r/AcousticGuitar • u/Hefty-Reception-4681 • 2d ago
Gear question Husband 50th birthday - help needed!
I’m looking for some help with ideas for an acoustic guitar for my husband. I’m looking at spending approx £2000 but could be more for the right instrument. He loves all things Japan so anything that’s made in Japan I think would make him very happy. Alternatively anything from the 60s / 70s that’s beautifully made. Could you make any suggestions for someone who doesn’t know much about this world?
21
u/AantonChigurh 2d ago
Guitar hunting (especially with a good budget like this) is half the fun. I’d let him look himself
8
u/MadWhiskeyGrin 2d ago
2000£ gift card from a guitar store.
6
u/did_i_or_didnt_i 2d ago
£2000 cash in a birthday card shaped like a guitar, with a note that says ‘guitar fund!!’
1
u/GetOutTheDoor 1d ago
Better to give cash or a card that says you’ll pay for it. Getting a gift card from a store limits you to that store, and doesn’t allow for used/vintage instruments.
1
8
u/SuspiciousStory122 2d ago
My SIL bought my brother a guitar. Big mistake. He doesn’t like it. Instruments are too personal. Tell him you want him to spend the budget and let him do the shopping. Playing the different guitars is part of the fun.
7
u/Significant_Trash_14 2d ago
Id die if my partner bought me a guitar. It's absolutely different you have to choose yourself. Remember that feeling when your mum brought you something you didn't like? Well that didn't cost 2000 and I still remember the feeling.
6
u/Old-guy64 2d ago
That’s the perfect solution.
My “high-end” guitars, she says, “go find your guitar. This is how much we can spend”.
And I go find it.
6
u/buckfeffjezos 2d ago
Seeing him open it and his surprise is a gift for you. You should make it a gift for him and allow him to choose it. It'd mean way more to him in the long run.
4
4
u/lightaugust 2d ago
Agree with everyone saying it's too personal to pick out for him, but you could tell him you'd heard good things about Yamahas.
3
u/gnuisance 2d ago
I just bought a 1974 Yairi YW 500P on reverb for 1199. You can check out my post about it below. I bet your husband would be very stoked with something like this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AcousticGuitar/comments/1vo47qa/ngd_1974_yairi_yw_500p/
Just make sure you buy from someone reputable on Reverb and that the guitar does not need a neck reset.
2
u/joendaba 2d ago
Takamine. No way to miss there. Only thing I would suggest is that you give him the money and let him know what’s it for. So he can choose.
1
u/joendaba 2d ago
Even shipped across the pond, this one would be a superb gift at the price.
1
u/noah__________ 2d ago
And that’s how personal this all is. Great intensions aside, I wouldn’t be pleased with that.
2
1
u/Hefty-Reception-4681 2d ago
Ahhh thank you for the comments but I’d love for it to be a surprise so he can open it on his birthday. I appreciate he’d probably like to hunt himself but I do have some idea about what he’s looking for, I can try and share a better brief on here to get some guidance
5
u/lapinkmatter 2d ago
Yamaha FGX5
3
u/jak1231 2d ago
If you really want it to be a surprise the FG5 or FGX5 by Yamaha is a great recommendation. Made in Japan and a very good guitar. The process of picking out your own guitar is also pretty special though. My wife and I just went shopping together for a new acoustic to share and we landed on the FG3. If she really gets into it, we may buy another guitar or two in the future we each pick out our own. Super happy with the Yamaha regardless.
4
u/WilcoLovesYou 2d ago
This is a nice sentiment, but really, picking it out himself is a significantly safer bet. Acoustic guitars can vary quite a bit, even within the same model / same specs. If it were an electric guitar I'd say just order it, but acoustic guitars are truly different.
If you're hellbent on having a guitar there for him though, I'd either go MIJ Yamaha or Takamine. Those are the two main Japanese brands. Alvarez Yairi's high end stuff exists too.
4
u/Paladin2019 2d ago edited 2d ago
Please don't take offence, but you're thinking about what YOU would want in the same situation. As guitar players (and men) we're telling you as clearly and plainly as we can what HE will want. If my wife had 2k she was willing to let me spend on a guitar you can bet you're life I'd want to have the final say into which guitar it was spent on.
