I became a fan of Luna brand guitars when my best friend bought one for his three year old daughter. The best acoustic guitar for when money is no object, Price: $5,999/£4,499 | Body: solid sitka spruce top with rosewood back and sides | Neck: mahogany | Fingerboard: Richlite | Electronics: LR Baggs VTC electronics. Are you looking for something to help you progress as a player, for example? The best acoustic guitar for intermediate players, Price: $799/£699 | Body: sitka top with walnut back and sides | Neck: sapele | Electronics: Taylor Expression System 2. Martin saves the last of the fireworks for the playability, with an action so low that might catch those used to wrestling chords out of their acoustic unawares. Famed for its favor among some of music's best-known names, the D-28 has cemented its place in music history over eight decades. Instead, consider a reliable acoustic like the Epiphone DR-100. This price bracket is awash with acoustic guitars from all kinds of brands, but when we think about the best in this region, we're drawn to the Yamaha FG800. Add to this the cost of a set up and any basic upgrades you want to make, and the price can quickly get out of hand. Beginnerguitar.pro is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. With a little research first, yes you should. You can read more about the Blueridge BR-140 in this article by Premier Guitar Magazine. The Takamine P3NY is a great example, and gets our nod as the best acoustic guitar for fingerpickers. We at BeginnerGuitar are big fans of the Yamaha FG and F series, having previously raved about the FG800, and the FG830. Used guitars are another story. 5. Satin finish. For more info check our Affiliate Disclosure page. The market is awash with sub-$100 own-brand acoustics, however proceed with one of these at your peril. It’s equipped with premium Shadow electronics with a tuner and feedback control switch. In the modern age, many of us usually have the internet in our pocket, so I recommend doing a quick search of the model. That’s how we end up with guitars such as Martin’s SC-13E – an electro-acoustic the likes of which we have never seen before. The best guitars shouldn’t just sound good though; they should sound great. But, hidden behind the unique visual stylings is a guitar which gives you plenty of room to experiment. The GS Mini is essentially a scaled down version of the popular Taylor Grand Symphony-shaped acoustic. Put simply, the sound this guitar produces makes it worth the money alone. When you think about a touring guitar, you think of something that sounds great, but is also built to withstand the rigors of life on the road. At the top end, there are few of these concerns. Once you know your budget, ask yourself what you need the guitar for. This is the best acoustic guitar for you. This guitar can be found in most places for less than $200. We’d love to stay in touch, sign up for the Guitar World team to contact you with great news, content and offers. Spend a bit of time with one, however, and you'll see it has more to offer than as a mere travel companion. These guitars give you the most bang for your buck, the best chords for your cash, the best rhythm for your riches, the best playing for your paying. All bearing the signature of quality that comes from master luthier Robert Godin, there isn’t a single guitar in their inventory that disappoints. The Gypsy Exotic Spalt is certainly beautiful, and it really doesn’t sound half bad at all. It has minimal electronic capabilities, but if the need arises to plug in, the Storia I is ready to go with a Yamaha passive undersaddle pickup and 1/4″ jack located in the bottom bout’s strap button. Epiphone DR-100. When you are passionate about music, all you need is a guitar that … New guitars are great; they’re basically untouched, should be in pristine condition, and it’s like getting a puppy — you get to grow together and learn each other and become best friends. All things considered, I believe the Martin D-15M is hands down the best acoustic guitar for the money. An acoustic is not worth going into debt for. Juxtaposed Fender delivers superb variety of sounds, Price: $1,999/£1,749 | Body: mahogany body with lutz spruce top | Neck: mahogany | Fingerboard: ebony | Electronics: Fishman Enhancer acoustic pickup, Fender N4 Noiseless single coil with Fishman Undersaddle piezo, USB rechargeable battery. Sitka spruce is commonly used in acoustic guitars and offers a balanced tone with clarity and