20 Best Wood For Guitar (2022 Updated)

I was given a different, larger (and cheaper) Yamaha acoustic as a first guitar years back. I’ve since moved on to electric, but was looking for a higher quality and smaller acoustic of my own that wouldn’t break the bank.

I decided to go with this one after the Fender model I was originally interested in had a long delay. I am incredibly pleased with the playability, size and sound of this guitar. I intend to eventually get a higher-end acoustic, but this will keep me patient until then.

Even afterwards, this will make a great travel guitar or something to keep in an alternative tuning. The strings that come with it are decent, but I replaced with some Ernieball Earthwoods and it made a world of difference!.

I thought this guitar was overhyped but I went ahead and bought one in vintage nat. spent more time than I should have setting it up for playability. this is my 3rd acoustic. I got away from acoustics for many years just playing electric, so coming back to acoustic was a learning experience.

This guitar has become the star of the show. I own an Alvarez MD60BG,a wonderful guitar, an Epiphone frontier which is my least favorite and the FG800. This guitar is simple and very effective. much louder than my epiphone almost as good in every way as my alvarez.

Buy 1 and get it set up properly and you won’t regret the few bucks spent on this.

This Yamaha instrument is well made. Especially for the price point of just under $200. 00. I have purchased many Yamaha acoustics over the years and this guitar will not disappoint. No cosmetic flaws on this instrument, with a nice finish and worth checking out.

I have been playing for over 40 years and am now retired, and I rate this guitar at 9. 5 out of ten. Perfect for my finger style playing. Very full sounding board and visually appealing. Truss adjustment was made to tighten the action a bit to my personal preferred.

The frets could use some polishing, as do most of acoustics at this price. I had purchased an identical instrument not too long ago and it also was a gem right out of the box, and decided to keep only one.

Very comparable to an Ibanez Artwood instrument. I highly rate this Yamaha and it is definitely worth a look👍.

I own four Fenders and two of them are Strats. I bought the Tri-Color Sunburst American Professional II in September 2021 and have had plenty of time to play and test it out, so I figured that it was about time for me to write a review on this beautifully crafted American made Stratocaster.

The Rosewood fingerboard is really nice. My old 1954 Tobacco Sunburst Reissue has a maple neck and fingerboard with frets which are a bit lower in height than the more modern Pro II. Upon first playing the guitar, I was getting a lot of buzz, which meant that the action had to be adjusted.

I took the guitar to my luthier for a full set up and he easily adjusted away all that annoying buzz. I highly recommend anyone buying a new guitar to set the action up the way you like it soon after purchase, because nearly all guitars will need some attention when you take it right out of the box.

I normally use a second hand Fender acoustic as my go too practice guitar, but when I pick up the Pro II Strat, it practically plays itself. The sunburst finish, Rosewood neck and tortoiseshell colored pickguard give this instrument a stunning appearance.

The guitar also comes with a nice, sturdy Fender hard shell case. Some may prefer to swap out the tremolo for a more modern system on the bridge, but I prefer to keep everything stock. One thing I’ll mention is how well this guitar stays in tune without the need of a locking nut or tremolo system.

If you’re a lover of American made Fenders like I am, then I guarantee that the American Pro II Stratocaster won’t be a disappointment.

I chose it mostly for that incredible, push-push Tele sounding, “Jimmy Page” jangly tone. Its similar to the Performer tone but much better for sure with a little more clarity, far more smoother neck and body than the performer.

Best neck I’ve played. Sounds way more “Stratty” than the Ultra (The Ultra’s Noiseless pickups are basically like “vertically stacked mini-humbuckers” that are more mellow and not as Stratty sounding).

I ordered the gold pickguard to slap on to give the black more of a not-so-bland look too! Will be reviewing it soon on my channel, “guitarandotherthings” on youtube! Very happy, like it more than my 96 American Standard so that’s saying somethi ng! I wanted the Commemorative Annv 75th but its never in stock and also doesnt have that awesome push-push.

This has same case as Commemorative (but with grey inner lining instead of blue) and I am very impressed! Clicks nicely, huge compartment, TSA lock for if it gets flagged at airport they can use their master key to open and not damage your lock.

If you already have a hardshell you could sell this one for the difference of the Performer price which makes the American Professional ii practically the same price as the Performer! The wammy is an awesome pop in, I may upgrade to locking tuners because nose-dives arent the most forgiving, but it’s a cheap price for the Fender locking set, so no biggie there! I rarely use it anyway, so if you dont use the wammy the stock tuners are fine.

So for the better tone, better wammy, much smoother neck and body, pay the extra to upgrade from the performer and sell the case to make up for it if thats too much of a difference. It sounds better than Ultra anyways so that’s a great deal.

Hope you love it!.

A beautiful guitar with a wonderful tone, it was sent with a relatively good action. There were some finish issues in the one I ordered that I will have to correct so I can’t give it a perfect review, but this is a really good guitar for the price.

Had I payed full price (I got it on sale for 100) I would have been very upset with the finish flaws and probably sent it back for a replacement. That being said, it sounds and plays beautifully.

Aesthetically, really really nice and didn’t need much setting up. The case that came with it didn’t have the Fender logo across the front but a little Fender plate by the handle. Not a big deal but it did differ from the picture.

