The Best Acoustic Guitars At Any Price

The Martin D-28 is a classic acoustic guitar played by many famous musicians like Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Jimmy Page. And there is a reason for this guitar’s fame and popularity. The sound produced by the Martin D-28 is rich and balanced. You’ll get great bass tones, complimented by clear high notes. According to guitar retailer Long and McQuade, the Martin D-28 is “perfect for the intermediate and advanced player”.

Customers found that the Martin D-28 lived up to its reputation. People thought the guitar sounded great. One customer said that the guitar had a “good bottom end and crisp and clear highs.” Other customers said this guitar was comfortable and easy to play. One person said that the Martin D-28 worked well for both strumming and finger style playing. The only real drawback to the Martin D-28 is its price. Since this is a premier acoustic guitar, the average price will be around $3,000. The other complaints we found were mostly subjective (e.g., the guitar didn’t sound good).

Yamaha FG guitars are one of the most popular acoustic guitar models in the world. This guitar has a simple and traditional look. It also has a well-balanced sound; the guitar’s design produces a loud and strong sound in the low to mid ranges. While some budget guitars have flimsy designs and break easily, you’ don’t have to worry about that with the Yamaha FG. This guitar has a scalloped bracing design that adds strength to its body.

Overall, the Yamaha FG is a great budget guitar. It is also a good option for beginner guitarists. Several customers agreed with these sentiments. One customer said that this guitar had an excellent tone and was “comparable to high end brands in terms of sound and playability.” Another customer said that the Yamaha FG was a “budget-oriented guitar which is playable”.

One customer complained that the guitar did not come with button for a guitar strap. However, the person admitted that this was minor grievance; it would have been convenient if the guitar came with the button. Another customer said that people may need to make minor adjustments to this guitar. For this person, they had to polish the frets.

For people just starting to learn acoustic guitar, this instrument is a good option. This Donner Acoustic Guitar comes with several accessories, such as: a padded gig bag, guitar strap, digital clip-on tuner, capo, pickguard, extra pack of strings, truss rod, four guitar picks, and a cloth. These features are not only convenient, they help you save money.

The dreadnought body of this guitar, made of spruce top mahogany, is durable and solid. It is designed to create a rich, bright sound that is also well balanced. The Donner Acoustic Guitar is also designed to stay in tune. The metal alloy tuning pegs and phosphor bronze strings makes it easy to tune this guitar and keep it in tune. Lastly, the Donner Acoustic Guitar has a smooth fretboard that lets you easily slide up and down the neck.

Many customers said this instrument was a great beginner acoustic guitar. The neck was comfortable, which also made it easy to play. Sound was another positive noted, with one customer saying that the “sound is great for the price”.

While many people liked the simple features of this guitar, some said those who are serious about playing will want to upgrade to a better instrument. Overall, these customers said that the Donner Acoustic Guitar is great for beginners, but intermediate or advanced players should look for something more on the higher end.

As mentioned earlier, some acoustic guitars have electric hardware installed. This provides the player with various features/perks, such as an increased volume. We found that the best acoustic/electric guitar available is the Epiphone J-200. This jumbo style acoustic/electric guitar has a solid spruce top body. It also has Grover Rotomatic machine heads that make it easy to tune this guitar. The guitar has a Fishman Sonitone pickup system, which lets you plug the guitar into an amplifier.

Many customers liked the sound quality for “both electric and acoustic” modes. Many more people said the Epiphone J-200 sounded great when plugged into a guitar amplifier. Other positives listed by customers were playability, build quality, string height (action), and the design. Lastly, people liked the price for the Epiphone J-200, with several saying that it was a good price point for a jumbo style acoustic guitar. One customer summed it up by saying this guitar had “good value for the money”.

We could not find many complaints about the Epiphone J-200. Again, most were subjective issues, such as “I did not like the sound of this guitar”.

Before we dive into our picks for this category, let’s first look at what 12 string acoustic guitars are. So far, the acoustic guitars in this buying guide have six strings. And most acoustic guitars you’ll find online and in music store only have six strings. However, there are acoustic guitar models that come with 12 strings. The additional strings produce a thicker, more ringing tone. To accommodate the extra strings, these guitars have wider necks. The extra strings also create higher string tension. Playing a 12 string acoustic guitar can be tricky. You have to be more delicate in the placement of your fingers and in the way you strum and pick the strings. Therefore, 12 string guitars are suited for intermediate and advanced players. Even though playing a 12 string acoustic guitar can be hard, the upside is worth it. The amazing tone is the reward you get for playing the instrument.

One final note: Users on the subreddit r/guitars recommend players stick to higher end 12 string guitars. The reasoning being that budget 12 string acoustics tend to have a poor build quality.

Now let’s look at our pick for the best 12 string acoustic guitars, the Taylor 150E.

The Taylor 150E is an acoustic/electric 12 string guitar. The dreadnought body of this guitar is designed for a low-end tonal response. According to the product description, the tone of the Taylor 150E is “lush and articulate” with “lots of dynamic range”. In addition, the guitar has a slim, playable neck. Customers agreed with the sound and comfortability of the Taylor 150E. People said the neck felt comfortable, which made the guitar easy to play. In terms of sound, one customer said the guitar had a “sparkle sound” with lots of clarity at the bottom end. Lastly, people thought the Taylor 150E was well made, beautifully crafted, and had an amazing sound.

The only drawback for this guitar is the price. It’s the second most expensive guitar on this buying guide at $1,199. Therefore, we don’t recommend this guitar if your budget is tight. With that being said, the Taylor 150E is more affordable than other higher end 12 string acoustic guitars.

Acoustic basses may not have the popularity of acoustic guitars, but they are still an enjoyable instrument to play. The Fender Kingman acoustic bass resembles a traditional electric bass. The version we picked comes in a beautiful black gloss finish. This acoustic bass has a comfortable playing feel which is achieved through its cutaway body. This design allows you to access the higher frets.  In addition, this acoustic bass is slightly shorter than other models. This gives the Fender Kingman a slinkier playing feel, and it’s easier to transport. In terms of sound, the Fender Kingman delivers a full, deep acoustic projection. This is an important quality. According to several users on r/guitars, most acoustic basses struggle to project when not plugged into an amp. And because this bass is an acoustic/electric model, you can plug it into an amp for even better tones.

Customers agreed that the Fender Kingman has a great sound. One customer noted that this acoustic bass “really projects well and has a great tone plugged and unplugged”. People also agreed that this acoustic bass was comfortable to play, with several people stating that the bass suited multiple playing styles. Lastly, the design of the Fender Kingman was popular with people.