've been learning acoustic for a few years and have just got interested in classical and in the last few days started thinking of buying one and late last night put the order in! Buying blind (or rather deaf?), but found Cedar top Yamaha CG142 for £239 on PMT. Seems like a sweet deal! Hopefully I get along well with it!

[@SuperExadidas]

Very useful video. Thank you Brandon.

[@GreggFellows]

i bought a cheap 2nd hand Yammy C40, sounds pretty good and will do until i intend to progress to something grander, the Yamaha can be sold for what i paid for it when that time comes

[@miguelslade]

Thanks Brandon, I didn’t know where to start..

[@guppy-fy1zv]

love the cedar one

[@paulmuwadeeb2161]

What a fantastically informative video.

[@wassimhammami7240]

Brandon is the best

[@robertphillips4155]

Thank you for these two videos. I’ve played steel string guitar for many years and recently decided to purchase a new high quality one. I’ve found myself overwhelmed at the options and getting stuck in analysis paralysis. The good news is that I’ve decided on a brand that I like because of the comfort of playing for me. There are a lot of options from this manufacturer and finding “my sound” has been a challenge. I’ve purchased and returned three guitars because it’s a big purchase for me and I don’t want to get it wrong. Your comments about the bandwidth and tone really struck me and it helped me to make a decision between two guitars that I had narrowed down to. Good advice.

[@instituteofconsciousbehavi4779]

I appreciate your comment as I too was overwhelmed with information and to add even more pain to my quest, I am a lefty! Again, appreciate your comment and knowledge~!

[@TheHugoFoxx]

Ok your Torres replica definitely sound kinda flamenco guitar. The cedar one sounds kinda good classical guitar. Kinda a really good one! I love that sound.

[@anaalvarez494]

Thank you!!! Excellent.

[@21AEKAPA21]

Thank you Brandon. To the point as always and very understandable.

[@GRJ-uz7kf]

Excellent discussion. Equally valuable for selecting a non-classical guitar. But odd to omit nut-width, which is a big playability factor.

[@attilakovacs5803]

53-53.5 mm for me.

[@Purple_flower09]

Classical guitars are normally and traditionally 2 inches or 52mm at the nut. Recently there are crossover guitars with narrower necks and even a radius on the fretboard but these are not traditional instruments. With a traditionally made instrument there is normally little variation on the 52mm.

[@giaonguyen9689]

Thanks Brandon , for such a meaningful pointing out . FYI , I 've been playing guitar for over 50 years , and did not really know what I should be looking for when choosing a new guitar . .

[@suuuuuuu19]

I love low action guitars but to have a good amount of dynamics, and of all guitars that I played only one old Ramirez guitar had that but I never owned a such guitar

[@flavianomanfis]

I wish I could give an extra like for listening to a Villa-Lobos piece :D

[@PedroDias-hj2jy]

I think that knowing the strings we are testing on is important too because very often people use savarez alliance which makes the guitar sound more resonant than it could actually be. Of course if you like how it sounds and like the strings that's okay, but if you plan on changing strings or comparing two guitars this is a important factor. Top density could be a factor too because generally a denser top will not sympathize so well with nylon and have a more "opaque" sound. but a thin top could sound too agressive with carbon.

[@printz0071]

Great tutorial on how to choose a classical guitar...Thanks a lot. You are amazing

[@BillBracket]

Thanks just the advice I needed for my new classical guitar purchase

[@abenassini]

Thanks for a GREAT lesson.

[@behzad7070]

Love the sound of your chocolate guitar 🧡

[@lancehoward6714]

Man part 1 was awesome. Good technical info without blowing my mind. Thank you for providing great guides that speak in depth in such a short amount of time.

[@ewhyte8059]

Generally in concurrence here. For me it’s about the sentiment of the piece. I prefer my mellow spruce top for melancholy pieces (Especially at night) and my cedar top for more uplifting pieces.

[@lorenzonapoletano5789]

This guitarist is so underrated

[@Fellow_Traveller1985]

Could you make a video or two like this about purchasing a lute?

[@Paksusuoli95]

Lute, Baroque/Renaissance/Romantic Guitars

[@Aalii6]

upvote!

[@josephdelsignore219]

Dear Mr. Acker, thank you for the information, especially video #2...I am beginning to look for a conservatory level instrument to replace my yamaha cg151s, and your guidance is appreciated. Stay well

[@AG-wg4zi]

Thank you very much, I find the 2 videos very helpful, well thought and properly detailed!

[@albertusdrostable]

Thanks for this most informative video!

[@rfdsrd]

Playability must always be the prime concern with regards to any guitar. String action for acoustics is predicated on the neck angle with regards to the body and bridge. Bringing along a straight edge whilst acoustic guitar shopping is a good idea for checking the neck angle. Place the straight between the D and G strings, laid on top of the frets, and note where the lower corner of the straight edge meets the top front edge of the bridge (not the saddle). An ideal neck angle is where that straight edge corner is slightly above the front edge of the bridge. If below the front edge of the bridge, the neck angle is probably too low and will not allow the saddle to be lowered in order to achieve a low, or better string action.