Made in Indonesia if anyone is wondering. My only criticism is that it would have been nice to get a spare string peg or something but it’s a minor quibble for a name brand at this price point.

Generally, it is a great guitar. Many of you would expect a low volume for a mahogany top, back and side guitar. However, it’s dreadnought style compensates for this and thus you will have a warm mellow toned guitar whilst still having plenty of volume.

The guitar looks a lot better in real life than on the photos you may see on the internet. Contrary to the CD60S spruce top (built in Indonesia), this guitar is manufactured in China. The tone difference between CD60S spruce top and this one is small as the spruce top also has mahogany back and sides.

This guitar however is one with great overtones. Being a novice, it is a great starting guitar. My only complaint is that the nut and saddle are plastic. The nut, in particular, causes the guitar to be in need of tuning every 2 or 3 days.

However, this disadvantage is very manageable and if you prefer, you can spend a tiny bit of money to replace the nut with a bone nut at a guitar shop. If you webchat with a guitar center rep they might be able to give you a discount to cut the cost of this guitar to the price level of the cheapest possible for a major manufacturer’s acoustic guitar.

I was looking for an alternative to my Taylor T5Z. Love the playability of the Taylor; by far my favorite ever, but wasn’t ever satisfied with the acoustic sound I got for use in a vocal trio. Was hoping this Fender would feel as nice but sound better.

It does sound somewhat better through the PA, but I just kept wanting to go back to the Taylor for the comfortable feel that I missed. So, I will be selling this Fender, and will work on getting the T5Z to sound better.

My over all impression of the Fender was lukewarm to begin with. To me, it just looks cheesy with the photo finish on the front and weird offset look. The body sides and back are ok, and the ebony fretboard and bridge are nice.

The controls allow a zillion different sound combos, but after awhile they all seem to sound indistinguishable. On mine, the Tele pickup doesn’t want to play nice with the PA direct. Gig bag is pretty nice, but for 2K I would expect a hardshell.

Rechargable battery is a negative; more to go wrong; just let me slap a new 9V in every couple months. Seems like Fender is trying to be hip and modern with this concept, but nothing is really an improvement, just gimmicky.

Anyway, maybe I’m in the minority here, but mine goes up for sale.

This guitar is really quite awesome! I purchased it at sale price in January which made it a bit more affordable. Construction is top notch and love the satin finish! The action was a bit too high but thanks to the adjustable neck angle it came down to my liking!! Then there is the sound! It does an amazing job duplicating the broad array of acoustic instruments, then 2 electric sounds as well! The only con is that it is quite expensive and maybe not for everyone! The New Mexican player series just recently released is certainly more affordable although not as many sounds because of only a 3 way switch rather than 5 on the American built models! All in all I’m really very pleased with this purchase and the assistance I received from Sam Ash associates at the store! This is my 4th purchase from them! Five star service, much more friendly than some rival stores I have done business with! I highly recommend this product and Sam Ash! Will continue to do business with them!!.

I was skeptical that a hybrid electric guitar could sound like a real acoustic and I couldn’t get interested in an Acoustasonic guitar – until the price dropped $400 and then I was tempted to try one out.

I’m pleased I did as I’m truly amazed at the range of tones this telecaster has. Across all of the settings the the sound is excellent. It maybe not just as good as a very high end Taylor or Breedlove but it is very close.

The fun part is that you can play a sikta spruce, a rosewood or a mahogany top, with a dreadnought, auditorium or concert body size on one guitar. And you can get a very decent electric tele twang if you want.

So versatile. Plus it is so easy to play, it has the neck and ease of fretting like a regular electric telecaster. Really amazing instrument. I did change the fender strings for 11-52 Elixir phosphobronze.

The fender strings didn’t feel good, with a lot of drag and roughness. The Elixir strings feel great.

Bought this for my granddaughter who is getting ready to take lessons at the beginning of 2021. I loved the fact that it came with accessories such as strap, pics, etc. Opened the box to look at it when it arrived and it looks like pretty good quality for a beginner.

Very pleased with this buying decision.

I bought 2 of these for my grandsons and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of this guitar. My stepson who has a great musical background said they were pretty nice.

Good size for my small adult hands. Love the color. Sound is great with the nylon strings.

After allowing the guitar few weeks to adjust and giving it a good set up including new strings and a neck adjustment (tightening the rod), Conditioning the fret board and a good polish, The guitar is easy to play and has great sound for an inexpensive guitar.

I like the So Cal green color others may not as it is a vintage vibe. Tuners are price point but even price point tuners these days are decent. A little sticking from the nut, I think I can lightly file that out and add some nut sauce.

The fret ends were not too sharp but I conditioned them to a nice smooth finish useing 500 grit sponge. Very little cost to make improvements and the guitar is fun to play. The sustain is probably the biggest suprise and I am satified to practice with this guitar every day.

Very pleased for the cost. Good value.

What sold me on this guitar initially was the SoCal Green color. I know that you shouldn’t pick a guitar based only on color, and rest assured that I did my research into the instrument quality first, but since my guitars all hang on the walls it is important that they have some artistic value! I wanted something bright and cheerful that would motivate me to pick it up and enjoy the experience, and that is exactly what I got! The guitar is absolutely stunning, although the finishing work isn’t flawless.

