https://acousticguitar.com lessons, music to play, and how-tos for all guitarists Fri, 11 Oct 2024 22:03:46 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/acousticguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/AG_Favicon.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 https://acousticguitar.com 32 32 103806923 https://acousticguitar.com/review-the-takamine-ft340-bs-a-quality-modern-dreadnought-primed-for-the-stage-or-studio/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-the-takamine-ft340-bs-a-quality-modern-dreadnought-primed-for-the-stage-or-studio/#respond Sun, 13 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=145726 The Takamine FT340 BS is a versatile axe for the gigging acoustic guitarist who needs a consistent sound at a variety of volumes in a variety of venues.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-the-takamine-ft340-bs-a-quality-modern-dreadnought-primed-for-the-stage-or-studio/feed/ 0 145726 https://acousticguitar.com/review-preston-thompsons-pkt-d-eis/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-preston-thompsons-pkt-d-eis/#respond Wed, 24 Jan 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=143307 This visually stunning, well-rounded flattop is ideal for a variety of musical styles and contexts.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-preston-thompsons-pkt-d-eis/feed/ 0 143307 https://acousticguitar.com/review-yamaha-fg9/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-yamaha-fg9/#comments Wed, 06 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=142497 This limited-edition beauty feels like a bespoke guitar, and it truly shines whether flatpicked or fingerpicked.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-yamaha-fg9/feed/ 4 142497 https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-super-d-and-d-18-streetlegend/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-super-d-and-d-18-streetlegend/#comments Fri, 06 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=141797 Two new guitars that stretch the parameters of the models they take after without abandoning their core sonic or build qualities.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-super-d-and-d-18-streetlegend/feed/ 2 141797 https://acousticguitar.com/review-gibsons-j-45-50s-faded-and-keb-mo-3-0-12-fret-j-45/ Fri, 14 Jul 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=138644 Both models stick to the strengths and depart from the script in terms of our preconceived ideas about the J-45 shape.]]> 138644 https://acousticguitar.com/review-takamine-crn-ts1-guitar/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-takamine-crn-ts1-guitar/#respond Wed, 26 Oct 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=133357 Our reviewer found that for a big guitar with a big sound, the Takamine CRN-TS1 also offers an intimate quality that rewards an uncluttered approach, where notes are given the time and space to linger.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-takamine-crn-ts1-guitar/feed/ 0 133357 https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-modern-deluxe-d-45-and-012-28/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-modern-deluxe-d-45-and-012-28/#respond Wed, 08 Jun 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=131960 With the top-shelf Martin Modern Deluxe D-45 and 012-28 acoustic guitars, there’s no arguing with the overwhelming quality and class of the materials and craftmanship—and depth of sound.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-modern-deluxe-d-45-and-012-28/feed/ 0 131960 https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-preston-thompson-d-sma-dreadnought/ https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-preston-thompson-d-sma-dreadnought/#respond Sun, 27 Mar 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=129045 Handcrafted in the company's Sisters, Oregon, workshop, the Preston Thompson D-SMA has a poetic side you might not expect from an instrument of its size.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-preston-thompson-d-sma-dreadnought/feed/ 0 129045 https://acousticguitar.com/guild-a-20-marley-guitar-review/ https://acousticguitar.com/guild-a-20-marley-guitar-review/#respond Sun, 27 Feb 2022 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=127779 For its new A-20 Marley acoustic guitar, Guild tracked down vintage Madeira models, seeking to copy most of the original details, while improving on certain aspects.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/guild-a-20-marley-guitar-review/feed/ 0 127779 https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-epiphone-inspired-by-gibson-hummingbird/ https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-epiphone-inspired-by-gibson-hummingbird/#respond Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:10:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=125736 The street price on Epiphone’s "Inspired By Gibson" Hummingbird acoustic guitar? Just $799—and you get much of the vibe of its costlier Gibson counterparts.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-epiphone-inspired-by-gibson-hummingbird/feed/ 0 125736 https://acousticguitar.com/collings-cj-45-t-guitar-review/ https://acousticguitar.com/collings-cj-45-t-guitar-review/#respond Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=124627 With the new CJ-45 T, Collings has delivered a new guitar that shows how much can be achieved with a mix of CNC manufacturing, handcrafting, and vision. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/collings-cj-45-t-guitar-review/feed/ 0 124627 https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-furch-blue-mm-dreadnought-offers-warm-and-surprising-tonal-colors/ https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-furch-blue-mm-dreadnought-offers-warm-and-surprising-tonal-colors/#respond Wed, 26 May 2021 20:57:58 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=124158 If I had to pick two words to describe the Furch Blue MM, they would be “Play me!” Right out of the box, this mahogany acoustic-electric dreadnought felt ready to make music.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-furch-blue-mm-dreadnought-offers-warm-and-surprising-tonal-colors/feed/ 0 124158 https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-yamahas-fgx3-is-a-modern-folk-workhorse-inspired-by-1960s-classics/ https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-yamahas-fgx3-is-a-modern-folk-workhorse-inspired-by-1960s-classics/#respond Sun, 14 Feb 2021 14:00:00 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=121710 The guitar has a soft, warm tone that works great for fingerpicked chord patterns and breezy strumming. When strumming chords with a pick, I found it definitely sounds best to approach the FGX3 with a more delicate touch—a thinner pick and a soft strum can go a long way—while heavy-handed strumming and picking tend to get harsh. Approached with a light to medium touch, chords sound rich while maintaining a clarity that allows individual notes to shine.