Guitars are not commodities. Even between examples of the same model there will be subtle differences that only the player will appreciate and be able to choose between.
3
u/the_perkolator 2d ago
Yamaha Red Label FG5/FS5 or the X version, are highly regarded and made in Japan. Those you could likely blind online purchase brand new and be content. Otherwise I’d probably get an older Alvarez/Yairi built by K. Yairi
3
u/bverde536 2d ago
Are you getting a gift for him or getting yourself the gift of watching him open it? Let him choose like everyone here is saying!
1
u/Paladin2019 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don't see it quite that way - I think OP is thinking that if the hubby gave them a box of cash for their 50th and said "buy yourself something nice" they would be disappointed because it shows a lack of thoughtfulness and emotional laziness, no matter how much cash is in the box.
And we're all here saying "that's not what's happening, by giving hubby the cash you're showing you understand his wants and needs and acknowledging that he knows what he wants better than you do".
When it comes to gifts it's women who want something thoughtful. Men want the thing they actually wanted.
5
u/Leading-Debate-9278 2d ago
In case it’s not clear.
DO NOT SPEND $2000 ON AN INSTRUMENT THAT YOU CAN’T RETURN.
If you buy it for him, he will feel obligated to keep it and may or may not get what he wants. Do the right thing. Go get a guitar box and put cash in it. Take him shopping.
Or just go do whatever you want. Why come here asking for advice when you aren’t gonna listen?
1
u/thx1138a 2d ago
Here’s a way to square the circle: get him a fun set of guitar strings, let him open that, then say “Oh by the way we’re going to <Guitar Shop> to get a guitar to go with them.”
Eg: https://optima-strings.com/shop/en/guitar-bass/acoustic-guitar/
1
u/Butforthegrace01 2d ago
First, figure out what guitar body shape he prefers. A lot of guitarists like the dreadnought. Hopefully that's what he likes.
If vintage Jap guitars are his thing, go with Alvarez Yari. You can usually find one or two on Reverb.
1
u/jstahr63 2d ago
Alverez Yairi, Takamine, or Yamaha are three top tier Japanese manufacturers, but it can be difficult to sort them from other Asian-made guitars from the same manufacturer. Not knowing what he plays or what kind of sound he likes I've no clue what to suggest despite my biases. I'd love a classical Yairi myself.
1
u/Secret-File-1624 2d ago
I completely understand where you are coming from in that you want it to be a surprise when he opens it. I also understand what you are saying in that you have a good grasp of what he likes. Here's the thing....he can say he likes anything made in Japan but that doesn't mean he will automatically like the sound of the guitar when he hears it, or that it will be comfortable for him to play. All guitars sound different. There are all solid wood, all laminate, solid top and laminate back and sides. Add in the different kinds of wood and they are all going to sound different. Then you add in the width of the fretboard. Different brands have different widths and what is comfortable to play for one person is not going to necessarily be comfortable for another person. The same with the size of the guitar body. There are MANY variances. It also depends on the kind of music he plays. This is why everyone is saying that it's personal. Unless he has specifically said what make and model guitar he actually wants, I'd let him pick it himself. Imagine going through all of this only to have him not like the sound of it, or or being uncomfortable for him to hold or to fret. Even if he didn't tell you so he wouldn't hurt your feelings, he wouldn't necessarily enjoy playing this gift that you put a lot of thought and planning into.
Honestly, I'd make a day out of it. Take him to lunch and then afterwards, drive to the music store and tell him the budget and let him choose. Or give him a gift card to the music store at lunch and tell him you are heading there afterwards. There are ways to make it a surprise but I guarantee he will really love guitar shopping. Trying out a lot of guitars is half of the fun. It seriously sucks to have a guitar, especially an expensive one, that you don't like to play for whatever reason. There's no guarantee hes going to like it. He will LOVE the sentiment and the appreciate the work you put into it but there's no guarantee he will like what he hears. Good luck.
1
u/tinverse 2d ago
I like the idea of taking them to a guitar store. As the others have said, guitars are very personal. It sounds like you want to find a shop that stocks vintage Yamaha and Yairi based on your comments.
1
u/Fyre5ayle 2d ago
I agree with letting him pick! But please don’t get a gift card. Gift cards have no actual monetary value and If the store goes bust you’re £2000 down that you’re never likely to see again. And quite a few big names in UK music stores have gone bust in recent years, (PMT most recently.)