It is a cheap and cheerful guitar, not some professional luthier’s peak work that sells for thousands of dollars. If you look very closely, you will find aesthetic imperfections, which at this point is more than fine considering that: it plays well, it stays in tune well, it feels good in the hands, and it is downright pretty.

Some negative surprises: the gig bag arrived already fraying. The bag itself is great as a free accessory, good fit and nice cushioning (especially compared to the cushionless gig bags from competitors at this price point), but I should point out that the stitching was already coming undone and it looked pretty tattered from the beginning.

I’m not too concerned with appearances, so I’m personally fine with a scuffed gig bag. It was a freebie and it will protect the instrument. Positive surprises: On the website, the pictures show a black pickguard sticker for the body, but in fact it ships with a white pearl one! I was going off the website photos, though, so I ordered my own white pearl pickguard to use instead of the black one that I was expecting.

While I spent $3. 99 that I didn’t need to, at least it was the same shape and size as the BCP one and a little brighter to boot! Now I have my BCP one as a spare. The final surprise was the tuners. As I mentioned previously, visual appeal was a large objective with this guitar for me.

I was happily surprised to find that the tuning pegs are a silvery-white, and they match the minty green and the pearl pickguard wonderfully. The entire look is just bright and cheerful! Plus, they hold the tune about as well as my other guitars.

Overall, this guitar is everything that a guitar at this price point should be. Not perfect, but it does what it is supposed to and you don’t need to worry about it too much. For me, that’s what makes me smile, so for me it is perfect!.

Guitar is ok for the price; however, I was expecting the strings to last longer than 2 days before breaking. Even the extra ones that came with the bundle broke as I was putting them on. I had to buy better ones and had a professional put them on to make sure they were adjusted correctly.

Additionally, the small tuner’s battery was dead out of the box so I had to get a new one. Again, I guess you get what you get for the price. On a positive note, the guitar looks nice, the small amps is super convenient, and everything arrived fast and together in one box.

This was a XMas for my daughter as a first time guitar player. She absolutely loved it. The color is beautiful. She plays the ukulele, so she was able to tune it with all the set which provided her everything she needed.

Without breaking the bank. I love to hear her playing it, it sounds angelical. It came packaged very well. Thanks!.

My first guitar. I love it with its color and good quality also the good deal. Thank you BCP. You’re the best as always. I’m no doubt and very happy when buying from you. Good deal, good quality, careful packing, timely delivery and perfect customer service maybe the description of you.

Once again, thank you.

This guitar is a great buy. It plays well and all the extra bonuses really make this a fantastic purchase decision. I teach guitar and did not have enough for me to model the lessons and each student have a guitar.

I decided to try this one out just for me and I am really glad I did. It is easy to play and has a warm, rich tone. If you are new to playing the guitar this is the one to try.

There are no cons, except perhaps the limits of my ability to make the most of this instrument just yet. This D-28 is in virtually flawless condition, and as such my reticence to put the first mark on the guitar is an impediment to my playing the guitar every day.

Because I have other guitars I can practice on them and reserve the Martin for performing. That said, any guitar’s sound quality is affected by the amount it is played, so I’m looking forward to moving into playing this Martin more and more as my practice gives me better musicianship.

That is the reason I purchased this guitar: to challenge myself, and to bring my playing up to the next level and I can see that is already happening. I am listening in an entirely different way, and the sonic distinction of this instrument is informing the way I both compose and perform music.

It is hard to imaging, at this point, an instrument better suited to my goals and my intentions for future music making. One aspect of this guitar’s sound, in particular, stands out: the overtones are very rich, very strong and inspiring.

The eastern rosewood sides and back of this guitar render a wonderful, almost touchable sound quality with middle tones wonderfully well integrated with strong bass tones and clear, demonstrative but not overly assertive treble tones.

I’ve looked forward to owning this model of guitar for a long time. Its being in my hands to play is a wonderful gift. Outstanding thanks to the seller for having been such an exemplary steward of this remarkable guitar.

The regular d-28 is a great guitar. All solid back, sides and top. Adjustible truss rod averages tension between different strings and keeps the neck in check for the average musician. What can you say bad about an standard d-28?! Not much.

Its the go to for anyone that wants to learn on a quality instrument. And they hold their value well, they age exceptionally. And you really cant go wrong with one. Why only 3-stars?! Well. These are base line instruments.

No herringbone. I dont think the nut and saddle are bone on stock instruments. The top and back wood grades are basically 3-star though martin has the best wood in the business. So their medial wood is still exceptional.

A great no thrills work horse. But any seasoned musician only respects it, they would not choose it for their number 1. They wouldnt necessarily compose or write an album with it nor record with it. These you see at open mics; hanging on your friends wall; on the street for busking.

I have had 3 Martins in the past. None were Steel 6 string. I briefly had access to a D-15 M Dreadnaught about 6 years ago, and I loved it. This D-28 crushes that D-15. Because of a persistent finger injury, I needed to change the stock (56-13) Martin strings to extra lights (47-10) Even with this light gauge, this instrument is warm and the sound is full and quite loud.