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/guitar-review-yamahas-fgx3-is-a-modern-folk-workhorse-inspired-by-1960s-classics/feed/ 0 121710 https://acousticguitar.com/review-taylors-american-dream-ad27-delivers-all-the-tone-without-the-frills/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-taylors-american-dream-ad27-delivers-all-the-tone-without-the-frills/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2020 03:33:18 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=119947 The American Dream is alive, well, and living near San Diego, at least if you’ve been dreaming of an affordable American-made, all-solid-wood Taylor guitar. Launched in the midst of the pandemic, Taylor says its new American Dream series was “born from adversity”—an effort to make an affordable guitar available in a year that’s been a […]]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-taylors-american-dream-ad27-delivers-all-the-tone-without-the-frills/feed/ 1 119947 https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-guitar-review-epiphone-masterbilt-excellente-offers-a-modern-take-on-a-vintage-rarity/ https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-guitar-review-epiphone-masterbilt-excellente-offers-a-modern-take-on-a-vintage-rarity/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2020 23:14:54 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=118886 The Epiphone Masterbilt Excellente guitar is like a time machine—take a good look at it and you might think you’ve been transported back about 50 or so years.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/acoustic-guitar-review-epiphone-masterbilt-excellente-offers-a-modern-take-on-a-vintage-rarity/feed/ 1 118886 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-gibson-g-45-studio/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-gibson-g-45-studio/#comments Fri, 17 Jan 2020 16:26:42 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=113905 Gibson's G-45 Studio acoustic guitar is a more affordable cousin of its beloved namesake, the J-45 acoustic guitar. See how it stacks up on our review.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-gibson-g-45-studio/feed/ 1 113905 https://acousticguitar.com/new-gear-eastman-dt30d/ https://acousticguitar.com/new-gear-eastman-dt30d/#respond Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:05:37 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=112663 Eastman’s Double Top series is among the first to use the boutique-maker idea of a double top—a soundboard incorporating two outer wooden layers over a synthetic core, for enhanced sound and responsiveness—in a production steel-string guitar model.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/new-gear-eastman-dt30d/feed/ 0 112663 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-guild-memoir-series/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-guild-memoir-series/#respond Wed, 09 Oct 2019 15:52:51 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=112955 Guild's Memoir series, which includes the P-240 Memoir and DS-240 Memoir acoustic guitars reviewed here, are part of the company's Westerly Collection.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-guild-memoir-series/feed/ 0 112955 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-lag-tramontane-hyvibe-10/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-lag-tramontane-hyvibe-10/#respond Wed, 25 Sep 2019 18:49:57 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=112893 A collaboration between two French companies, the Lâg Tramontane HyVibe, turns the guitar’s body into a speaker that can add several different effects to your acoustic tone, loop, metronome, and interact with a smartphone app for even greater control of the preamp’s parameters. ]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-lag-tramontane-hyvibe-10/feed/ 0 112893 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-farida-old-town-series-ot-65-wide-vbs-and-ot-25-na/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-farida-old-town-series-ot-65-wide-vbs-and-ot-25-na/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2019 14:22:06 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=110257 Farida's latest offerings are contemporary takes on a couple of wartime Gibson models: The OT-65 Wide VBS, inspired by the popular Gibson J-45, and the more petite 00-size OT-25 NA modeled on the lesser-known Gibson LG-3.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-farida-old-town-series-ot-65-wide-vbs-and-ot-25-na/feed/ 0 110257 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-alvarez-yairi-honduran-dym60hd/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-alvarez-yairi-honduran-dym60hd/#respond Wed, 14 Nov 2018 23:15:05 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=108625 The partnership between Yairi and Alvarez goes back several decades, with the Alvarez-Yairi stamp reserved for Alvarez’s finest instruments. While much of Alvarez’s line is manufactured in China, the Yairi-branded guitars are made in a small shop in Kani, Japan, where modern power tools are eschewed in favor of hand tools, like spokeshaves for carving necks, and hide-glue construction is standard throughout.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-alvarez-yairi-honduran-dym60hd/feed/ 0 108625 https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-circa-guitars-steve-baughman-7-8-dreadnought/ https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-circa-guitars-steve-baughman-7-8-dreadnought/#respond Mon, 05 Nov 2018 18:18:48 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=108212 In 2004, the fingerstyle virtuoso Steve Baughman was visiting the Source Guitar Festival in Lewiston, Maine, when he encountered a steel-string that changed his life.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/great-acoustics-circa-guitars-steve-baughman-7-8-dreadnought/feed/ 0 108212 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-yamaha-csf3m-and-fg-ta/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-yamaha-csf3m-and-fg-ta/#respond Fri, 18 May 2018 21:08:02 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=106525 The all-solid-wood CSF3M boasts scalloped bracing for enhanced tone, projection, and loudness; the TransAcoustic-equipped FG-TA dreadnought responds well to fingerpicking and flatpicking in standard and open tunings]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-yamaha-csf3m-and-fg-ta/feed/ 0 106525 https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-pre-war-guitars-model-hd/ https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-pre-war-guitars-model-hd/#respond Wed, 16 May 2018 16:56:04 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=106513 Pre-War sent a model HD (herringbone dreadnought) to AG, and I knew something was up when I saw the Harptone hardshell case.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/gear-review-pre-war-guitars-model-hd/feed/ 0 106513 https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-model-america-1-and-standard-series-d-28/ https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-model-america-1-and-standard-series-d-28/#respond Wed, 14 Feb 2018 17:19:13 +0000 https://acousticguitar.com/?p=105581 In an era when tropical tonewoods such as mahogany and rosewood have become increasingly regulated and scarce, it makes perfect sense to make a guitar entirely from North American woods. The Model America 1 is based on the stalwart D-18, but with tonewoods that can be found in Martin’s—or maybe even your own—back yard.]]> https://acousticguitar.com/review-martin-model-america-1-and-standard-series-d-28/feed/ 0 105581