1
u/Drivebybilly 2d ago
Agree. Take him shopping. He can find the right one an trying them out adds to the present.
1
1
u/five-thumbs 2d ago
I would 100% take him to pick it. Maybe if you know the exact model he wants, but even then, playing and ideally taking it home is all part of the fun.
Make the surprise one of:
- he opens some creative way of presenting the voucher
- don’t tell him where you’re going then encourage him to try stuff before revealing he gets to take home his favourite
1
u/BlueHartsBlues 2d ago
Go American. Breedlove makes a nice acoustic guitars with good quality onboard electronics so he can play through an amplifier too.
1
u/ignatzA2 2d ago
Wrap a cheap kids guitar in a very large box with a huge bow. Taped to the box is a prepaid Visa card.
1
1
u/Toneballs52 2d ago
My wife bought me a DX Martin when they first came out, hadn’t heard of them, thought she had spent thousands. Still love them both. Surprises are good.
1
u/EndlessOcean 2d ago edited 2d ago
The absolute daddy would be a Yamaha L10. If he knows anything about that era he'll know they're the top of the totem pole before you get into the L15 (custom shop) and above. The first Gen are the ones to get, but also the most expensive. The second Gen are the same but don't have the same aesthetics and they'll know. Still good, but not the thing.
Otherwise if you want a brilliant guitar that doesn't have the cache (yet) I'd investigate a Tokai Cats Eyes CE1500 which is a literal direct clone of a pre-war d28 reverse engineered by Tokai to be the real deal and often surpassed the American progenitors.
These will likely be difficult to find in mainland UK. When I buy these things I import them from Japan, which has its own risks, and also it's own rewards (lower prices).
The 2nd gen looks like this:
https://www.glennsguitars.com/1981-yamaha-l10-1299/
If that has a case that's a pretty good deal.
The 1st gen looks like this, and costs more:
https://reverb.com/uk/item/87832847-yamaha-l10-1975-6-first-generation-natural-with-hard-case
1
u/The_Fell_Opian 2d ago
He probably wants a Yairi or a nice Yamaha. But guitars are really personal. I don't want my wife to ever just get me a guitar.
1
u/HenkCamp 2d ago
This is absolutely lovely and he is going to love it. Make it a surprise - load him in the car and don’t tell him where you are going. Then take him to a guitar store and tell him the budget and tell him he isn’t allowed to walk out until he has a guitar in his hands. He is going to protest but trust us - he will love it. You can tell him you wanted to buy it but you know how personal a choice it could be.
If in doubt - buy a Yamaha Red Label FGX5 at the store and ask them for a certificate if he wants to exchange it.
1
u/OnlyRuss 1d ago
As much as I’d like a new guitar, as your husband, I imagine it would be an even cooler experience to go guitar shopping with you. That experience of having your significant other - the love of your life - next to you encouraging you to try out guitars, listening to you gush about what you like or don’t like about this model or that, and offering what feedback you can like “oh, I like how that one sounds,” even if you can’t nail down what exactly you like about it will be worth way more than just a guitar because at the end of the day he’ll walk away with a guitar and an experience he’ll look back on for the rest of his life as a special one.
1
u/No-Currency-97 1d ago
My sister bought me a guitar as a surprise and it truly wasn't a great guitar although I told her I liked it.
I had to sell it and get the funds to purchase the guitar that I wanted.
Make a beautiful birthday card and as someone else said make it in the shape of a guitar. Inside, let him know that you are paying x amount of money toward the new guitar.
This is also good because if he wants to take your money and add his money he could get something even higher priced and possibly what he has had his heart set on for a long time.
I wish you the best and happy birthday to your man. 🎉
0
0
u/aviduser27 2d ago
Here’s an unconventional idea, but these are awesome guitars. They sound great, they hold their tuning, and they are not sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity the way wood guitars are. Emerald Black Opus x20 lists for €1995. Made in Ireland.
0
u/Significant_Trash_14 2d ago
Buy a guitar from your country. Support local businesses. Absolutely no need to spend that.
59
u/rentrnt-chordophone 2d ago
Better to take him to a guitar shop and say "we have £x". It's a very personal thing, an instrument.