I can’t wait to go to 52-11 because I do feel that these extra lights are too light. I have never heard such punchy defined beauty from any acoustic six sting I have ever played. I was reading the specs on the more expensive Martin Guitars and I found an interesting factoid.

Martin makes end pegs out of a special metal that increases the volume by 2 decibels, no joke! These re-imagined D-28’s are truly breathtaking. Worth every penny. Also, I have read many complaints about the Martin 640 molded hard shell case.

Things like the top doesn’t stay open, which makes taking the guitar out, and putting it back in a “two handed job” also that it doesn’t stand on its feet. A few people said that it will not stand up in either position.

This is totally false. The case it come with is not the one in the picture, but it is a redesigned 640 case. I received this Guitar with the new 640 case, it is green on the inside like the pictures and although Martin does indeed make a better case, I think this one will protect your new Martin very well.

I want to thank Miles, the manager at my local GC. He really put a lot of time making sure I got the exact right Guitar. Miles, you’re the Man!.

I bought my mahogany Rey in about September of 2020; It’s January 2022 as I write this review. The Rey was the first of two “Playa”-collection guitars that I have purchased to date. (My other “Playa” guitar is a mahogany Dana.

) I like guitars from Orangewood’s “Playa” collection for the following reasons: o Their appearance is great. o Their laminated top, sides, and back are less sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature o Their thin laminated-body materials, scalloped bracing, lack of pore filler, and thin, lightly-applied satin finish make for better volume and tone despite the cost-conscious materials and assembly.

o They are, obviously, inexpensive. o When properly set up they play well and sound good. The light construction of these guitars suggests that very light strings may extend the life of the guitar — and also make it more finger friendly to play.

I like my guitars to play like my electric, so I use 10-46 string sets on all my guitars including my Rey and Dana. The fact that these guitars are so inexpensive does call for realistic expectations, however.

To quote from my review of the Dana guitar: “To be able to sell a guitar at these prices, some corners will be cut when compared to the manufacture of guitars that cost five or ten or more times the price.

This also applies to guitar set up, which may be the most time-consuming, and therefore expensive, single aspect of guitar creation. So, of course, the set ups on these economy guitars will be less than perfect.

” Initial issues at delivery included less-than-ideal set up (needed truss-rod adjustment and reduction of nut and saddle), slight bridge separation (which was addressed with thin CA glue), and string holes in the bridge/soundboard that were too small (needing to be reamed out slightly for easy removal and installation of strings).

More quotes from my Dana review: “So my general recommendation regarding set up on these “Playa”-collection instruments is, upon delivery, to pay a good luthier/technician to check them over to assess keeping or returning, and, if a keeper, have him or her set them up for your level of play or personal preferences (that is, if you aren’t qualified to do it yourself).

“And that brings up my final, important set-up point, which is that the truss rod’s purpose is to compensate against string tension. Action is properly adjusted at the nut and saddle. ” In summary, I really like my Rey from Orangewood.

I would say that of my small stable of guitars prior to the Dana acquisition (Taylor 412ce, a home assembled and set up thinline semi-hollow electric, and the Rey), in the past year or so the Rey has gotten the most playing time.

I recommend the Rey for any player. However, you would be well advised to have a good luthier/technician examine it upon arrival and give it a proper going over to ensure playability and longevity.

So it’s been two weeks now since I received my new Oliver Jr Mahogany Live from Orangewood Guitars. I wanted to spend some time getting acquainted with it before I just fired off my opinions of it fresh out of the box.

I am an old guy who has been playing/performing for decades but retired from live gigging in 2015 and pretty much just put away all of my “stuff. ” However, as a guitar player, I have always admired acoustic fingerstyle players and now have decided I want to try tackling that style more seriously.

I thought the best way to start this journey would be on a 3/4 size shorter scale or “parlor” size guitar which I’ve always thought were pretty cool anyway, and on a model that wasn’t going to break the bank.

ie. , I didn’t want to spend more than three hundred bucks! So I researched several guitars in the size and price range I wanted and found the old saying “you get what you pay for” to be very much alive and well.

After trying the Yamaha F Series offerings, the Fender C-100, the Gretsch Jim Dandy, an Ibanez PN12E, an Epiphone, and some others. I didn’t like any of them! So it looked like I was just gonna have to drop big bucks on a Taylor or a Martin or something like that in that price range to get any satisfaction.

Before doing that though, I decided to take a chance on the Oliver Jr. Mahogany, of which I had seen several reviews on You Tube, etc. , etc. I figured if I didn’t like it I could send it back. Well, guess what? I’m keeping it! It looks great, I love the size, it sounds very good for a small guitar, even better than I thought it would, and after a tweak or two of the truss rod it plays great.

Of course the Ernie Ball “medium light” strings were killing my fingers for the first week or so but I decided to leave them on to see I could get used to them which I eventually did and they seem fine now.

I’ll probably go to a lighter gauge when the time comes but for now I’m just gonna stick with the factory issue strings which Orangewood recommends. So while the Orangewood is not a Martin, Taylor, Zager, etc.

,in my opinion, you cannot get a better value at a great price on a quality instrument than this Oliver Jr provides. I’m glad I gave Orangewood a shot and I’m definitely a satisfied customer. Sorry for the long review!.