[@henrysuryanaga5924]

Good inputs and useful.

[@sofiamorales9872]

Minute 5:27 - is the 3-3.5mm distance from the black part of fret board or from the top of the metallic bar on the fret board?

[@rockyboy976]

Great video mate. Can u make a video on which and what type of guitars will age well and is worth keeping? What is the cheapest guitar that will age well and will just preserving it suffice or it must be played regularly. I recently got a 40 year guitar but I am not sure how good it is...

[@zacpiya]

Wow, these guitars are sicc as!

[@moisesperez4605]

Brandon, I am visually impaired, I want to buy a classical guitar within the ranges of two: $3000, your videos were lightning, I would love a suggestion what brand should I look for in that range, high end models and like you say in the video I would definitely test each one of them.

[@tttdrr2293]

Reminds me of the movie The Red Violin, were they are testing the resonating structure of the violin.

[@paulnguyen9530]

Very helpful info. Thank you very much .

[@brandonwalker1255]

I think the maple vs rosewood back and sides might have something to do with the difference in sustain, rather than just the top material.

[@amandahammond2691]

I wish there had been more info for players buying for the first time who may not know any music to play to do these tests.

[@a.bloke2.0alwayslearning.23]

Good stuff, Man. I have learned. .

[@kasunmaduwage2316]

Thank you very much!

[@eaman11]

He, when you go to the store to play guitars you are often just testing strings, you could have a wonderful instrument in your hands with bad and old string while some bratty one with fresh strings just gets out better from the noise and the unease of a different setup.

[@roguedeity1270]

Siccas and Brandon collab? I am dreaming...

[@Kalumbatsch]

When you go try out lots of expensive guitars, always bring a metal ruler with sharp edges and pointy corners. The shop owners will love that.

[@giuseppearmetta1426]

ahaahah yeees go for it!!

[@jadeowenhamblyn4405]

Man i love that cedar top guitar.

[@wahlar5840]

I was planning to buy a classical guitar in next tuesday perfect0111

[@wahlar5840]

That gonna be my first classical guitar:)

[@sankalpwaghmare]

@@wahlar5840 saaaammmeeeeee I'm gonna buy it on my birthday in march

[@BS38114]

Have fun. I got my first 7 month ago.

[@mrdingens6189]

Super cool video! That’s a great service 😃 I’d also take one more thing into consideration: In many music stores, there are huge differences between the age of the strings of each guitar. Testing an instrument with very old strings or comparing it to one with new strings might give you a rather wrong impression.

[@timmasonguitar]

Totally agree. A good set of strings can lift a poor guitar, whereas poor strings can make an excellent guitar sound rubbish.

[@BobStCyr]

Great advice. I would ad a few things - most players aren't aware of how different an instrument sounds to the listener as opposed of to the player. If possible take someone who can play the instrument so you can hear the instrument from the perspective of the listener. Another trap - if you are relatively happy with your guitar - you will look for something that sounds the same (which might be good but maybe not), the other side of that - if you perceive that your guitar does not do something well - lets say it has a warm sound without much brightness - you will be looking for a guitar that is bright - maybe too much so. Lastly, a better guitar will be more sensitive and show a players technique more - may intermediate players find they sound worse on a better guitar and blame the guitar - the guitar is just exposing your playing better than a less sensitive instrument. The better instrument will push you to play better, but there may be an "adjustment" period while you work on raising your technique..

[@cagedgreed]

Thanks for doing these two videos! I learned a bunch of stuff, and the difference between the cedar and spruce for sound and sustain was amazing! I have a tendency to tap guitar soundboards to feel the resonance, using them like a finger bongo drum to see how they shimmy and shake, but the arm-mute was really obvious.

[@sinjaja5836]

This explains a lot about my guitar, which sounds beautiful, but is a little hard to play for me.

[@aquabot]

Great video, as usual.

[@lacischeitz4598]

Brandon! What do you think about buying a guitar online? If you don’t have the opportunity to try an instrument in person, because none of the stores near you (or your entire country) have one, so you can’t even try it (they can only get it to order, but then you have to buy it). Examples are 8, 10, 11, 13 string classical guitars, lutes, theorboes. Can you give any advice on online shopping to avoid disappointment. Who are the reliable stores, manufacturers or guitar makers? Thanks in advance for your reply. If you think so, this could be the subject of a stand-alone video.

[@brandonacker]

Hi, well with online shops like Siccas, it's fine to buy online because they will advise you on what to get and you can return the guitar if you don't like it. I have also bought instruments online without playing and it's true that that can be a bit of a gamble. Better to try in advance.

[@mt-nv4jd]

I would suggest to those who do not know how to produce a quality tone, to take someone with you who does play, and can help you "hear" the guitar. When I was taking my first classical lessons many years ago, I brought my cheap guitar. It sounded thin. When my teacher played it, it sounded MUCH better, tone wise. Good technique is key. Also, in must big box stores, the sales people are there to sell. Think of it as a car dealership.

[@DanielOliveiraViolao]

Realy good. Thanks!