dynamic range. The included hardshell case is a welcome addition, too. If yes, it passes the sound test. If you can’t afford even the most inexpensive model, save and wait until you can. Unplugged, a high-quality acoustic guitar sings when you play it. It's marketed as a travel acoustic guitar, which can be thrown in the (included) gig bag to accompany you anywhere. Recoil at that gargantuan price tag! Where to now? At this stage of your playing career, you don't need to spend lots of money. There’s a reason Epiphone continues to be a major name in the guitar market. Sometimes this can be solved by paying for a good setup, but by that stage, you might have ended up paying over the odds. For the price, it’s hard to find a decent cutaway acoustic, and it’s so pretty that you can easily forget about the laminate top after a few minutes playing. These guitars are presented in price order so you can easily find the right one for your budget. The BR-140’s body is totally solid wood, producing a harmonic-rich tone you’ll only experience from a guitar of this caliber. They can be like finding a wise, old guru, who through their years of experience have grown beautifully mellow and learned. Blueridge BR-140 Historic Series. It’s got a pretty standard tone, nothing to gawk about, but its intonation is good and it’s pretty evenly balanced throughout the ranges. We'll be reporting on the best offers right through to Black Friday itself. Playability of course factors in big-time. Although smaller than a dreadnought, no sound is sacrificed with this body design, and Yamaha’s innovative bracing patterns ensure that every note carries through with clarity and full-bodied beauty. Look at the body shape for a start, that squashed offset cutaway tears up the rulebook. Try out the Seagull Entourage for just a few minutes, and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed a bit. A bold, thoroughly modern and brilliant crossover design, Price: $1,499/£1,599 | Type: 13-fret cutaway electro-acoustic | Top: Sitka spruce | Back & sides: Mahogany with koa fine veneer | Neck: Select hardwood, Low Profile Velocity neck shape w/ High performance taper | Scale: 25.4” | Fingerboard: Ebony | Frets: 20, medium | Electronics: Fishman MX-T w/Sonicore under-saddle transducer, soundhole-placed volume and tone, phase switch and tuner | Tuners: Nickel-plated, open-geared Grover w/ ‘butterbean’ buttons | Left-handed: No | Finish: All gloss, natural. Entry-level acoustics tend to be less robust and, if we're being honest, aren't as easy to play as a higher-end model. The action – the height the strings sit from the fingerboard – is usually higher, making them harder to play. If your budget is $100, the best guitar for you is not on this list. The sitka wood produces a gloriously welcoming sound, and the onboard Taylor Expression System 2 electronics make it ideal for live performance. And other genres, too. They use the traditional rosewood fingerboard and bridge to keep the tone even and natural anywhere and anyway you play it, and keep it in tune with high quality Yamaha designed tuning machines. With many acoustics now featuring onboard electronics – known as acoustic-electric guitars or electro-acoustic guitars – there is another variable to consider: how the guitar sounds when connected to an acoustic guitar amp or PA system. The onboard Fishman Sonitone electronics make it ideal for hooking up to an amp, while the choice of rigid High Pressure Laminate mahogany means it can withstand years of use. You'll struggle to find a (relatively) inexpensive acoustic which matches up. Build quality is superb, meaning the instrument will last for years and years. Although it’s built with the large body style of regular dreadnought acoustics, it has a sloping armrest between the bouts that is gracefully curved to accommodate for the fatigue that can plague inexperienced players. Thinking about a Yamaha but want to play on nylon strings? When you're looking for versatility in an acoustic, that usually means little more than it is at home being picked or strummed. Build quality is obviously a huge deciding factor. The best acoustic guitar for accomplished players, Price: $2,899/£2,650 | Body: solid East Indian rosewood body with solid sitka spruce top | Neck: select hardwood. Speaking of beauty, the Storia I is a delight to look at. Just starting out? Designed with beginners in mind but engineered for professional sound, the Yamaha Storia I can meet nearly all your musical demands.