I waited months for one of these to come in stock and was excited when I was able to order one. I have had a love/hate relationship with Gibson over the past 20+ years as a player. I have had a few amazing pieces, but touched too many ‘meh’.

So admittedly, my expectations were high. For many, this is a lot of money for a guitar. When I first opened it up, it was a thing of beauty. Wood grain amazing, finish perfect. Stunning. The deluxe case is a great value and glad that it is included with this one as not all the Vs come with the deluxe hard case.

I for one hate huge frets. It has kept me away from Jackson, Charvel, and company as I prefer more vintage size frets for lower action and faster playing. The fretwork on this guitar is fantastic and the smaller frets feel great.

The BB2 and 3 pickups are great – soldering and wiring looked professional. After first playing I noticed my fingers were black and rough. Upon further inspection I noticed how terrible the fretboard was – it looked unfinished.

The wood being very rough to the touch and dirty. At first I thought the wood may have been dyed which would be terrible on this level of guitar. I cleaned it up with some fretboard cleaner and filled up a few rags with black/brown residue.

The fingerboard was still so rough and dry so I oiled a few times for the rest of the day. It was still dry and very rough. I called Gibson and the rep seem to give the impression that this was how the rosewood came.

It was hard to believe. My options were to return to Gibson or exchange at the store. I got a notification from GC that another came in stock and I quickly tried to snatch it up. Fortunately, the store called me and when I inquired about the fretboard, he confirmed the same.

I am returning. If they wanted to cut corners, they should have went with ebony or another wood. At this price point, unacceptable. I don’t usually write reviews but I hope Gibson gets enough complaints to correct this.

Great comfortable weight and excellent sustain. I’d prefer a hotter set of pickups such as the 500t or Dirty Fingers but the 490 set will suit the majority of rock players just fine. That is a subjective matter regarding pickups.

It comes with a super nice case and my example has no flaws whatsoever. I’d suggest applying some conditioner to the fretboard early on as it seems most newer fretboards are on the dry side- regardless of brand.

No sharp fret ends are present here. I really like the simple control layout. I’ve had it well over a month so I’m well out of honeymoon stage. This one is so good that I do not see the benefit of buying the next one up for a $300 upcharge, that is unless you simply don’t like the green.

I think this instrument that resonates with owners as it does and being limited in number as it is will be highly sought after in time. First, the brown leatherette “upside down Y” case is quality, plush and neat.

It is sure to get noticed. I appreciate the fat gold latches and cushioned handle. The Olive Drab finish on this mahoany-bodied Gibson Flying V is universally well received. The body style is both classic and futuristic, inimitably ultra-cool.

It arrived, remarkably, in tune and ready to rage. It needed NO additional setup. The factory did a woderful job at that. The mahogany neck is strait-as-an-arrow coinciding with it’s black “arrowhead” headstock.

Serial number and maker’s mark stamped on the back as is Gibson customary practice. The thin satin finish at the back of the neck feels soothing and intimate in the grip of my fingering hand. The thin taper neck shape is fast yet substantial enough to hold a playing position without the nervous urge to constantly keep shifting.

But make no mistake, this neck with it’s rosewood fretboard was born to shred, if you so desire. The pickups to me were a bit of a suprise. Ussually, I find myself replacing at least the stock bridge pickup with an aftermarket one that is overwound and hotter on all the guitars I get.

In this instance though, I have decided to hold off. Although not overwound, the 490T bridge pickup (8. 02kohms) sizzles, super crunchy. Yet, it is equally impressive how well it cleans up. It handles undistorted tones with class and grace both alone or blended with the neck.

The 490R neck pickup (7. 72kohm) is perfectly balanced, bluesy not buzzy. The hardware compliment is standard Gibson: chrome tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece, single volume, single tone, black “bell” or “tophat” knobs with white numerals, 3-way switch (parallel) with black tip, black 5-ply pickguard (b/w/b/w/b), “tulip” keyed vintage tuners and Graphtec nut.

The only thing I dislike is the top-monted input jack, but that is an irk I have with ALL guitars. I have converted several of my guitars to side-mount. I’ll get around to the rest of them at some point.

This guiar is awesome! A WINNER! Made in USA. Case made in Costa Rica.

Fit and finish is excellent. The neck, though indisputably nice, has been an adjustment. It is significantly rolled which effectively reduces the space you’ve got to fret the E strings. It’s a minor difference in experience for me from other guitars and I now don’t notice unless I pick it up immediately after playing another.

I have Elixir 80/20 on it and after a few days of wearing off the new-string brashness, it sounded great. Lots of umph and responds well to finger and flat picking, which is most of what I do. Strumming with the 80/20 is a bit bright for my taste.

If you are a strummer, stick with phosphor bronze strings for this guitar (which is what it comes with). The grand auditorium body size fits me well – 5’10”, play exclusively seated. Some dreadnoughts wear my right arm out pretty quickly but I don’t have that issue with this guitar.

I’ve been playing guitar for over 40 years, and I’ve owned many over the decades. However, when my son was born, I hung up my gig bag, sold off most of my equipment, and focused on raising a fine young man.

He’s now 12, has taken an interest in singing, and for being self taught, he’s pretty good. I felt this was the perfect father/son bonding activity, so I purchased this beautiful new Taylor 214ce Plus Grand Auditorium so he and I could collaborate on songs together.

I’ve owned this guitar for just over a week now, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s been more than a decade since I’ve owned an acoustic guitar, but having played for so many years, I’ve developed a taste for quality instruments, so a cheaply made guitar simply wasn’t going to do.

I must say, this Taylor 214ce Plus plays like butter. Right out of the included Taylor quality made case, this instrument plays and sounds like a fine instrument should. A slight bit of stretching and break-in on the new strings, and it plays and sounds amazing both unplugged and plugged into my amp.

I love the location and quality feel of the controls. You can really dial in the perfect balanced tone. The action on this guitar is absolutely perfect and so easy on the fingers, which I really appreciate since I’m building back those finger calluses from scratch.

The action is just as easy on the 12th fret as it is on the 2nd fret. The tone of this guitar is so bright, rich and full bodied that it truly delivers that “WOW” factor when you hear it for the first time.

What’s more, it looks every bit as amazing as it feels and sounds. The high gloss finish is absolutely beautiful. I looked this instrument over in every detail, and I can’t find a single flaw anywhere.

It’s as if someone really took great pride in their work and took their time to make certain they were turning out perfection. I’ve never before seen such quality from a mass produced instrument. I’m about to have both of my knees replaced in a couple of weeks, so it looks like I’ll be laid up for the better part of the summer.

I figured what better way to spend my time than getting my guitar chops back up to par; and what a pleasure it’s going to be doing so on this beautiful sounding work of art. In writing this review I almost wish I could supply you with some CONS, to at least make the review seem less sappy, but I honestly can’t find a single downside to this instrument.

NOT ONE! Lastly I am also very grateful to American Musical Supply for providing payment options for those of us on a budget. They’ve allowed me to own such a quality instrument, when given the current economic climate, I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to.

So, kudos to Taylor for making such amazing instruments, and to AMS for making them available for every budget.

Could not be more pleased with this guitar – better than I could ever have expected. I’ll start first with the craftsmanship – it is simply outstanding. While the pictures looked nice, the guitar looks stunning in person, and construction is flawless – it’s a beauty! And the sound is amazing- It sounds even nicer than it looks! It plays like a much more expensive guitar.

We have 10 guitars at the house, and this is now my new favorite!.

I went to four Guitar Centers looking for the best classical guitar and this was the one. The guitars neck feels comfortable to hold, no fret buzz and it’s lightweight. There’s a big difference in feel between the Lucero 2300 and this one.

Can’t go wrong with this guitar.

trebles stable and united, basses crisp and raspy. ‘. binki’ (bubinga) wood back and sides dry and boxy with stentorian musk, top complimented by natural blonde countenance. had my eye on this couple years and something kept me from this prospect but now active cycling.

That ubiquitous question; “if you could only have 1 guitar, what would it be?” For me was never a PRS. I’ve played for 30 years and repaired & built them for 20. I was well aware that they are about as close to perfectly built as you’re ever likely to find, but there was just “something(s)” that I didn’t get from them that I did with Fender and Gibsons.

Was it the design, tonal character (or lack), the scale? At times one or the other, or all. My only real gripe about PRS beyond the insane cost has always been, and continues to be their control layouts.

On instruments that are as well designed and built as you can get, why do they choose the controls like they do?The CU22/24 with 2X humbuckers, master volume and master tone was always an overly limited design.

Strats and Teles I’m okay with master volume, but dual HBs I need a volume for each. They use 3 controls with the DGTs, why they still don’t on the others is baffling. Master volume on a solid body is a pain in the neck, but using them on Hollow/semihollow guitars are inexplicable.

Plenty of Gibson players use Les Pauls or SGs as well as a 335. While they may spend 90% of the time on the LP in the neck or bridge position, those same players more than likely use the 335 in the middle position and control what they’re putting out with the volume controls.

That isn’t even possible on the HB, HB 1, HB 2s. And if you get the Piezo model with the additional volume control, it looks like it’s position was decided by getting drunk and blindly throwing a dart at it and deciding to put it wherever the dart happened to hit, it’s way off to the side.

Other issue with HB is that if you’re looking for something different from a 335, but in the same park tonally, you’re probably not going to get what you want from the HBs. While they’re fully hollow, the body is so small that there’s not all that much volume (as in measurements, not audio volume) to give you that same amount of warm midrange and smooth attack you get from 335s and various copies.

Many describe them as giving the best of the both worlds of solid/hollow, but I’ve always found it the opposite. The McCarty 594 HB-II on the other hand not only gets into the running of “if you could only have 1,” question, it might possibly be the winner.

The Gibson control layout is a HUGE improvement. The fact that this model is more of a “semi: semihollow,” gives it it’s own category. The , Gibson style 2-piece stoptail bridge required a larger area to be anchored to, so they put a solid block that runs from just between that bridge pickup and bridge, and it goes right to the end of the body; half of a Semihollow.

This makes it more of a solid body with it’s own warm, rich tone than it is of a semihollow with more of a faster and brighter attack you find in solid bodies. I’ve played and heard these played in music you would never find the fully Hollowbody I & II.

I’ve heard it played through a high gain metal tone and it was able to stay tight enough for the chugging, but also have that acoustic ring through a clean amp. They recently released these in a 24 fret model.

I’ve never been a 24 fret player, I spend a lot of time in the neck position and I don’t like the affect repositioning the pickup closer to the bridge does to the tone, but there’s plenty of people who do like them so it’s a good option.

IMO this is the best production line model they are making, Maybe that one John Mayer plays with the narrow field in the middle is better, I’ve only seen pictures of it though.

This instrument is exquisite. Top-notch build quality and tone. According to the pros, these PAF-style pickups resemble those of a ’59 Les Paul. The single-coil tones are balanced and offer additional versatility.

The humbuckers sound warm and woody compliments of the hollow body construction. I purchased this guitar one month ago and fully meets and/or exceeds my expectations. American Musical offers excellent and fast service along with flexible payment plans.

The instrument was professionaly packed and shipped arriving factory-fresh and in mint condition.

I have a faded blue Prs 509 for awhile now and love it. The quality of everything is top notch. It is not s Gibson nor a Fender. Its it’s own and should not be compared to any other guitar. It has 5 509 pickups which are setup in a hsh format and two coil taps as well, allowing for 9 different tones.

With all that in mind it can sound like many different premium brand guitars with the options built in to this model. The neck is a joy to play as well.

Overall: This guitar was everything I could want in a PRS, with just a little bit more. I’ve played and owned SE models before, but this was my first time buying my own American made model. It looks and feels fantastic in my hands.

The tobacco burst has that beautiful character of a classic guitar with modern matte, and the open pore finish adds a unique level of texture. I primarily play black metal/death metal, but I really like to incorporate glassy/chime like cleans in my music.

This guitar goes above and beyond in that category. The single coil has that awesome thick bluesy tone to it, and the Starla bridge is glassy and sharp for when you want to push the guitar just a little harder.

I haven’t really tried to get any brutal tones from this; I have plenty of other guitars that do that. The hardest I’ve gone is grunge and it definitely suits it well. The only real cons for me are the shorter scale length and the much rounder fingerboard, as I usually play 6, 7, and 8 string guitars with flatter boards (16-20″) and longer scales (25.

5 in+). But with a little adjustment time I’m sure I’ll be able to get used to these minute differences. If you’re looking to treat yourself to a high quality instrument worth every cent, just pull the trigger on this beauty.

First and foremost, this is the fifth or sixth guitar that I’ve purchased, online, from the CME. They are amazing folks with whom to deal. Communication is timely, prices are fair, shipping is lightning-quick and all guitars arrive, perfectly packed, exactly as advertised.

Thanks, guys and gals! My Gibson Generation G-00 is a nice little “parlor-style” guitar. It’s well-made, easy to play and a great little instrument for finger-picking and a bit of light strumming. If you’re sitting on the couch, watching a football game, having a few cold ones, this is the guitar for you.

Way to go, Gibson and Chicago Music Exchange!.

I’d been in the market for a new acoustic for a while but never really knew which one to go for. Luckily, PMT in Birmingham has a fantastic range of acoustics and their super helpful staff were extremely patient with me as I tried about a dozen different models, including various Taylors and Martins.

For some reason, I had always thought that Taylor and Martin guitars would be the cream of the crop when it came to acoustics and, as such, had never considered Gibsons even though I own several Gibson electrics.

However, the second I started playing the Gibson SJ200, it was obvious that this was the one. A really comfortable neck, a gloriously balanced sound that you can ‘feel’ wash through you when you play, great responsiveness to the attack of your pick.

I could go on. Whilst it might be a strange thing to say, whilst it does have a great pickup in it, it feels more like a traditional acoustic guitar than any of the others that I played. Whatever your style – fingerpicking through to power chord rock – this one does it all.

Granted, it ain’t cheap. However, if you’re only ever going to buy one acoustic to keep forever, I would heartily recommend trying a Gibson Montana SJ200. If it’s good enough for the likes of Bob Dylan, George Harrison and Pete Townsend, then it’s good enough for me!.

I waited several months to give this guitar a completely objective review. Realise that no guitar is ever 100% awesome, we can always improve. The good: Solid construction. Seriously, built like a tank.

Solid at staying in tune. Set up was fine right out of the box. Nice sustain, nice sound. Selector switch feels like its pretty substantial. Frets are smooth, none of the jagged edges I have heard so much about.

The bad: These pickups are noisy! I usually feel that a little 60hz hum gives character, but these can be really loud. Tone and volume controls are OK, but the control is rather course. The finish on the neck is rather cheaply done.

Kind of concerned about the cheap nut. The ugly: Nothing, really. Its a good value-priced guitar. These things said, and clearly seeing its faults and strengths, I’m at an impasse. Seriously thinking about upgrading the pickups.

If I’m opening it up, I might as well do the volume and tone pots too. And the nut. So then I have to ask if I should upgrade to a American made Tele? Its really just a matter of time.

So I got this guitar, tbh I wanted to get it as a joke as everyone always says,” squier is a bad guitar brand,” BUT GUESS WHAT! This guitar is one of the best tele’s ive ever played, (make sure you play it at the store before buying in case you don’t like it).

Fretwork is amazing, not a single sharp fret= yay no shredded up skin. Action was perfect and I had 0 problem tuning this, this stays in tune like a charm, let me say that since this is a budget guitar, it works pretty well, it’s not a guitar you have to tune every time you pick it up, it’s a guitar that can hold tuning stable for around 5 days, at least it did for me, also I wanted to buy a tele over a strat because it’s hard for me whenever I play strata because of the music I love to play, first of all I can’t play metal on a strat (especially a budget one).

Second of all it does country better, I’m not the biggedt country fan ever, but I believe that this guitar singles out a strat in almost every way, the reason I say that is because you can technically get a solid strat tone out of the right amp with this guitar, I own a fender strat and all I can say is I might return it, this guitar is a guitar I like, I might just return the fender is spent over 1k on and this and get a fender tele, better deal if you ask me, also squier is not a bad brand, its a budget brand, I wasn’t expecting this guitar to be that good, I was searching the guitar store for a tele and didn’t want to spend to much, I didn’t have a tele before because sold my last one because someone gave me double the money I bought that one for, and I wasn’t going to buy one that day due to the price range of most GOOD guitars, yet I seen the price on this and to be honest, I bought it that day because of how cheap It was, all I can say is that this guitar is perfect in almost every way for me, I would recommend this guitar to anyone who’s a starter or who loves tele’s.

I’ve had a W02, W03, & S01. I love how these guitars feel like Lowden guitars. These guitars are great in the studio but I believe they shine even more as live instruments. I prefer the cedar models to the spruce because they are more responsive in my opinion and quicker to respond.

Cedar is also warmer than spruce which I like for my playing style. The spruce is very clear sounding and articulate. The spruce has slightly higher output/headroom than the cedar guitars but takes longer to open up.

The S models sound more like the Lowden guitar tones that I hear from Lowden players like Pierre Bensusan, Thomas Leeb, and Alex De Grassi, where the W model sounds more like Ed Sheeran. The W has that classic Lowden tonal characteristic as well, but in my opinion not as strongly as a Lowden S compared to an F model or F compared to an O model.

That said the W or Wee Lowden size is my favorite. I’ve never heard a guitar that sounds like a W. Lowden guitars already have a special “Lowden” tone that you won’t find duplicated, but the geometry of a “parlor” guitars soundbox adds another layer of tonal uniqueness.

It’s the smallest guitar I’ve ever played. It still has a 14th fret neck joint which is awesome on such a small body and on the W03 with the beveled armrest it’s the most comfortable guitar I’ve owned.

The bass and trebles are even/balanced on this guitar despite it’s size. The back and sides of these guitars are layered woods of either Santos Rosewood on the 02 & 03 models or Walnut and Figured Walnut on the 01 & 04 respectively.

In my opinion, pros of layered wood: It makes these guitars more durable, less susceptible to damage from weather changes and brings the cost down. Cons: It makes these guitars a little more raw and not as broken in sounding as solid back and sides would.

But with some time they open up. I’ve had mine about a year and it’s warming up nicely. Layered wood still has the tonal properties of the named wood which is amazing. The LR Baggs pickups are truly great on these guitars.

They come with the VTC besides the 01 models. OVERALL I’d say if you are set on the Lowden sound you’ll fine a lot of it in the Sheeran range of guitars. I’ve owned a Lowden so I believe I have the merit to say so.

These guitars do have their own sound though. Try them out, you may like them better than the Lowdens 😉.

I love the way they sound unlike any other guitar brand. They sound bigger than the dimensions and bigger than they look. They hold in DADGAD well also. I studio record with them but I think they come alive when plugged in during a live setting.

I have 2 Ws and I’ll be getting more!.

Just arrived today, I’ve been looking at this for a few months but I figured Luna was just a low end company. 1. The case it comes with is beautiful and sturdy not just a regular old black case. 2. The guitar is perfect out of the box.

Great action, sound, no sharp fret ends this guitar is awesome!.

Bought this guitar after seeing a local performer playing it. I liked the sound he was getting out of the instrument and how beautiful it looked. When it arrived it was ready to play out of the box; it was even in tune ! Set up seems good, may need a little neck tweaking as there is a slight buzz particularly on the low E string.

The tone from the instrument is not as bright as I would like, this may be attributed to the coated strings it came with, after I get it set up I will try a set of my go to strings to see if that changes the tone any.

The case is unique and looks like hand carved leather, although it is not. While this is not a Martin, overall I feel Luna really thought through the presentation and design of this instrument all the way down to the OHSC.

I own a couple of their high end ukuleles and this guitar follows in that tradition of detail and quality.

It’s hard to say whether the sound or appearance is more beautiful. After 52 years of picking for fun it is the best guitar I have ever had. It resonates and chimes for > 10 seconds. Fully linear in frequency response all the way down the neck.

Great low action and easy to play and sounds great. Stays in tune well. Records well through the computer. I have had it for 2 years and the construction is solid and shows no sign of any problems. I worried about the mixed construction of all the different woods to make the top image, but again no problems.

It makes me remember what beauty a soaring bird is. Seems like it should be in a art museum.